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The drop in commodity prices with slowing growth in China balanced by higher absolute levels of demand 2014-2015
06/11/2012
Linked Articles
China Slowdown Is Rocking Raw Materials
Wall Street Journal 03/12/2014
Commodity prices drop on economic woes in Europe, China, U.S. - The Washington PostWashington Post 06/11/2012
A recovery in auto sales in the U.S. market to the annual 14 million vehicle level in 2012
06/01/2012
The aging of vehicles to about 10.8 years on average for vehicles on the road in the U.S. is supporting a reovery in the automobile market in 2012. The strong recovery for Japanese automakers in the U.S. is reducing the advantage of American automakers who benefitted from the shortages of Japanese cars after the tsunami in Japan in 2011. The recovery for Japanese automakers is uneven with Toyota doing better than Honda in the U.S.
Linked Articles
May Car Sales Keep Up Healthy Pace
New York Times 06/01/2012
U.S. Auto Sales Keep RisingWall Street Journal 06/02/2012
Obama and election advisor Plouffe- responsible governance, Simpson-Bowles and an election imprint on "everything"
05/26/2012
A White House aide says election advisor David Plouffe's influence affected "everything" in the Obama White House. Tom Friedman points to the influence of campaign consultants on the White House as overreaching and pervasive, going so far a to describe the campaign being developed in test tube fashion. Karl Rove pointed to president Obama keeping an eye on reelection 18 months before Nov. 6, 2012, as not a positive development. Friedman specifically mentions president Obama's failure to endorse the Simpson-Bowles commssion on deficit reductions as part of the imprint of election advisors because reducing tax expenditures or deductions might prove politically unpopular. Yet this was part of responsible governance to take on unpopular positions- something other presidents, including Democratic president Truman, did not fail to do choosing instead to educate pubic opiion on difficult steps needing to be taken. Truman took the decisions head on such as confronting the soviets in Greece and other parts of Europe and in Korea after the fall of the Iron Curtain, so soon after a major war when the public was weary of conflict.
Linked Articles
Obama Adviser's Strategy Is High Risk, High Reward
Wall Street Journal 10/31/2012
President Obama Should Seize the High GroundNew York Times 05/26/2012
The focus on reviving the economy of Mohammed Morsi, new president of Egypt
05/25/2012
Egypt faces an economic crisis as it runs out of foreign reserves to finance basic imports. Morsi's election comes at a time when the dominant issues for years in Egypt will shift from the political to the economic as it tries to catch up with other countries in the developing world in Asia and Latin America that have made significant progress.
Linked Articles
Egypt’s president is U.S. critic, but could be an ally - The Washington Post
Washington Post 06/26/2012
Muslim Brotherhood claims lead for its candidate in Egypt’s presidential election - The Washington PostWashington Post 05/25/2012
A shift in priorities away from drug wars and rising level of violence in Mexico in the presidential elections of 2012
05/20/2012
Linked Articles
U.S. Braces for Mexican Shift in Drug War Focus
New York Times 06/10/2012
Interview with Mexican presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto - The Washington PostWashington Post 05/20/2012
Hype, deep pocketed investors and soaring valuations in Silicon Valley- 2012-2015
05/17/2012
The makings of a new bubble in Silicon Valley.
Linked Articles
The $1 Billion Club Gets Crowded
Wall Street Journal 05/17/2012
Search for the 'Next Big Thing' leads to Soaring ValuationsNew York Times 01/21/2014
Living wills of major banks in the U.S. under Dodd-Frank legislation
05/10/2012
The "orderly liquidation authority" of the FDIC and the U.S. Federal Reserve under the Dodd-Frank legislation provides a framework for bank resolution in the event of a crisis- something lacking in the 2008 financial crisis when Lehman Brothers collapsed. The largest finanial firms are required to write living wills so that orderly resolution can take place. Nine of the largest finacnial firms in the U.S. including Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and UBS, have submitted the wills to the Fed and the FDIC.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 05/10/2012
Banks' 'Living Wills' UnveiledWall Street Journal 07/03/2012
Iran's young people under 35 who make up about 70% of the population of 74 million, and the future of Iran in 2015
05/07/2012
Linked Articles
Iran’s Legions of Weary Young People Push Against the Old Ways
Wall Street Journal 07/08/2015
Young Iranians Confront a Constricted FutureNew York Times 05/07/2012
The sharp rebound at Toyota with planned sales of 9.76 million for fiscal 2012
04/22/2012
Japanese carmakers have rapidly recovered from the earhtquake and tsunami in Japan and floods in Thailand that disrupted supply chains. Toyota has also recovered from the damage to its image after recalls in the U.S. market with U.S. market share at over 15% by the second quarter of 2012.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 08/04/2012
Japan Auto Makers on a RollWall Street Journal 04/22/2012
India's surging crude oil imports with a depreciating rupee reducing the impact of cuts in fuel subsidies- 2011-2015
04/11/2012
Cuts in fuel subsidies to reduce the current account deficit has less impact with a depreciating rupee. The emerging markets crisis in 2014 focusses attention on the current account deficits of emerging market countries. A decline in foreign investment adds to India's difficulties.
