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Why the Obama health care law gets an "F" grade from the Dean of Harvard Medical School
11/18/2009
The failure to replace the "fee-for-service" system in favor of capitated payments is cited as one of the main reasons. The other reasons are it does not resolve the issues of introducing competition in quality of care and cost, and continues the practices that disguise the true cost of care with a highly fragmented system of care. In a op-ed, Jeffrey Flier, Dean of the Harvard Medical School, gives a detailed account for the reason for his grading. A poorly drafted or incomplete law says Flier can make things worse, citing the example of the health care law in Massachusetts which is driving up costs, as it does not change the old dysfunctional system's key features such as "fee-for service," and instead tries to build a new system on broken foundations. Pearlstein in the Washington Post says the Obama health care law has addressed the "fee-for-service" problem, but this is really not the case, and Flier's reasoning may be the clue to the deeper problem for the Obama health care law.
Linked Articles
Steven Pearlstein: Eat your broccoli, Justice Scalia - The Washington Post
Washington Post 04/01/2012
Health 'Debate' Deserves a Failing GradeWall Street Journal 11/18/2009
BP, Shell and other foreign oil companies expand production in Iraq in 2012-2014
07/01/2009
Ambitious goals for oil production are set by the Iraqi government as oil companies from the, U.S., Europe, Russia and China, provide the expertise to increase production from older oil fields. Problems of infrastructure and national oil legislation hinder rapid development.
Linked Articles
Crude Oil Output Is Soaring in Iraq, Easing Markets
New York Times 06/02/2012
Oil Companies Reject Iraq's Contract TermsWall Street Journal 07/01/2009
The Economist cites IMF economist estimates that the public debt of the 10 largest industrialized countries will jump from 78% to 114% of GDP by 2014, leading to higher interest rates and inflation.
06/11/2009
The rising public debt and its unsustainability is what the future holds. For governments and decisionmakers there are very difficult choices, as fiscaly austerity and premature fiscal tightening or raising interest ratescan choke off a recovery. Raising taxes as happened earlier in Japan's lost decade also can choke off a recovery. Seriously tacklig health care costs and raising the retirement age, are much needed steps.
Linked Articles
Get Ready for Inflation and Higher Interest Rates
Wall Street Journal 06/11/2009
The biggest bill in historyEconomist 06/11/2009
S. Korea's second household debt binge in the 15 years since the 1997 financial crisis
05/18/2009
The first period of rising household debt ocurred with the credit card boom when the government promoted consumer spending as a way to stimulate the economy. By 2003 this became a serous problem and the government rescued a credit card issuer in 2003. Household debt is again a major problem in 2012 with the increasing number of companies in financial lending that are not regulated.
Linked Articles
Notes From Another Credit Card Crisis
New York Times 05/18/2009
S. Korea tries to curb mounting debt and avert a crisis - The Washington PostWashington Post 07/09/2012
Weaknesses in proposed financial regulation for derivatives.
05/14/2009
The oversight by CFTC with arole for SEC gives the same muddled picture of previous oversight. And not treating all derivatives the same leaves room for future trouble.
Linked Articles
Obama Proposes a First Overhaul of Finance Rules
New York Times 05/14/2009
Danger in Wall Street’s ShadowsNew York Times 05/15/2009
The smaller stimulus and selective investments in 2012-2014 in China and how this affects construction and heavy equipment manufacturers
04/30/2009
The impact on Caterpillar, Volvo AB, Komatsu, John Deere, Cummins and domestic Chinese manufacturers of the smaller stimulus and selective investments in China in the years ahead. Manufacturers are exporting from China during this period of slowing sales in China.
Linked Articles
China Bets Sour for Heavy Equipment Firms
Wall Street Journal 08/16/2012
China's Stimulus Spurs U.S. BusinessWall Street Journal 04/30/2009
Views of experts from Raghuram Rajan, Paul Krugman and Simon Johnson are at odds with the Obama administration's recycling of prior Paulson's bank rescue plans
04/21/2009
Rajan and Johnson call for smaller, more transparent financial institutions through the government takeover of insolvent banks and breaking them up into smaller financial institutions that pose less risk to the country's economy and are easier to manage, and less prone to excessive risk taking. And they propose crafting policy and antitrust laws to make this work. Questions raised about the administration having too many people on its economic team who are deferential to Wall Street and not with a mindset that questions key assumptions -some call them sacred cows- that are put forward by Wall Street.
Linked Articles
Economists Seek Breakup of Big Banks
Wall Street Journal 04/21/2009
Time for Bank Creditors to Share the Pain?New York Times 04/29/2009
Bank lending still in bad shape in April 2009.
04/16/2009
Not much of the bailout or recovery by banks is showing up in lending practices. Is it ashort lived recovery in bank stocks and one quarter earnings that will fizzle out, and meantime with credit still tight the economy deteriorates.
