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Now that congestion pricing plan is halted, the New York Subway system that has suffered from decades of neglect and disinvestment languishes in crisis. The NYT says it is hanging by a thread in this report. Compare this with the Tokyo subway or subways in Taiwan, China,  or other countries and one realizes how much damage years of disinvestment driven by Reagan/Friedman economic theory can do. Where Asian countries are investing in infrastructure, eight years after Republican Trump called for attention to infrastructure but failed to invest, and four years after the trillion dollar infrastructure program of president Biden, NY subway remains neglected. Ana Ley tells us what a difficult time it is for New Yorkers. After decades of neglect new subways are going up even in places such as Mumbai, India. How much longer must New Yorkers wait for government to partner with private industry for the NY subway system to be rebuilt, in the state that is where the Erie Canal was built in the nineteenth century in the first wave of the Industrial Revolution? The Erie Canal was built in 7 years for $7 million as navigable waterway with locks for elevation of 350 miles from the Hudson River at Albany to Buffalo and Lake Erie. It opened up the vast hinterland and granary of New York state and connected it to New York City, from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes. ...

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This editorial in Der Spiegel magazine sees something positive emerging from the current state of politics in Germany with the fragmentation in political parties. It says this situation is something that is happening for some time now. In the Netherlands there are a number of parties working together in a coalition government. And in France the Macron movement swept away the old parties. Something similar is also happening in Italy with the Five Star Movement as elections approach in March 2018. This may be a positive development in that the days of 100 percent convention votes, and of career politicians who move up the ranks from one political committee to another, are over. Voters are acting in individualistic way, don't trust the elites and old big tent parties with career politicians who may not be responsive to people's needs.  Young people are eager for more participation, and this may be a good thing, says Der Spiegel. It points out that not just parties like AfD are gaining as a result. SPD support dropped to 16 percent in one poll same as AfD. The Christian Lindner's Free Democrats in Germany also are benefitting,Macron in France is benefitting, Sebastian Kurz in Austria is benefitting. Their parties they prefer to call as "movements" with some marketing and political platforms that appeal to young people. Macron's movement moved aside the old political system and brought in younger people, revitalizing the decaying political system. The conclusion for Der Spiegel is that this change is not entirely good or bad, its a challenge. Our focus should not be on propping up obsolete structures, breathing new life into old political structures could be a good thing with new younger voters looking for participation. So don't be afraid of voters. ...

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Jasprit Bumrah will be the new captain for India's cricket team as it plays a final Test match against England led by Ben Stokes. Stokes led England to a 3-0 win in Test matches against New Zealand with Joe Root in top form.

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With new apartment construction rents are decreasing in the US after reaching new highs.

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How ChatGPT and Microsoft are seen as upending the search business at Google. ChatGPT's ability to explain complex concepts and come up with new thoughts are seen as creating anew way of doing Search. Microsoft is investing billions of dollars in ChatGPT. Much of Google's efforts in the last five years have gone into preserving its monopoly of the search business without adding much through innovation and new ideas. The monopolistic behaviours have attracted the attention of regulators. Microsoft once a monopolistic behaviour company is now playing the role of a challenger with new ideas and concepts.

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Dissatisfaction with what they get at local supermarkets leads young people to try farming in the US using tech, new approaches and experimenting on a small scale. There is a new awareness during the pandemic of the importance of getting fresh locally produced vegetables and fruits to improve immunity and health. Many do not have a family background in farming and are open to trying new methods and software. Here one of these young farmers says that if you are frustrated by what you find in the local supermarket you have the chance to change that, which is so cool.

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Britain's parliament voted 328 to 301 to take control of the agenda on Brexit. This includes 21 rebel Conservative Party MP's including Mr. Hammond and Ken Clarke. This means parliament can now set the January 2020 new date to replace October 31, 2019, as the date for Brexit. A new general election would also be called in the event that Labour party cannot form a new unity government under Mr. Corbyn. A no confidence motion on the minority government of Mr. Johnson would be the next step after putting off Brexit to January 2020.

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National Guard deployment in New Mexico by Democratic Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in September 2025. Grisham says of Albuquerque -“It is one of the most dangerous places. I want real results.” And Albuquerque Police chief Harold Medina says it is one of the best decisions he has made to get the help of the National Guard to cut crime and make the city safe. “I honestly hope they’re here for the next year," says Medina.

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Toyota projects net income for fiscal year ending March 2014 of 1.9 trillion yen or about $18.8 billion, exceeding combined earnings of GM, Ford and Chrysler.

