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Greg Ip points out that the stronger dollar in 2018 is creating serious problems for Argentina, and will have an effect on Turkey, Indonesia and other developing countries. Dollarization hurts because it increases debt as debt servicing becomes costlier with dollar denominated debt and imports denominated in dollars become costlier. The dollar has increased in importance in the global economy. This is why the economic growth has suffered in developing countries in 2018. It is also why president Trump believes he can cut off Iran from the U.S. banking system to increase chance of new negotiations to fix flaws in the Iran nuclear deal, says Ip.   Argentina has seen internal problems compounded by the rising dollar causing the peso to drop by 17% so far in 2018. 88% of Argentina's imports are denominated in dollars. A rising dollar means it costs more in pesos for imports. Argentina's different levels of government have $98 billion in dollar denominated debt, and private sector has an additional $68 billion, the total being a third of its GDP. A decline in the peso means this is harder to pay off. About 40% of world trade, according to Harvard economist Gita Gopinath, is invoiced in U.S. dollars, four times U.S. share of world trade, and developing countries together owe $2 trillion in dollar denominated debt according to BIS. This makes it harder for developing countries such as Indonesia, Turkey, India, Argentina, Brazil, as they now face rising oil prices in combination with a rising dollar. In Argentina a poor crop for soyabeans and other agricultural exports in 2018 creates additional woes.   ...

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Food aid given by the Indian government to every household in need was critical in tackling the two years of the pandemic for a country with 1.2 billion people. Few realize the significance and real meaning of this in the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Here Dr. Iso shows how during the Edo period (1603-1867) in Japan 7.5 kilos of rice were given to each backstreet tenement house and the importance given to speed. In this sense the Modi government was following a practice that goes back to ancient times. This kind of social spending for food, medicine, and other social needs is a part of the common history in Asian countries and also has its history in European societies. 

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The merger between U.S. based Omnicom Group and France based Publicis Groupe SA, two of the largest ad agencies. The merger is a response to the increasing shift to digital advertising, the shift to advertising being sold in automated trading, and data driven analysis. In all these shifts digital companies such as Google and Facebook have strong advantages. Around 22% of global ad spending is now digital, according to emarketer, with forecasts showing this going up to 27% by 2017. Automated buying of ad space is taking off. U.S. advertisers are expected to spend $3.4 billion on real-time bidding. Omnicom's CEO, John Wren tells analysts: "Digital buying of media is done by machines, as if you are standing on the floor of the Nasdaq as opposed to traditional media shop. I hold the long term belief that eventually traditional media, or a lot of traditional media is going to be purchased that way." Just as computers have upended the environment for traditional players such as the NYSE creating new opportunities for Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), computers and the internet are changing the advertising environment. CEO Levy of Publicis Groupe SA says the data explosion, Big Data, is also creating a new playing field in which companies such as Google and Facebook have advantages. In a statement about the deal he says: "the communication and marketing landscape has undergone dramatic changes in recent years, including the exponential development of new media giants, the explosion of Big Data, blurring of roles of all players and profound changes in consumer behaviour." The merger will provide the new company the scale to develop these resources to compete with digital companies like Google and new entrants such as Salesforce.com and Adobe Systems. Omnicom has agencies BBDO, TBWA Worldwide, media buyer OMD. Publicis has Leo Burnett and Saatchi & Saatchi, media buyer Starcom MediaVest and digital agency Razorfish. The new Publicis Omnicom Group will have combined revenue of about $23 billion for 2012, and passes WPP Group PLC's $15.95 billion revenue. It will still be much smaller than Google with about 3 times WPP's revenue, and Google's advantage in storing trillions of pieces of data about user behaviour....

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Before this deal Kuwait with 7.6% was the largest single shareholder in Daimler. Now a Abu Dhabi investment firm Aabar Investments PJSC plans to put in $2.65 billion for a 9.6% stake in Daimler. The largest shareholder in Aabar, which is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securties Exchange, is International Petroleum Investment Company. IPIC is owned by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Daimler is doing this deal by issuing 96.4 million shares at price of 20.27 euros ashare. On March 20, 2009, Daimler shares closed at 21.34 euros in Frankfurt.

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WSJ's Solomon and Feng look at Chinese developer Country Garden's $100 billion real estate project Forest City located only a short drive from Singapore in Johore State of Malaysia. It owns 60% and the rest is owned by the Sultan and a government agency. It is now abandoned as a failed project with Country Garden failing to make debt payments. This is the kind of project Malaysia did not need, as it diverts precious capital from industrial projects and infrastructure that improve the lives of the Malaysian people. Malaysian development has stalled with governance issues and misallocation of capital for such projects, and no tangible strategy for development.

