EUROPE - After the War of Independence, the United States looked a lot like the euro zone, with some states crippled by debt. In the end, under a proposal by Alexander Hamilton, the federal government assumed all the debt, securing the country's creditworthiness. A new report argues it could be a good model for Europe.

EUROPE - In a shockingly frank interview, the CEO of Saxo Bank describes the Euro's recent rally as illusory and that "the whole thing is doomed," as the continent is not supported by a fiscal union. Confirming that the only thing holding the farce together is political not economic efforts, he sums the situation up perfectly: “The whole thing is doomed,” Christensen said yesterday, “Right now we’re in one of those fake solutions where people think that the problem is contained or being addressed, which it isn’t at all.”

USA - If the economy is improving, then why are many of the largest retail chains in America closing hundreds of stores? When I was growing up, Sears, JC Penney, Best Buy and RadioShack were all considered to be unstoppable retail powerhouses. But now it is being projected that all of them will close hundreds of stores before the end of 2013. Even Wal-Mart is running into problems. A recent internal Wal-Mart memo that was leaked to Bloomberg described February sales as a “total disaster”. So why is this happening? Why are major retail chains all over America collapsing? Is the “retail apocalypse” upon us? Well, the truth is that this is just another sign that the US economy is falling apart right in front of our eyes.

JAPAN - Japan’s premier has left the door open for outright purchases of foreign bonds to weaken the yen, a move that would risk a serious clash with the US and Europe and a fresh escalation in global currency tensions. Shinzo Abe told Japanese politicians that intervention on the markets is among the options being discussed. “There are views calling for foreign bond purchases,” he said, pointedly refusing to rule out such action. The comments come despite a G20 statement over the weekend committing all major powers to “refrain from competitive devaluation”.

USA - Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc is set to pay 400 million to 500 million pounds ($783 million) in fines for manipulating interest rates, the second-largest penalty imposed in a global regulatory probe, two people with knowledge of the matter said. An RBS unit will plead guilty to criminal charges as part of a deal with the US Justice Department, a person familiar with the talks said. It’s the third fine to result from a probe into whether lenders rigged the London interbank offered rate, or Libor. Investment banking chief John Hourican also was expected to resign, the person said. No individuals will be criminally charged as the Justice Department announces its settlement with the bank, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.

UK - A tax on people’s jewellery and paintings is being considered by the Liberal Democrats, it emerged yesterday. Under the French-style scheme, tax inspectors would get unprecedented new powers to go into homes and value rings, necklaces, paintings, furniture and other family treasures. Householders would be forced to pay a new “wealth” levy on the assets and there could even be fines for those who refused to let inspectors value their possessions. The plans come in a policy document drawn up by party tax experts as groundwork for the Lib Dems’ next general election manifesto.

UK - Britons are more than ever turning away from the EU with just one in three claiming they would vote to stay in the bloc, according to a poll. Mr Cameron finally bowed to pressure last month and promised the country a referendum while strongly maintaining we should remain within the EU.

But with some 50 per cent of people saying they would vote for "out" if an in-out referendum was called tomorrow, the PM may have to rethink his strategy. Just 33 per cent said they would vote for membership while 17 per cent would not vote either way, according to the poll by Harris Interactive for the FT. Mr Cameron, has vowed that after the next election, he would renegotiate powers from the EU and only then give the public a vote.

UK - Sterling struck seven-month lows against the dollar, before later recovering some of its losses, as a Bank of England policymaker said the pound may need to weaken further. During morning trading on Monday, the pound fell 0.5 percent to $1.5438 - its lowest level since July last year - before recovering to trade around $1.5483. Sterling's slide came as Martin Weale, a senior Bank of England policymaker, said on Saturday that the pound may need to weaken further, which would help to make exports cheaper and spur growth.

UK - The "small amount" of material, believed to be Iridium 192, is not considered dangerous so long as it remains contained in its heavy lead container. Police have not said what the purpose of the material was. The Health Protection Agency (HPA) urged anyone coming into contact with the cylinder to leave it where it is and alert the police. A spokesman added: "The radioactive material, believed to be Iridium 192, will not pose a risk to the public if it remains contained in its heavy lead container marked with the radiation trefoil. However, if the material is outside of its protection packaging, anyone who has come into prolonged physical contact, such as keeping it in a pocket, should seek medical assistance."

VATICAN - With Pope Benedict XVI's resignation drawing closer, the struggle for power in the Vatican has gotten underway in earnest. The church badly needs to reform itself, but with Ratzinger lurking in the shadows, will it be able to?

UK - A Muslim preacher is secretly filmed urging followers to take benefits from the state to fund a holy war. Anjem Choudary was secretly filmed mocking non-Muslims for working in 9-5 jobs their whole lives, and told followers that some revered Islamic figures had only ever worked one or two days a year. “The rest of the year they were busy with jihad [holy war] and things like that,” he said. “People will say, ‘Ah, but you are not working’. But the normal situation is for you to take money from the kuffar [non-believers]. So we take Jihad Seeker’s Allowance. You need to get support.” He went on to tell a 30-strong crowd: “We are going to take England - the Muslims are coming.”

PARIS, FRANCE - European data protection agencies intend to take action against the US Internet giant Google after it failed to follow their orders to comply with EU privacy laws, a French agency said on Monday. In October the data protection agencies warned Google that its new confidentiality policy did not comply with EU laws and gave it four months to make changes or face legal action. "At the end of a four-month delay accorded to Google to comply with the European data protection directive and to implement effectively (our) recommendations, no answer has been given," said France's CNIL data protection agency.

VATICAN - Much of the media - and the Vatican - focused on the source of the shocking security breach. Largely lost were the revelations contained in the letters themselves - tales of rivalry and betrayal, and allegations of corruption and systemic dysfunction that infused the inner workings of the Holy See and the eight-year papacy of Benedict XVI.

LONDON, UK - A mass for gay and lesbian Catholics is to be held later for the last time in central London because the Church says it goes against its views on sexuality. The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in England and Wales said it conflicted with religious teachings on sexuality. Archbishop Nichols said: "The moral teaching of the Church is that the proper use of our sexual faculty is within a marriage, between a man and a woman, open to the procreation and nurturing of new human life." The archbishop added: "As I stated in March 2012, this means that many types of sexual activity, including same-sex sexual activity, are not consistent with the teaching of the church."

USA - As bad as the global economy is right now, it is unfortunately going to get far worse. Many central banks around the world are now racing to devalue their currencies through the implementation of debt monetization programs and low interest rates.