Linked Articles
Economists Seek Breakup of Big Banks
Wall Street Journal 04/21/2009
Lending By Bailout Recipients Falls AgainWashington Post 04/16/2009
FT's Martin Wolf looks at Simon Johnson's argument that Obama is avoiding the tough choices because he has succumbed to pressure from financial elites.
04/14/2009
Wolf looks at Simon Johnson's argument about Obama's dithering on the tough issues like that of insolvent banks, and says America is not like Russia where financial elites controlled the government's way of responding into and out of a crisis.
Linked Articles
Unknown 04/15/2009
Text of Obama Economic SpeechBusinessWeek 04/14/2009
Fighting for Main Street against an Ersatz Capitalism and Bankers
04/01/2009
Stiglitz uses the term "ersatz" to refer to something not genuine, a false substitute for real capitalism, in describing the Obama adminsitration's handling of highly overleveraged and badly managed banks in the 2008 global financial crisis.
Linked Articles
New York Times 04/01/2009
Ex-Regulators Has Harsh Words for Geithner and BankersNew York Times 09/24/2012
Geithner's Plan for Toxic Assets
03/23/2009
Experts are doubtful Geithner's plan of March 23, 2009 for toxic assets will work. Its similiar to plans previously announced by Paulson in the Bush administration. Views of Krugman, Eavis and Reinhart. If lack of confidence and lack of liquidity were the only problems they say, government money as incentives might work, but the problem is more basic and structural. These mortgage securities are from a time of easy money, now investors are shy of risks and would discount them even more as a safety factor, and banks would not want to sell them at that price. Are stress tests and nationalization of failed banks around the corner?
Linked Articles
Why Congress Will Kill the Bank Rescue
Wall Street Journal 03/24/2009
Geithner's Gamble Needs SpeculatorsWall Street Journal 03/23/2009
The efforts of banks in better shape but still weak to wish the crisis away.
03/06/2009
Chase and Goldman's efforts to rewrite history, and act as though they did not benefit from government help is wrong and dangerous says the Economist. Its dangerous because it sends the message that any resoultion of toxic assets on banks books is unnecessary, and these banks should be treated differently when it comes to setting new prudent bank regulations, including setting regulation for incentives that do not support excessive risk taking and leveraging. A change in the economic climate for the worse could make this a dangerous complaceny.
Linked Articles
New York Times 03/06/2009
Thanks, for nothingEconomist 06/11/2009
Politicians who deride "mere spending programs" may have not got it right.
02/15/2009
Republicans in the House, with every single one voting against the Stimulus bill, have derided government spending as wasteful and unnecessary. The impact on the deficit makes it look sensible. However on closer examination Robert Frank, a Cornell economist, points out that in some situtations like this government spending can be not wasteful but productive and efficient, and necessary.
Linked Articles
Go Ahead and Save. Let the Government Spend.
New York Times 02/15/2009
In Gingrich Mold, a New Voice for Solid Resistance in G.O.P.New York Times 02/15/2009
World Bank chief Zoellick on the global economy and how to prepare an effective long tem policy
10/02/2009
Zoellick sees the short term Stimulus and central bank monetary easing policies of 2008, as not appropriate to the long term problems of debt reduction and energy price volatility. He emphasizes the need for bridge financing for Spain and Italy though he accepts the German view that credit cannot be provided freely and reforms need to be undertaken. A partial euro bond solution is a step in the right direction.
Linked Articles
World Bank Chief Urges Euro Bonds
Wall Street Journal 05/31/2012
2010 Looks 'Highly Uncertain,' Zoellick SaysWall Street Journal 10/02/2009
Clearly not a Roosevelt like approach or major change in regulatory structures says Nocera of NYT.
06/17/2009
A lot will now depend on who is in charge and creating a culture where strong regulation is an essential step for proper functioning of markets.
Linked Articles
Obama’s Remarks on Financial Regulatory Reforms
Wall Street Journal 06/17/2009
Only a Hint of Roosevelt in Financial OverhaulNew York Times 06/18/2009
As the government sells $5 trillion in new debt by one estimate, the problem of an estimated $ 1 trillion in troubled assets on the banks books is being put off for another day.
06/04/2009
The FDIC's Legacy Loans Program's $1 billion pilot program attracts no interest. The Public Private Partnership Program of Secretary Geithner, like Secretary Paulson's TARP program before Geithner, is also unlikely to attract much interest as banks are not willing to take the prices that would require them to show large losses on their books. But this means that these problems are postponed for another day.
Linked Articles
Plan to Help Banks Clear Their Books Is Halted
New York Times 06/04/2009
Rising Interest on Nations’ Debts May Sap World GrowthNew York Times 06/04/2009
Sec. Geithner's regulatory reform for derivatives and areas of weakness.