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Jean-Luc Melenchon is making a steady rise from third position in the polls for the French presidential election in 2022, says this report in FR24. Melenchon supports shifting from the presidential system that concentrates power in the office of the president to a system that gives more power to elected representatives. The presidential system was set up in France after indecisive coalition governments prevailed in the period before 1950. 

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Fed chairman Jerome Powell gets Biden's support for another term as chairman of America's central bank. Powell is utterly different from previous Fed governors under previous administrations because of his concentration and clarity of mind that let him focus on the job of renewing America, after the missteps of previous governors and administrations. The WSJ says he is viewed by president Biden and by markets as a steady hand whose extensive, personal outreach helped restore bipartisan support for the central bank one decade after its reputation was badly hurt by the 2008 financial crisis.  People from both sides of the aisle in Congress and in markets see his personal outreach reflected in his understanding of the country and the needs of its people. Rep Emmanuel Cleaver, Democrat of Missouri says Powell visited  Missouri several years ago and talked to a cross section of rural Missourians and Kansas City residents. And everybody who met Powell thought he was frank, nothing partisan about him, as straight shooter. After what America went through during the financial crisis of 2008 and the utterly aloof and distant central bank governors of the last 3 decades Powell brings a needed quality for all who head America's central bank -a direct on the ground understanding of the needs of the people and the country. Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana says "You kept this thing in the middle of the road. Some days you had to do it with spit and happy thoughts but you kept this thing in the middle of the road." Powell's senior thesis at Princeton University was titled "South Africa- Forces for Change," and the years since then reflect a concern for the people, for families and working class Americans. Supporting Powell is Lael Brainard, Fed governor, who will be vice chairman. Brainard brings experience to tackle the regulation of banks that was missed under previous administrations.   ...

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Like South Korea and Taiwan, French people are adapting to use of masks outside. They are now required to ride the subway and use public transport.

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Japan's Ministry of Defense will request 240 million pounds for upgrade of long range cruise missiles to acquire a range that would protect Japan's first line of defense in islands close to Taiwan. Japan's LDP is seeking to put in place a preemptive strategy to remove missiles on the ground in foreign missile bases instead of in the air. This requires range of 1000 kilometres towards China and North Korea. This is a strategy to also protect the Senkaku islands.

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Why are New York City hotel rooms costing $300 a night? This NYT report says there is a shortage of tourist lodging pushing prices up when 20% of hotel rooms go to asylum seekers and migrants. During 2022 hotels found the program of the city of New York at $185 a night to convert hotels to shelters for asylum seekers as away to remain in business during the pandemic. Since then 130 of 680 hotels in New York City have entered the shelter program. This presented a loss of 16,000 rooms leaving 121,000 rooms inventory for tourists, a shortage of about 3000 rooms as demand picked up after the pandemic.65,000 migrants are housed in hotels, tents and dormitories in New York City, as the city is obligated to find housing for people who need it, costing $10 billion over 3 years.

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Overall payments are up from 54% to 77% in rent payments in retail in the U.S. according to Datex. Most affected still are retail shops and businesses in the apparel, theater and fitness categories. New York extended its moratorium till Sept 20. California has set a new moratorium.

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This New York Times editorial says a smaller Wall Street and growing jobs in other fields will be good for New York as well as good for the country. It says New York politicians should focus on finding new ways for New York to broaden its tax base and get new businesses and new opportunites in fields such as media, advertising, entertainment, health care and tourism. Especially welcome are initiatives such as the science and tech campus of Cornell University promoted by Mayor Bloomberg. Tighter financial rules and higher capital requirements are good for the country and for New York the editorial emphasizes, because they help control reckless banking practices that destroy capital and opportunities for growth elsewhere in the economy. It points to Kevin Rose's Nov. 21, 2011 account in the Times showing a healthy culture shift in New York and the country with the status jobs being seen not at Goldman Sachs but at Google, Apple and Facebook. Rose's account shows that in the last 3 years the number of Wall Street employees of ages 20-34 declined by 25%....

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The basic architecture to support the euro currency is being proposed in a seven page report prepared by presidents of the EU Council, the ECB, the EC and the Eurogroup. This includes deposit insurance to protect against a run on banks, a European bank supervisor with possibly the ECB in that role, and the European Financial Stability Facility, the eurozone rescue fund, acting as a backup if deposit and resolution funds need support. Currently the European Banking Authority setup after the 2008 crisis works with central banks of the individual countries to regulate the banks. In contrast to sanctions imposed for overspending under prior EU agreements the report says new powers would be transferred to a European Authority on the fiscal side so that overspending can be controlled at the European level and budget deficits are set at the European level.

