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New York Mayor Bloomberg's call for an up or down vote on the Bowles Simpson plan in the U.S. Congress
11/15/2010
Bloomberg says the political class in the U.S. has promised a free lunch or something for nothing for too long. His two step plan to put the U.S. on the path to economic recovery includes the passage of Bowles Simpson deficit reduction plan and the step of letting the Bush tax cuts for all income groups expire.
Linked Articles
Federal Budgets and Class Warfare
Wall Street Journal 03/29/2012
Left, Right and Wrong on TaxesNew York Times 11/15/2010
Stiglitz and Krugman point to the dangers in the Cameron-Osborne austerity measures in Britain
10/20/2010
Jospeh Stiglitz writing in the Guardian in 2010, at the time of the first Osborne Budget, said it was a huge gamble that the private secotr would pick up enough to make up for the impact of the budget cuts. Lower growth would mean lower tax revenues and deficit reduction targets would be missed. Krugman points out that the 490,000 job losses planned through attrition under the Osborne plan is similiar to 3 million in job losses in the U.S., a huge risk for the British economy.
Linked Articles
Britain Details Radical Spending Cuts, Citing Debt
New York Times 10/20/2010
British Fashion VictimsNew York Times 10/21/2010
Who is the sucker in this war? Mohamed Hanif and Thomas Friedman offer two perspectives on the Afghan war.
07/31/2010
Mohamed Hanif of the BBC's Urdu Service gives the view of ordinary Pakistanis outside of the small military and civilian elite that runs Pakistan. They are just looking in and are more interested in the electricity that can illuminate a village, than with an obsession for India. Pakistan has lagged in economic development and has no emerging middle class like India. Friedman of the New York times sees America a the sucker in this game, but is oblivious to the feeling of ordinary Pakistanis who were never part of this.
Linked Articles
In Pakistan, Echoes of American Betrayal
New York Times 07/31/2010
The Great (Double) GameNew York Times 07/31/2010
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
Apple products at manufacturing plants in China and at retail stores in the U.S.- low worker pay and lack of future prospects
05/29/2010
The high margins for Apple achieved through a combination of keeping costs low- even at the risk of providing poor wage and working conditions for the majority of employees employed in the retail stores in the U.S. and in supplier Foxconn plants in China- and by a grasp for innovation and technology. The paradox of a well deserved image for pioneering in technological innovation and the indifference to working conditions and prospects for employees who add value in manufacturing and customer interface. This model of growth is a recent development, put in place after 1997. In 1995-1997 Apple was nearing collapse under Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio, as documented by WSJ technology reporter Jim Carlton in his book- "Apple- The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders." Steve Jobs returned as CEO in 1997 and set the future course and this model in place emphasizing design, his ability to grasp technologies that would appeal to customers, and hired Tim Cook to set up the manufacturing which had high rate of defects and higher costs. The model was as full of paradoxes, of genius combined with mediocre behavioursas the man Steve Jobs. Tim Cook has responded to criticism in 2012 by having the Fair Labor association audit Foxconn plants in China. Foxconn increased wages in 2012, shifted plants to the interior of China, and increased use of robotics.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 05/29/2010
Apple Stores Army, Long on Loyalty but Short on PayNew York Times 06/23/2012
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
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
Shrinking news coverage and fewer journalists in the newspaper shift to digital online
11/25/2009
It says a lot about the changes underway in the newspaper industry when a paper like the Washington Post closes its bureaus in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and covers the news there with travelling reporters. As local newspapers such as the New Orleans Times- Picayune move to three editions a week and an online edition, the number of journalists overing the area around New Orleans will shrink by a third in 2012. Advance Publications which runs the New Orleans paper will do the same for its papers in Huntsville and Birmingham i in Alabama.
Linked Articles
New Orleans Times-Picayune to limit printing to three days per week - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/25/2012
Washington Post shutters last U.S. bureausWashington Post 11/25/2009
David Rieff provides insights on why all developing countries, Mexico, Brazil, India, Indonesia and China need to take child malnutrition seriously
10/11/2009
The Indian lower house of parliament passed a Food Security bill in August 2013. Rieff says China made serious progress to reduce malnutrition from over 21% for children under 5 years to around 7% today after 1990. In India malnutrition for children under 5 years is above 40%. There is a lot that developing coutnries can learn from each other in this area including the Bolsa Familia program in Brazil which uses the concept of improving vaccination for children and school attendance as requirements for subsidy payments to the poor. Mexico and Indonesia have different versions of programs to help the poorer sections of society. The problem is acute in India because of indifference induced by caste and other considerations and the high level of malnutrition for children. Rief says how good is ademographic dividend when many of these children are permanently and silently impaired by malnutrition by the age of three. India's Congress party leader, Sonia Gandhi, put it differently in parliament: "What is our responsibility to these people?"
