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Gretchen Morgenson cites two views on the newly approved Volcker Rule in December 2013. Prof. Richard Sylla of New York University sees the rule as going part way in the direction of the Glass-Steagall Act, which gave the financial markets five or six decades of financial stability. Just the fact that the rule is on the books should give the bank officers pause before engaging in questionable financial activities, is his view. Prof. David Skeel of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, believes only aggressive enforcement can make the law work because of the way it is written. He says regulators have fallen short in enforcement in the past and have not been held accountable. Only by making regulators accountable, including penalties for regulators failing to do their job, would this work says Skeel. By not imposing penalties for regulatory failures in the last crisis there is more likelihood for this sort of behaviour to continue. Instead the same regulators are now given greater powers after an earlier failure. Considering the Skeel view, the importance of the attestation- that is now required from bank senior executives that the Volcker Rule's provisions are being followed- take on an important role in ensuring enforcement. This also coincides with Mr. Volcker's view that the bank officers should have to take on the responsibility for making sure that they are doing it the right way....

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The differences in the Democratic party between conservatives and liberals that make it difficult to get things done in healthcare, energy and other areas. The lack of White House leadership in a number of areas, and in anumber of instances. The lack of Senate leadership on these issues with the Senate not having done much in energy and healthcare legislation. Add to this the influence of the $133 million that lobbyists spent in the 2nd quarter 2009 alone. The failure of Republicans and Democrats in Congress to push vigorously for cost control in the health care industry adds to these problems.

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Walter Mead describes the roots of the refugee crisis in 2015, as millions of refugees flee Syria, Iraq, and other countries in the Middle East, lying in the failure of governments throughout the Middle East to accomodate modernity, women's rights and technological progress into the old Islamic thinking. He says he sees this in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Tunisia, and other countries in the Middle East. The Arab Spring which aroused so much hope for the people of the region has floudered in the failure of both the Islamic leaders, the military elite, and civil society to come up with a consensus rooted in what a modern Islamic society that accomodates modernity, women's rights, the participation of people in their government, technological progress should look like. The Western nations of Europe and the U.S. also underwent soul searching to come up with a modern Christian society through its own struggles, which the Islamic societies have failed to do; and as a result floundered and broken up by sectarian, religious and military conflicts. Mead takes the long view, yet falls short when it comes to how European leaders and societies face individual challenges to bring their own Christian faith and ideals into the real world, in the way chancellor Merkel has responded in Germany. Europeans have had their own period of conflicts and civil wars, the refugee crisis and refugees in chancellor Merkel's words who "have gone through the hell of a civil war" are very real, and how each European responds defines who he is and how far Europe has come from its own dark days....

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Robert Reich of the Clinton administration responds to a question by Charlie Rose, about Obama's failure to have a narrative of governing that connects the dots. Reich says Obama got caught up in tactical judgements and failed to grasp the larger strategic narrative. He sees Obama as having supported Wall Street and business as much or more than any previous administration, but is not perceived as pro-business.

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A committee constituted by the Indian Supreme Court headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice AM Sapre in a 173 page report says that based on data from stock market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) it sees "no evident pattern of manipulation" in  the steep stock rise of Mr. Adani's companies that can be attributed to "any entity or group of connected entities."  It also said that it was not possible for it to conclude that there were regulatory failures  regarding price manipulations.

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AT&T will have to pay $3 billion in cash to Deutsche Telekom for a failure to complete the merger with T-Mobile. Anti-trust objections killed the deal. Deutsche Telekom is the owner of T-Mobile.

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The S.E.C.'s failure to build a deterrent against future reckless financial activities- that damages the financial system and hurts the public interest- through effective enforcement. Efforts to rebuild its reputation under S.E.C. chief Mary Jo White.

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This New York Times editorial says the U.S. Obama administration and its Housing Secretary Donovan should stop pretending that its settlement is the best way to help homeowners under water. The editorial asks the serious question- how far would the $20 billion settlement the banks would provide under the deal help, when 14.6 million homeowners owe $753 billion more on their mortgages than the value of their homes? The Obama administration is pressuring New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, to accept the settlement with the largest U.S. banks for questionable foreclosure practices, including robo-signing. It asks Schneiderman to resist these pressures and not support the settlement. Schneiderman has resisted this pressure because he and other prosecutors would be restricted from pursuing their investigations into wrongdoings in housing mortgages. The proposal from the Times to the Obama administration is to make principal reductions for underwater homeowners who are currrent in their payments through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The proposal to help homeowners uner water on their mortgages was first proposed by Martin Feldstein during the mortgage financial crisis in 2008-2009 with repeated op-eds in leading newspapers including the Wall Street Journal. Paul Krugman called attention to the failure of the Obama administration on this issue in recent op-eds. Peter Coy of Business Week pointed to some form of loan forgiveness as an essential part of restoring the economic health of the U.S. and Europe in the August issue of Bloomberg Business Week. Higher unemployment has made the foreclosure crisis worse, and has created a strong headwind for the U.S. economy by erasing chances of an early recovery in American housing markets. The Obama administration's Home Affordable Modification Program has been a dismal failure in helping homeowners facing foreclosure and was a huge missed opportunity to take the correct action early....

