Noah Kristula-Green lauds the efforts of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abo to stimulate the economy now, while restoring Japan to a pattern of higher growth in the long term. (Also, he explains what "Abenomics" means, which you may find quite helpful).The hope is that a cheaper Yen will make exports more valuable, loans more appealing, and encourage domestic spending. So far the market has shown signs of confidence in the policy. The value of the yen is falling exactly as planned, and Japanese stocks on the Nikkei are doing very well.

Scott Sady/AP

Like to buy stuff on the Internet? If the House approves a first-ever online sales tax, you might soon be paying a premium—and that’s a very good thing, writes Daniel Gross.

On Monday, the Senate approved a measure that would let states tax retailers based in other states when those retailers sell to their own residents. In other words, states may soon get the green light to tax e-commerce.It’s about time.Here’s why.Governments are starved for revenue, particularly at the state and local level. We may be in a golden age of federal deficit reduction, but the federal deficit is still large. States and cities, which can’t run deficits, have been cutting jobs and spending across the board for lack of revenue.

Alexander F. Yuan/AP

The technology giant’s earnings growth may be slowing. But its plans to return cash to shareholders through higher dividends and stock buybacks add up to a meaningful stimulus.

In its quarterly earnings report on Tuesday, Apple didn’t roll out any new product lines. And for the first time since 2003, it reported that quarterly year-over-year income fell. The company made only $9.55 billion in the second quarter of its fiscal 2013, down from $11.6 billion in last year’s comparable quarter. While the news from Apple’s earnings may not stimulate investors, it should stimulate the economy. Along with revenue of $43.6 billion for the quarter, Apple announced a significant increase in its dividend and share buybacks.

A year ago, I wrote a CNN column about the Paris taxi shortage and what it says about the European job crisis.Prolonged mass unemployment in Europe has triggered a global debate about the euro currency, and rightly so. Yet it's also true that every day, people in Europe are denied work by dumb laws that prevent willing customers from hiring them.Soon afterward, I received an email from Dave Ashton, an American living in Paris who had launched a company called Snapcar, a limo service ordered by smartphone application, very like the Uber service we know in the US.

NASDAQ

Dow drops 145 points.

A panic-inducing tweet from the AP Tuesday: “Breaking: Two Explosions in the White House and Barack Obama is injured,” sent the Twitterverse into a tailspin. Luckily, within minutes, multiple sources—including Twitter—had confirmed that the Associated Press's account had (as suspected) been hacked. Still, the tweet was enough to spread fear across the nation, as indicated by a sharp 145-point drop in the Dow (which quickly returned to where it was before the scare). While the AP’s Twitter account has been temporarily suspended, the team has confirmed the hack on their Facebook page. Phew.

Read it at The Washington Post

On strong earnings report.

Looks like Francis Underwood really can bring home the bacon.  Shares of Netflix Inc. went up 24 percent in after-hours trading as the company reported steady subscriber growth and, for the second quarter in a row, better than expected profits. Many were keen to see what Netflix’s numbers looked like after it took the plunge and invested in original programming like the smash hit House of Cards.

Read it at Reuters

Germany drags down continent.

Is this the new normal? Despite some decent news out of France in the month of April, a drop in Germany’s business activity has analysts fearing more contraction in the euro zone ahead. All eyes will be on the European Central Bank next week as it meets to decide monetary policy.

Read it at CNBC

Despite strong criticism.

Maybe Greece should change its name to Google. On Monday, despite heavy criticism from German regulators over Google’s privacy violations, government officials fined Google the paltry sum of $189,225. As The New York Times points out, that’s the amount Google made every two minutes in 2012. Some regulators in Europe have called for reform in how they punish companies who breach privacy laws, and this laughable slap on the wrist just may provide the impetus.

Read it at The New York Times

Closer to being operable.

Crack open those cookbooks! The USDA recently processed a New Mexico horse slaughterhouse and is prepared to issue a grant of federal inspection upon the factory’s compliance with the Federal Meat Inspection Act. However, the slaughterhouse has picked up some prominent opponents recently, as the ubiquitous Robert Redford has written a letter condemning horse slaughter.

Read it at The New York Times

Richard Drew/AP

China’s slowdown. Apple’s shame. The collapse of gold. Oh, and a terrorist attack. Just as we’re feeling optimistic, volatility has returned. Daniel Gross on those evil Black Swans.

So I leave the country for a week and all hell breaks loose. The Boston Marathon is bombed. The markets gyrate crazily. China, which has been growing like mad for the last two decades, announces a sharp slowdown in its growth rate in the first quarter of 2013. Gold, the ultimate hedge against instability and volatility, plummets, falling more than 13 percent in a couple of trading days. Apple’s stock, the apple of so many investors’ eyes, falls nearly 8 percent during the week, contributing to a 28 percent year-to-date decline.