China to create largest mega city in the world with 42 million people

China is planning to create the world's biggest mega city by merging nine cities to create a metropolis twice the size of Wales with a population of 42 million.

Jim Grant: "The Fed Is Now In The Business Of Manipulating The Stock Market...Should Confess It Has Sinned Grievously"

Jim Grant, who will never be accused of being a fan of the Criminal Reserve, and whose views on what will happen to asset prices in a printer-happy world are gradually being validated, appeared on Bloomberg TV, telling Margaret Brennan upfront that Bernanke owes the world an apology.

IMF Sees Europe's Debt as Top Recovery Threat

European officials need to expand the region's financial rescue fund and subject their banks to more rigorous stress tests to quell a key threat to the global economic recovery, the International Monetary Fund said Tuesday.

Ireland's Voters Ready to Confront Rest of Euro Zone

Whenever it happens, Ireland's general election will mark the first clash between the desires of voters in a euro-zone nation that is in receipt of help from its brethren, and the declared interests of the currency area as a whole. At the heart of that conflict will be a blanket guarantee made by the outgoing government to pay back international holders of all bonds issued by Irish banks should they fail. Most Irish voters blame the banks for their nation's spectacular fall from economic grace in recent years. While bankers are hardly the most popular people in most post-crisis democracies, in Ireland they are viewed in an even less favorable light, and stand accused of something bordering on economic treason.

This might not be such a bad time for deficit reduction

Standard & Poor’s downgrade of Japan’s credit rating is the first time it’s happened in nine years, and as my colleague, Ambrose Evans-Pritchard said, it serves as a chilling reminder that debt woes continue to fester across much of the industrialised world.

Buy euros – the single currency is finished

The debt bill is too high for the Club Med nations and they will have to leave the zone, says Jeff Randall.

Warning shot for America and Europe as S&P downgrades Japan

Standard & Poor's has downgraded Japan for the first time in nine years, citing lack of a "coherent strategy" to control its monster deficits or grasp the nettle to reform.

The unrest in Egypt could boost US stocks

It's fair to say that on most people's 'black swan' lists for 2011, there was no mention of a revolution in Tunisia. But it's increasingly looking as though that's going to have proved the spark for the biggest unknown of this year. It looks as though Egypt could be next. And given Egypt's importance, if its ruler Hosni Mubarak is overthrown, then who knows which other countries could follow? Dennis Gartman gave a good quote on the topic to CNBC the other day. "This is either the greatest deliverance of democracy or drop into chaos that we have seen." But what does it mean for your portfolio?

The Real State of the Union: A Rescue Plan for the U.S. Economy

If Money Morning's Keith Fitz-Gerald were granted an audience with U.S. President Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, the one message he'd deliver is this: It's time to stop the gravy train and reform the U.S. financial system once and for all. In fact, this may be our last chance. "If I had the chance to sit down with President Obama and Fed Chairman Bernanke, I would offer [them an] eight-point plan that's designed to increase growth, provide jobs and increase America's international competitiveness," says Fitz-Gerald, a well-known commentator and bestselling author who is Money Morning's chief investment strategist.

We're very close to a great buying opportunity in gold

The eyes of precious metals' investors are watering. 2011 has not been a good year so far. We are not even through the first month and the price of gold is down $100 an ounce, or 7%. Its volatile sister silver is down almost 15%, as are the large cap gold stocks. The junior producers, meanwhile, have fallen some 20%. Ouch...

Where to next for the euro?

The euro has had a good couple of weeks. Against the dollar, the single currency has gone from below $1.30 earlier this month, to above $1.36 now. This is despite political turmoil in Ireland, on top of all the usual concerns about the eurozone's lack of a specific plan for getting them all out of the current mess. So what's been driving this strength? And can it last?

Stunner: Gold Standard Fully Supported By... Alan Greenspan!?

You read that right. After such establishment "luminaries" as World Bank president Robert Zoellick, Warren Buffett's father Howard, Jim Grant, and, most recently, Kansas Fed president Thomas Hoenig, all voiced their support for a return to a gold standard, the most recent addition to the motley group of contrite voodoo shamans is none othe than the man who is singlehandedly responsible for America's addiction to cheap toxic credit, who spawned such destroyers of the middle class as the current Chaircreature, and who currently is the chief advisor in John Paulson's crusade to gobble up every ounce of deliverable physical in the world: former Fed Chairman - Alan Greenspan! In an interview with Fox Business, the man who refuses to go away into that good night: "We have at this particular stage a fiat money which is essentially money printed by a government and it's usually a central bank which is authorized to do so. Some mechanism has got to be in place that restricts the amount of money which is produced, either a gold standard or a currency board, because unless you do that all of history suggest that inflation will take hold with very deleterious effects on economic activity...