Linked Articles
India Grapples With Soaring Energy Costs
Wall Street Journal 04/11/2012
Rupee Throws Oil on India's Subsidy ProblemWall Street Journal 08/21/2013
Something for nothing- the political class vs. renewal of the U.S. economy
03/29/2012
New York Mayor Bloomberg, and an editorial in the Washington Post after the Supreme Court hearings on the health care mandate and Medicaid expansion, describe the challenge facing America. The political class in the U.S. is quite content with promising something for nothing, which Bloomberg calls delusional.
Linked Articles
The Supreme Court’s civics lesson - The Washington Post
Washington Post 03/30/2012
Federal Budgets and Class WarfareWall Street Journal 03/29/2012
The sharp slowdown facing Brazil's economy in 2012-2013
03/07/2012
GDP growth slowing to about 2% and inflation at 6% expected for 2012.
Linked Articles
As Prices Rise in Brazil, So Do Worries
Wall Street Journal 07/30/2012
Brazil's Economic Growth FaltersWall Street Journal 03/07/2012
The risks facing Spain in 2012 with austerity measures when unemployment is at 23%
03/06/2012
Finance Minister Luis de Guindos sees Spain loosing either way with spending cuts that worsen high unemployment and lower economic growth leading to a worsening debt to GDP ratio in 2012, and this situation in turn raising its borrowing costs on $86 billion in debt issuance for 2012. He estimates the debt to GDP ratio will increase under the 2012 budget of 27 billion euros in cuts and an economy shrinking by 1.7% in 2012, by 10% from 2011 to 78%. Markets are focussing on debt in Portugal and Spain in 2012, after focussing on Greece and Italy in 2011.
Linked Articles
Spain Faces Risks in Budget Refit
Wall Street Journal 04/03/2012
Spain Struggles to Unite Regional Leaders on CutsNew York Times 03/06/2012
Boeing and lessons learned from the $50 billion Dreamliner project- (1) a shift to incremental improvement for the path ahead
06/08/2012
No more moonshot projects, say CEO McInerney, and Ray Conner, head of the airplanes division. The cost of the Dreamliner exceeds $50 billion by 2015, according to Barclays Capital, including R&D and related costs. The focus is now on incremental change, on striving for simplicity, reducing complexity, and increasing reliability, after the experience of over 3 years of repeated delays, cost overruns, and reliability failures, high complexity, and overloaded manufacturing processes on the Dreamliner project.
Linked Articles
At Boeing, Innovation Means Small Steps, Not Giant Leaps
Wall Street Journal 04/03/2015
Boeing Hits a MilestoneWall Street Journal 06/08/2012
The July 2012 Report by an independent parliamentary panel on the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster and prime minister Naoto Kan's testimony
05/28/2012
The report calls the disaster "a profoundly man-made event," and "a disaster 'Made in Japan,' " citing cultural factors that contributed to the accident. It is sharply critical of TEPCO and the Japanese government's response. Both the report and the testimony of the prime minister at the time of the accident, Naoto Kan, refer to the 'nuclear bloc' or 'nuclear village' in Japan that promotes nuclear energy. Some of its actions are dangerous to safety, such as locating the nuclear safety agency NISA inside the same ministry that promotes nuclear power, a critical flaw. Ironically Germany made the decision to make a gradual shift out of nuclear power after looking at the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster and near collapse in Japan, while Japan is reactivating its nuclear plants to meet energy needs without having obtained public confidence in the system of nuclear energy including the essential safety actions. The result is a profound credibility gap about the nuclear plant industry, and public opposition in Japan.
Linked Articles
Report blasts Japan’s preparation for, response to Fukushima disaster - The Washington Post
Washington Post 07/06/2012
Japan's Ex-Premier, Naoto Kan, Condemns Nuclear PowerNew York Times 05/28/2012
Egypt's 2012 presidential election
05/25/2012
Linked Articles
Early Egypt Results Put Islamist in Lead
Wall Street Journal 05/25/2012
Muslim Brotherhood claims lead for its candidate in Egypt’s presidential election - The Washington PostWashington Post 05/25/2012
Alexei Kudrin and other experts see the potential for a deep economic and political crisis in Russia as the situation in the eurozone worsens
05/23/2012
The Center for Strategic Studies in Moscow was prescient in predicitng political dissatisfaction before parliamentary elections. The former finance minister, Alexei Kudrin, anticipated the 2008 global financial crisis and set aside reserves in the sovereign wealth fund to cope with the crisis. Both now see the potential for a worsening economic and political situation in Russia as Greece nears exit from the eurozone and the banking crisis in Europe leads to reduced loans to Russia. At the same time the political polarization in Russia between pro and anti Putin factions creates other tensions.
Linked Articles
Report Says Support for Putin Is Dropping
Wall Street Journal 05/23/2012
Russian Recession Could Prompt Political Woes, Report SaysNew York Times 05/24/2012
The 2012 U.S. presidential election and demographic changes in America
05/17/2012
Linked Articles
Mitt Romney: A good man. The right fight. - The Washington Post
Washington Post 11/29/2012
Whites Account for Under Half of Births in U.S.New York Times 05/17/2012
The $436 million payment by Greece to holdout bondholder Dart Management and the $1.5 billion demanded by holdout bondholder Elliott Management leading to Argentine default in 2014
05/15/2012
Greece made the payment to Dart Management at a time of 20% unemployment and daily protests on Athens streets, a month before elections in June 2012. Greece only did this as a last resort for release of EU funds that were being held up to make pament of interest on debt. This exacerabated discontent inside Greece as pensions were being cut and layoffs taking place, including increase in electricity bills. The Syriza party made gains in that election and the two main parties lost ground to other parties, including a violent anti-immigrant party. Argentina's Christina Kirchner faces a difficult time with the unions and centrist parties in Buenos Aires province, with a shortage of cash and sovereign wealth fund down to $29 billion in May 2014. Stevenson points out the payment to Elliott Management could lead to a situation where Argentina owed $15-$27 billion to all holdout and exchange investors in its bonds.
Linked Articles
Argentina Finds Relentless Foe in Paul Singer's Hedge Fund
New York Times 07/30/2014
Bet on Greek Bonds Paid Off for a Vulture FundNew York Times 05/15/2012
Criticism of Japan's central bank on the lack of an activist monetary policy to support economic growth 2010-2012
05/07/2012
Shinzo Abe of the LDP, the leading candidate for prime minister after general elections in Dec. 2012, says he will appoint a new central bank chief who supports an activist monetary policy. Abe supports the BOJ setting an inflation target of 2% compared to the 1% under current Bank of Japan chief Shirakawa. Both the governing DPJ and the LDP parties are strongly critical of Shirakawa and prefer to see an activist stance against deflation similiar to the one Ben Bernanke is taking against unemployment in the U.S. Abe returns to power after becoming LDP prime minister following the government of Junichiro Koizumi.
Linked Articles
Vote Challenges Japan's Central Bank
Wall Street Journal 12/13/2012
Pressure Rises on BOJ to Reach Inflation TargetWall Street Journal 05/07/2012
Toyota stages a strong comeback in the U.S., Japan and other markets in 2012-2013
04/22/2012
Toyota's market share in the U.S. was back to 15% in 2012.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 06/02/2012
Japan Auto Makers on a RollWall Street Journal 04/22/2012
The growth compact for Europe: union-government cooperation to build competitiveness in France
04/17/2012
Unions and major parties in France are in agreement on wage restraint and accepting lower wages to preserve jobs, similiar to the effort in Germany during its period of high unemployment.
Linked Articles
France Moves to Make Labor More Flexible
Wall Street Journal 05/01/2012
French Presidential Election Stokes Investor ConcernNew York Times 04/17/2012
Nakanishi at Hitachi and Sasaki at Toshiba- a new set of CEO's in Japan breaking from the past
04/09/2012
Linked Articles
Hitachi President Prods Turnaround
Wall Street Journal 05/11/2012
Toshiba's Chief Takes StockWall Street Journal 04/09/2012
Eliminating all Bush tax cuts to generate the revenue base to support spending programs for the middle class down the road
03/29/2012
Jared Berstein of the Economic Policy Institute, Peter Orszag, former director of the Congressional Budget Office, and Mayor Bloomberg of New York, say eliminating all Bush tax cuts would provide the revenue base needed to support middle class programs for future years. Orszag says making the tax code more progressive is desirable especially considering the inequality but this does not do much good if the revenue base to support middle class programs down the road is insufficient.
Linked Articles
Middle Class Malaise Complicates Democratsâ Fiscal Stance
New York Times 12/12/2012
Federal Budgets and Class WarfareWall Street Journal 03/29/2012
The Apple iPad's pricing strategy and the phenomenal sales achieved in 2011-2012
03/06/2012
Sales volumes high enough to make tablets surpass PC's by 2015, according to some estimates.
Linked Articles
Apple’s iPad price hits a sweet spot between popularity and profits - The Washington Post
Washington Post 03/06/2012
Apple Updates iPad With Some RefinementsNew York Times 03/07/2012
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