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The Brazilian economy is growing too fast, and this pace not only won't be sustained, but it has signs of serious trouble ahead. The Brazilian economy grew at an estimated annualized pace of 10% in the last 6 months and generated 962,000 jobs between Jan-April of 2010. Growth in 2010 is expected to be 7%. The jump in growth is partly the result of the stimulus measures of the Lula government. But a consensus of experts is that Brazil still saves too little, has not invested enough in infrastructure,and its economy has the potential of 5% sustainable growth each year. The central bank has increased interest rates - increase of 0.75% in April 2010, and economists in Brazil think the rate will go up to 13% in 2011. About $10 billion in cuts in spending have been announced but they are cuts to an already growing budget approved by Congress, so in reality it will only slow the increase in spending. Public debt is at 42.7% of GDP. Real interest rates have fallen from close to 20% in 2003 to between 5-10%. Costs per unit of labor are increasing at about half the rate of real wages according to a finance official. The National Development Bank or BNDES played a role in helping the economy with subsidized loans when the financial markets ran into trouble. It has expanded lending by 50%, with money from the Treasury of 180 billion reais. Some of the measures of the Lula government has reduced the skewed income distribution Brazil, and in doing so has increased consumer demand. Meeting high consumer demand, and meeting the need for commodities like soyabeans and metals from China, has boosted growth in Brazil to twice the sustainable rate and it is now at a par with China and India. But this places Brazil too dependent on the boom in Chinese demand, especially as the stimulus in China slows and the property bubble threatens China's economy. See links to China. A new President after the upcoming Presidential election will have to tackle the high interest rates in 2011, lower commodity prices, and the need for better infrastructure, and make the adjustment to a sustainable pace of growth....

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Offenders as young as 12-15 years are charged in the UK riots. On judge tells youth who was involved in disorder in Manchester, then a few days later throwing stones at police in Rotherham, was told by the judge at Manchester magistrate's court- “You are the first person I have dealt with to have been involved in two. It’s time to stop letting your mum down now. You are to do one thing – do as you’re told.” Online offenders are also charged. Janet Potter, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS North West, said: “This conviction should be a stark reminder to so-called keyboard warriors: online actions have consequences.” One offender 53 years was jailed for 15 months for a Facebook comment inciting disorder. Persons posting TikTok videos  that incited unrest were also charged.  The oldest rioter a 69 year old first time offender got 2 years and 8 months for joining the riots in Liverpool. Even not participating n a riot but in taking a computer monitor from a burnt out library in Liverpool as for one 22 year old,  the judge's response was for stiff sentences. ...

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Keir Starmeir, a human rights lawyer for 20 years, heads the Labour Party negotiating team in negotiations with Theresa May for a cross-party Brexit deal. He says about 150 Labour MP's would reject a Brexit deal that is lacking a confirmatory second referendum on Brexit. He also said Labour risks losing Remain voters tempted to vote for the Liberal Democrats or Change UK. Starmier said it is time to call time on the cross party talks in a few days.

Recalling his days as a human rights lawyers Starmier says he never thought he would be defending those values of society which were considered part of British society. Starmier says this battle for values is much bigger than one political party.

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This account in the WSJ shows how Masayoshi Son is making huge bets with money from Saudi, UAE borrowed at 7% interest, and his own and partners money. The first Vision Fund  which raised $100 billion was invested quickly over 2 years in startups in the U.S. with an uncertain future and the WSJ says it is unusual that a fund would pile up debt to invest in companies that are unproven and which cost the Fund billions of dollars a year in interest payments. Many of the people hired are not from venture capital and have backgrounds in speculative Wall Street deals, including Deutsche Bank, according to the WSJ. Critics say money invested in every pet walking or hotel renting website is not going to make healthy returns. Creditor are being paid back with money they lent, with interest at about $2 billion this year, according to this report.  Beyond the question of returns there is the larger question of how capital markets are malfunctioning today. Money badly needed for infrastructure and keeping up with technological developments such as 5G and new technologies, for research and development, and for vital public services in health and education to build strong societies, being diverted to highly speculative deals and dealmaking. ...

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One senior real estate economst at Property and Portfolio Research says the value of New York metropolitan area office buildings will decline by 58% from its late 2007 peak. Losses of 40 % have already ocurred, bu there is a ways to go for commercial real estate losses.

