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Contrasts in the approaches of S. Korea in 1997 and the U.S. in 2008 to banking crises, and the hobbled U.S. economic recovery
01/06/2011
S. Korea in 1997 at the urging of Treasury Secretary Rubin took decisive step to unwind failed financial institutions. This in stark contrast to Treasury Secretary Geither, regulators and U.S. Fed officials actions in 2008 to merge troubled mortgage institutions such as Countrywide and Washington Mutual with Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase. In the process creating mega banks that are hard to manage and hard to run, and "too big to fail," according to former and current Fed governors Hoenig and Fisher. Prof. Cochrane of the University of Chicago says the U.S. Federal Reserve's new job as financial regulator after the 2008 financial crisis, is an impossible one.
Linked Articles
Red Flags said to Go Unheeded at Chase
New York Times 05/14/2012
South Korea Makes a Quick Economic RecoveryNew York Times 01/06/2011
The shift to digital for newspapers in the U.S. with shrinking number of journalists to cover local and national news- 2010-2015
07/29/2010
Linked Articles
New Orleans Times-Picayune to limit printing to three days per week - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/25/2012
Mixed Ad Message From NewspapersWall Street Journal 07/29/2010
Greece's referendum and the 3 year bailout of July 12, 2015- military spending, shipowners taxes, and cuts to pensions
07/10/2010
Greece's left Syriza government almost pulled the country out of the eurozone over pension cuts, even as military spending in Greece remained at 2.4% of GNP compared to close 1.4% for the EU average. Greece did not propose further cuts to military spending to bring the Greece ratio closer to that of Germany and other countries in Europe, raising questions about prudent spending. Which is why Greece sometimes has aspects of the surreal to people not just in Germany and Holland, but other parts of Europe, and outsiders. Under the reform proposal and bailout of July 12, 2015 following the "no" referendum, Greece's parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the similiar cuts in pensions from an earlier EU proposal, with cuts of $300 million to the military spending by 2016. Greek shipowners will also pay taxes under the new bailout, negotiated by Greece with France's help when the referendum had damaged relations with the rest of the EU, particularly Germany with only 10% in polls willing to support any further concessions.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 07/11/2015
The Submarine Deals That Helped Sink GreeceWall Street Journal 07/10/2010
BP's failure in the Gulf Oil Spill and the Justice Department settlement in Nov. 2012
06/15/2010
The Justice Department filed criminal charges against engineers and managers at BP citing wanton and negligent conduct.
Linked Articles
In BP Indictments, U.S. Shifts to Hold Individuals Accountable
New York Times 11/15/2012
Oil Executives Try to Explain Differences From BPNew York Times 06/15/2010
Crisis Prevention Insights from the 2008 financial crisis to the BP oil spill and Fukushima- the role of "human failure"
06/11/2010
Linked Articles
The Oil Disaster Is About Human, Not System, Failure
Wall Street Journal 06/11/2010
Report blasts Japan’s preparation for, response to Fukushima disaster - The Washington PostWashington Post 07/06/2012
The maintenance failure for the safety valve and the switch controlling it in the BP explosion.
05/13/2010
A dead battery in asuper-critical switch and hydraulics leaks that made inoperative a crucial safety valve that was the last barrier between safety and an explosion in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico led to the accident on the BP oil rig.
Linked Articles
Safety Valves Had a Dead Battery, Investigators Find
Wall Street Journal 05/13/2010
BP's Hayward Says Company Could Have Done More Disaster PreparationWall Street Journal 05/13/2010
Failures at BP and a White House approach too dependent on BP for controlling the Oil Spill.
05/01/2010
A long history of failures at BP and the slow indecisive action of the Obama administration.
Linked Articles
In Gulf, It Was Unclear Who Was in Charge of Rig
New York Times 06/05/2010
Drilling Down: A Troubled Legacy in OilWall Street Journal 05/01/2010
George Papandreou's quiet demeanor, decisive steps for Greece in 2010
03/11/2010
George Papandreou, Greece's prime minister has provided quiet but strong leadership in the Greece crisis; even though action needed is the gradual unwinding of the welfare state that his father setup.
Linked Articles
George Papandreou Finds Balm for Greece Deficit
New York Times 06/15/2010
The Papandreou OffensiveBusinessWeek 03/11/2010
Cost cutting and cost reduction strategies at Toyota and BP that misfired.
02/22/2010
It costs about $6 millon a day for BP to fix the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in May 2010. It cost Toyota much more to make the larger recall and in lost sales and the damage to its image than the $100 million estimated saving by efforts to limit the recall.
Linked Articles
Drilling Down: A Troubled Legacy in Oil
Wall Street Journal 05/01/2010
Toyota Cited $100 Million Savings After Limiting RecallNew York Times 02/22/2010
The inaction at GM 2009-2013 for the defective ignition switch recall and the inaction at Toyota for unintended acceleration recall
02/10/2010
GM's management lost track of quality issues that were buried at lower levels during the bankruptcy period. Toyota's management in the U.S. referred the NHTSA to quality managers in Japan who did not make the necessary effort to look into and address the problem. This shows that quality is not just a technical issue for the engineers and requires management atention at the highest levels, direct reporting to top managers. It also shows that quality problems never go away, will always be present, no matter how good you think you get. Small mistakes can be very costly as BP, TEPCO in the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Toyota, have shown in the recent past.
