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The WSJ's Ben Worthen interviews Meg Whitman, the new CEO of H-P. Whitman says she will execute strategy consistently and will provide a steady hand on the tiller. Some of the points she made were- it took a number of years for H-P to get to this situation, and it will take a number of years to get out of it. It takes about five years to get things to turn around, with gradual progress. Whitman says H-P is a hardware company, and could not become a software company even if it tried to. She has put her arms around the company's products, and H-P has people with deep knowledge of the company's products who she talks to. Her plan is to move faster into tablets with Windows 8. For the printer business growth is expected because H-P's estimate is that 200 billion incremental pages will be shifting from Heidelberg presses to Web printing, with a shift from analog to digital.

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Tokyo Electric Power says that a total of 11,125 spent nuclear fuel rod assemblies were stored at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Experts say that this is 4 times as much radioactive material as in the reactor cores combined. Germany and China do not store these spent fuel rods at their nuclear plants for safety reasons. This is the practice in Japan, at Fukushima, and at some U.S. nuclear plants.The storage pools of water needed to keep these fuel rods has leaked because of the earthquake. And there are signs that some fuel rods have begun to melt and release extremely high levels of radiation. Richard Lafey, Jr., is a retired nuclear engineer who supervised General Electric's safety research for the type of reactor used in Fukushima. He says the zirconium cladding of the fuel rods can catch fire if exposed to air for hours, when the storage pool of water is lost. Zirconium, after it catches fire is so hot that its hard to extinguish.

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Krugman on the ECB President Trichet's support for austerity programs in European countries facing debt crises, and the loan programs for Ireland, Portugal and Greece that require large cuts in spending. The austerity programs lead to lower growth in these countries, further reducing their ability to repay these loans. The reluctance of the German government and other European leaders to consider debt restructuring even though it appears Greece is unlikely to be ever able to repay the loans extended, shows that EU has not grasped the reality of the situation. ECB officials warned against any restructuring effort in late May 2011, saying that if a restructuring were to take place the ECB would not accept the Greek bonds as collateral for ECB loans. This leaves many to question the ECB's thinking. And to question the German government's resistance to provide aid for troubled European economies even though the current rescue programs were made to protect German banks from losses in loans made to these countries....

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One military expert says even if half of the Iraqi army can be put in shape it could turn the tide against the ISIS. Advice from U.S. military experts is for the Iraqi army to focus only on the ISIS and avoid hurting relations with the Sunni population. Advisers are seen as making a difference and needed also for the tribal forces. A major difficulty is that Shiite militias and advisors from Iran play a role in the forces loyal to prime minister Maliki. Following the U.S. training of the Iraqi Army at a cost of over $25 billion there was a period under prime minister Maliki when he appointed officers more for loyalty than for military skills and training. With the U.S. withdrawal the Iraqi Army languished in this situation. Reporters from NYT and WSJ have documented extensively the weakness of the Iraqi Army in commanding officers, in training and in equipment.

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Air routes that cross over Ukraine are used by many airlines for direct Europe to Asia flights. Even though this does not add many miles if Ukraine is avoided airlines have preferred Ukraine as a more direct route. Before Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 jet was shot down by a missile, about 150 international flights crossed Ukraine each day, according to Brian Flynn, a senior manager at Eurocontrol, a pan-European air-traffic control organization. In just the two days before the crash of the jet about 75 airlines flights were routed through Ukraine, according to the Eurocontrol director network manager. The question still remains were airlines taking on more risk by flying so close to the Russian-Ukrainian border, where fighting on the ground and in the airspace was taking place weeks before that missile struck. It appears from this that it could have been any one of these airlines flights that could have been hit.

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As many as 2 million votes in the 2014 Afghanistan elections are called into question. This is 2 million out of a total of 8 million. In the last election it is estimated 1.3 million fradulent votes were made for Hamid Karzai. This time it is said security officials, government officials and others worked together to get as many as 2 million votes for Asraf Ghani, who Karzai supports. This is happening even as the Taliban are increasing attacks in the country and the Americans are withdrawing. It shows that instead of a withdrawal that the Obama administration promised their appears to be a situation that is no different from that of the Bush administration, where American lives were lost and sacrifices made without even the most basic results- no assurance that if the government collapses from strains within and outside, Taliban and terrorism could not happen again as is hapening in Iraq.

