Australia
Despite Holden and Qantas, Australia still on track, says S&P (SMH/Age)
IAG has last laugh over QBE (SMH/Age)
Australia to Work With Qantas on Proposals Amid Forecast Loss (Bloomberg)
Coal demand to slow: IEA (BusinessSpectator)
Pressure for Holden exit plan (BusinessSpectator)
Combet ‘gets skates on’ to save SA auto parts jobs (AFR)
To get the Australian budget on track, it’s time to wind those tax cuts back (Guardian)
Asia
GDP estimate to be raised to 1.3% for 2014 (Japan Times)
Japan business mood hits six-year high as ‘Abenomics’ takes hold (Reuters)
China Manufacturing Index Unexpectedly Drops (Bloomberg)
Closer Look: For Annual Economic Conference, ‘Free Trade’ Is the Common Denominator (Caixin)
Why Asia-Pacific Holds The Key To Global Free Trade (Economy Watch)
Fears grow over consequences of Indonesian mineral export ban (FT)
Fragments of Asia (EuroMoney)
Economists React: Is China’s Manufacturing Sector Losing Steam? (WSJ)
China: Economic Work Conference Statement Stresses Reforms, Reasonable Economic Growth For 2014 (IB Times)
Europe
Ed Miliband promises drive to double rate of housebuilding (Guardian)
U.K. Housing Market Seen at Risk of Overheating (Bloomberg)
The corporation invasion (LeMonde – Good read on Euro version of TPP)
ECB board member quits for German deputy minister post (Irish Independent)
EU Posts Trade Surplus, Euro Area’s Trade Surplus Surges To Nearly Double Last Year’s Figure (IB Times)
North America
Canadian banks’ Caribbean mystery: Little known about how giants make money in paradise (Financial Post)
Should you help buy your kids a house? (Financial Post)
Chinese Workers Arrive In Nicaragua To Do Viability Studies For Controversial Canal (IB Times)
Wall Street moving in on American Dream (Chicago Tribune)
Fed Taper Message Succeeds With Bonds Adjusting to Economic Data (Bloomberg)
U.S. economic recovery is expected to gain strength in 2014 (LA Times)
US Federal Reserve: The Bernanke years (FT – Very good read)
Sundries
Can the bull market last another year? (FT – Gavyn Davies)
Medicinal & Aromatic Plants: An Oasis Of Opportunity For Egypt’s Agriculture Sector (Economy Watch)
Insight: Wall Street’s energy rivals – Big Oil, a French utility, the Koch brothers (Reuters)
Stranded Down Under? Environment-related factors changing China’s demand for coal and what this means for Australian coal assets (SmithSchool, pdf)
Russians play commodities as US banks retreat (EuroMoney)
Pick your problem: Unemployment or income inequality (Washington Post)