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Howard Dean, former Governor of Vermont, where Dean helped set up health care improvements, says the bill currently in Congress for health care reform does not deserve to be called reform and may do more harm than good. He points out that it does not insert competition into insurance markets, does not significantly lower costs, and does not improve the delivery and use of health care services. And few Americans will see any benefits till 2014, by which time premiums will have increased significantly. He sees insurance companies as winers in this bill, and the American taxpayer about to be fleeced with a bailout in a situation that dwarfs even AIG. One of his keen criticisms is already apparent to the public in this health care bill, that clear thinking has been thrown out in favor of compromise and political calculus, and by political moves the bill has been stripped of real reform , the end result being a bill crafted for votes and not to reform health care. It also then sets an irreversible course of how future healthcare reform is done, doing more harm in the future. ...

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Microsoft's Satya Nadella got his start at age 24 at Bing search engine. He is now 56 years. During this period he worked with both Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer who succeeded Gates at Microsoft. He is now remaking the Bing Search engine by using AI. This has happened since 2018 when he met Altman at the Sun Valley Tech conference in Idaho. He invested $1 billion in Altman's OpenAI, and has recently brought in Suleyman of Inflection who is a competitor of  Altman's OpenAI into Microsoft with the idea of setting up an internal AI business as well. To do this he has invested $10 billion in advanced AI chips that he has bought from chipmakers which have reduced the capital available for Microsoft's other businesses. This WSJ report by Dotan and Jin says Altman started his venture because he did not want to let AI to be led by Google silently developing its own version and doing leapfrog over competitors. A At this point in 2024 Google, Facebook and Amazon are building their own AI talent and making large investments in the chips that support AI. It is rapidly becoming an oligopoly of a few tech companies that makes deals among themselves for strategic advantage and protect themselves from public or government regulatory scrutiny. The controversy surrounding the firing and rehiring of Altman at OpenAI has brought new scrutiny from the FTC. The monopolistic behaviour of tech companies and their splitting the tech market among themselves as Google and Apple have done show the need for government action to prevent a repeat of this in AI. And to take action to break up existing monopolies in Search engines and in the Internet as Theodore Roosevelt did at the turn of the century for the oil business, breaking up Rockefeller's Standard Oil and Esso. Only when that happens can the true potential of the Internet be realized for Education, Health and other fields. Who can say that the iPad or iPhone or Google's Search engine has increased global literacy or American literacy? By freeing up these technologies- that belong to the people of America and the world- for education, health and other fields of human development mankind can advance once again. By regulating provide the ground rules for good use instead of the current danger of the Internet acting in ways to reduce public knowledge to levels that cannot sustain democratic process, and create stratified society where each group only sees what it has seen before and does not explore the world or knowledge in all its variety, all its ability to surprise us with new discoveries. ...

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Labour party in Britain is removing a never used anti-labour minimum services law that tended to worsen industrial relations and make it difficult to negotiate and resolve disputes over wages and conditions. The minimum services restricted the ability of 5.5 million workers to negotiate wage increases- it affected ambulance services, fire and rescue, teachers and rail services, border security to take industrial action, by requiring that a minimum level of service had to be provided. It was adversarial in nature and Angela Rayner call its effect as "poisoning industrial relations." We’re consigning it to history,” she said. “Scrapping this toxic legislation is our first step in ending the scorched-earth approach that has blocked negotiation and compromise to resolve disputes and prevent disruption." “This government’s new deal will create a new partnership between business, trade unions and working people and is fundamental to our growth mission.” A White Hall (British Civil Service) source says it was never used, Business did not want it, the legislation never worked, and Britain still lost more days to strike action than France or Spain. He says "it is the first major step in terms of resetting our relationship with the trade unions of this government." Jonathan Reynolds the Secretary for Business and Trade says- "The strikes act has not worked; it was a gimmick which inflamed tensions and only made serious negotiations harder, ultimately harming our public services and economy. It is telling that no single business ever used this pointless legislation. Putting an end to costly strikes that impact people’s day-to-day lives is key to getting our economy moving again and ending the chaos for our public finances.” ...

