Austerity, Growth, and the U.S. Campaign

Council on Foreign Relations – Romney seems to be already aligning with House Republicans, such as Rep. Paul Ryan, who argue that budget cuts to entitlements and tax cuts are the combination of policies needed to reduce U.S. debt and kick-start the slumping economy.

The approach underscores the philosophical differences between Republicans and Democrats. The former tend to favor the strict austerity approach being mandated by German and EU leaders. President Obama and other Democrats, meanwhile, tend to argue for more stimulus to generate growth in the short term, while arguing for a long-term plan to reduce deficits and the debt—similar to that advocated by French president-elect Francois Hollande. more> http://tinyurl.com/8yq9ery

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• Mitt’s ad: Keystone, taxes, Obamacare, Alexander Burns, POLITICO.com
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Stage set for Hollande-Merkel showdown at EU summit

By Luke Baker – For the first time in more than two years of debt-crisis meetings, the leaders of France and Germany have not held their own mini-summit beforehand to agree positions, marking a significant shift in the traditional Franco-German axis.

Instead, new French President Francois Hollande will meet Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in Paris to discuss policy, before the pair travel to Brussels for the 1800 GMT summit.

Despite fears that Greece could exit the currency bloc, Spain, where the economy is in recession and the banking system is in need of wholesale restructuring. more> http://tinyurl.com/cqxsko8

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• Hollande set for EU summit showdown with Merkel (firstpost.com)
• Rift begins to widen as Germany rebuffs Hollande’s eurobond plan (independent.co.uk)
• Latin Bloc puts Germany in the firing line (smh.com.au)
• Hollande will push for euro bonds at EU leaders’ summit (independent.ie)
• Showdown looming over eurobonds (telegraph.co.uk)
• Insight: Greek exit could cost eurozone 100s of billions of euros, Paul Carrel, Reuters
• Eurobonds set to divide summit for growth, Jeremy Fleming, EurActiv.com
• ‘Project bonds’ launched as an experiment, EurActiv.com
• German economist proposes a ‘Geuro’ for Greece, EurActiv.com

Coalition to develop world’s cleanest passenger train

R&D Mag – Plans to create the world’s first carbon-neutral higher-speed locomotive were announced this week by the Coalition for Sustainable Rail (CSR), a collaboration of the University of Minnesota’s Institute on the Environment (IonE) and the nonprofit Sustainable Rail International (SRI). CSR draws on the carbon-neutral solid biofuel research expertise of the University of Minnesota and the modern steam mechanical engineering capabilities of SRI to develop the most powerful carbon-neutral locomotive to date.

The success of CSR Project 130 has implications that extend beyond the railroad industry, proving the viability of biocoal for use in the developing world. Locomotive engineering on combustion and boiler technologies allows CSR to design power boilers and electric generators on scales from 5 to 5,000 kW. This technology is adaptable for homes in villages of the developing world as well as for use in the U.S. Every dollar spent on engineering support of CSR Project 130 can generate up to three times the benefit in outgrowth technologies to solve energy problems in the United States and around the world. more> http://tinyurl.com/76y6spd

Social media a boon for businesses, but creates security quagmire

English: Infographic on how Social Media are being used, and how everything is changed by them.
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Ellen Messmer – Social media — Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+ and so forth — has become a way of life for companies and their employees to interact with the public, but beating back the fraudsters that try to prey on customers, not to mention keeping employees from spilling sensitive data, is becoming a full-time job for many.

Setting up the equivalent of a corporate blockade to social media is a “limited” approach at best, says Gary Loveland (principal, national security leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers), for the obvious reason that someone can get to Facebook or other sites using a personal mobile device or a home network. Security education of employees from the day they hire on is necessary to drive the message home to them about the risks that social media pose, even while businesses monitor sites to see what’s being said about the company. “It’s about coming to grips with reality on this.” more> http://tinyurl.com/8ayzqxn

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• Ernst & Young insight: Protecting your customers’ data as your business grows (business.financialpost.com)