What We Read Today 06 March 2014

Econintersect: Every day our editors collect the most interesting things they find from around the internet and present a summary “reading list” which will include very brief summaries of why each item has gotten our attention. Suggestions from readers for “reading list” items are gratefully reviewed, although sometimes space limits the number included.

• Suicidal Tendencies Are Evident Before Deployment, Study Finds (Benedict Carey, The New York Times) The rate of occurrence of a “intermittent explosive disorder,” as it is known to psychiatrists, is more than five times the rate found in the general population.

• How the Ukraine crisis ends (Henry Kissinger, The Washington Post) The former U.S. Secretary of State says that Ukraine cannot exist as part of the EU or as a Russian satellite: The only solution is for an independent country which functions as a bridge between Russia and the rest of Europe.

• Doom All Around You (Reverse Engineer, Doomstead Diner) Reverse Engineer contributes to Global Economic Intersection. A real rant on the degradation of predator financial economics and the banksters’ corporate cronies. Warning: This podcast and article is in the classical Gonzo journalism tradition, including a healthy portion of foul language.

• U.S. tries to find savings in penny-pinching – literally (Gabriel Debenedetti, Reuters, MSN Money) Doesn’t reverse seigniorage also put money into the economy in the same way that any federal deficit does?

• Bitcoin firm CEO found dead in suspected suicide (Michael Gray, New York Post) Hat tip to Sig Silber. The eighth questionable circumstance death in the financial sector so far this year occurred last Friday in Singapore.

• IBM workers strike in China over terms of Lenovo takeover (Tom Mitchell and Charles Clover, Financial Times) IBM workers (more than 1,000 strong) have struck the IBM low-end server plant in Shandong province near Hong Kong. The plant is due to be transferred by IBM to Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo as part of the sale of the server business announced in January. The workers are demanding more compensation to make the transfer to the new owner and also for workers who choose not to make the move or are let go. The action has been taken independently of the official government-backed union. The FT says that such actions are becoming more of a concern for companies trying to make cross-border mergers and acquisitions. They cite a deal that fell apart last year between Cooper Tire (also in Shandong) and Apollo Tyres of India.

There are 15 more articles discussed today ‘behind the wall’.

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