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Critics of the nuclear agreement with Iran reached in April 2015 say the verification under a UN agency will be weak, and the "snap back" of sanctions in the event of failure may not work in the real world.

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This opinion piece in De Zeit says there are different ways to look at Chancellor Merkel's refugee policy, as a failure, as an act of compassion, influenced by her experience in East Germany, her Christian upbringing as a daughter of a pastor, or Germany playing a role in Europe after Barrack Obama failed to provide American leadership in the refugee crisis. It says some of this commentary in the media ignores the fact that it was always the intention to accept a large number of migrants as part of a policy of European humanism in the face of misery of refugees, but to carefully manage this influx, to reduce the flow of refugees, and wind down the flow by vigorously addressing the causes. From this point of view the commentary about Merkel's failure is overdone. It is interesting that some of the weirder descriptions describe Germans conscious of the history as being outpatients in a American clinic closed down by president Obama. In any case American presidents have overreached, consider Reagan and Bush with German's strong or cautious reaction, and underreached with Obama providing cause for concern and efforts to fill in for a missing American role, with both roles difficult to fill for Germany by itself. America is not defined by its presidents and its politics alone, but by its own history, which has reflected the same values since the founding fathers Jefferson and Washington. Germany's policy has merely reflected these same values, at a time when the U.S. was simply taking a pause from its foreign involvements in regions fragmented by tribal, religious and other divisions. In doing so being the true partner it was its intention to be. ...

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Sheila Bair, chairwoman of the the FDIC, says the banking industry is showing "continuing signs of improvement, and the process of repairing bank balance sheets is well along, but not yet complete." The bank failures are easing and the FDIC insurance fund which had a negative balance of $7.4 billion at the end of 2010, now has a negative balance of $1 billion. It should turn positive by July 2011 when Bair's five year term ends.

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With a turnout of 80% Argentines voted in favor of the socialist Peronist party after just 4 years of government of centre right party Cambiemos, headed by Mauricio Macri, a former mayor of Buenos Aires. Alberto Fernandez was elected with 48% of the vote to Macri's 40%. People in rural areas and in  poorer parts of Buenos Aires were hard hit by the economic crisis and rise in fuel costs, giving the socialists over 50% of the vote. The failed economic policies of Mr. Macri with overborrowing building up debt of $115 billion in foreign currency denominated bonds, lack of prudent budgetary discipline, leading to inflation of 50% led to his failure to win a second term. A $57 billion bailout from the IMF which is highly unpopular in Latin America failed to stem the drop in the pesos value from 10 pesos to the dollar when Macri assumed office to 60 pesos by the time of the election. A drought in 2018 reduced exports of soyabeans, and a third of currency reserves about $20 billion were used by the central bank to defend the peso. The socialist administration returns to power under the leadership of Mr. Fernandez, a former the chief of staff of president Nestor Kirchner, Kirchner and Fernandez inherited a similar crisis resulting in deep depression in 2003. Mr. Fernandez left the administration after Nestor Kirchner's death in 2010 and Christina Kirchner headed the Peronist party till 2015 winning 2 terms in office as president. Higher social spending under the Peronist party and high commodity prices for soyabeans exports with demand from China helped restore the economy under the Kirchner administrations, later leading to higher budget deficits by 2015 that Mr. Macri inherited. A failure to adjust spending early followed by severe austerity cuts in fuel and electricity prices hurt the urban poor and people in rural areas leading to the return of the socialist party and the lost hope for Cambiemos (Lets Change) to free markets that Macri had generated in 2015. ...

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James Galbraith points out how Trump appeals to aging Reagan voters on Social Security, and older white Americans. He says much of the talk about the wall is bluster to appeal to this group of voters. On the Democratic side he points out the failure of Hillary Clinton to appeal to younger voters. Galbraith says the young are voting in large numbers for Sanders, and this is likely to shape U.S. elections in 2020, even though Trump and Clinton are nominees of the Republicans and Democrats in 2016.

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The Obama administration's failure to correctly grasp the situation and articulate a clear position on the democracy protests in Egypt, is raising many questions. On many of the events occurring about the transition, the administration was caught unawares. And its position gave a muddled message to the people of Egypt, not a clear statement of the US support for the democratic process. Senator John McCain said in an interview: "Every day that goes by, you have to ask: who profits from this? Its the Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic extremists. There's the perception that we're on the side of Mubarak."

