Turkey’s Central Bank Declares a Shock-and-Awe Rate Hike →

Just one of several countries which fighting a "market sell-off":

The sharp slide in the lira was one of the triggers for the latest bout of selling of emerging-market assets last week. Emerging-market currencies in Turkey, Argentina, Russia and India sold off sharply, sparking two types of reactions: central banks to intervene and politicians to blamed outsiders.

Mirabile Dictu! Post Office Bank Concept Gets Big Boost →

One of the stunning parts in reading the document is to see how wildly successful this program could be, precisely because traditional banks are withdrawing from many of the neighborhoods in which moderate and lower-income people live, and non-banks offer targeted, richly priced services, too often designed to take advantage of desperation or simple lack of alternatives. Even though most of us are aware of this general picture, the USPS IG, dimensions the scale of this problem and the costs to the affected households.

Huh. Smart. Sounds like a win-win. I'm really impressed how creative the USPS has been to make itself "profitable" in the face of a hostile Congress.

Cambodia's 'Tahrir Square' →

In response to the sustained anti-government campaign, the government on Jan. 4 banned all public gatherings of more than 10 people. For three weeks, the square sat largely empty, its perimeters attended by heavily armed police in lawn chairs playing cards.

Peace Prospects for the Philippines →

Over the weekend, a historic peace agreement was finalized between the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebel group and the Philippine government. In short, the agreement will cede autonomy of governance and resource revenues to a large region called Bangsamoro on the southern island of Mindanao. It is too early to get a clear read about the deal’s prospects since it hasn’t even been officially approved or implemented yet, but for the moment, one can point to several reasons for both concern and optimism: ...

US vs. Europe: Energy battle heats up →

...As a result of the rapid advance of shale technology, the United States now has an abundance of low-cost natural gas — at one-third the price of European gas. European industrial electricity prices are twice as high as those in some countries and are much higher than those in the United States. To a significant degree, this is the result of a pell-mell push toward high-cost renewable electricity (wind and solar), which is imposing heavy costs on consumers and generating large fiscal burdens for governments. In Germany, it was further accentuated by the premature shutdown of its existing nuclear industry after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan.

All this puts European industrial production at a heavy cost disadvantage against the United States. The result is a migration of industrial investment from Europe to the United States — what one CEO called an "exodus." It involves, not only energy-intensive industries like chemicals and metals, but also companies in the supply chains that support such industries.

U.S. Oil Production Keeps Rising Beyond the Forecasts →

Despite the 2013 increases, oil use in most developed countries remains well below the levels of 2007, the last pre-recession year. The United States is estimated to have used 8.5 percent less oil in 2013 than it did in 2007, while demand is down by about 25 percent in Italy and Spain, European countries that were hard hit by the euro area’s problems. Germany stands out, with 2013 usage equal to that of 2007.

Just as interesting:

In the developing world, oil use has been rising steadily. Demand in China and Brazil is up more than 30 percent since 2007, and India’s consumption is 17 percent higher.

The agency estimates that in 2014, the 34 mostly rich countries in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development will consume less than half the oil used in the world. That would be a first: As recently as 2004, their share was over 60 percent, and in 2013, it was estimated to be 50.5 percent.

Sisi running for president of Egypt, against previous promise