Spain to rescue its banks

The Spanish government is set to launch a sweeping restructuring of its troubled regional savings banks in an attempt to reassure the market it can sort out the problems of its financial system.

Bank talks stuck in deadlock on lending

The Treasury has slammed the brakes on the Project Merlin talks with the banking industry as arguments over lending levels derailed plans for an early announcement of a deal.

George Osborne has 53bn reasons to ignore cries for revenge on the banks

What he leaves out of his speech on Saturday will be almost as important as what Sir John Vickers decides to put in.

Appeasement is the proper policy towards Confucian China

We all learned at school how the status quo powers mismanaged the spectacular rise of Germany before World War I, a strategic revolution so like the rise of China today.

SocGen crafts strategy for China hard-landing

Société Générale fears China has lost control over its red-hot economy and risks lurching from boom to bust over the next year, with major ramifications for the rest of the world.

Putting growth before inflation will be the ruin of us

The Bank of England's realm is inflation – it should stay out of social policy, writes Jeremy Warner.

Six golden rules for profitable investing

It looks like a bit of a correction has begun in the markets. Yesterday the FTSE 100 got clobbered again, plunging 109 points to 5,867. This followed a 1.3% drop on Tuesday. It seems investors have suddenly got the jitters that Chinese 'overheating' may be a bigger problem than expected, as John Stepek noted yesterday. Yet just three days ago, everything felt so bullish. Britain's blue chip index hit its highest point since June 2008 in a welter of upbeat sentiment. It all goes to show just how tough it can be to make money in the markets. And with the backdrop so uncertain, 2011 isn't going to get any easier for investors. But there are some golden rules to follow that will keep your portfolio in good shape – regardless of what happens next.

China Monetary Policy: Inflation Won't Last – Growth Will

Investors yesterday (Thursday) were rattled by fears that China's economy is overheating after it was revealed that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 10.3% in 2010. However, the policy changes that will come as a result of the data ultimately will benefit both China and the United States. No doubt, inflation will remain problematic for China in the short-term, but policymakers are poised to respond with tighter lending controls and an appreciation of the nation's currency, the yuan. That will help tame a politically sensitive trade surplus with the United States and ensure more stable growth for the world's second-largest economy.

States Warned of $2 Trillion Pensions Shortfall

US public pensions face a shortfall of $2,500 billion that will force state and local governments to sell assets and make deep cuts to services, according to the former chairman of New Jersey’s pension fund. retired couple paperwork Ron Chapple | Taxi | Getty Images The severe US economic recession has cast a spotlight on years of fiscal mismanagement, including chronic underfunding of retirement promises.

Sell Gold, Buy Silver

You may have noticed that gold is hovering around $1,360 an ounce (sliding recently after a big run-up) and silver is around $30 an ounce. That means in November of 2010 alone, gold increased in price by 2 percent and silver by 14 percent. Investing in gold and silver beats saving money in a bank earning less than 0.1 percent per month. Once again, this is further evidence that savers are losers as central banks of the world print trillions of dollars.

Spain Cancels Market Auction, As It, Portugal And Belgium Go Syndicate, Spook Bond Investors (Again)

The reverse dutch auction model for Europe's insolvent countries is dead. Earlier today Spain announced it would cancel its planned bond auction for January 20, and instead plough ahead with syndicated issuance.

Hu Gets Full State Honors as Visit Displays Obama's Dueling Views of China

President Barack Obama often portrays China as an economic bogeyman. With Chinese leader Hu Jintao in Washington, the U.S. president will pivot, emphasizing China as a partner and marketplace.

Europe fears motives of Chinese super-creditor

The EU authorities fear that China's purpose in buying eurozone debt may be double-edged, intended to push up the euro exchange rate against the yuan and gain advantage for exports.

France and Germany veto increase in EU rescue fund

Germany and France have rejected calls by Brussels for a rapid increase in the size and powers of the EU's rescue machinery, once again exposing serious differences at the heart of monetary union.

US property looks cheap – but not quite cheap enough

In 2010, banks repossessed some one million homes in the US. According to RealtyTrac, 2.9 million households were subject to foreclosure filing. Over 25% of American homes are in negative equity. With prices down about 25% from the peak, this housing crash is considered as bad as, if not worse than, that of the Great Depression. There is blood on the streets. So is it time to buy? Let's take a look...