Linked Articles
General Motors Misled Grieving Families on a Lethal Flaw
New York Times 03/24/2014
Safety Agency Scrutinized as Toyota Recall GrowsNew York Times 02/10/2010
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
The different approaches of Pfizer and Novartis for new drug research and development in 2009-2015
06/11/2009
Working with smaller R&D budgets and focussing the research on a few areas, collaboration with universities, and other ways to get more out of the R&D dollar.
Linked Articles
Pfizer Profit Declines 19% After Loss of Lipitor Patent
New York Times 05/01/2012
Novartis: Radically Remaking Its Drug BusinessBusinessWeek 06/11/2009
U.S. president Obama and Hispanic immigrants- promises, hope and reality 2008-2015
04/09/2009
Linked Articles
Obama to Push Immigration Bill Despite the Risks
New York Times 04/09/2009
The Giant U.S. Deportation Machine Runs AmokWall Street Journal 10/28/2013
Erfurt, Thuringia, Germany- (1) in 2010 20 years after reunification of Germany, and Erfurt in 2015 as it copes with a wave of refugees in 2015
09/30/2010
Linked Articles
Empathy and Angst in a German City Transformed by Refugees
New York Times 09/11/2015
For Some Germans, Unity Is Still Work in ProgressNew York Times 09/30/2010
David Stockman says Republicans have given up their role in doing financially responsible budgeting for decades.
07/11/2010
The budget deficits, Reagan's Budget director says, developed to this point after decades of irresponsivble budget behaviour that has lasted gone on for four decades. He says the Greece style deficit of 120% of GDP for the USA by 2015 calls for austerity.
Linked Articles
Four Deformations of the Apocalypse
New York Times 07/31/2010
Crisis Awaits Worldâs Banks as Trillions Come DueNew York Times 07/11/2010
The paradox of low U.S. productivity growth holding back wages in 2015-2016 (2)- Apple, Google, Facebook and low productivity improvement since 2005
07/01/2010
Linked Articles
Andy Grove: How America Can Create Jobs
BusinessWeek 07/01/2010
The Mystery of Declining Productivity GrowthWall Street Journal 05/15/2015
Crisis Prevention Insights from the 2008 financial crisis to the BP oil spill and Fukushima- Chinese walls that don't work and underestimation of risk
06/11/2010
Linked Articles
Chinese Walls, Pocked With Peepholes
New York Times 06/11/2010
Recipes for Ruin, in the Gulf or on Wall StreetNew York Times 06/11/2010
Pressure tests that should raise alarms were ignored by BP before the oil leak.
05/13/2010
BP and Transocean ignored the results of tests that showed something was wrong and a gaseous mixture was entering the well. This was hours before the explosion that destroyed the oil rig and created a massive oil leak in the Gulf of Mexico.
Linked Articles
Red Flags Were Ignored Aboard Doomed Rig
Wall Street Journal 05/13/2010
BP's Hayward Says Company Could Have Done More Disaster PreparationWall Street Journal 05/13/2010
BP has a history of problems with quality systems and safety.
05/01/2010
Linked Articles
BP's Hayward Says Company Could Have Done More Disaster Preparation
Wall Street Journal 05/13/2010
Drilling Down: A Troubled Legacy in OilWall Street Journal 05/01/2010
The Project on Government Oversight Report in 2013 and the revolving door at the S.E.C. in the U.S.
04/24/2010
Robert Khuzami was enforcement chief at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in the critical period following the 2008 financial crisis. He was also a lawyer at Deutsche Bank during the period when the problems at Deutsche Bank happened which resulted in legal settlements. The revolving door has affected the way the S.E.C. carried out its enforcement responsibilities.
Linked Articles
S.E.C.'s Revolving Door Hurts Its Effectiveness
New York Times 02/11/2013
SEC's Top Cop Oversaw Deutsche CDOsWall Street Journal 04/24/2010
Greece and EU in 2015 - (5) What went wrong? What errors were made by Greece 2003-2009?
03/03/2010
Linked Articles
Europeâs Two Years of Denials Trapped Greece
New York Times 11/05/2011
Europe's Original SinWall Street Journal 03/03/2010
Hope and reality in Nigeria (2)- President Goodluck Jonathan 2011-2015, and President Muhammadu Buhari 2015-2019
02/20/2010
The hope of so many young Nigerians rest on Buhari getting things right and restoring confidence in government and the management of the economy after four years of the Jonathan adminsitration.
Linked Articles
Muhammadu Buhari Defeats Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria Election
Wall Street Journal 04/01/2015
An Accidental Leader Stirs Hopes in NigeriaNew York Times 02/20/2010
The growing middle class in Mexico and Brazil 2000-2015
01/03/2010
Linked Articles
Booming economy, government programs help Brazil expand its middle class
Washington Post 01/03/2010
Mexico’s middle class is becoming its majority - The Washington PostWashington Post 03/18/2012
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
Even when the recovery occurs and inventories get replaced gorwth will be slow, as deleveraging process takes many years.
05/28/2009
Mr. Mecksworth, chief economist at MAPI says even when arecovery happens it will mean slow growth as companies will be saving money and paying off debt for many years to come.
Linked Articles
Once a Key to Recovery, Detroit Adds to Pain
New York Times 06/01/2009
Sharper Drop Is Forecast for Factory ProductionWall Street Journal 05/28/2009
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