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Voters overwhelmingly oppose the tax increase in 2015 taking the consumption tax from 8% to 10%. The Abe government plans to postpone the tax increase and call snap elections in December 2014. Two thirds of people surveyed said they did not see why new elections are needed. For prime minister Abe this is an effort to win a vote now rather than later when the opposition is weak. In 2012 elections Abe won 295 of 480 seats in the lower house of parliament. LDP party officials say even if this dropped by 20-30 seats it would be a win for Abe reaffirming that his economic policies are taking Japan in the right direction towards growth, and extending the length of his mandate. They point to growth in tourism, and the addition of 1 million new jobs. Further action to stimulate the economy would reduce unemployment further and end Japan's deflationary tendencies.

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Simon Nixon looks at the different scenarios for Greece as it faces snap elections on Jan. 25, 2015. He makes the point that unlike the situation in 2012 Greece's debt after considerable adjustment with creditors now looks sustainable. The nominal debt to GDP ratio remains high at over 170%, yet says Nixon, the long term average interest cost is about 2.3%. He even cites hedge fund Japonica Partners analysis showing Greece's debts valued on a discounted cash flow basis under international public accounting standards at a debt to GDP ratio of about 18%. Alexis Tsipras's left coalition if elected is likely to moderate its demands and continue with EU programs for Greece to restore confidence in financial markets and lower the interest rates on debt- including removal of special tax treatment exemptions and pension reforms. Support for EU membership remains high in Greece and Tsipras is likely to change his program to adapt just as Samaras and New Democracy Party did when it was elected....

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Japan's Business Federation Keidanren chairman, Sadayuki Sakakibara, says he "expects companies to make aggressive action" to increase wages. Keidanren says wage increases of at least 2.2% should be given. Prime minister Abe attended the new year's eve party hosted by Japan's three business lobbies and asked business leaders "to make a brave decision, when can you take action if not now?" Bank of Japan chief has talked to corporate leaders asking for wage increases. He also visited the new year's eve reception of the Japan Trade Union Confederation, as a way of supporting labor's demands for higher wages. BOJ's target is for 2% inflation, and Kuroda says wage movement is critical. About 17.5% of the total workforce are union workers at large companies who are affected by union-company wage negotiations in spring. Non-regular workers make up 38% of the workforce, and the wages for this group also need to be raised to have a serious impact on overall wages.

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A simple sentence from Ms. Aslam, Pakistan's Foreign Ministry spokesman -as she confirms Pakistan prime minister Nawaz Sharif will attend the swearing in ceremony for prime minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, May 26, 2014- says it all: "Pakistan sees peace with India as a precondition for economic development." A long established truth that applies to a large degree in reverse, that peace with Pakistan is also a precondition for a singleminded focus on economic development in India. How else can India tackle the problem of 1 million young people joining the labor market every month for the next 15 years, according to the UN Department for Social and Economic Affairs. The figure is much larger when including Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Myanmar (Burma). And would approach 2 million a month if Indonesia is included, the entire region sharing the Buddhist-Hindu-Muslim legacy and lacking the strong engine for growth provided in East Asia by Japan and China.

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Looking back at China in 1945 Bernstein's book on the period shows the difficult choices faced by Truman as he confronted the problem of dealing with Chiang and Mao in the period following the Japanese invasion and defeat. With the Iron Curtain beginning to come down in Europe, Truman had to take action against the spread of Communism. At the same time Truman did not want to get America involved directly in the conflict because of the nature of the civil war in China following the Japanese invasion and defeat. Christiansen says that if any side put China on the road to communism it was the Japanese imperialists with their invasion of China. Truman was simply choosing between a bad choice of negotiating a solution and ending up supporting Chiang, with a worse choice of getting directly involved in the conflict. That choice of direct involvement came a few years later with the Korean War, by which time America was committed to defending Western Europe from communism.

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Carolyn Chen, a professor at Northwestern University, who heads the Asian-American Studies program, says efforts to cap enrollment at Ivy League schools such as Harvard and Yale are similiar to efforts to cap Jewish enrollment in an earlier period. Asian Americans make up 5.6% of the population in the U.S. but are now 12-18% of the students at Ivy League schools. Asian-Americans make up 40-70% of students at top public high schools such as Stuyvesant and Bronx Science in New York City, Lowell in San Francisco and Thomas Jefferson in Alexandria, Va. which are merit focussed. These Asian students try to get into Ivy League schools. Yale has a student population that is 58% white and 18% Asian American. The question she poses is whether white and Asian American applications should be viewed through lens such as "individuality," and "uniqueness," on grounds that a wide range of talents should be encouraged, and if this puts Asian Americans at a disadvantage with white applicants.