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Prime minister Modi's visit to the US comes at a time when US president Biden is eager to show the US is fully engaged in the Indo-Pacific region with its allies in the Quad 4 countries- Australia, Japan and India. The recently announced Aukus defense agreement brought together 2 members of the Quad 4 the US and Australia, plus the UK. Aukus is designed to strengthen US presence as a naval power in the Indo-Pacific region in the Indian and Pacific oceans around India, Southeast Asia, China, and across the Pacific. After a futile engagement in Afghanistan the US is reorganizing its presence where it is strongest- in the oceans. In a way that Britain once did in the eighteenth and nineteenth century, the US is dominant in the high seas. US naval power far exceeds that of all navies in the world combined. This is meant to reassure India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Australia and Japan, which together have close to twice the population of China, that the US has not diminished its presence in any way from that it had in the 1950's following the Second World War. With this new framework India enters discussions that will focus on health to deal with the pandemic and its after effects, with security and rule of law in the Indo-Pacific region, with trade, technology, new supply chain manufacturing structure in which India plays a key role. With this new focus and clearing past engagements made by other US  presidents, including some mistaken policies, the US emerges as a new force in the Indian ocean, China seas and Pacific ocean region.  On September 23 Modi meets Tim Cook for what could be new supply chain arrangements that Apple could be preparing as it and other US corporations build new supply chain structures to rebuild US manufacturing technologies capabilities that were lost to China over the period 2000-2020. During that period manufacturing technology knowhow was shifted out of the US in a mistaken policy that assumed design and invention were sufficient for the US to keep. The first step in this direction was a change of CEO's at Intel Corp with US president Biden pushing for new US technology reclaiming policy. Following that the new CEO at Intel Corp, Patrick Gelsinger, completely reassessed Intel's mistaken policies of ceding its entire semiconductor manufacturing technologies capabilities to Taiwan and China. Intel made a U turn and is now investing all or most of $50 billion in the US instead of in China or Taiwan.  On September 24 Modi meets Mr Biden to discuss trade, investment, defense, and security. On the same day the leaders of Japan, Australia, Mr. Suga and Mr. Morrison join Modi and Biden for the Quad 4 talks. Indian infrastructure capabilities and Indian economic growth would be key goals to strengthen India along its land borders along Tibet occupied region and Himalayas as part of the overall effort to build a new US and allied presence in Asia.  On September 21 Modi attends a Covid Summit that will look at the way forward in the aftermath of the pandemic and ways to vaccinate the remaining unvaccinated population in the world, as well as vaccination passports.  ...

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In his monthly television address called "Mann Ki Baat" prime minister Modi apologizes to Indians for the complete lockdown of the country. Modi said "for a a country the size of India we need strong measures. Nobody likes to take strong measures, but it is the only option, seeing other countries and learning that the disease must be dealt with at the beginning before it becomes incurable."  He cautioned that social distancing did not mean emotional or human distancing. Sympathy and cooperation are needed. He called frontline healthcare and sanitation workers "warriors" and "soldiers," and promised Rs 50 lakh (5 million) insurance for 20 lakh (2 million) such workers. He also commended the work of shopkeepers, drivers, bank workers and others to keep essential services running. Modi suggested now is time "to not go out, but to look within yourself. Try to know yourself." He gave examples of recovering doctors and workers, and of finding new hobbies. In coming time he said every Indian will try to break barriers for the country's development, once this crisis has passed. ...

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Common sense works where activism raises questions about what is being said in ESG- a different grab bag for each person. Larry FInk of Black Rock uses the word exactly for what it is not more not less- that is Transition Investing. Transition Investing being exactly what the word says it is investing in projects that build the transition to a world that is not affected by climate change as it is today. When climate change is real and the dangers are there for all to see, so called environmental, social and corporate governance going under acronym ESG was just too complicated and redundant. Fink has done the right thing. States like Texas are now working with Fink on investments in their state.

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When shortages of wheat following the war in Ukraine are causing a crisis in some countries such as Egypt and Africa, there are other unusual changes  as emerging market currencies such as the Brazilian Real and the Chilean Peso, South African Rand are increasing in value. Even with the strengthening of the US dollar the supply chain disruptions are benefiting exporters of soyabeans such as Brazil and Argentina, and copper such as Chile with strengthening of their currencies. The Brazilian Real has strengthened by 13%. The WSJ calls it the sharpest commodities rally in modern trading history. One analyst says this is unusual how emerging market currencies could rally in the first quarter of 2022 with war in Ukraine, supply chain disruption, strengthening dollar reaching almost parity with the euro.  Today this is a positive sign for the Free World in Latin America. Currencies weakening are ones in countries exposed to a sharply slowing Chinese economy and rising energy costs such as Thai Baht and South Korean Won.  Brazil's central bank is also increasing its lending rate to the highest level in 5 years. Other American allies in Eastern Europe such as Poland which has taken in 3 million Ukraine refugees are also seeing a strengthening currency in this new situation. The National Bank of Poland increased its key lending rate by three quarters of a point to 5.25% which has attracted investors to the Polish currency the Zloty. ...