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A series of attacks against foreign businesses takes place in South Africa. High unemployment and the failure of the African National Congress governments under recent presidents Mbeki and Zuma to tackle deep inequalities and poverty have aggravated tensions. The violence was seen in Johannesburg and Pretoria. This has worsened relations between South Africa and Nigeria, Tanzania. My Cyril Ramaphosa of the African National Congress was elected president after the dismissal of the former president. Ramaphosa in a national address recalled the support received from African nations in the struggle against Apartheid. Slow growth and high unemployment with corruption, in Nigeria and South Africa two dominant economies in Africa, have increased tensions and rivalry between the two countries. For South Africa trading ties to the continent are important. About 44% of agricultural exports of $3.9 billion go to African nations, increasing from 30% in the prior decade.  ...

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Mexico's Attorney General under president Enrique Pena Nieto is odered to stand trial by a Mexican judge. The then Attorney General was part of the effort to present "historical truth" version of events in the forced disappearance of 43 students which was rejected by the people. The effort is part of a broader effort to bring the rule of law to Mexico under president Lopez Obrador, including efforts to control illegal money laundering and other illegal use of funds. Nieto was president from 2012 to 2018 when there was a failure in the rule of law in Mexico. This effort also restores dignity to Mexico and Mexicans in the light of the international community. For the US with its large community of people of Mexican origin, and Mexico as its most important southern neighbor, the restoration of the rule of law  brings dignity to people in the region.

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NYT Shanghai bureau chief Alexandra Stevenson sends this report on the magnitude of the problems facing Country Garden, China's largest housing developer, Country Garden has $200 billion in unpaid bills, has missed interest payments on debt. It lost $7.6 billion in the last 6 months. A million apartments remain unfinished. The government's first concern is that buyers are made whole, it is less committed to housing as a driver of economic growth. And the numbers are just way too large for the government to tackle. By one estimate the unpaid bills goes as high as $370 billion in unpaid bills. What happens to all those construction workers, carpenters and other workers who remain unpaid. Country Garden follows failure of Evergrande another huge Chinese real estate developer in 2021. Experts say even if people buy Country Garden's apartments the losses are too large to make up.

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The UK decision makes purchases of Huawei equipment for UK 5G networks illegal from the end of 2020 and gives carriers till the end of 2027 to strip out existing Huawei gear from 5G networks. The move Mr. Dowden, British minister in charge of digital issues, says will cost $2.5 billion and delay the development of 5G by 2 to 3 years. He said the whole sector suffers from a "global market failure" and is "dangerously reliant on too few vendors." The UK and Australia, U.S. decision will accelerate the development of more vendors in international alliance to come up with alternatives. Other European governments face pressure from legislators in Germany, Italy, and France  to reconsider decisions on 5G. In the UK some members of parliament are critical of the long time given to phase out Huawei gear in 5G networks. 

 

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There is a sense from Remainers and Brexiters in the Conservatives and in Labour that Brexit is "acting as a drag on UK growth and limiting its potential" after the pandemic and inflation. Senior members of both parties are meeting in Oxfordshire including David Lamy of Labour and Michael Gove of the Conservatives, and the heads of banks and large business. Gove and Boris Johnson led the campaign for Brexit, and Gove is now interested in ensuring Brexit is not viewed as a failure in the long term. The Office of Budget. Responsibility says Brexit will reduce Britain's per capita GDP  by 4%, over the 15 years from 2016. Labour sees it as a threat to any future Labour government to leave unaddressed the relations with the European Union. In a bipartisan effort what sort of conversation to have with the EU so that Britain's economy benefits? President Biden's effort in working with like minded Republicans for America's renewal may be seen by Labour and the Conservatives as reason for doing the same in Britain to ensure European recovery.   ...

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Problems for women and for childcare in Germany after the Merkel administration's failure to invest in child care. This DW.com report looks at this problem. Mothers have to send their children to grandparents or pay for expensive private day cares and nannies if they are able to do this. If they are not able to do this the mother usually reduces her work hours or delays returning to her job entirely. A German Youth Institute DJI study is cited which shows that in 2020 49% of parents with children under age three said they require child care. Of these only 24% were able to secure a place at a child care center for the necessary hours. For children over age three 97% needed childcare and only 71% said the necessary hours were covered. This problem was bad before the pandemic, during the pandemic it has only become much worse for women. A similar problem is happening in the US, so that this problem has consequences for women in both the EU - in Germany, France, Italy- as well as the US. It places additional burdens on women with children in the workplace. ...

