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Dina Asher-Smith, Britain's greatest sprinter is bouncing back in the 200 metres sprint after the Tokyo Olympics. Here she talks to Sean Ingle in the Guardian.  Much of what she says from her experience and what she has learned is valuable for people working in all walks of life. How do you take the ups and downs (she did not do well at the Tokyo Olympics) and what is the best way to be? On the best way to be- "As a sprinter I want to be light, and bouncy and carefree. So you can't run fast with baggage. It's really unhealthy. You just gotta throw it out. What happened in Tokyo doesn't affect my calibre. It doesn't affect the  work I put in, or my potential. It was just really unfortunate timing. I'm not the first person it has happened to and certainly not the last." She says one never knows what someone else is facing behind the scenes. Nobody is truly unbeatable, and everything is always up for play, even if the odds look to be infinitely stacked against you. That is why she says she approaches every race as a clean slate. And that is why she does not bring whatever  happened last year to this year. And on that last bit of effort she says- "You have to stay focused, be humble and hungry, to keep finding those 0.01 seconds in every phase, and every step you do." ...

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Empowering people and civil society was the main goal of En Marche movement founded by Emmanuel Macron. As president Macron has governed in the presidential style of De Gaulle, creating dissatisfaction. Macron is criticized for centralizing power and decision making process so that the style of governing is in sharp contrast to the way En Marche draws on grass roots support. En Marche itself was critical of how the older politicians had governed France. The Interior Minister and Environment Minister resigned with the Environment Minister saying he felt "all alone" in government. This is happening as the European Union election is approaching with the poll numbers of Macron dropping to about 26%. Marie Le Pen's RN is ahead of Macron's En Marche for the first time in polls taken in November 2018 for the May 2019 European Union elections. The think tank Friends of Europe shows 41 percent of French respondents in a survey saying life would be the same without the EU, while only 21 percent thought it would be worse.    ...

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Bill Keller of the NYT points out that getting Syria right means getting over the obsession over what went wrong in Iraq and looking objectively at the situation in Syria. He points to the failure of president Obama in grasping what the Assad regime has done to Syria, the refugees in Jordan, the use of artillery and air raids on civilian population, and inviting the support by fundmentalist Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia in the absence of U.S. and European support, making delay after delay by president Obama leading to a paralysis in response. Leaving the question for the future which was a worse U.S. response- the hasty action in Iraq or the paralysis in Syria?

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The US dollar is rapidly appreciating against currencies such as the Indian rupee, the Japanese yen, the euro and the pound. The aggressive interest rate policy in the US and investor sense that the US central bank will take action against inflation is one reason the US dollar is stronger and will continue to strengthen in coming years. The weakness of emerging market currencies, the Bank of Japan's policy to continue keeping interest rates low, and the stronger US economy vs the European economy as Europe struggles with a war and cutoff of energy supplies from Russia, are other reasons for a stronger dollar in 2023 and beyond.

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Janet Yellen Fed chairwoman, says many obstacles still exist for women in the workforce. Bringing more women into the workforce will increase the productive capacity of the American economy. The increasing participation of women in the workforce was factor in the growth and prosperity of America by the middle of the 20th century. In a speech sharing her personal narrative at Brown University, her alma mater, she described how other nations had passed the U.S. in women's participation in the workforce, and how it remains stalled at 75% for women either working or looking for work. Her speech was at a conference "125 Years of Women at Brown." The U.S. is now 17th among 22 developed nations in participation of women in workforce, mostly because of government and business policies that relate to paid maternity leave, affordable child care, and flexible work schedules.

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California governor Newsom faces a recall election in 2021. Only 3 governors in the US have faced recall elections, says the NYT. Newsom faces criticism for his handling of the pandemic, homelessness in California, and other issues. It is also a sign of the rural-urban divide and polarization in the US as Newsom is running his campaign as one against former president Trump.

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Caste is little understood in the US. In India caste is not seen as a positive thing as it is seen as having made India weaker, creating divisions that led to colonization of India by the British and extraction of capital for the East India Company. Leaving Bharat (India), all Indians including the lowest castes, poor and backward. This is why Gandhi took up the fight against untouchability- the worst form of caste. Since 1947 every government has worked to integrate the lowest castes into the economic mainstream. PM Modi appointed a tribal Santhal caste schoolteacher to president of Bharat (India).

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Brazil stands out as an exception to the way in which most large nations have responded to the coronavirus taking it seriously. Brazil's health system lacks equipment and is inadequately funded compared to European countries, yet president Bolsonaro has not imposed the strict lockdown and other measures taken in other countries. Brazil is now the country with the second largest cases surpassing Russia- it has 326,000 cases and 3200 deaths.