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This wonderful report in the DW.com looks at what may be the defining game of the Nations League Soccer in 2020- the Germany loss to Spain, Spain winning with 6 goals. It shows pictures of moments for each of 6 goals by Spain and detailed descriptions of each. Coach Joachim Low's strategy for his players of sitting deep in his half so as to remove the possibility of inviting space backfired says DW.com. Toni Kroos of Real Madrid team who was one of the few seasoned players on a new team for Germany put together by Low, says that they tried both being more aggressive in the second half after sitting deep in the first half, and both approaches failed. The Spanish team was well coordinated, faster and tougher throughout the game.  At key moments the Germany defenders were nowhere near the Spanish players as they moved the ball one way and quickly the opposite way the next moment. Ferran scored a hat trick with 3 goals and some of his goal kicks were very quick and fast. As it says here Ferran reacted faster than anyone to score. In three consecutive moments Germany was slow to react to the speed of the Spanish players. For most of the game the Spanish players controlled the ball with pinpoint passing in the midst of many of the German players. It was not that Neuer the German goal keeper was not quick enough, he was beaten by the speed and angles, and the movement of the ball from different directions with Spain's rapid passing. For Spain Ramos, Morata, Ferran, Koke and Rodrigo, Olmo, played a critical role with a German team not looking like this since the 1930's, even though coach Joachim Low had put together a new German team. This could be a formative moment for Germany and coach Joachim Low as the German team looks for its form that eluded it completely this time.  ...

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Governor Cuomo's 2011 budget for New York includes year-to-year cuts of $2 billion in spending on healthcare and education. Overall the cuts would reduce year-to-year spending by 2%. For Medicaid and education Cuomo made a deal for a two year appropriation locking in fixed rates of growth, so that budget battles with teachers unions and other interests do not have to be repeated next year.

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After the financial crisis of 2008-2009, commercial real estate defaults posed a serious threat to the US economy. Now this threat is receding with low interest rates making it easier to get cheap financing, which raises the returns. For banks the rising earnings give a cushion to absorb losses, letting them sell distressed properties and not have to hold onto them. From office towers in Manhattan to Florida apartment buildings and retail properties in Washington, commercial real estate values are going up. Prices of commercial real estate properties sold by institutional investors went up by 19% in 2010, according to an index developed by the MIT Center for Real Estate. Investors have boosted the prices of bonds backed by commerical real estate to the highest level in two years. The managing director at Real Capital Analytics says, that with values going up, both the owners and lenders have more room to work out difficult situations. Real Capital Analytics January 2011 report shows that of the $52 billion in retail properties to fall into default, a little over half have completed workouts. In Feb 2010, the Congressional Oversight Panel of the Troubled Asset Relief Program said that the commercial real estate market had the potential to pose a serious threat to the US economy. The panel estimated that about half of the $1.4 trillion in commercial property real estate loans set to be paid off by 2014 were under water, where the borrower owes more than the property is worth. Market segments for hotel, apartment buildings and retail are going up. Hotel occupancy rates in the top 25 markets went up from 60% to 64%, according to Smith Travel Research. Sales of apartment buildings in the US went up as home ownership hit new lows, and lease rates went up to the highest levels in 4 years, according to Axiometrics....

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It is not a Mystery as rural America has indeed been neglected under previous administrations. Krugman tries but misses catching the point. How the rural economy has changed in the last two decades and how it has been neglected is evident from many sources and reports which offers a window into the efforts to better understand and tackle the problems of rural America. A major problem is technological change which has reduced economic opportunities in rural areas. Another problem is that the earlier governments have not planned to invest in rural areas in a way that would restore dignity and work to communities, and better prepare for changes by taking actions that make the rural areas more resilient and create new opportunities to replace the old. Too much attention has gone to technological changes and companies in urban areas and too little to the real needs of rural America and revitalizing the regions as part of overall development. Compare this with Kennedy's exhortation in the South, in places like Arkansas in 1961-1963 with investment in that largely rural state saying that an investment there was as important for New York or California as it was part of investing in America- this is where he said "a rising tide lifts all boats" for the first time. ...

