Daily Reading – Thursday, March 17, 2011
FT Alphaville: The situation in Tokyo, a view from the ground
Those of us remaining in Tokyo — and among expats, there aren’t many — started the day seeing images on Japanese television of helicopters hovering above the stricken plant, trying to drop water on overheating reactors to cool melting fuel rods.
That set the tone for another disturbing day.
FT Alphaville: China: pass the salt
The distance from Tokyo to Beijing is 2,000 kilometres but that doesn’t seem to be stopping the Chinese capital’s residents from panicking about the Japanese nuclear disaster – and buying salt.
FT Alphaville: On top of everything, Mizuho bank is having ATM problems
Power-cut related? Yen withdrawal-related? Who knows.
Our correspondent Gwen Robinson in Tokyo says other banks’ ATM machines are working just fine though.
The Reformed Broker: Here’s Something You Didn’t Know – Pimco Shares Trading on Second Market
Most people associate SecondMarket with privately-traded shares of Facebook and Twitter – but what if I told you that shares of Pimco (home of the world’s largest mutual fund) were quietly changing hands there?
Zero Hedge: Tokyo Passengers Set Off O’Hare Radiation Detectors
No seriously, it is all under control. And furthermore, the radiation detectors only go off on less than dangerous doses. And if that fails, GE can simply raise the sensitivity threshold on its scanners so no more vile, malicious false alarms such as this are set off in the future. “Mayor Richard Daley acknowledged today passengers on a flight from Tokyo had set off radiation detectors at O’Hare International Airport, but he offered no details and said federal officials will be handling the situation.”
Early Warning: Saudi oil production increased in February
The OPEC report of Friday gave us a first glimpse of Saudi production stats for February. According to the data, production increased by about 300kbd from January.