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The FBI search at Mar Lago Mr. Trump's Florida home is part of an investigation into Mr. Trump's handling of classified information.

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Seb Piquet is the voice heard by teams and organizers of the Tour de France cycling race. He rides behind the main group of riders in one of the Skodas of the tour organizer and gets information from three cyclist helpers going with the lead cyclists. Piquet is the one man narrator that everyone depends on, and without him no one knows what is going on in the race. WSJ looks at Piquet and this year's Tour. 

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Magdalena Andersson of the Social Democrats, joins Mette Frederiksen in Denmark as the first female prime minister in Sweden. Both are from the Social Democrats. She won by a single vote after an agreement with the Left Party to increase payments to pensioners, and alliance with the Greens. Under Sweden's strange and different system a minority vote can lead to formation of government- Andersson was elected with more votes against than in favor, 117 members of parliament in favor, 174 against, and 57 abstentions.  It is more about members not voting against so that in Sweden's system one has an absolute majority as a party if fewer than 175 parliamentarians oppose. This also means the budget that will pass will be the opposition's budget and Social Democrat Andersson will remain as prime minister, as opposition parties prefer Social democrats to right leaning anti immigrant parties. Today Germany's Social Democrat Olaf Scholz and Greens Habeck as "senior Minister," Elena Baerbock as foreign minister, are leading a new government in Germany. Social Democrats and Greens have undertaken the task of renewing investment in infrastructure and modernizing their countries in Northern Europe. ...

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A Phase 1 trial of over a thousand volunteers shows the Oxford vaccine works well with minimum side effects that can be handled with acetaminophen. Phase 2 trial is underway with volunteers in UK, Brazil and South Africa. Participants given the vaccine had significant increase in antibodies to neutralize the disease, and T cells for long term protection. About 70% reported fatigue or headaches which can be handled with acetaminophen. After the Ebola crisis of 2014 in West Africa the British government invested 120 million pounds to form a group to develop vaccines for top 10 likely threats dubbed "Disease X." On this list was the coronavirus. Scientists at the Jenner Institute at Oxford formed a team as part of this effort. Sarah Gilbert and Adrian Hill led the scientists at Jenner and pioneered research for  a new way to do this- to first replace a part of the virus with a component of the new virus. Then to remove the part of the virus that allows it to replicate in humans. This method is called recombinant adenovirus vector. The Oxford scientists used existing technology in new ways to increase the chances of getting a good vaccine early.  The first vaccine could be developed and tested for mass production by September. A 30,000 participant trial begins in U.S. in August. About 1 billion doses could be manufactured by end of 2020. India's Serum Institute has the manufacturing facilities to do this near Pune, India.  ...

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Todd Schlanger, senior investment strategist at Vanguard, is cited in this WSJ report saying the 60-40 strategy makes sense now because of lower stock valuations and higher bond yields. His forecast for Vanguard for a 60% stocks and 40% bonds globally diversified strategy is for a annualized 10 year median return of 5.4%. Schlanger says 60-40 strategy used to be a bellwether, and that strategy is an enduring strategy.

Stock valuations that Schlanger says are lower are reflected in the S&P 500 which is trading at 18.2 times its expected earnings over the next 12 months, down from 21.6 at the start of 2022. The 10 year average is 17.5.

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President Moon Jae-In of South Korea will meet Mr. Kim of North Korea in a summit in late April after envoys from South Korea visited Pyongyang, North Korea, for 2 days of talks. The talks come against the background of the WInter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where the 2 Koreas sent a joint team as part of reconciliation efforts.  North Korea agreed to denuclearize said a South Korean government statement after the talks, saying- "The North Korean side clearly stated its willingness to denuclearize. It made it clear that it would have no reason to keep nuclear weapons if the military threat to the North was eliminated and its security guaranteed." Working level discussions will be held before the Kim- Moon summit meeting and a hotline phone connection will be setup between the two leaders. A recent report in the WSJ shows China for the first time tightening sanctions on the North. Japan has joined the U.S. in taking a tough stand and its foreign minister said that the offer for abandonment of nuclear weapons has come before and North Korea has resumed its nuclear weapons development each time. U.S. experts say that security guarantees were offered by the Clinton administration, including in writing, but this has not prevented the North from moving ahead with its nuclear program. This is the first time Kim, 34 years, has met with senior envoys from the South since assuming power in 2011. The WInter Olympics in Pyeongchang with Mr Kim's sister attending and bringing an offer for a summit meeting, were the first such contacts in years between the 2 Koreas. The new offer comes with an offer to stop nuclear tests, yet leaves open the manufacture of fissile materials say experts. The U.S. and Japan are deeply skeptical and insist on complete and verifiable proof of abandonment of the nuclear program. ...