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India European Union Trade Deal - huge potential for EU and India for 2 billion people size markets, new manufacturing hubs, and advanced scientific + technological cooperation. Timing is critical. From the first term of DJT 2016-2020 it became clear that the supply chain concentration in China was a serious error for America and Europe. Modi came into manage the federal government in India in 2014- that first phase was to tackle the basic problems in health care sanitation and road infrastructure, agriculture. By the second term of DJT Europe had realized something had to be done to reduce concentration of trade  supply chains in China. Two things had to happen to bring India and EU together. The Ukraine War and China's indirect participation on the side of Russia, the change in administration from Merkel to SPD's Schulz,  and in 2026 to Merz and the CDU created a new awareness of the need for EU and India to come together. Yet Scholz SPD hung onto the special trade relationship even in the face of the Ukraine war and China's shift when it allowed the port of Hamburg stake taken by China to be retained. Something had to happen to jerk Germany and with it the EU out of its inability to shift towards India. Merz took this step in 2026 as the relationship with China soured over Ukraine war and the grasp of the dangers of overconcentration of the China relationship with Germany that Merkel had created. On the other side Modi had to get India's logistics, road and rail networks, ports ready for such a trade relationship where goods could be quickly shipped into and out of India. Modi worked on these investments on a rapid basis in his second and third terms. India had to offer stability in the relationship. This meant winning elections to set up state governments in key states such as Maharashtra for Bombay (Mumbai) region, Delhi capital region, and Bihar/ Orissa (Patna region northeast), Rajasthan (Jaipur northwest region), local city governments in Bombay (Mumbai) region and in the south in Andhra (Vizag region) + Trivandrum (Kerala). The combination of federal and state and city governments working in unison plus logistics and transportation, put India in contention for the role of a size and magnitude that would make a difference for Europe in its relations with China and Russia. That necessity was now fulfilled and in place. Merz and Modi, seized the chance at the kite festival in Gujarat's Ahmedabad, with a vist to the Sabarmati Ashram of modern India's founder Mohandas Gandhiji. Von Der Leyen also from CDU now joins the former premier of Portugal Antonio de Costa as heads of EU to attend the Republic Day parade celebrations in New Delhi on January 26. Nothing happened by chance. It took the hard work that in Robert Frost's words in Mowing ( "the fact is the sweetest dream that labor knows my long scythe whispered, for the earnest love that laid the swale in rows"). Japan plunged headlong into imperial ambitions after its modernization, China has ambitions under its Communist/ Markets system, India as the homeland of the Buddha and the Buddhist civilization of China, Japan and Indochina, and with its special place for Mohandas Gandhiji brings the European civilization in connection with a civilization that is just as old and advanced as the European in its philosophical and religious foundations with practice in real life, and not likely to flounder on the rocks as the Japanese and Chinese expansionist ambition based ideas. And once again with Robert Frost in- Putting in the Seed in Springtime, for Merz, Leyen, Da Costa, and for Gandhi and Modi - "On through the watching for that early birth when just as the soil tarnishes with weed, The sturdy seedling with arched body comes shouldering its way and shedding the earth crumbs."     ...

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That India is meeting and exceeding goals set under the paris Climate Change agreement is a great achievement of the last 6 years says this Hindustan Times editorial. India's achievements in solar and other forms of renewable energy have been achieved with a bold vision and strong effort of its own showing that climate change agreements are not the only way to tackle climate change. As one of the major users of energy from coal and fossil fuels India's bold action makes a huge difference for the world. As China, EU, Britain and Japan commit to a net zero carbon target India is now one of many countries in the competition to reduce fossil fuels. This also means HT says that India must now be prepared for technological competition as well as shift to renewable energy sources. The return of the U.S. to the climate accords now positions both countries to benefit from each others advances in renewable energy. Partnership with Britain and Japan also offers new possibilities for technology access and sharing so that more gains can be made to benefit India's and the global environment for clean skies, clean air and clean waters. ...

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Under Project 2025, a blueprint for the first 100 days of a Trump second term-A middle class family with 100,000 in income a year and two children would pay extra $2600 additional federal income tax, whereas it gives a $325,000 tax cut for a married couple with 2 children making more than $5 million a year in income. On project 2025, the blueprint for the first 100 days in office of a Trump second term, the action items are ones that would jeopardize the safety of American institutions that were set up with so much care by Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and nurtured by the first president George Washington with little attention to himself, and protected by president after president through civil war under Abraham Lincoln, through 2 World Wars and The Great Depression under Woodrow Wilson and Franklin Roosevelt, through recovery under Harry Truman and Ike, only to falter under a series of mediocre presidents Reagan, Clinton, Bush, Obama and be endangered by a NBC television show and construction business person with support from new social media networks that were unknown throughout America history till 2010 and television networks that had degenerated into recklessly divisive behaviours to win silo audiences.    ...