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Aaron Tilton of DW.com provides this exceptional report on World AIDS Day 2016, showing that about one percent of the population in Russia could be infected with AIDS, becoming for Russia "an issue of national security." Mr. Pokrovsky, head of Russian federal AIDS center, says that the proportions are reaching an epidemic, and that it may now infect the general population. The campaign to have NGO's registered as foreign agents is cutting off funding from outside and this hurts efforts of private organizations. The government of Russia's attitudes towards AIDS and following the thought of the Russian Orthodox Church with stigma associated with AIDS as a moral failure, is also hurting efforts to tackle the AIDS epidemic among LGBGT community, sex workers and other populations. Only now is the Russian government waking up to tackle this as a national priority with support of prime minister Medvedev, and by backing up the UN 90-90-90 program. That program sets targets for total population- 90% to be diagnosed, 90% treated, 90% viral suppression. Russia has only 250,000 being treated, only one third of the affected population, says this report. ...

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France's former president who preceded Macron was Francois Hollande of the Socialist party. Macron was a socialist party member from Amiens and a member of Hollande's cabinet, choosing to challenge Hollande with his own newly created party EN Marche just months before the election of  2016. This party is relabeled the Renaissance or Ensemble in 2024. Francois Hollande, 69 years, was elected in 2024 Assembly elections with 43% of the vote from Correze, and speaks for the NFP Front Populaire which defeated the Macron Ensemble and the RN National Rally to be the largest party in the National Assembly. Here he talks about the snap elections, the failure of Macron for working families struggling to make a living, and the responsibility to the French Nation of the Front Populaire, the need for cost of living actions to lift the burdens on working families, and the need to stand up for working people across the country. Today the NFP is the only party that calls for investing $140 billion in the French economy, in manufacturing, in infrastructure and public services, for climate change action. ...

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The fruits of the failed "no show" Obama administration policies in the Middle East, that allowed reckless intervention by the Putin government of Russia in Syria, and failed ignominously to offer timely full moral and tactical support to the participatory democracy movement in the Middle East. The cost relatively small compared to the cost already incurred by the Bush aministration, and most of the heavy lifting to be done by the young people looking for a better life in the region. And a cost that would make much larger additional cost less needed under future administrations to correct policies of neglect by the Obama administration. A failure in terms of ideals today, and a failure seen in terms of the cost that is borne by the U.S. from a policy of neglect. It comes from failing to grasp the fact that the U.S. is a leader for much of the world, and protects in its hands- in its ideals and its best efforts to live up to these ideals- the aspirations of the vast majority of the people of the world, including hundreds of millions of people in China, India, Brazil, Mexico and the large developing regions of the world....

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This report in WSJ looks at the Biden education, healthcare and climate change plan. It is part of the Families and Workers Plan put forward by president Biden for $3.6 trillion. This figure has now been lowered to $2 trillion and may drop crucial provisions for education such as the cost free community college which poses serious risks for working class families unable to afford community college, and skews education access even further to higher income families. It also lowers college attendance of American men, which is falling to alarming levels. The reason the plans are being whittled down is the 50-50 split between Democrats and Republicans in the Senate and the failure of Republicans and two Democrat senators Manchin of West Virginia, Sinema of Arizona to support community college access. Parts of the current bill support child care, access to affordable housing and in home care for elderly Americans. New elections for Senate and House of Representatives in 2022 would have to settle the issues related to financing assistance for families and workers as the Senate today is divided 50-50 between Democrats and Republicans. A separate Bipartisan Infrastructure package has the support of all in the US Congress to build bridges and roads, other infrastructure badly neglected by different administrations over the last 2 decades. ...

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The World Vaccine Summit raises about $7 billion to immunize about 300 million children for polio, diphtheria and measles, over 5 years. Prime minister Boris Johnson who opened the summit called it "the greatest shared endeavour of our times." Bill Gates donated $1.6 billion and Britain pledged 1.65 billion pounds over 5 years, making Britain the largest donor. Mr. Trump also addressed the summit in virtual manner- "we will work hard, we will work strong... good luck, let's get the answer." Mr. Johnson called for renewing "the collective resolve."  Specifically he stated: " Just as we have great military alliances like NATO.... where countries collaborate on building their collective military defence, so we now need that sam spirit of collaboration and collective defense agains the common enemy of disease." Referring to failure of early warning systems for coronavirus with crucial weeks between Jan 6 to Feb 16 lost for the West with lack of international cooperation- "It will require a new international effort to cooperate on the surveillance and sharing of information- data is king- that can underpin a global alert system, so we can rapidly identify any future outbreak. And that will mean a rapid scale-up of our global capacity to respond."  ...