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Huruhiko Kuroda, the new Governor of the Bank of Japan, Japan's central bank, told parliament in confirmation hearings: "If I am confirmed as governor, I will clearly communicate to markets that I am prepared to do whatever it takes to beat deflation... The Japanese economy has suffered from deflation, for over 10, almost 15 years, which is a global anomaly of the most extreme. As prices have fallen, corporate profits and wages have shrunk, depressing consumption and investment and triggering even lower prices in a vicious cycle." Kuroda also emphasized that the weakening of the yen was a side effect not the goal itself- "There is evidence that currencies tend to fall for countries that ease monetary policy on a large scale, but the BOJ's policy is not targeting currencies... The important thing is to ensure price stability and achieve the 2 percent price stability goal, although it could affect currencies in that process."

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Mankiw is asked by astudent, why the banks lost 100% of their money if they invested in housing through mortgage securities investments, and housing prices went down only 20%. His answer was the crazy amount of leveraging the banks took on to make higher profits. He points to other changes in teaching Econ 101. The role of financial institutions, the effects of leveraging, the limits of monetary policy when interest rates are already at zero, and the challenge of forecasting. He says economists can't take the blame for missing the crisis completely. In saying this he is saying that economists have only to use what is taught in the classroom, and not use their thinking skills developed through the course of experience in the real world and their intelligence, curiosity and skepticism, all part of an educated mind. It requires some of these skills to tell a bubble when you see one.

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USA car sales drop 37% in January 2009 over same period in 2008. Sales at GM dropped 49%, at Ford 40% and Chrysler 55%, at Toyota 32%, at Honda 28%, at Nissan 30%. Subaru and Hyundai saw sales increases. Analysts at IHS Global Insight say the stimulus package may help prevent things from getting much worse, but it would be wrong to count on the stimulus package for a pickup in sales in the second half of this year. This is ominous for the Detroit car companies as they seek government help to avert bankruptcy. Chrysler is hoping to make tieup with Fiat, but it will be a year before Fiat cars make it to the US and longer for its cars to be made in the US, so it is not clear what will happen in 2010. Ford's economists think the market is nearing bottom, but if that is not the case it may prove risky for Ford.

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Are fears of the N word or nationalization causing Geithner, Sommers and Obama to muddy up prudent decisive action, a serious plan of attack, against the banking crisis. The dithering seen so far says Krugman suggests that Geithner and company think that toxic assets that are worth 40 cents on the dollar are really worth much more, and if only things improve then a large part of the crisis will go away, as these toxic assets get priced at a higher level. This just doesn't look like its going to happen with the losses that companies like AIG are incurring. Bernanke even said there are no zombie banks, and AIG he said was not a zombie financial institution. So dithering continues with risks of a prolongation of this crisis to perhaps a decade, in the President's own words, and the cost much larger with even weaker public support as the bill gets larger.

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Keynes remark about a change of mind coming after looking at facts that have changed and Bernanke's experience last week in a similiar situation. Gertler, who heads Columbia University's economics department believes Bernanke has a good grasp of the facts, even though the markets and economy are still on a tightrope. Background about Ben Bernanke's growing up in a small farm town in South Carolina, named Dillon, and his feel for the common man, as old mills gradually closed down his area and people were without jobs. He brings a good understanding of the Great Depression, having spet much time studying the policy errors of that time. He is also not fixed about anything and willing and able to look at the facts and new facts as things change. Gertler for one does not see anything wrong with Bernankes inital perception of the situation and the change after studying things more closely, if anything he sees it as a plus, initial caution followed by quick action. time.

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JD Powers survey has lowered its annual sales rate to less than 15 million vehicles going down to 14.8 millon annual sales rate in ths spring 2008. GM and Ford are still looking at sales rate much above 15 million. What if the credit squeeze, oil prices and the recession lower sales to below Powers surveys? GM and Ford now have more flexibility to cut production with their new UAW agreements and this should helpreduce production volume. Also the auto companies have offered buyouts to every unionized employee. Expect further production cuts, as the auto companies are now going in the direction of cutting production rather than flooding the market with incentives. Also the pace of restructuring is likely to accelerate as the economy deriorates in 2008 and beyond. Carefully considering all the information available upto this point in Glinfo it does not appear that things will improve by yearend 2008 as some are expecting, hoping against hope.

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Inflation on an annual basis hit 27% in June. The central bank widened the band it alloed the dong to rise or fall against the dollar each day from 1% to 2% and announced a devaluation of 2% in June 2008. At this time the dollar buys 19000 dong on the black market compared to the official rate of 16600 dong, and the official rate is climbing up to the higher unofficial rate. A large part of the inflation is caused by a flood of foreign investment and bank loans to state owned companies, and the spending by state owned companies. The state owned companies like the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group are controllinng their spending. Some of the inflationary influx is investment from foreign manufacturers trying to escape rising costs in China, showing the risks if this and other factors are not carefully managed. Recently Greenspan advised Vietnamese premier Nguyen Dung to mop up the liquidity surge and restrict spending by state owned firms.

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The situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating. It's worsening compared to Iraq. More deaths in roadside bombings than Iraq in recent months, and rural areas in the south and east no longer in the control of the Karzai government. And opium crops not under any control and growing substantially in 2007. The US Defense department is conducting a thorough review of the situation in Afghanistan. The ceasefire between militants in Pakistan's border areas and the Pakistan army also has led to increased activity along the Pakistan border as Pakistan militants cross the border into Afghanistan, and the Pakistan tribal border areas acting as sanctuary for the Taliban militants. Meanwhile Obama and McCain see the situation differently. McCain sees Iraq as important and Obama would withdraw from Iraq and concentrate on Afghanistan and send 8000 more troops to Afghanistan, something that may happen if he is elected and the situation in Afghanistan deteriorates further.

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S&P credit analyst put GM and Ford on credit watch with negative implications saying both companies face a serious challenge to liquidity in 2009. And said in an interview that "these companies need a lot of liquidity to run their businesses, and they could approach the minimum levels they need if nothing changes." For GM liquidity concerns are rising because losses for the last 3 and half years have reached $70 billon and credit markets have locked it out of new financing and stalled asset sales such as the Hummer brans and its medium duty truck unit. All this has rattled investor confidence including slipping sales numbers in the US, Europe and in emerging markets like Russia. GM had the larges one day decline in its history by 31% to $4.76 on October 9, 2008, a postwar low for GM stock, and Ford fell 22% to $2.08. In fact GM's intraday low was $2.26! for an astonishing collapse.

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Costco's money saving strategies. Says Sinegal, son of a coal miner, "the biggest concern to me is that we lose our way and start thinkig it doesn't matter if you charge another dimeor another dollaar or another hundred dollars. Wihtout those disciplies, we don't have anything." Costco looks at every small saving, a penny here, a dime there. Savings in bananas, savings in pallets, savings in truckers time and trucks, on and on it goes. Costco gets three quarters of its operating profits from its membership fees of $50 to $100 from its 29 million members and it cannot afford to lose members who leave because bargains are not there or prices are not absolutely low for quality products. Sinegal is challenging Costco people to come up with new ways to save and pass on te savings to customers and where suppliers raise prices looking for alternative sources as with Bonita bananas fro Ecuador.

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The global financial crisis is expected to reshape the direction of globalization. Western finance will be re-regulated. Second as concerns about food security take prominence in countries like India and China inflation and how it affects food prices will result in governments taking an active role in this area. Thirs America will lose economic clout and intellectual authority. Emerging economies like Inida, China, Brazil and Russia and other countries are having a large influence on the direction of global trade now this will also extend to global finance. But even after the re-regulation of finance in western countries and changes also in emerging countries that are seen as necessary in the light of the global crisis, the global economy will still find the model of markets if carefully done and respect for individual initiative with a proper role of government but limited role, he attractive model to follow. Easterly comments on this for developing countries. See the link.

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Senator Kent Conrad, chairmanof the Budget Committee says "the next President will inherit a fiscal and economic mess of historic proportions. It will take years to dig our way out." This as the cost of war in Afghanistan is enlarging, the stimulus package is to be added to the $700 billion bailout plan and the help to homeowners facing foreclosure will come as the next President takes office in January. All of which in the consensus now in Congress and among the Presidential candidates will not come by raising taxes except in Obama's case on the highly paid over $200,000 a year and that too to pay for spending programs that will be additional for health care and infrastructure and education. So most if not all will come as deficit spending by other countries buying American Treasury's at 4% which for a $1 trillion borrowing costs $40 billion a year because of America's role as a safe haven.