>>> Asia Update

Asian Market Update: Yen at fresh 5-year lows as China, Korea express concern on currency

***Observations/Insights*** - ECB Pres Draghi interviewed in German press over the weekend, reiterating the absence of evidence of deflation would keep the ECB on the sidelines with no further cuts to is main interest rate. - Japanese press speculating Toyota's FY results would top estimates, helped by weaker yen rates than the ¥92-97 range conservatively estimated when the company last offered FY13/14 guidance. - FT interview with IMF's Lipton noting Japan GDP would likely be upgraded for the coming year; Lipton saw the first arrow of Abenomics - monetary policy - delivering results in 2013, but also calling for the start of fiscal and structural changes as intended in the remaining "arrows". - China NDRC joins South Korea amid growing concern that weak Yen unfairly benefits Japanese exporters at the expense of other regional economies. Separately, China naval ships briefly enter Japan's territorial waters around the disputed islands, marking the first reported intrusion since the controversial Yasukuni shrine visit by PM Abe last week. Analysts speculate whether the rising political tensions reverberate through more vocal opposition to Japan's aggressive expansionary monetary policy. - Australia's Port Hedland closes iron loading operations ahead of the arrival of cyclone Christine.

***Economic Data*** - (KR) SOUTH KOREA NOV CURRENT ACCOUNT BALANCE: $6.03B V $9.51B PRIOR; GOODS BALANCE: $6.18B V $7.03B PRIOR - (KR) SOUTH KOREA NOV INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION M/M: 0.0% V -0.5%E; Y/Y: -1.3% V -0.8%E - (KR) SOUTH KOREA NOV CYCLICAL LEADING INDEX CHANGE Y/Y: 0.2% V 0.4% PRIOR - (UK) UK DEC HOMETRACK HOUSING SURVEY M/M: 0.5% V 0.5% PRIOR; Y/Y: 4.4% V 3.8% PRIOR; 2013 home price gains of 4.4% follows decline of -0.3% in 2012.

***Fixed Income/Commodities/Currencies*** - (JP) BOJ offers to buy ¥250B in 1-3yr JGBs, ¥250B in 3-5yr JGBs, and ¥140B in floating-rate JGBs - (CN) Daily Shibor fixings: O/N: 3.2050% v 3.5130% prior (5th consecutive decline); 1-week: 4.8410% v 5.0670% prior (5th consecutive decline) - USD/CNY: (CN) PBoC sets yuan mid point at 6.1024 v 6.1050 prior setting (record high setting for Yuan) - SLV: iShares Silver Trust ETF daily holdings fall to 9,958 tonnes (lowest since 9,905 on July 1st) from 10,009 tonnes - GLD: SPDR Gold Trust ETF daily holdings fall 3.0 tonnes to 801.2 tonnes (lowest since Jan 2009)

- USD majors tracked in narrow ranges amid thin holiday trade with little deviation from recent trends of relatively weaker JPY and AUD / stronger EUR and USD. USD/JPY hit fresh 5-year highs, reaching as far 105.40, EUR/USD traded up toward 1.3770 on Draghi comments before pulling back to 1.3740, AUD/USD fell over 30pips to session lows below 0.8840, while NZD/USD reversed initial gains above 0.8160 to briefly fall below 0.8120. In yen crosses, EUR/JPY was up about 50pips from Friday close, briefly testing 145 handle. GBP/JPY backed away from 173.80 - also up about 50pips from prior session at its high point.