Linked Articles
New York Times 10/11/2009
India's Lower House Passes Food Bill to Help PoorWall Street Journal 08/26/2013
The new coaltiion governement of Liberals and Conservatives in Britain.
10/08/2009
A common program for the 2 parties to attack the U.K.'s budget deficit with spending cuts. A pragmatic sensible approach from Cameron and Clegg.
Linked Articles
Britain's accidental revolution
Economist 05/13/2010
That's more like itEconomist 10/08/2009
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
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
Criticism and reservations about the Fed's second round of quantitative easing.
10/25/2010
The likelihood that the US Federal Reserve's move to buy an estimated $750 billion of Treasury bonds will be ineffective in the absence ofiscal policy options.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 10/26/2010
Our Fiscal Policy ParadoxWall Street Journal 10/25/2010
Complacency at RIM Blackberry and Nokia as the Apple iPhone upends the market 2007-2012- the sudden collapse of Nokia and RIM Blackberry
09/26/2010
Linked Articles
The Inside Story of How the iPhone Crippled BlackBerry
Wall Street Journal 05/24/2015
Nokiaâs New Chief Faces a Culture of ComplacencyNew York Times 09/26/2010
Local governments and state-owned companies are fueling a real estate bubble in China in 2009-2010.
07/29/2010
Northwestern University Prof. Shih estimates that state banks in China hold $1.68 trillion in debt of local investment companies which invest for local governments. In many cases the banks have little collateral. The central government in China aggressively supported this lending to quickly get money to projects in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, but this may have backfired with money going into speculation and building a bubble.
Linked Articles
Chinaâs Real Estate Boom and Conflicting Policy
New York Times 08/01/2010
Where China Hides Its DebtBusinessWeek 07/29/2010
The recovery of Japan Airlines after bankruptcy with the initial public offering of $8 billion planned for Serptember 2012
06/21/2010
Linked Articles
JAL, a Bailout Beneficiary, Heads for a Public Offering
New York Times 07/02/2012
JAL May Need $1.1 Billion More in AidWall Street Journal 06/21/2010
Italy's borrowing in capital markets - 2011-2012
06/03/2010
Linked Articles
Italy Seeks to Spur Growth, Narrowing Gap With Peers
Wall Street Journal 07/18/2011
Italy's Shot of Southern DiscomfortWall Street Journal 06/03/2010
Small investors are losing confidence in the US stock market in 2010.
05/27/2010
A trend shows small investors withdrawing from the market and less buying on dips in the stock market. There was abrief respite as the market recovered in 2009 but the trend to net outflows in the mutual funds that invest in stocks was reestablished in May 2010.
Linked Articles
Small Investors Flee Stocks, Changing Market Dynamics
Wall Street Journal 07/12/2010
Chuck Schwab Is Worried About Small Investors. Should We Worry Too?BusinessWeek 05/27/2010
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
Hatoyama fails to implement his vision for Japan.
12/23/2009
Perceived as indecisive over issues related to cutting wasteful spending and reducing the deficit, and the shift of an American base out of Okinawa, Hatoyama's popularity drops to 25%. He resigns (teary- eyed) after only 8 months in office. It shows how difficult it has become to find aleader since Mr Koizumi left office.
Linked Articles
Japanâs Premier Will Quit as Approval Plummets
New York Times 06/01/2010
Harsh Realities Stand in the Way of a Leader’s Vision of a New JapanNew York Times 12/23/2009
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
Bank of England Governor, Mervyn King's warning about the fiscal deficit and Conservative efforts under Osborne.
10/08/2009
The Conservatives made cutting the fiscal deficit a key part of their platform. King warned about the fiscal deficit assuming alarming proportions during the election.
Linked Articles
The Bank of England's Kingmaker
BusinessWeek 05/13/2010
That's more like itEconomist 10/08/2009
Iran, N. Korea and President Obama's approach to nuclear weapons proliferation
07/05/2009
The views of Nunn, Perry, Shultz and Kissinger after meetings at the Hoover Institution on developing a new approach to nuclear proliferation after decades of relying on "mutually assured destruction", and the approach of President Obama. During the Cold War the U.S. and the Soviet Union faced each other, the situation in 2012 is very different with Iran, N. Korea, Pakistan, and the risks of terrorism.
Linked Articles
Youthful Ideals Shaped Obama Goal of Nuclear Disarmament
New York Times 07/05/2009
Deterrence in the Age of Nuclear ProliferationWall Street Journal 03/07/2011
Paul Krugman responds to Arthur Laffer's points about inflation by saying reversing course would put us back into a steep downturn.
06/11/2009
Krugman says only three times in the past has amajor economy faced a liquidity trap, where there is no more room to cut interest rates. During the depression years, during Japan's lost decade and now. In the previous two situations, in 1937 and 1996, a premature tightening of credit put the economy back into a steep downturn.
Linked Articles
Get Ready for Inflation and Higher Interest Rates
Wall Street Journal 06/11/2009
Stay the CourseNew York Times 06/15/2009
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