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Instead of $20 billion proposed before Argentine elections when the country was facing economic pressures, banks will lend $5 billion in a short term facility, according to this report in WSJ November  20 2025 

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The FDA approves Governor De Santis proposal for importing drugs from Canada. Colorado is one of the other states that have applied. The drugmakers continue their opposition even if this means lower prices for the American people of excessively higher priced American drugs compared to other countries. Both Republicans and Democrats agree prices have to come down and support importing of drugs into the US, then why is it taking so long for the FDA  to approve state proposals? The Biden administration has issued an executive order for the FDA to work with states on this.

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Biden says "Today, the world stands at an inflection point where the choices we make - including in the crises in Europe and the Middle East - will determine the direction of our future for generations to come. What will our world look like on the other side of these conflicts." Biden says the United States is "the essential nation.... the world looks to us to solve the problems of our time." His solution is for Palestinians and Israelis to have their own states and integrate this into the Middle East region. 

 

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As the coronavirus hits the economy and money markets, not even gold and safe bonds are places people are turning to. The shortest term bonds and cash have become important. Short term money markets are strained and companies are drawing down on their credit facilities while they can be accessed. From the view of small business or big business it is liquidity and cash that matters now. People and businesses need cash to cover rent, fixed costs, other bills. Small businesses have less room for error and need to plan carefully. The dollar is surging against all other currencies. This is the situation on March 18, 2020.

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Kate Bingham, head of the Vaccine Task Force in Britain is commended for her intelligent approach in placing bets on vaccines in different technologies, "four buckets" as she calls them. This includes the Moderna and Pfizer in the mRNA technology and the viral vector Astra Zeneca, J&J vaccines. This approach made the British vaccination drive effective by being supported by a resilient supply system.

The Indian government has supported the effort to get several companies to make the Sputnik Russian vaccine in India in an effort to diversify supplies. Reddy Labs is one of the major manufacturers working on the Sputnik vaccine in 2021.

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The survival of the failed Kim regime has cost millions of lives for the people of North Korea. Yet the international politics of the countries has focussed on other issues: the South Koreans wanted to avoid the burden of taking on the people of North Korea as West Germans did for the East Germans after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, China wanted to avoid a reunified pro-western neighbor to the south and the potential influx of refugees across the border, Japan and the U.S. were focussed on the nuclear threat from N. Korea. The result is a failed state and an uncertain future for the people of North Korea.

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Pultizer prize winning journalist for reporting on the Middle East, Karen Elliott House, reports on Saudi Arabia and Middle East following the Arab Spring and the changes in the Middle East. A vast demographic of young people is stuck in the region facing an impasse of poor leaders, internal divisions, and lack of jobs or economic opportunity, following a failed Arab Spring. Their aspirations for a better life on hold.

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A government shutdown looms in the U.S. as talks over DACA and immigration collapse between Republicans and Democrats, following a derogatory comment about Haitian immigrants by the president. Earlier talks led to a proposal by Senators Durbin and Graham which offered legalization to Dreamers -children of people illegally entering the country- a 10-12 year path to citizenship, their parents offered 1-3 year renewable work permits, and $1.6 billion in funding for a wall or border fence on the Mexican border. President Trump rejected that proposal.

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What will China look like in the future depends on Li Qiang as well as Xi Jinping. Li Qiang is a close associate of Xi Jinping, as his chief of staff in the early 2000's in Zhejiang province. At that time he interfaced with Chinese companies on investment and economic policies. This WSJ report looks at Li Qiang and how he could be a moderating influence on Xi and provide another perspective for business and economic policy in China. He is seen as having his own instincts on policy, believing in competition, yet deferring to president Xi on broader policy issues for the CCP and China. He replaces Li Keqiang who was sidelined by Mr. Xi as Xi formed his own team from his early days in the provincial governments in China. Some of these connections date back to the early days under Xi's father, Xi Zhongxun, who was one of the leaders in Yenan in the war against the Japanese and the encirclement efforts of the Nationalists against the Communist party local governments in the north during the 1930's. Xi's father was later one of the leaders in the 80's shaping the opening up of China to a market economy under premier Deng- a role not tackled by hardly any of China's leaders from the 1930's. In this sense both Xi's having taken on difficult roles in shaping China's recent history, with the younger Xi building his own team to chart a new path for China. ...