05/15/2009
The NYT editorial and Prof Portnoy of the University of San Diego law school find weakness in the measure proposed, as it does not have the same rules for all derivatives. Lobbying continues to hinder effective legislation.
Linked Articles
Danger in Wall Street’s Shadows
New York Times 05/15/2009
New Rules for DerivativesNew York Times 05/15/2009
The youth vote in India's 2014 and 2009 parliamentary elections
05/02/2009
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 05/02/2009
Hopes of a Generation Ride on Indian VoteNew York Times 05/15/2014
Gaps and flaws in the stress tests could cause problems later on
04/26/2009
How the Citigroup stress test conclusion does not match up with large pending losses in aworst case scenario. The ineffectiveness of the regulatory structure, as the FDIC is burdened with a large loss sharing agreement with Citigroup, but has not been able to get a change in the management at Citiigroup so that action is speeded up.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 06/05/2009
The Stress Test ResultsNew York Times 04/26/2009
A word of caution about the recovery. Expert opinion that sees dangers in the recovery of 2nd quarter 2009.
04/21/2009
It may only be a glimmer of hope says the Economist and not the real thing, which may be a long ways away.
Linked Articles
Economists Seek Breakup of Big Banks
Wall Street Journal 04/21/2009
A glimmer of hope?Economist 04/23/2009
Edmund Phelps, Nobel winner 2006, on what capitalism really is, and Obama's speech at Georgetown on its current crisis.
04/15/2009
Phelps gives alucid and admirable description of what capitalism is and what it is not, and how best to understand it and employ it.
Linked Articles
Uncertainty bedevils the best system
Unknown 04/15/2009
From President Obama, Economic Clarity but Little CourageWashington Post 04/15/2009
Bogle at Vanguard Group says we live in an agency society where agents like pension fund managers and mutual fund managers make decisions for us.
04/12/2009
Its this agency society and not an ownership society that we have syas Bogle. Ownership society was 50 years ago. And what did these agents do, they did not ask the questions and exercize their civic obligations in the business sense, which means scrutiny for things like selection of board members, corporate governance, executive compensation and conflicts of interest, and dilution of responsibility where it has to be exercized. Here private equity firm Carlyle Group is shown to have given millions of dollars to get access to New York State pension fund investments in Carlyle Group. In the process pension fund managers made millions of dollars, and Bogle's agents have sold their obligations to fiduciary responsibility.
Linked Articles
He Doesn’t Let Money Managers Off the Hook
New York Times 04/12/2009
N.Y. Pension Deals Seen as Focus of Wide InquiryNew York Times 04/14/2009
The crisis in Eastern Europe and other developing countries and the G20 policy mandate to the IMF to support social help and stimulus spending
03/28/2009
The G-20 mandate that the IMF be the conduit for funds to help emerging countries, with the policy direction that an additional $850 billion be used not only to fix finances, but also emphasize social goals, and help people in these countries cope with the crisis. This is of great help to countries in difficulty, and assurance that the social fabric in these countries will not be torn apart as has happened before, and that people will get the necessary assistance.
Linked Articles
Steven Pearlstein - A Rare Triumph of Substance at the Summit
Washington Post 04/03/2009
Eastern Europe and the Financial CrisisWall Street Journal 03/28/2009
Krugman thinks no early action to takeover insolvent banks will prolong this crisis, the President wants to "do no harm" by undermining confidence.
03/06/2009
Krugman thinks that this crisis could go on for adecade if no actions are taken to takeover insolvent banks before the situation worsens. THe President in his speech at Georgetown, on April 13, says he has not acted preemptively, not out of coddling these banks and their management, but becuase he did not want to undermine confidence. It suggests the President has moved quickly on many fronts, and he may be taking a pause to take stock of the situation and how to improve public support, before thaking on this issue and a number of others in the next round.
Linked Articles
BusinessWeek 04/14/2009
The Big DitherNew York Times 03/06/2009
"So am I", the President responds to special interests gearing up to thwart his plans to revamp the economy.
03/01/2009
My message to them, is this: "So am I", with that remark in his radio address Obama says he knows special interests are gearing up for a fight to prevent needed change in education oppportunities that otherwise would close the door on the middle class, on health care coverage that otherwise will leave in addition to the 46 million not covered an additional number of that magnitude uncovered as unemployment rises and insurance premiums become unaffordable, and on energy that leaves energy policy to oil and gas companies that have done little to promote conservation or new technologies to reduce demand amid mushrooming global demand.
Linked Articles
Obama Calls His Budget Needed Change
New York Times 03/01/2009
Liberal Groups Are Flexing New Muscle in Lobby WarsNew York Times 03/01/2009
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