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NYT reporters show China is continuing to crack down on what it sees as companies that break the law. This adds to risks of companies operating in China leading to companies not adding to investments in China and looking at options of manufacturing or doing business in other friendly locations such as India and Vietnam for manufacturing. New deals are also being done with South Korea, Japan instead of China as China's surveillance of business grows and risks increase of operating in China.

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The president of the European Parliament and head of the socialist bloc in the parliament, Martin Schulz, is now headed for a comeback after losing the election to Merkel and the CDU. He will be the new Foreign Minister of Germany in a coalition agreement between the CDU of Merkel and the SPD party. After losing the election- even though polls showed him at 50% support in Feb. 2017- Schulz ruled out another coalition with Merkel's CDU which appeared to drain the SPD of energy and identity.  With the need to avoid fresh elections Schulz agreed to Merkel's overtures. He has a passion for football, and it played a part in his turning to alcoholism and missing out on graduating from high school. Yet he rebounded, running a bookstore with his sister- books were an elixir for Schulz- and becoming mayor of a small town Wurselen near Aachen in western Germany. His start in European politics came with a win for European parliament seat in 1994, rising to be president.   ...

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Prostate cancer is becoming the most common cancer. Here are some useful tips for tackling this health problem men face today. 

Diet should include fresh fruits, nuts and vegetables. Reduce dairy to three portions (cheese, milk), limit calcium intake to daily requirement, and cut down on animal based protein and fat. 

Fat building up in the thighs and other parts of the body including waistline increases risk. This makes it essential to limit BMI to 30 and waist inches around 37 or close to this. Regular exercize lifts the mood and helps cut fatty tissue reducing the risk of prostate as well as other cancers.

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India is a major partner for Africa in the areas of energy and healthcare. India is a critical partner for Africa during the coronavirus pandemic in providing medical supplies and maintaining the critical supply chain. Indian oil and gas firms have invested $7 billion in Mozambique. India is Africa's third largest export market and India has $54 billion in investments in Africa. Foreign minister Jaishankar called India a reliable partner for Africa interested in developing the region. In fact Gandhi first started his nonviolent struggle in South Africa on behalf of miners in the region and fought for rights of African and Indian people in British South Africa. As a leading member of the British Commonwealth of nations India has a long history of ties with South Africa, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana and other former parts of the British Empire. Indian workers and merchants played a large role in development in Africa after and during British rule. There are also older ties with Portuguese ruled Africa (Mozambique and Angola) with Portuguese settlements on the east coast of India. The Indian Ocean ties go back to the 15th century. ...

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Koch describes Trump's statement about Muslims with the notion that 'We'll have them all register' as "monstrous" and "reminiscent of Nazi Germany," in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News weekly program. Trump is reported to have been open to a database tracking Muslims in the U.S. before backing off, according to WP, which is what Koch referrred to. About Cruz's statement about "carpet bombing" the ISIS group, Koch says he finds it "frightening." He calls both candidates "terrible role models" and agrees with George Stephanopoulos that Hillary could be a better presidential candidate than the two Republicans.

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As British conductor Sir Simon Rattle turns 70 years he is described as a "questing bold spirit" by The Times. He performs with the LSO Jan 12 at the Barbican in London.

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Activist investors such as Starboard Value hedge fund are pushing Yahoo to sell its Yahoo businesses and keep its investment in Yahoo Japan (35% stake valued at $8.6 billion) and Alibaba (16.5% stake valued at $35 billion). This would mean the sale of the Yahoo brand with 210 million visitors to its website each month. Yahoo's board has tried changing CEO's, and Marissa Mayer in office for 4 years has tried different strategies including acquisitions but failed to make a difference. Yahoo is not able to generate profits from its business the way Google and Facebook have done, and large investors are losing patience with Mayer. Mobile's importance has grown in recent years benefitting Facebook and Google but not Yahoo in generating more advertising revenues. Yahoo's content is seen as commoditized not commanding the advertising revenue of sites that help navigate the internet (Google) or social media sites (Facebook) that offer unique value to users.

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Russian attacks on Ukraine grain terminals like this one on two US owned grain terminals in the port of Mykolaiv, are an effort to degrade Ukraine's ability to export food. This is seen as affecting the world's ability to feed hundreds of millions of marginalized communities in Africa, Asia and Latin America and is abhorrent to people all over the world.

 

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A recent survey by Der Spiegel shows three quarters of Germans want to continue operating the 3 remaining nuclear plants. 78% support keeping them running to 2023, and 67% support keeping them for 5 more years. The idea is that they can be used in this emergency. Even a majority of Green party support keeping them running to 2023. This is a profound change in German opinion.