***Speakers/Political/In the Papers*** - (CN) China National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC): need to closely monitor effects on China and South Korea exports from weaken Yen - (CN) China Commerce Min (MOFCOM) Gao Hucheng: reiterates 2013 retail sales likely +13% y/y to reach CNY23.8T; Imports and exports may exceed record $4T, +7% y/y - (CN) China Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT): China has prominent overcapacity problems - Chinese press - (CN) China Premier Li Keqiang: to maintain appropriate liquidity level in 2014 - Chinese press - (CN) China govt to evaluate the performance of SOEs in 2014 and "severely deal" with underperforming companies - Xinhua - (JP) Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) agree to raise wages (1st time in six years) - Japanese press - (JP) Okinawa governor approves relocation of US military base - financial press - (JP) Japan PM Abe: Will consider economic data for Q3 of 2014 before deciding on whether to continue with higher consumption tax - Japan press - (JP) 3 Chinese coast guard ships temporarily entered Japan's territorial waters around the disputed Senkaku islands on Sunday - financial press - (JP) IMF's Lipton: IMF will probably upgrade its growth forecast for Japan - FT interview - (AU) Australia's Pilbara region shutters loading operations on Sunday ahead of the arrival of Cyclone Christine on Monday - financial press - (IN) India Fin Min Chidambaram: Lowers FY14 current-account deficit (CAD) forecast further to below $50B - press - (KR) South Korea Ministry of Knowledge Economy: Nov industrial electricity sales rose 4.2% y/y to 22.3B kwh - Korean press - (KR) South Korea Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries: Container cargo handling at South Korean seaports in Nov rose 1.2% y/y to 113.7M tons - Korean press - (KR) South Korea Trade Min Yoon: Weakness in yen may add to difficulties for South Korea exporters - financial press - (KR) South Korea Dep Fin Min: South Korea concerned about yen's rapid depreciation against won - financial press

**MENA/Europe** - (EU) ECB's Draghi: see no signs of deflation, and no urgent need for further cut in the main interest rate - Spiegel interview - (GR) Greece Fin Min Stournaras: Reiterates view that Greece is preparing return to the bond markets in H2 of 2014 - Greek press - (FR) Top court in France approves a proposal for companies to pay 75% tax on annual salaries above €1M - press - (SY) Syria has yet to remove chemical arms from key sites as deadline approaches - UN joint mission statement - (RU) Suicide bomber struck railway station in Volgograd, Russia; at least 15 fatalities reported - financial press

***Equities*** Market Snapshot (as of 04:30 GMT): - Nikkei225 +0.5%, S&P/ASX +0.5%, Kospi +0.1%, Shanghai Composite +0.1%, Hang Seng +0.1%, Mar S&P500 flat at 1,836, Feb gold -0.4% at $1,209, Feb crude oil -0.1% at $100.26/brl

US markets: - CROX: Reaffirms Q4 at lower end of prior guided -$0.23 to -$0.20 v -$0.21e, Rev $220-225M v $222Me on Oct 30th; Confirms $200M investment from Blackstone in convertible preferred shares

Notable movers by sector: - Consumer discretionary: Fujian Furi Electronics 600203.CN +0.7% (denies speculation on wearable product); Maruha Nichiro Holdings 1334.JP -2.7% (product recall); Changfeng Axle China Co 1039.HK +10.6% (acquires stake in JV) - Industrials: Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine 042660.KR -0.6% (rig sinks by accident); Toyota Motor Corp 7203.JP +0.5% (speculation on FY13/14 results); Hyundai Motor Co 005380.KR +2.4% (to increase overseas production); Tengda Construction Group 600512.CN +1.3% (awarded contract); Xiamen International Airport 600897.CN +6.8%, Xiamen ITG Group 600755.CN +9.7%, Xiamen Port Development +7.8% (Xiamen submits FTZ application); Austal Ltd ASB.AU +1.7% (awarded contract); Mazda Motor Corp 7261.JP -0.2% (cuts target for China unit) - Financials: Central China Real Estate Ltd 832.HK +1.2% (rating action) - Materials: Forge Group FGE.AU +57.1% (awarded contract) - Healthcare: Sichuan Kelun Pharmaceutical 002422.CN +2.5% (receives approval from GMP) - Technology: Shenzhen Coship Electronics 002052.CN +3.3% (internet TV project); Samsung Electronics 005930.KR -2.1% (speculation on Q4 results); Sony Corp 6758.JP +2.3% (reverses decision to sell battery unit)

WSJ : Beware the Tech Bubble—But Stay Calm

Beware the Tech Bubble—But Stay Calm
How to Reap the Best of the Sector While Staving Off Irrational Exuberance

I spend a lot of time worrying about the next tech bubble. It's my job to worry, of course, and this year, worrying became a full-time occupation.

Ever since Facebook's FB -3.97% stock price rebounded this year to the level of its initial public offering, tech startups have seen an incredible run-up in valuations. Boxrecently raised financing that valued the data-storage company for businesses at $2 billion, almost double its value when it raised funds in the summer of last year. The value of Palantir, whose software analyzes data for law-enforcement agencies, shot up to $9 billion from $6 billion in just three months. Even more suspicious are the dollars being thrown at companies that barely make money: Pinterest's investors value it at nearly $4 billion, for instance, and Facebook was willing to pay around $3 billion for Snapchat.

Then there are other, less tangible signs that the tech sector is becoming unmoored. The industry's towering ambitions, its capacity to skew local economies and its swaggering, tin-eared way of dealing with the rest of the world (witness Silicon Valley's secession movement) all came into sharp relief this year.

Doesn't this feel like a bubble? And, if it is, shouldn't we do something about it?

We should. I'm not convinced that we're in a bubble now, that the tech sector is too hot or that we're somehow spinning out of control, however. At the same time, it's not unreasonable to fear that we might get there soon, perhaps next year.

With that in mind, I've come up with a simple, two-step guide for reaping the best from tech while staving off the next bout of irrational exuberance. Think of it as my year-end gift to you, a clip-and-save guide for preventing a new tech bubble.

Step 1: Worry. If you're an investor, employee, founder, tech journalist or in some other way connected to the tech business, worrying about the bubble is your best defense against the bubble. Worrying keeps you sharp. Worrying keeps magical thinking at bay. As in the 1990s, the tech industry is pushing grand, society-transforming novelties on the rest of the world. If you're not worried that some of these claims are crazy, you're not paying attention.

Step 2: Don't panic. Don't let your anxiety become all-consuming. If you study the last dot-com boom, you'll see profound differences between what happened then and what's happening now. Unlike in the 1990s, today's public markets have yet to fully buy in to the boom; it's difficult to take a tech company public, and a newly public company can expect to be judged harshly by the press and investors if it shows any sign of weakness. This factor—the stock market's demand for results—is an enormous difference from the last boom. And it is reason enough to hold off on any panic.

Now, I know that my plan—worry, but don't panic—sounds like a glib, easy way to deal with tech's rise. As a columnist, I strive for firmer, less squishy opinions. I want to say, "Hey, keep partying, there's no bubble!" or "Everyone hide, doom awaits, the end is nigh!"

But unfortunately, the truth is more nuanced and complicated. People with an interest in tech should be on guard against the bubble at the same time they are open to the transformative powers of tech. Maintaining the right balance between skepticism and optimism isn't simple. But looking at the overall market, it does look like we've got the worst impulses in check, at least for now.

As my colleagues have pointed out, the major difference between today's investing climate and that of the last boom concerns IPOs. In the 1990s, companies went public soon after they were founded, with far less revenue than today's IPOs have and with far more enthusiasm from investors and the media.

Today the game is different. Again and again over the last couple of years, we've seen market skepticism swoop in to pop an emerging bubble. Look what happened to Facebook when it struggled to generate mobile-ad revenue after its IPO. Look at how investors punished Groupon GRPN -2.34% and Zynga ZNGA -2.95% as soon as their revenue and user growth began to slide. Recall how flash-storage company Violin Memory VMEM -2.28% turned into one of the year's most disastrous IPOs, after it delivered terrible financial results.

Note, too, that while today's tech startups offer a dizzying array of new technologies, most aren't peddling brand-new business models. For the most part, today's tech darlings make money from ads, e-commerce or corporate sales. These are all well-functioning, mature businesses, sectors where markets have developed expertise about how to tell a titan from a turkey. And when they notice anything that gobbles like a turkey (see Groupon's fishy metrics), they attack.

But what about those towering valuations for pre-IPO startups? What about the outsize expectations for risky-looking businesses like Snapchat and Pinterest?

Here's a thought experiment: If these valuations turn out to be wrong, who gets hurt? The answer: private investors and employees, not the public at large.

"In some ways, what's happened is that we've transferred risk from the public market to the private market," says Danielle Morrill, the chief executive of Mattermark, which collects data on the growth of startups. "Snapchat got this huge valuation, but it isn't in the public market, so there's a limit to how many people they can screw over if they're wrong."

That, I think, is a key detail.

Is the tech sector overheated? Maybe. Maybe not. I don't know. But at least the nation's retirement funds aren't riding on it anymore.

And as long as that's true, I may worry about the bubble, but I won't panic.

WSJ : 2014 Should be Brighter for Euro Zone

2014 Should be Brighter for Euro Zone

Knock on wood while saying it, but the euro zone did more than just survive the past year.

At the start of 2013, worry persisted about whether the currency bloc had done enough to prevent a fresh descent into crisis. Now, there are good reasons to believe relative calm may persist for 12 more months.

Europe isn't free of problems. But the channels by which issues in one country could swiftly engulf the wider bloc have been broken. In 2013, various flashpoints—from Italy's elections to Portugal's political strife to Cyprus' bailout—caused little more than localized market ripples.

Economically, 2014 should be brighter. The euro zone might grow 1% in 2014, according to Deutsche Bank, DBK.XE +0.73% after a contraction of 0.4% in 2013. Indicators such as Markit's purchasing managers indexes and the European Commission's economic-sentiment indicator have all continued to rise.

Less-austere 2014 government budgets mean that the drag on the economy should fall to 0.3% of gross domestic product from almost 1%, Berenberg Bank notes. The European Central Bank delivered a rate cut in November; it may well provide further support.

Progress has been made on strengthening Europe's institution. The ECB's intervention proved decisive,And now European politicians have hammered out at least the underpinnings of a banking union. That is an important step forward.

Not that it is all smooth sailing from here. While Ireland has graduated from its bailout, Portugal is likely to require fresh Europeanassistance to regain market access. Greece still needs debt relief. Unemployment stands at 12.1% in the euro area, and is more than 20% in Spain and Greece.

Meantime, France and Italy both need reform to unlock their growth potential. The challenge for French President François Hollande, in particular, is mounting.

Elsewhere, the German Constitutional Court will rule on the ECB's program for "outright monetary transactions," the bond-purchase program that has proved vital in quelling the crisis. And the ECB's stress tests of banks' balance sheets may yet cause jitters.

Given the experience of 2013, though, and the fact that bond-market stresses have been alleviated by the ECB, these risks look manageable. At worst, they are mostly slow-burn problems.

With growth picking up elsewhere, too, the euro zone may finally have some reason to celebrate.

WSJ : Google, Apple Forge Auto Ties

Google, Apple Forge Auto Ties
Consumer Electronics Show to Spotlight In-Car Digital Race

Technology giants Google Inc. and Apple Inc. are about to expand their battle for digital supremacy to a new front: the automobile.

Next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Google and German auto maker Audi AG plan to announce that they are working together to develop in-car entertainment and information systems that are based on Google's Android software, people familiar with the matter said.

They also plan to disclose collaborative efforts with other automotive and tech companies, including chip maker Nvidia Corp. , to establish Android as an important technology for future vehicles, these people said. The aim is to allow drivers and passengers to access music, navigation, apps and services that are similar to those widely available now on Android-powered smartphones, these people added.

The coming announcements signal Google's response to an initiative launched last June by Apple to integrate iPhones and other devices running its iOS operating system with car makers' dashboard control panels. Apple so far has the support of BMW AG , Daimler AG 's Mercedes-Benz division, General Motors Co. and Honda Motor Co.

Apple and Google already compete fiercely in an array of digital businesses, ranging from smartphones and tablet computers to mobile apps and Web browsers. With 80 million new cars and light trucks sold each year, automobiles represent a significant new opportunity for Internet-based software and services.

"The car is becoming the ultimate mobile device," said Thilo Koslowski, an analyst at the research firm Gartner Inc. who specializes in advanced in-car electronics. "Apple and Google see that and are trying to line up allies to bring their technology into the vehicle."

The annual event known as CES has in recent years become an important showcase for advances in automotive electronics, including the kind of autonomous driving technologies that Google has helped pioneer.

Besides its partnership with the Internet company, Audi is expected to demonstrate new technologies that allow cars to drive themselves in certain situations and for short periods, and to lay out a timetable to offer them on new models due to arrive over the next four or five years, people familiar with the matter said.

A year ago, Audi used the trade show to demonstrate a car that could navigate through a parking garage and pull into a parking space without a driver at the wheel.

Ford Motor Co. is expected to demonstrate an autonomous vehicle it has developed at CES next week. BMW, based in Germany, has also invited reporters to a demonstration of related technology.

The developments, some of which were discussed in an article in electronics trade publication EE Times earlier this month, come as car makers keep adding more computer chips to their new models. Some, such as GM and Audi, have announced plans to equip cars with fourth-generation cellular chips to connect to the Web without requiring a smartphone. GM, for example, plans to equip almost all of the company's 2015 models with the technology to provide a constant wireless broadband connection, said Phil Abram, the auto maker's chief technology officer, during a recent conference call with analysts.

Car makers also are adding powerful processors based on technology that ARM Holdings PLC of Britain licenses to smartphone chip makers. Such processors require operating systems, and Google's free Android software is an emerging option.

"We are starting to see an uptick of Android use in car makers, starting in Asia and working its way across the world," said Rajeev Kumar, a world-wide director of business development for Freescale Semiconductor Inc., a large supplier of chips used in cars.

As they approach the auto market, technology providers are compelled to create offerings that don't require drivers to take their eyes off the road or their hands off the steering wheel. Apple has some key technology in that field.

The Silicon Valley company's voice-based Siri technology, for example, can read out incoming text messages and emails, and let the driver dictate a reply.

Honda, based in Japan, is now starting to roll out new models that allow the driver to activate Siri from a button on the steering wheel and to talk to Siri using the car's hands-free audio system. That enables a driver to use Siri to read out newly arrived email or text messages, check weather, set the navigation system or enter appointments on the iPhone's calendar—all while keeping both hands on the wheel.

With its "iOS in the Car" initiative announced last June, Apple hopes to turn the iPhone into a kind of brain for operating dashboard electronics, using the car's built-in display to interact with services such as maps and traffic information.

Apple has said that it expects a dozen car brands to adopt the technology in 2014. An Apple spokeswoman declined to comment for this article.

Google and the company's partners, by contrast, hope to have Android and related applications running on the car's own built-in hardware, people familiar with the matter said. The company has provided its map technology to a range of auto makers since 2006, including Audi, Toyota Motor Corp. of Japan and Tesla Motors Inc. A spokesman for Google said that it doesn't comment on rumors or speculation.

Filip Brabec, Audi's head of product strategy, declined to discuss the auto maker's coming announcements at CES. But he acknowledged that future vehicles will need computer operating systems to support the kind of apps and functions that consumers want to access while driving.

"Cars are becoming more complex, and with the computing power that is going into vehicles, you need that type of system in the car," he said.

The increased focus on in-car electronics underscores a significant challenge for auto makers. Where earlier buyers based purchase decisions on characteristics such as horsepower or fuel economy, consumers now have grown up with the Web and mobile devices and expect to remain connected while on the go.

"When they get to the dealership, the first thing they may ask is what does this thing do and point to the dashboard," said Charles Koch, a manager of new-business development at Honda's U.S. unit.

Ford attributes rising sales in the U.S. in part to the voice-activated Sync system it started offering in 2007, developed with help from Microsoft Corp. The complex electronics has at times become a double-edged sword, however; a follow-up version called MyFord has proved confusing to some customers, hurting Ford's scores in some automotive-quality studies.

The push toward smarter cars, meanwhile, has caused big-name chip makers such as Intel Corp. and Qualcomm Inc. to step up efforts to penetrate the car business. Rival Nvidia says 4.5 million cars on the road are already equipped with its processors, and predicts an additional 25 million cars in four or five years will be using its technology.

"Right now, we are just scratching the surface," said Danny Shapiro, Nvidia's senior director for automotive applications.

WSJ : Europe Floats Into 2014

Europe Floats Into 2014

They're back. Not so long ago, the market for initial public offerings in Europe was moribund. That wasn't just down to the euro-zone crisis. The poor performance of some high-profile flotations led some big institutional investors to criticize the IPO process and blame investment bankers for overpricing deals.

You don't hear so much of that talk now. Volumes of IPOs valued at over $50 million are up more than 150% in 2013 versus 2012, according to Dealogic data.

Furthermore, in recent weeks investors have enjoyed the return of the IPO "pop," with newly floated shares often rising sharply on their first day of trading. Italian clothing manufacturer Moncler MOV.MI +1.03% rose nearly 50% after its IPO in Milan in December; shares in U.K. postal operator Royal Mail RMG.LN +0.26% rose 38% after its stock-market debut in October. Those contrast with the Glencore IPO in May 2011, a deal that drew heavy criticism. The company has since merged to become Glencore Xstrata but still trades more than 40% below its float price.

Overall, newly floated European companies' share prices have risen 9.5% on their first day of trading in 2013, higher than the average day-one pop in any year since 2006 and double the 4.7% average rise in 2012.

The steadier macroeconomic backdrop in Europe has clearly played its part in the IPO resurgence. Persistently loose monetary policy and nascent growth across the euro zone have helped make stock markets less volatile. That is key to a successful IPO process, which can take several weeks to complete.

Moreover, IPOs have offered institutional investors, particularly those in the U.S., a quick way to help redress their structural underweighting toward European stocks. In some cases, that has led to furious demand for new issues. The Moncler IPO was 30 times oversubscribed, according to the deal's bankers.

There may be a regulatory reason behind such IPO frenzies, too. Rules designed to restrict banks from borrowing too much to inflate their balance sheets have made them less willing to hold large inventories of trading assets. In turn, the theory goes, markets are becoming less liquid as banks' market-making role is constrained. That makes it harder for investors to build large stakes in companies they like in the secondary markets; that makes it incumbent on them to grab a large holding when a company floats.

If the theory is right, that could help support a continued European IPO upswing in 2014. Other headwinds may appear, for sure: A warning about the trajectory of the Federal Reserve's tapering is practically obligatory to any outlook. But the IPO pipeline remains well stocked, according to bankers, particularly in countries such as Spain that have regained investors' favor.

Europe's IPO season may not be over yet.

FT : Erdogan rails against prosecutor as stand-off intensifies

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, redoubled his attack on Sunday on the prosecutor spearheading a corruption probe of his associates as he sought to head off a scandal that has shaken the economy and presented one of the most serious challenges to his 10-year rule.
In comments that could deepen a brewing showdown between the country’s courts and its government, Mr Erdogan suggested the judiciary’s independence should not be absolute.
He appeared to threaten Muammer Akkas, a prosecutor who has sought to question many people close to the government – including, according to what appears to be a summons, Mr Erdogan’s son Bilal.
Mr Akkas said last week that he had been prevented by his superiors and by wide-ranging changes to the police force from carrying out the arrests and seizures that were the next phase of the investigation. As a result, he said, suspects had been allowed to escape or tamper with evidence.
“What kind of prosecutor is this?” Mr Erdogan asked his audience. “The chief prosecutor takes the file from him and this gentleman gets up and screams. Just wait – we have business to settle with you.”
While adding that he would pursue corruption cases – even if they involved his son – Mr Erdogan said neither the judiciary nor the executive had unlimited power, since the “power is the people’s”.
Henri Barkey, a Turkey expert at Lehigh University in Pennsylvania, argued that Mr Erdogan was, in effect, trying to undermine the probe. “His most immediate concern is getting these investigations quashed,” Mr Barkey said.
The widening scandal last week pushed the Turkish lira to record lows against the dollar and triggered sharp sell-offs on its debt and equity markets.
Mehmet Simsek, Turkey’s finance minister, said last week’s fall in the lira would lead to a “a significant adjustment in the current account deficit”. That gap, which amounts to 7 per cent of Turkey’s gross domestic product, is often seen as the country’s biggest economic vulnerability. Mr Simsek also played down the impact on inflation.
Mr Erdogan’s supporters have depicted the corruption allegations, which have already led to the imprisonment pending trial of two sons of cabinet ministers, as a political vendetta by the movement of Fethullah Gulen, an Islamic preacher who was formerly an ally.

>>> Seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher remains in a coma after suff

Seven-time F1 world champion Michael Schumacher remains in a coma after suffering serious head injuries while skiing with his son.

Former motor racing world champion Michael Schumacher is in a coma following a skiing accident in France.

The 44-year-old German suffered a "serious brain trauma with coma on his arrival, which required an immediate neurosurgical operation," according to the hospital treating Schumacher in the French city of Grenoble.

Schumacher was wearing a helmet when he reportedly hit his head on a rock while skiing in the French Alps.

He was airlifted off the mountain following the accident in the resort of Meribel, in the popular Three Valleys area.

Formula One driver German Michael Schumacher skiing in 2006
The German Formula One legend skiing in Italy in 2006
The sports star was skiing with his 14-year-old son and some friends when the accident occurred.

Schumacher's agent, Sabine Kehm, said: ''Michael fell on his head during a private ski trip in the French Alps.

"He was hospitalised and is receiving medical care. We ask for your understanding that we cannot give a running commentary on his state of health.

"He was wearing a helmet and was not alone.''

The accident occurred in the resort of Meribel in France
Journalist Carole Bouchard, from the French newspaper L'Equipe, told Sky News that the racing driver's condition had deteriorated this evening.

The French Mountain Gendarmerie had earlier said Schumacher's life was not in danger.

The seven-times world champion first retired from Formula One in 2006. He owns a chalet in the Meribel resort and is a keen skier.

He has been hurt seriously once before, in a motorcycling accident in February 2009 when he suffered neck and spine injuries.

Mercedes Formula One driver Michael Schumacher of Germany powers his car during the third free practice session of the Brazilian F1 Grand Prix at Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo
Schumacher made a comeback to Formula One for Mercedes in 2010
He recovered sufficiently from those injuries to make a comeback to Formula One in 2010.

But he made a disappointing return to the sport, managing only one podium finish during his three years with Mercedes.

The German driver retired from Formula One for a second time in December 2012.

(ZH) French Constitutional Court Approves 75% Tax On High Earners

French Constitutional Court Approves 75% Tax On High Earners

Almost a year ago, the French constitutional court ruled against Francois Hollande's triumphal blast into socialist wealth redistribution, with his proposed 75% tax rate on high earners, and so indefinitely delayed the exodus of the bulk of French high earners (even if some, like Obelix, aka Gerard Depardieu, promptly made their way to the country that has become the land of solace for all oppressed people everywhere, Russia) into more tax-hospitable climes. That delay is now over, when earlier today the same court approved a 75% tax on all those earning over €1 million. The proposal passed after the government modified it to make employers liable for the 75% tax. As BBC reports, the levy will last two years, affecting income earned this year and in 2014.

Bloomberg has the details of the tax hike:

Under Hollande’s proposal, companies will have to pay a 50 percent duty on wages above 1 million euros ($1.4 million). In combination with other taxes and social charges, the rate will amount to 75 percent of salaries above the threshold, the court wrote in a decision published today.
“The companies that pay out remuneration above 1 million euros will, as expected, be called upon for an effort of solidarity on remuneration paid in 2013 and 2014,” the Economy Ministry said in an e-mailed statement.
Hollande, who once said he “didn’t like” the rich, announced the 75 percent tax in February 2012 as part of his presidential campaign to appeal to his Socialist base. It has become a symbol of his government’s record-high taxation rate.
And with the tax passage, the preparations for an exodus by all high earnings begin, first among the local football teams. BBC reports:

Football clubs in France went on strike earlier this year over the issue, saying many of France's clubs are financially fragile and say the plans could spark an exodus of top players who are paid huge salaries.
The Qatari-owned Paris Saint-Germain has more than 10 players whose pay exceeds 1m euros, including the Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
There has also been a chorus of protest from businesses and wealthy individuals who have condemned the tax - including film star Gerard Depardieu, who left the country in protest.
Polls suggest a large majority in France back the temporary tax.
Unlike many other countries in Europe, France aims to bring down its huge public deficit by raising taxes as well as some spending cuts. The highest tax rate in the UK is 45% and is applied to individuals.
While the numerous unintended consequences of this shock and awe tax hike will be amusing to watch in real time as this move will almost certainly be the long-awaited catalyst to push France into its long-predicted recession (to the benefit of countries like Belgium where the French uber-rich are already relocating to), one wonders if the drop in the value of French ultra-high end real estate will be offset by the soaring valuations of London's already "beyond housing bubble" home prices, and just what the local response will be now that domestic real estate is even more inaccessible to anyone but the wealthiest global oligarchs and billionaires (aside from the capital gains tax of course, which as we wrote previously, is about to be launched first in London, and then everywhere else).

>>> Nakheel might launch IPO in 2018

Nakheel might launch IPO in 2018

Nakheel, the Dubai-based developer, might consider launching an IPO by 2018, reported The National.

The report, citing Chairman Ali Rashid Lootah, said that the company is looking to repay all its debts by 2018 and then it might look into floating shares in IPO.

Meanwhile, Nakheel said that it has managed to secure land sale deals worth around AED 162m (USD 44.1m), AMEInfo reported. The report, based on a company statement, said that the developer sold plots of lands in Al Furjan and Jumeirah Village Triangle.
Source The National, AMEInfo