Press Review: German conservatives back Greek aid extension in test vote

BLOOMBERG

Yellen Says 'Audit the Fed' Would Politicize Monetary Policy

(Bloomberg) -- Chair Janet Yellen strongly criticized a proposal to allow congressional audits of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy and lawmakers from both parties agreed that it was a bad idea to expose the Fed to political meddling.

"Audit the Fed is a bill that would politicize monetary policy, would bring short-term political pressures to bear on the Fed," Yellen said Tuesday during testimony to the Senate Banking Committee. She said such a law isn't needed because the Fed already is "extensively audited."

Republicans who now control both chambers of Congress for the first time in eight years have proposed bills to put the Fed under more scrutiny.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-24/yellen-says-audit-the-fed-would-politicize-monetary-policy

REUTERS

German conservatives back Greek aid extension in test vote

Reuters) - An overwhelming majority of German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives supported an extension of the Greek bailout in a test ballot on Thursday, one day before a vote in the Bundestag lower house of parliament, according to participants.

In the test ballot, 22 lawmakers in the conservative bloc opposed the extension and five abstained. In total, there are 311 lawmakers in the bloc, which includes members of the chancellor's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party, the Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU).

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/02/26/us-eurozone-greece-germany-idUSKBN0LU0MQ20150226

BLOOMBERG

The Japanese Aren't Benefiting from Cheaper Oil - The Yen Is the Reason Why

Spare a thought for Japan -- the nation imports almost all its energy and stood to make windfall gains from the collapse in oil prices, only to see the benefits slip away as the yen slumped to near seven-year lows.

This means that Japanese consumers and companies aren't getting as big a boost as in the U.S. and elsewhere, even as the government is counting on them to increase spending to help boost an economy recovering from a recession.

Brent, the benchmark contract for more than half the world's oil, has fallen more than 40 percent from a June peak, while gasoline in Japan dropped just 11 percent over the same period, according to data from the economy ministry. The yen has weakened more than 14 percent against the dollar over that period, making imports more expensive.

Source: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-02-26/oil-s-impact-muted-by-yen