Word: proddings
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...Japan discovered the futility of ultra-low interest rates in the 1990s, when the Bank of Japan (BOJ) tried to prod the country out of a protracted recession by lowering the rate all the way to zero in 1999 - where it stayed, with one brief interlude, until 2006. Despite the fact that lenders could essentially get free money from the government, Japanese banks were busy recapitalizing and paring down mountains of bad assets, and had little interest in doling out more loans in a moribund economy. The zero-rate policy did little to stimulate growth...
...View tends to get tossed into the category of "soft" media. But that raises the question, When The View gives an increasingly press-shy candidate his toughest interview in a while, when it and David Letterman prod the scars of the Democratic primary in interviews with Clinton, when pundits debate the fairness of Us Weekly covers and when Saturday Night Live crystallizes the discussion of sexism and vice-presidential choices, what's so soft about them...
...French press, pointing to the continued steady decline in the number of practicing Catholics and the French state's commitment to godless reason, tried to prod Vingt-Trois into announcing the funeral for European Catholicism in his own backyard. But the Cardinal would have none of it, and the verbal sparks began...
...Daniel Penese and Willie Isa, both Auckland-born to Samoan parents, are Penrith teammates in the National Youth Competition, a nursery for the NRL. "Me and Willie were always stronger than the other kids," says Penese, who'd scatter opponents with a cattle-prod-like fend. Both say they were targeted by referees and implored by parents to take it easy. Isa contends there are two distinct sides of him: the aggressive, ultra-competitive footballer and the otherwise gentle man. Young Willie would crunch his fine-boned foes, then approach them after the game to say sorry. But the smaller...
...imbroglio has exposed enough weaknesses inside Ecuador's military establishment to prod Correa into a shakeup this month. He sacked his defense minister - his third in 14 months as President - along with other top brass. The new defense chief, Javier Ponce, has a long history as a critic of Ecuador's military and has promised to strengthen civilian control and transparency. Ecuador has also pledged to implement a long-delayed plan to beef up the state's border presence, which is almost non-existent beyond the army, and improve public services. On Thursday Correa announced that foreign lenders have agreed...