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Mr. Chatzis is being forced to choose between paying a $372 real estate tax bill to keep his lights on, and paying for his wife's medicines on a $720 a month pension. Under new laws Greece now incorporates new property tax bills in the electricity bills ordinary Greeks receive. He says he cannot pay this. This was added as part of conditions agreed to by Greece for aid from the EU. Ordinary Greeks have paid real estate taxes in the past when they bought or sold property, and paid much lower taxes yearly to municipalities- about $133 yearly for Mr. Chatzis. The new tax means he will have to pay an additional $372 for the next two years. The new tax is added to electricity bills from the government owned electricity company to ensure payment. The tax makes no exceptions for the elderly or the unemployed. It is based on square footage, age of the building, and average value of the neighborhood, and has no relation to income. The feeling in Athens is that of growing resentment. Union workers have occupied the electric company's billing center, and the power company is holding off on electricity cutoff notices till the government decides. ...

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Galston focusses attention on the major problem facing democracies in Europe and the U.S.- that of providing decent paying jobs and improved economic prospects for lower and middle income households. He cites the surveys from the Pew Research Report and the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics showing how middle income households median net income remains stuck at levels of 1997, and lower income households at levels of 1996. The median net worth of American households adjusted for inflation presents an alarming picture of being at $96,000 in 1983 and $98,000 in 2013 for middle income families, and being at the level of $12,000 for lower income families the level of 1975. Most of the new jobs as much as 95% are being created in the low wage service sector and the BLS statistics show the future looking much the same- with huge numbers of low wage jobs, fewer decent manufacturing jobs because of automation and jobs shifts to low cost locations overseas, remaining manufacturing jobs in the U.S shrinking by another 800,000 to 7% of the workforce by 2025. The result is the alarming rise of populist politicians like Trump in the U.S., Le Pen in France , and populist politicians in Hungary and Poland. Cultural liberals in the Democratic Party and the Republican establishment are both threatened by the rise of cultural illiberalism, xenophobia, and nationalism, as economic anxiety increases, and fears of terrorism and immigrants add to this anxiety. Progressive tendencies in the Republican party since the days of Theodore Roosevelt and of professional elites in the Democratic Party could become endangered if no serious effort is made to come up with solutions to the problems these trends present. The disconnect between the concerns of the working and middle class and the professional elites as the gap widens and the social compact in America and Europe breaks apart, means a new mindset will be required in America and Europe to deal with this. ...

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For 2025 US stocks S&P 500 returns 19%, foreign stocks in Europe 36%. An extraordinary year for foreign stocks with Germany's big investments in the economy. Actually the average S&P stock was down 3.7%. It was the large investments in AI that propelled the US stock markets S&P 500 to the 19% gain.  AI investment may take a long time to be profitable and some companies may lose money yet the building of data centers creates demand for construction activity, and tariffs are bringing larger investments into the US economy. Media skeptical about tariffs led to many missing the surge in stocks. It was the same overseas after years of Merkel and limits placed in the constitution on needed spending, and the SPD coaltition struggling to get through FDP obstruction to investment spending. Chancellor Merz of CDU joined the SPD to make a big $1 trillion investment in German infrastructure and defense, and removed the constitutional brake on investment Merkel had unwisely put in, with so much of Germany's infrastructure and digital in bad shape. This pushed up European stocks that had languished under the austerity logic of Cameron/Johnson-Merkel. This also was missed by many as the old logic was suddenly and quickly taken out with Russia emboldened in Ukraine taking over much of the eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region. Defense is now a rapidly growing part of the German economy. 2025 was a year of sudden and rapid change in the world economy with tariffs, US investment deals, and Germany taking on defense and infrastructure, which few could predict. And in which the media created confusion by saying the opposite of what was required from investors. ...

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U.S. president Trump announces withdrawal from the Paris climate change accords, saying the U.S. will consider re-entering the agreement  or coming up with a new deal. He said "I was elected to represent Pittsburgh, not Paris." Trump said he was concerned about the environment, and avoided saying climate change scientific evidence was not correct. He based his concerns on the idea that China and India were getting an unfair financial advantage over the U.S. The U.S. had pledged under the Paris accords to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 28% from 2005 levels by 2025. The WSJ's Stokols and Ballhaus point out that president Trump had the option because of the nonbinding agreements committing nations to a broader goal of reducing emissions to combat temperature change of of 3.6 degrees F, to have modified emissions targets and still remained in the Paris accords. For Trump the motivation may have rested more on politics to shore up support in the Republican party which has largely opposed climate change targets.  ...