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The prospect of a further loss of investor appetite for Japanese government bonds would not be so serious were Japan’s public finances in reasonable shape. In truth, however, it is difficult to conceive of a worse state of public finances for the country. Japan’s government still has to finance a budget deficit of around 10 percent of GDP at at time that its gross public debt amounts to close to 240 percent of GDP, or almost 2 1/2 times the corresponding public debt ratio for the United States.

Compounding the dire state of Japan’s public finances is the fact that Japan’s population is now aging at by far the most rapid rate among the industrialized countries. As a result of this aging, Japan’s domestic saving rate is already now declining at a rapid rate, which will make it increasingly challenging for the government to continue financing itself at very low interest rates.

The Bank of Japan could very well soon find itself faced with a terrible dilemma. If it does nothing about rising government long-term interest rates, Japan’s government finances would appear to markets to be all the more unsustainable and Japanese banks would suffer increasing losses on their large portfolio of Japanese government bonds. If, on the other hand, the Bank of Japan were to step up its policy of bond purchases to keep the government’s long-term borrowing costs low, it would very likely accelerate the pace of Japanese yen depreciation and increase inflationary expectations. Such a course would make investors even less willing to hold those bonds which would require yet another round of Bank of Japan buying.

That’s the gist of a recent Army request for proposals, which describes the building blocks of an anti-guerrilla propaganda campaign in Colombia. According to the request, the Army wants a potential contractor to write and produce a total of 20 radio novela episodes for an Army MISO team (Military Information Support Operations) based in Colombia, with eight episodes that “convey messages that promote demobilization,” or encouraging armed groups to put down their weapons. Another eight “shall convey messages that counter recruitment of target audiences (TAs) into illegal armed groups.”

The scripts, according to the request, will be true to life in a way, as they’re “derived from statements received by demobilized guerrillas.” Final approval before airing will also be reserved by the MISO team, which can demand rewrites. After the 16-episode run, another four episodes will focus on promoting “traditional family values, belief in the respectful treatment of women, democratic alternatives to violence that can furnish functioning state institutions, and emerging environmental concerns in support of U.S. and partner nation goals in Colombia, South America.”

The family physician stopped accepting all forms of health insurance. In early 2013, Ciampi sent a letter to his patients informing them that he would no longer accept any kind of health coverage, both private and government-sponsored. Given that he was now asking patients to pay for his services out of pocket, he posted his prices on the practice’s website.

The change took effect April 1.

“It’s been almost unanimous that patients have expressed understanding at why I’m doing what I’m doing, although I’ve had many people leave the practice because they want to be covered by insurance, which is understandable,” Ciampi said.

Before the switch, Ciampi had about 2,000 patients. He lost several hundred, he said. Some patients with health coverage, faced with having to seek reimbursement themselves rather than through his office, bristled at the paperwork burden.

But the decision to do away with insurance allows Ciampi to practice medicine the way he sees fit, he said. Insurance companies no longer dictate how much he charges. He can offer discounts to patients struggling with their medical bills. He can make house calls.

“I’m freed up to do what I think is right for the patients,” Ciampi said. “If I’m providing them a service that they value, they can pay me, and we cut the insurance out as the middleman and cut out a lot of the expense.”

Ciampi expects more doctors will follow suit. Some may choose to run “concierge practices” in which patients pay to keep a doctor on retainer, he said.

Gordon Smith, a spokesman for the Maine Medical Association, wasn’t so sure, saying most patients either want to use the insurance they pay for or need to rely on Medicare and Medicaid.

Even with the loss of some patients, Ciampi expects his practice to perform just as well financially, if not better, than before he ditched insurance. The new approach will likely attract new patients who are self-employed, lack insurance or have high-deductible plans, he said, because Ciampi has slashed his prices.

The agreement, announced on Wednesday, comes after Smithfield’s largest shareholder agitated for change at the Virginia-based pork producer – the world’s largest – including a call to break up the company.

The deal is subject to review by the U.S. Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, a government panel that reviews transactions that would bring U.S. businesses under foreign control, Smithfield said in a statement.

After previously investing in the company, Google has agreed to acquire Alameda, Calif.-based green energy startup Makani Power. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

They’ve been collecting signatures on an online petition, passing the word on Facebook, sending letters to the school board, and planning to speak at Tuesday’s school board meeting.

Students and parents have praised his ability to interest reluctant students in history and current affairs.

But John Dryden said he’s not the point. He wants people to focus on the issue he raised: Whether school officials considered that students could incriminate themselves with their answers to the survey that included questions about drug and alcohol use.

Dryden, a social studies teacher, told some of his students April 18 that they had a 5th Amendment right to not incriminate themselves by answering questions on the survey, which had each student’s name printed on it.

The survey is part of measuring how students meet the social-emotional learning standards set by the state. It is the first year Batavia has administered such a survey.

School district officials declined to provide a copy of the survey to the Daily Herald, saying the district bought the survey from a private company, Multi-Health Systems Inc., and the contents are proprietary business information.

They did provide the script teachers were to read to students before the test.

It does not tell students whether participation is mandatory or optional.

An April email communication to parents said their children could choose not to take the survey, but they had to notify the district by April 17.

The survey asked about drug, alcohol and tobacco use, and emotions, according to Brad Newkirk, chief academic officer.

Among more than two dozen major weapons systems whose designs were breached were programs critical to U.S. missile defenses and combat aircraft and ships, according to a previously undisclosed section of a confidential report prepared for Pentagon leaders by the Defense Science Board.

…

Some of the weapons form the backbone of the Pentagon’s regional missile defense for Asia, Europe and the Persian Gulf. The designs included those for the advanced Patriot missile system, known as PAC-3; an Army system for shooting down ballistic missiles, known as the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD; and the Navy’s Aegis ballistic-missile defense system.

Also identified in the report are vital combat aircraft and ships, including the F/A-18 fighter jet, the V-22 Osprey, the Black Hawk helicopter and the Navy’s new Littoral Combat Ship, which is designed to patrol waters close to shore.

Van der Heyden broke at lunchtime from his final board meeting as a Fonterra director to issue his public apology over comments made at a Tauranga business women’s conference.

“It was an ill-judged comment taken out of context,” he told the Business Herald. “I apologise to China, its people and its Government.”

“China is where New Zealand’s future is.”

Van der Heyden was earlier reported as saying doing business in China was full of surprises. “You’ve got to go and do business with your eyes wide open.”

Asked by an export manufacturer how small New Zealand businesses could ensure they were not ripped off when trading in China, Sir Henry said bad experiences should be used as opportunities to learn.

“That’s my point about China. You will be full of surprises. Don’t ever trust them…never..”