Why coal is the fuel of the future

The floods in northern Australia have been horrendous to watch. I spent some time in Brisbane about ten years ago. I know that natural disasters occur around the world all the time. But it brings it home to you when it happens to a place that you recognise. As well as being tragic on a human level, the floods in Queensland, along with other bad weather stories around the world, highlight how vulnerable the global economy is to disruptions in our supply chain. We've seen food prices surge to dangerous levels, for a start. But the damage to Queensland specifically highlights our dependence on one particular commodity – coal...

Questor share tip: Rio Tinto is a buy but must diversify to show true mettle

Mining giant Rio Tinto posted a record production report this week – with output of iron ore of particular note. With commodity prices at such elevated levels this is very good news – especially when it comes to that all-important cash flow. Questor says buy.

Strong China growth boosted by near £1 trillion of loans

China’s economy grew by 10.3pc in 2010 buoyed on an enormous wave of new money and easy credit.

Can Apple blossom without Steve Jobs?

The man who brought us the iPod, iPhone and iPad has gone on indefinite sick leave. Alistair Osborne asks how much his genius will be missed.

Myth and reality in world energy famine

As on most things, economists disagree – sometimes violently – on the question of whether apparently ballooning global demand for energy can be met in an economically sustainable way. There are many different schisms, but just two over-arching tendencies.

Brazil slams brakes to curb inflation, risking hot money tsunami

Brazil has raised interest rates sharply, following China, India and host of countries across the emerging world in acting to curb inflation and counter the flood of dollar liquidity from the US.

Goldman Sachs shuns the BRICs for Wall Street

Goldman Sachs has issued a short-term alert on China and India as inflation rears its ugly head, advising clients to rotate into Wall Street and Old World bourses as a safer bet over coming months.

At Least One Euro-Zone Country Could Go Bankrupt

Billions in loans have succeeded in pulling Greece and Ireland back from the brink of bankruptcy. But many bankers are still expecting the worst. A new Ernst & Young survey reports that almost half of German banking executives think at least one euro-zone country will go belly up.

Japan to buy euro zone bonds, but markets expect little impact

Japan said Tuesday it was ready to buy euro zone bonds in a mark of support for the struggling trading bloc. Analysts say Tokyo could do with some goodwill after its market intervention to curb the yen drew fire from its trading partners.

Continued U.S. Housing Price Decline Won’t Derail the U.S. Economic Rebound

U.S. housing prices still have further to fall -perhaps a lot further. In fact, depending upon the circumstances, the additional price declines could be quite steep. But here's the shocker: That decline won't necessarily cause a "double-dip" recession. In fact, it probably won't even derail the U.S. economic recovery. Let me explain.

How low will gold go?

Gold and silver have both entered a correction phase. Gold began 2011 at around $1,420 an ounce. By the end of last week, it was more than 3% lower at $1,370. Silver, meanwhile, toasted the New Year at around $31 an ounce. Celebrations were due – it had risen some 80% in 2010 – but the hangover quickly set in. A week later it was down more than 5% at around $28.60. Meanwhile, at $34, Silver Wheaton – one of the leading silver stocks – is now down over 20% from its early December high of $42. That's quite a wallop. But gold and silver have had a stellar 12 months. This correction is overdue. And it's one that I welcome. Nothing goes up in a straight line and all that. Ultimately, it will add to the longevity of this bull market.

The biggest threat to growth is public policy

One of the positives to emerge from the banking crisis was the way in which it galvanised countries across the globe into a common policy response. It seemed to work. A depression was averted. Output for the world economy as a whole is back above pre-crisis levels and growth is again strong.

Portugal defiant as pressure builds for rescue

Portugal's leaders vowed yesterday to overcome the country's debt woes without the need for an EU-IMF loan package, despite dissent within its own central bank and pressure from northern Europe for a fast resolution of the crisis.

Banks Lose Pivotal Foreclosure Case in Massachusetts High Court

US Bancorp and Wells Fargo & Co. lost a foreclosure case in Massachusetts’s highest court that will guide lower courts in that state and may influence others in the clash between bank practices and state real estate law. The ruling drove down bank stocks.

Crisis Is 'Systemic' for Europe: Greek Finance Minister

Greek Finance Minister George Papanconstantinou sought to reassure investors over the country’s debt burden on Tuesday, saying spreads between Greek and German bonds were high because of broader market turbulence rather than a real threat of default.

Could the Federal Reserve Become Insolvent?

The U.S. Federal Reserve's journey to the outer limits of monetary policy is raising concerns about how hard it will be to withdraw trillions of dollars in stimulus from the banking system when the time is right. Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, DC. While that day seems distant now, some economists and market analysts have even begun pondering the unthinkable: could the vaunted Fed, the world's most powerful central bank, become insolvent? Almost by definition, the answer is no.

Gallup Finds Unemployment at 9.6% in December

Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, increased to 9.6% at the end of December -- up from 9.3% in mid-December and 8.8% at the end of November.

What Portugal's plight means for the euro

Poor old Portugal. Christmas delivered a brief respite. But it's a long 12 months until December rolls around again. And the markets seem convinced that way before then, Portugal will have held out its hand for a bail-out from the European Union, the International Monetary Fund, or whoever else holds all the money these days.

The biggest threat to the eurozone – Germany's recovery

The eurozone seems to have a new saviour - China. This morning, one central bank official declared that "the euro and the European financial markets… are and will be one of the most important investment areas for China's foreign-exchange reserves." And earlier this week, the country pledged to buy more Spanish government debt. And yet, European debt has suddenly started worrying the markets again. The euro slid sharply against the dollar yesterday. And government bond yields were heading higher too. So what's got investors fretting again all of a sudden?

What's Really Behind Goldman's Facebook Investment

Facebook has raised $500 million from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE: GS) and Russian investment firm Digital Sky Technologies, which implies that the social media darling is valued at a staggering $50 billion. This reminds me of the valuations being assigned to Internet companies leading up to the "dot.bomb" crash. There's no way a company that relies on nothing more than bits of information – the vast majority of which are summarily ignored by the community that supposedly finds it so compelling – should have a valuation approaching The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS), equal to The Boeing Co. (NYSE: BA), and greater than Time Warner Inc. (NYSE: TWX).

Don't invest in the UK high street

Britain's economy is suffering from a split personality. Our manufacturing industries are booming. Output, export orders and employment are all rising fast, according to the latest survey of UK factory activity. The headline PMI (Purchasing Managers' Index) reading has just hit a 16-year high of 58.3. That's streets ahead of the key '50' level that marks the split between contraction and growth. By contrast, the high street seems to be fast becoming a disaster zone. So what does this mean for investors?

An Open Letter to Washington: How to Slash the Federal Budget Deficit and Save the U.S. Economy

In this open letter to U.S. President Barack Obama and members of Congress, Hutchinson outlines a five-point plan that will essentially save the U.S. economy.

ARM: a UK technology company we can be proud of

Those so quick to write off UK plc should sit up and take note. Today’s alliance with Microsoft has confirmed Cambridge-based Arm Holding’s position as a world beating technology company.

Imbalances between East and West will grow and grow

"If something cannot go on forever, it will stop", Herb Stein, President Nixon's economic adviser, once said in one of those statements of the blindingly obvious which has since assumed the status of Delphic wisdom.

EMU debt crisis edges ever closer to the core

The eurozone's debt crisis is once again in danger of spiralling out of control after yields on Portuguese debt spiked to a post-EMU high and contagion hit Spain and Belgium.

Deepening crisis traps America's have-nots

The US is drifting from a financial crisis to a deeper and more insidious social crisis. Self-congratulation by the US authorities that they have this time avoided a repeat of the 1930s is premature.

Chile opts for record intervention to stem peso rise

* Peso seen weakening immediately on intervention move * Doubts over intervention's long-term effectiveness * Chile joins regional peers after mounting pressure * Dollar purchases to start Jan. 5, continue to late Dec.

Must See: Howard Davidowitz Destroys The Recovery Illusion, Debunks The Consumer Renaissance

There should not be recovery on real estate prices

How China's inflation will affect your investments in 2011

Happy New Year! I hope you had a great Christmas. China delivered a slightly unusual Christmas present for the markets this year: an interest rate hike. It was just a little one. Nothing to rattle the horses too badly. And it hasn't stopped the bull market in commodities – copper has continued to hit record highs, for example. But it's a warning of what's likely to be one of the biggest themes of the year – how the rest of the world will cope as China goes into inflation-fighting mode...

Investors' intentions for 2011 hold some surprises

There's no particular reason to choose this time of year to re-assess our investments, but a surfeit of spare time and a seasonal urge to do better ensures that many of us will be doing so this weekend.

Estonia's step away from Russia no guide for others to join the rocky euro

Poland and the Czech Republic can afford to take their time before committing irrevocably to the rocky euro. For Estonia and fellow Baltic states, EMU is a strategic imperative.

My thoughts

Regarding the main items discussed in the before four posted articles I believe:

• U.S. unemployment situation will not dramatically change;

•  The only way Real State in U.S.can improve is with subsidies from the government, so forclosures will continue increasing;

• Municipal debt problems could be a potential source of future crisis;

• I do not expect more QE because there appears to be signals of inflation;

•  I don't believe China will change its currency exchange rate policy unless it should be for Chinas convenience;

• China will continue their strategic acquisitions (resources and agricultural commodities); 

• EU will face more sovereign debt problems;

• Initially stock market will over react;

• With uncertainly gold price will increase;

•  Upon crisis there were two different ways to follow: ortodoxial one and that we are following. If Bernanke has the ability to understand when it is needed to switch to the ortodoxial way (i.e when inflation rate needs increase in interest rates to acomodate) may be there is a chance for sucess, if he fails alll was a matter of time;

•  Us is far of hyperinflation. To better understand how it works see http://www.hiperinflacion-uca.com.ar/descarga.php.

German Inflation Unexpectedly Quickens as Prices Jump Most in Eight Years

Inflation in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, unexpectedly accelerated in December as prices surged in the final month of the year.

White House Warns Failure to Raise Debt Ceiling Would Mean Economic 'Crisis'

The top White House economic adviser warned lawmakers Sunday that the United States faces a catastrophe if Congress does not raise the debt ceiling, as spend-averse Republicans indicated they'd be willing to support the increase so long as certain conditions are met. The debt ceiling debate is one of the first major legislative clashes on tap as lawmakers return to Washington this coming week for the start of the 112th Congress. The $13.9 trillion national debt is creeping closer to its $14.3 trillion ceiling, and a vote to increase that limit is expected in the spring.

Gold, Dollar, Euro & China: Four To Tango in 2011

For the most part of 2010, the typical image of Europe—one of cultural sophistication—has been replaced by widespread riots, burning cars, large scale strikes over labor reform and unemployment resulting from austerity measures amid a sovereign debt crisis in the region.

ROBERT SHILLER: If House Prices Keep Falling This Fast, The Economy Is Screwed

Housing guru Robert Shiller says the decline in October's Case-Shiller house-price index was much worse than expected (over 10% annualized).

China Cuts Export Quotas for Rare Earths by 35%

China cut its export quotas for rare earths by 35 percent in the first round of permits for 2011, threatening to extend a global shortage of the minerals needed for smartphones, hybrid cars and guided missiles.

China Trade Minister Sees 'Chronic' Euro Debt Problem

here are no quick fixes for Europe's debt crisis and China must be on the alert for any escalation of the problem, especially in January and February, China's Commerce Minister Chen Deming was quoted as saying on Friday.

No End In Sight To Equity Outflows As Stock Boycott Persists Despite Largest Bond Outflow Since Lehman Failure

For the second week in a row, those claiming that flows will any.minute.now. shift away from bonds and go to equities are proven dead wrong. ICI has just reported that in the week ended December 15, not only was there another massive outflow, the 33rd in a row, from domestic equity mutual funds to the tune of $2.4 billion, but taxable and municipal bonds saw a stunning $8.6 billion in outflows, including another record $4.9 billion in muni outflows.

IMF says completes 403.3 tonnes gold sales program

The International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday it had concluded the sale of 403.3 tonnes of gold under a program approved in September 2009 to help boost its lending resources.

James Turk - Writing on the Wall, Hyperinflation is Very Near

With gold and silver consolidating recent gains, King World News interviewed James Turk out of Spain. When asked about the action in both gold and silver Turk stated, “Rising interest rates along with the surge in commodity prices that we have been seeing in the back half of this year is writing on the wall that hyperinflation is very near. If anyone needs further proof just look at what QE2 is already doing. The Fed is turning government debt that the market doesn’t want into currency which is the cause of all hyperinflation.”

Serious problems ahead for the British pound

Last week the British pound fell 3.0% against the US dollar. Some say it was because of UK bank exposure to Spain, which Moody’s warned could be downgraded. Others blamed the UK’s close economic link and heavy debt exposure to Ireland, which Moody’s did actually downgrade last week by 5-levels to Baa1. This low grade is barely above junk status. These downgrades in different corners of Europe no doubt had some impact on Sterling’s weakness, but there is I think another factor closer to home. It is the growing awareness of the runaway spending and borrowing by the British government. Despite all the rhetoric and promised cuts in spending by the newly elected coalition, the hard fact is that government spending and borrowing continue to soar – and look as if they are spiraling out of control. The following chart illustrates the magnitude of the problem as UK government debt nears £1 trillion.

Gold: Currency Wars and China

Once again gold has made fresh highs as the Fed prepares its second or is it the third round of quantitative easing (a.k.a. money printing) which involves buying assets (a.k.a debt) to drive down yields and hopefully stimulate more borrowing and spending. Two years after the Lehman collapse and implosion of the housing sector, the financial system is still on life support. With an anaemic domestic market of lost jobs, lost homes and lost income, the Americans, Europe and Japan are trying the familiar false remedies of subsidies and competitive devaluations to give exports a boost. And now the sovereign debt troubles of the weaker members of the euro-zone threaten to take the system down again.

Saving the Euro - Merkel's Ironic Victory in Brussels

It hasn't been an easy year for the EU, or for Angela Merkel. She played chief skeptic during the euro crisis, but the role ironically led her to forge a rescue mechanism for the continent's embattled currency.

Bernanke’s problem

Ben Bernanke in a recent interview on CBS said the following: “Well, this fear of inflation, I think is way overstated. We’ve looked at it very, very carefully. We’ve analyzed it every which way. One myth that’s out there is that what we’re doing is printing money. We’re not printing money. The amount of currency in circulation is not changing. The money supply is not changing in any significant way. What we’re doing is lowering interest rates by buying treasury securities. And by lowering interest rates, we hope to stimulate the economy to grow faster. So, the trick is to find the appropriate moment when to begin to unwind this policy. And that’s what we’re going to do.”

2011 Energy Prices and Speculator's Role in Oil Trade

Some important questions and answers for 2011

Beware of Underestimating China

We've talked a lot about China in recent years – about its miraculous growth, the strain it puts on the world's resources, and the fact that China's leaders seem to “get” the emerging commodity squeeze in ways that Western leaders do not.

High inflation is a cock-up not a conspiracy

Recent news about inflation has all been in one direction – up. As a result, those who had been warning about the inflation danger have been crowing.

China slows as tightening start to bite

China's industrial growth has begun to slow as a string of measures to choke excess credit and control inflation feed through the economy, threatening to curb the country's voracious appetite for commodities.

Italy's debt costs approach red zone

Italy's borrowing costs have jumped to the highest level since the financial crisis over two years ago, raising concerns that Europe's biggest debtor may slip from the eurozone's stable core into the high-risk group on the periphery.

One of the biggest threats facing investors in 2011

Suddenly, everyone's a bull on the US. The Dow has climbed back to where it was before Lehman Brothers collapsed in September 2008. And it seems that investors' attitudes have flipped to match. Nomura's 2011 client poll shows that 26% of the firm's customers now see America as the country "most likely to see a growth surprise on the upside" next year. That's almost double the percentage for anywhere else. Even arch-bear Professor Nouriel Roubini has just conceded that the US economy could grow by 3% in 2011. Yet a real US 'nasty' could be set to bite markets in 2011…

Motorola 4G Phone Comes to Verizon – Will the iPhone be Next?

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ) last week struck a deal to make Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) the first handset maker to enter the market using the carrier's new, fourth-generation (4G) high-speed network. The network, which employs a technology called Long-Term Evolution (LTE), is designed to provide wireless Internet connections fast enough to compete with land-based cable modems or fiber optic technology. "We've got LTE smartphones on the horizon," Stratton told The Wall Street Journal in an interview. "Motorola will be right there."

Biotech Stocks Will be Fueled by Takeovers in 2011

While a number of companies are on the verge of hitting the market with exciting new drug products or medical treatments, the biggest 2011 profits for investors in the biotech stocks are more likely to come from mergers and acquisitions (M&A) than research and development (R&D). That's because mergers and buyouts in the industry have far outpaced the sector's overall growth rate, which in recent years has been sluggish. Indeed, IMS Health, a leading research and analytical firm serving the pharmaceutical and medical industries, projects only a slight increase in worldwide growth in 2011 - 5% to 7% versus a pace of 4% to 5% this year - with a similarly restrained outlook stretching out to 2015. By contrast, virtually every major player in pharmaceuticals worked at least one M&A deal in 2010. That trend is expected to continue, if not accelerate, in the years ahead as drug companies look to broaden product lines, replace revenues lost to patent expiration and expand into emerging markets, where the industry growth rate is much higher in than in the developed nations.