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Morning News, 4-16-15

From Bloomberg:

Netflix Soars as Streaming-Video Customers Top 62 Million

Netflix Inc. said its video-streaming service topped 62 million subscribers worldwide, as original shows such as “House of Cards” drew new viewers globally. The shares soared to a record high.

U.S. subscribers jumped by 2.28 million in the first quarter, while international accounts rose 2.6 million, the Los Gatos, California-based company said Wednesday on its website. Both figures beat the company’s Jan. 20 forecast. Sales grew 24 percent to $1.57 billion, matching analysts’ projections. (More here)

Japan's elderly prisonersJapan’s Prisons Are Turning Into Nursing Homes

Most prisons spend a lot of time and effort keeping inmates from escaping. In Japan, the greater challenge is persuading convicts to leave.

Among developed economies, Japan has one of the highest proportions of elderly prisoners. Crimes committed by senior citizens have quadrupled over the past two decades. Today, almost one in five convicts is over 60. (Continue)

Swiss Currency Following Swiss National Bank's Decision To End Franc CapThe Cash-Only World: Two Billion People and Shrinking Fast

About 2 billion adults worldwide are "unbanked," down from 2.5 billion in 2011, the World Bank says in a new report based on a survey of about 150,000 people in more than 140 countries. Unbanked people are frozen out of the financial system and must deal strictly in cash: no deposits, no checks, no mortgages, no ATMs. (Full article)

Lew Urges Greece to Reach Deal With Creditors to Avoid Euro Exit

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew urged Greece and its international creditors to reach an agreement on steps that need to be taken to avoid the nation’s exit from the euro and any resulting crisis.

“There’s no doubt that if this leads to a crisis such as Greece leaving the euro zone, it will cause an enormous amount of disruption and hardship in Greece,” Lew said in an interview Wednesday. “Even if the contagion risk is much less now than it was, say, in 2012 and earlier, it would not be a good thing in a world economy just recovering from a deep recession to have that kind of uncertainty introduced.” (Read more)

Former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. BernankeBernanke Makes Case for Keeping Fed’s Balance Sheet Large

U.S. monetary authorities ought to consider making the central bank’s big balance sheet a permanent fixture, said former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

“I wonder if the case for keeping the balance sheet somewhat larger than before the crisis has been adequately explored,” Bernanke said on Wednesday in prepared remarks to an event at the International Monetary Fund in Washington. “Indeed, most other major central banks have permanently large balance sheets and are able to implement monetary policy without problems.” (Continue reading)

Page and Brin Lag Euro Stocks as the EU Goes After Google

Google Inc. founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are struggling to maintain upward momentum this year, as company shares have declined from their 2015 high on March 5. The fall comes as the European Union escalates a four-year-old probe that accuses the company of abusing its search engine dominance. (More)

                    

 

Four Ways Rich People Can Still Hide Their Money

Wealthy Americans are running out of ways to hide their money. The IRS has been relentless in prying open the secret Swiss bank account—dozens of Swiss banks are cooperating with the agency. Just last month, a settlement with the private bank BSI revealed bankers used coded language and nameless credit cards to help Americans avoid taxes.  Credit Suisse and UBS, Switzerland’s largest banks, have already paid fines for similar shenanigans. (More here)

The Latest Numbers From China Show the Government Is Facing a Huge Challenge

China’s GDP growth came in on target in the first quarter. Slumping output in March, a slide into deflation and an expanding credit bubble underline the magnitude of the challenge the economy continues to face. We believe the weeks ahead will see the government intensifying efforts to support growth. (Read more)

                      

 

Ask Putin Anything the Kremlin Will Let You: a Guide to His Call-In Show

Russians get their opportunity to shower praise on President Vladimir Putin or to win a promise to solve their problems when he holds his annual televised call-in show.

More than ever, though, they are now worried by Russia’s confrontation with the U.S. and its allies over the conflict in Ukraine, said Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov. (More)

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