What goes up: The price of oil jumped by over a dollar today, to above $93 a barrel, after U.S. lawmakers passed legislation to avoid a “fiscal cliff” that could have pushed the world’s biggest economy into recession. More details can be found in the full story here. Meanwhile, global stocks also soared on the first day of trading in 2013 after U.S. lawmakers agreed on a deal. That story is here.
Must come down: In the controversy surrounding the “fiscal cliff” issue, it’s easy to forget that the origin of the entire debate was a professed desire to reduce swollen federal deficits. Whether the target was $4 trillion over 10 years, as proposed by the Bowles-Simpson deficit reduction commission, or in the $2 trillion range, the idea was to rein in total debt that now tops $16 trillion. By those standards, the bill passed by the U.S. Senate early on New Year’s Day looks paltry, indeed. Reuters has a complete analysis here.
On the screen scene: LG Electronics Inc. is beginning to take pre-orders today for the world’s first big TVs that use an advanced display technology promising startlingly clear images on wafer-thin screens. The South Korean company says the 55-inch TVs, which use a technology called “OLED” and have a price tag of around $10,335, will be delivered to buyers in its home market next month. The new TVs will be available in North America, Europe and the rest of Asia before the end of March, LG says. The full story is here.
