1 Eurozone growth picks up (BBC) The eurozone's
economy grew by a stronger-than-expected 0.3% in the last three months of 2014,
helped by rapid growth in Germany. Germany's economy - the largest in the
eurozone - grew by 0.7% in the quarter, comfortably beating analysts' forecasts.
However, France's economy grew by just 0.1% in the same period.
Figures from European statistics agency Eurostat
showed the eurozone's economy grew by 0.9% across 2014 as a whole. While
Germany's economy shrank 0.1% in the third quarter of last year, strong
domestic demand helped it to regain momentum in the fourth quarter. The economy
grew by 1.6% during 2014. "This is a thunderbolt," said UniCredit
economist Andreas Rees.
Berenberg Bank economist Christian Schulz suggested
cheaper oil, a weaker euro exchange rate and government bond buying by the
European Central Bank (ECB) should all help the German economy and "more
than offset the serious short-term risks such as Greece and Russia".
Of the 18 member states of the eurozone only three
recorded a contraction in their economy: Greece, Finland and Cyprus. Greece's
newly-elected government is currently trying to re-negotiate the conditions of
its €240bn (£182bn) bailout from the eurozone, the European Central Bank and
the International Monetary Fund, which it feels are punitive.
2 Murmurs of an Apple car (Rebecca Ratcliffe in The
Guardian) Apple is reportedly hiring automotive engineers to work at a
top-secret lab in Silicon Valley, fuelling rumours that the company may be
designing a car.
Dozens of Apple employees led by managers from its
iPhone unit are researching automotive products, according to the Financial
Times. It reports that the company has poached the head of Mercedes-Benz’s
Silicon Valley research and development unit, while Sir Jonathan Ive, senior
vice-president of design at Apple, has held regular meetings with automotive
executives and engineers.
Designing and building a car would mark a huge
change of direction for the computer maker, which researches and discards
plenty of projects but has so far mainly stuck to its core expertise in mobile
and electronic devices. Apple, much like its closest rival Google, is trying to
incorporate its software into cars. The background and seniority of the
executives it is recruiting have prompted speculation that Apple may be trying
to move into car design.
3 Minding generational manners (Khaleej Times) We
have all seen kids throwing food around, making a mess when they eat and
generally being loud and annoying. “Kids!” we say, shake our heads and carry
on. But the malaise is possibly larger.
A 2013 study by YouGov in Britain showed that
Britons feel verbal expressions of politeness still abound but most Britons
were not likely to follow it up with action. In fact 39% of respondents said
teenagers were the least polite and 24% felt the elite upper classes were a
pretty nasty bunch to bump into. Basic manners in Britain, it seems, has gone
for a toss. American surveys indicate a similar trend.
As families become tinier, with both parents away at
work, setting an example for the children is left to schools and baby sitters.
Unfortunately, this is not inculcating the best of manners in our kids. It is
an approaching calamity of our times and a circle that is as vicious as
insidious. Our next generation is not likely to pass on basic good manners to
their next.
We need to spend more time with our children and
practice good manners at home and enjoy a meal together. After all, a family
that eats together stays together… in good manners and bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment