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President Trump signed the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act passed with near unanimous support by the U.S. Congress. The original U.S. law on Hong Kong passed in 1992 requiring yearly reports on the autonomy of Hong Kong for it to get the "special status" granted to it. This requirement for yearly reports expired in 2007. This requirement is now reinstated. The law signed by Mr. Trump requires the State Department to certify Hong Kong' autonomy annually. The WSJ describes it as a "grim trigger" strategy" which would cause damage to Hong Kong capital markets and is of a magnitude that makes it less likely to be used. Mr. Trump pointedly remarked that he had signed it "out of respect for Mr. Xi, China and Hong Kong," and Mr. Trump has shown respect so far for the protesters but also shown respect for Mr. Xi and China in the middle of the unending nature of the protests. The new Act does not give Mr. Trump any additional powers than he already has. It only changes one aspect of relations- it makes Hong Kong relative autonomy a part of permanent high level issues in China - U.S. relations, including trade and Hong Kong's status as financial center. ...

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New cases per day in U.S. drop to 35,000 and in India to 55,000 for August 17, 2020. India increased testing to 900,000 per day. Most of these tests are RtP PCR tests with some antigen tests. ICMR's goal is to reach 1 million tests per day. The positivity rate has dropped to 8.62% with the increased testing. There are about 1400 labs in India doing testing.

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The South Korean government of president Moon takes steps to reduce the impact of escalating rhetoric between president Trump and North Korea. South Korea's national security adviser Chung Eui-yong has long discussions with Gen. McMaster his U.S. counterpart. A presidential statement in South Korea stated that "the U.S. and South Korea reaffirmed their promise that they will coordinate with each other closely and transparently," following these discussions. The opinion in South Korea is that the South Korean concerns about a conflict are being ignored by president Trump.

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Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, wants to see stricter requirements than Basel III on capital reserves for U.K. banks. The Bank of England has expressed its strong disapproval of UK banks lobbying activities in Brussels to push for a dilution in Basel III standards. The British government and the Bank of England want to have the flexibility to set their own stricter standards and not to be bound by a relaxed standard set by the EU. The risk to British taxpayers is a principal concern. In the U.S. Fed governor Daniel Tarullo is pushing for capital reserve requirements stricter than Basel III's 7% requirement- calling for a requirement of 10-14%.

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This Washington Post article by Henry Farrell explains the implications of the 2016 EU ruling on Apple asking it to pay 13 billion euros in back taxes. Other countries in the European Union are upset that Ireland is taking away business and siphoning away tax revenues from their country, and giving most of it back to Apple. Normally the European Union Commission does not have authority over taxes in the member states. However considering the social and political implications at a time of deep recession and political upheaval in the EU and the U.S., the European Union Commission under Margarethe Vestager has seen it proper to look at arrangements in which companies come up with tax arrangements that deprive member states unfairly of tax revenues- revenues that could support social welfare and basic education, healthcare services at a time of painful cuts. A tax rate of .005% in 2013 for Apple is cited by Vestager as she points out that Apple's taxable profit does not correspond to economic reality, as most operations are conducted outside Ireland. Ireland is just on paper the tax location for EU operations. Vestager has thus come up with a legal approach based on Ireland's tax arrangements being a form of illegal state subsidy, which is not allowed under EU rules, and gives the EU Commission authority to require that it be reversed by paying the back taxes of 13 billion euros. Farrell answers the question why the U.S. Treasury is saying that Apple should not have to pay these taxes, as the U.S. also hopes to get some of these taxes at some future date with Apple repatriating profits to the U.S. under a still to be set tax arrangement. ...

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A new dynamic is taking hold in U.S.-Saudi relations as U.S. interests for improving U.S.- Iran relations and tackling the nuclear proliferation issue, differing perceptions about democracy in Egypt and Bahrain, create distance between the two countries. The emergence of abundant shale oil in the U.S. and Canada and other parts of the world is reducing U.S. dependence on the Saudis for oil, and creates a sense among ordinary Saudis that the U.S. will abandon the special relationship with Saudi Arabia. The Saudis see their role as supporting fellow Sunnis in the struggle in Syria. The Obama administration has not taken any steps to support the Syrian people's struggle against the Assad regime and allowed the refugee crisis to develop to huge proportions with over 2.5 million people mostly Sunnis becoming refugees in border camps. The numbers are estimated to grow to 5 million if nothing is done according to UN estimate. Shiite Iran's support of the Assad regime has increased Sunni- Shiite discord in the Middle East. ...

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Landler and Barry say in this report in the NYT that the situation of government paralysis in the U.S. parallels the one in the UK with no-deal Brexit around the corner. President Trump wants a border wall (steel or other kind) on the border with Mexico as a campaign pledge. In the UK Conservative party faction supporting Leave from the European Union, including supporters of Boris Johnson, seek Leave at all cost. Johnson called the shortage of Mars bars a small inconvenience, as the Theresa May government prepares to push its own Brexit deal through Britain's parliament. In a separate report the NYT tries to show that over 80% of the drugs come in through entry ports and the border crossings are largely families or unaccompanied children. For the first time -since the 1950's and the segregation struggles in the U.S. -populists battle the elites in the large cities, say Barry and Landler. The rural urban divide, is seen in both sides of the Atlantic, in Europe and the U.S. ...

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President Biden's speech at the UN General Assembly on September 24, 2024.

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After averaging over 433 deaths daily over the past week California now leads the U.S. in deaths from coronavirus surpassing New York. The U.S. vaccination drive is reaching 1.5 million vaccinations daily.

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Letters to the Editor from a Congressman (for 18 years), a Quantum Lab at Duke, and a South Carolinan with Wedemayer's example in WSJ on Chinese students at US universities. Most agree that American students deserve the same opportunities. And the Duke Quantum lab seems to say Americans are not also part of the best and brightest and so do not deserve the same opportunities, looking only at his own lab in 2025 not America as a whole, and ignoring the history of science and invention since 1600 where European and American scientists built the Modern World. 

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President Trump reverses himself and says he supports intelligence agencies assessment showing Russia interfered in the U.S. presidential election of 2016. Earlier Trump told reporters on an Asian trip he did not think Russia meddled in the U.S. election. He cited Russian president Putin's remarks on the matter about not meddling after a brief meeting. and said he agreed with Putin on this point.

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The UN Refugee Agency says 7.6 million Syrians were displaced and refugees in their own country, 3.6 million Syrians are in other countries as refugees. Worldwide it says about 60 million are refugees. About half of the refugees are children. Of this about 14 million people were displaced in 2014, with 11 million of this displaced in their own country. Fighting in Iraq, Syria and Libya, appear to be the main cause of displacement in 2014. Never before in the agency's 50 year history are there so many displaced people in their own countries.

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A strong US labor market and higher social security benefits support higher US consumer spending in January 2023.

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Fitch Ratings drops US top credit rating for "erosion of governance." This happens as Mr. Trump runs for the 2024 election after a series of indictments for election interference.

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Everyone over 50 years is to be given the vaccine in just a few months of 2021 by the NHS. A massive logistics and training effort is underway. The government changed the law to let student doctors, physiotherapists, and dental workers to give the vaccine. Retired doctors and nurses are called in. Britain has a war effort to counter antivaccine propaganda unlike other countries such as France and Germany. Compare that 79% of Britons are seeking the vaccine, 54% in France and 64% in the U.S. showing that the UK is doing a much better job. Vaccination starts next week for over 80 year old people. The world is watching.

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Travelers landing at Schipol airport in Amsterdam book their flights at the airport to fly right back to the U.S. after president Trump announces a ban on flights from 26 European countries. President Trump did not wait to coordinate with other European countries. Only Britain and Ireland flights are allowed at this time. The ban restricts European travelers from 26 countries for 30 days beginning March 13 at 11.59 pm. U.S. citizens coming from these 26 countries will be required to quarantine for 14 days upon arrival in the U.S.

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Ahmadinejad says at a news conference in New York that he opposed the decision by Iran's central bank to allow the currency, the rial, to drop by about 60% against the dollar in the first 9 months of 2012. The central bank policy is to maintain foreign exchange reserves in the face of stricter international sanctions against Iran's nuclear weapons development program. Ahmadinejad delivered his final address to the UN General Assembly at the end of his second four year term, his last because of Iran's term limits.

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Fewer workers will support the elderly in the U.S. and the process is accelerating, posing new problems for Social Security programs. Census figures show in 2017 there were 25 Americans 65 years or older for every 100 people in working years, by 2030 this figure goes up to 35 retirees. By 2025 it will reach 33 retirees. By comparison in 2025 Canada would be 40 retirees, Germany 44, Japan 58, and on the lower side India at 13, Mexico 16, China 22. Trustees for Social Security are dipping into the Trust fund in 2018 to pay benefits for first time since 1982.

States are in worse shape $2.6 trillion in assets cover $4 trillion in liabilities in fiscal 2016, according to data from Pew Trust.

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Iraq is Iran's most promising market for gas exports. Iraq needs the gas for its power stations now that Islamic State has been decisively cleared from Iraq. Yet Iraq is having difficulty making payments to Iran for gas supplies because banks are not ready to handle the payments with the reimposed tighter U.S. sanctions and restrictions. The deputy head of media at the Electricity ministry in Iraq, Sadoun Shehan, told WSJ that transfer of money by Iraqi banks is prevented because of U.S. sanctions. U.S. sanctions were reimposed by the Trump administration after they were lifted in January 2016. The new sanctions prohibit gas exports from Iran. Iran had hoped to make the sales and also export to the European Union when sanctions were lifted. Iranian exports of gas that started in 2017 were itself delayed for 4 years by the war from Islamic State.  Iran has the second largest reserves of natural gas in the world. The Trump administration's sanctions have led to a drop of Iranian crude shipments by 29% in 3 months and added to upward pressure on oil prices to take prices to $80 a barrel. This issue has implications for India and China, particularly India as it faces both higher prices for oil and the tight restrictions in purchase of Iranian oil. ...

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Afghanistan, says aUN report, s seeing the development of narco-catels similiar to Columbia, where drug profits are seen as more imortant than insurgent ideology. The interdiction of opium crops says the UN office on Drugs and Crime has reduced production by 10% with 22% less land being cultivated. But this does not mean that the flow of opium has beeen affected. A stockpile of 10,000 tons of opium has been built up and is in the hands of narco-gangs, which is about 2 years supply for world demand. This also suggests that the efforts to cut financing of the insurgency are being dwarfed by the access for terrorists to this large source of financing. It also raises other questions about the billions of dollars that can be used for terrorist purposes. As the war situation deteriorates this financing suggests two ways in which the situation becomes intractable, first through the financing of the insurgency, and second through the corruption in the government of Afghanistan that this engenders. with the complete loss of confidence among ordinary people in the government. In these circumstances a democratic election does not have anywhere near the kind of credibility that for example the Iraqi elections had. Quite the reverse....

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International Energy Agency estimates show the U.S. surpassing Saudi Arabia as the world's largest oil producer by 2020 because of the boom in shale oil production. The estimates are for 11.1 million barrels a day from the U.S. in 2020.