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There is a unexpected tradeoff for the flexible workweek and hybrid work that come in the form of a 7 day workweek, say professionals.

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This account describes the events that preceded the raid on the compound in Abbottabad that housed Osam bin Laden. The first information came years earlier during interrogation of Al Quaeda suspects in Iraq, who referred to a courier carrying messages from senior leaders. One suspect Hasan Gul referred to an important courier in 1994, and tried to disclose as little as possible. Over several years the information was pieced together leading to the courier's location at the Abbotabad compound. There was another individual living there who rarely ventured out and a seven foot wall protected the terrace in that part of the compound, making it impossible for outsiders to see who he was. Garbage was burned at the compound, and the nature of the compound with high walls and security led the CIA to believe there was a high probability that senior Al Quaeda leaders were inside. In December the CIA asked Congressional lawmakers at a secret meeting for additional funds to finance the operation. Adm. McRaven was placed in charge of the operation. A mock compound was built in Afghanistan and the attack on the compound was practiced by Special Forces. In April, Leon Panetta, who had tracked the information about the compound as head of the CIA, held daily meetings. He told his team "we've got to find out what the hell is in that compound." On April 19, Panetta informed Mr Obama that the CIA believed Osama Bin Laden was there. The same day Obama gave the go ahead for a helicopter assault....

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The cooperation announced between India and Britain on the experiment to look at one grid between countries in different time zones could be a game changer in the way new technologies have already achieved in making solar less costly than fossil fuel. Embrace of new technologies is essential for achieving net zero emissions. India first proposed connecting solar energy across countries and time zones at the International Solar Alliance in 2018. If a way can be found to integrate the grid across time zones the problems of solar energy could be tackled effectively. Storage would not be needed in the way it is now as the solar energy can be sent to other areas with the demand. And the equally vexing problem of supply can be solved as the regions such as Spain could be generating solar energy when the sun had set in India. It is ambitious but it also brings in scientists and engineers from Europe, America, India and Japan to tackle the problem. There is also the opportunity to build on one discovery to make another scientific discovery in the way advances have happened in medicine and science.  And nothing about net zero is not ambitious. One of the lessons Modi learned early in Gujarat is that experiments are needed and to never rule out new ideas. In some of his speeches he describes the early experiments with electricity and solar energy in Gujarat that led to more ambitious efforts over time, and eventually to where solar targets like the one made at COP26 Glasgow of 500 gigawatts by 2030 are now within reach. ...

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Baer and Zuckerman give this friendly account of how a law student from Melbourne found himself a single Australian in New York. He went on to join Morgan Stanley and took over in 2010 at the height of the faulty mortgage financial crisis. His patient attitude and quiet demeanor  stemming from growing up in a family of 10 children helped him take on the responsibilities at the bank when banking was getting a bad name for its responsibility in causing the financial crisis. His mother was a nurse, his father an engineer, both underpaid and stressed professions compared to banking which has caused crisis after crisis in an effort to get outsize rewards. This Australian American later told colleagues, that around the dinner table his middle class parents discussed current events creating an interest in reading and world affairs. We get this as it was our own experience. What has he to say then about both the absence of this middle class today in the way it was, and more than two thirds of American eight graders lacking proficiency levels in reading, 75% lacking proficiency in Civics and History shown in NAEP tests? Not much different in Australia or the British Commonwealth too. His name James Gorman, who now retires at the age of 64. How could he give back by supporting a Movement for Global Literacy, what we have also on this site? Lyrarc.com acts a driver for this much needed literacy in reading comprehension, history and civics. ...