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Germany is building the new pipeline that connects the Wilhelmshaven LNG Terminal to its natural gas storage tank in record time in the midst of an energy crisis in Europe. The new 26 kilometer pipeline for  the LNG Terminal is being built in a few months when it would have otherwise taken 8 years. See Rani Bhandari, Managing Director of Open Grid Europe talk about the project in this video from DW.com to get a sense of how Germany is moving quickly to address natural gas needs for the winter. Click on Original article to see it.

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The European Union has adapted well to a cutoff of supplies of Russian gas. Alternative sources were quickly pulled together in a matter of months after the invasion and cutoff to tackle the winter of 2022-2023. Conservation was moved into high gear, renewable energy investment expanded, and alternative sources for gas established. Germany sought supplies of LNG from the US and Qatar and built gas terminal at Wilhelmshaven in record time of less than 6 months. Norway increased gas supplies to Europe and now provides one third of Europe's gas needs. German industry changed the way they used gas supplies to reduce usage and make it efficient.

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Supreme Court protects parent opt out of LGBTQ stories and requiring age verification for porn sites. Texas was where the civil rights movement got its support from president LBJ, a Democrat and FDR follower. And still Texas vote for the age verification for porn sites was voted for with support being 164-1. Yet Elena Kagan, who was a Harvard legal scholar, now Supreme Court Justice did not support this decision, and offered a flaky and irresponsible dissent- “Carefully drawn age verification laws stand a real chance of surviving.” What about the harm done to minors while the scholars quibble about legal writing. Kagan was in elite schools all her life, Hunter high school in NYC, Princeton Worcester Oxford, Harvard Law School,  and deputy assistant to Clinton, before Clinton's economic aide Summers picked her for Harvard Law School Dean, and Obama picked her for SC Justice. In 2025 these elitist backgrounds have failed, and are failing to address the problems of the Nation in a direct common sense way as faced by ordinary Americans and even by the 164 of 165 members of the Texas state legislature, which is saying a lot. A search shows failure of Google and of AI after search of 10 pages on Google no mention is found that the vote in Texas legislature was 164 to 1. Parents have to protect their rights and 22 states are now passing this law. ...

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Dubai's sewage system is not keeping up with the rest of the sewage system. For homes not connected to the sewage system the sewage is transferred by tanker trucks and sometimes tanker trucks will unload the sewage on desolate streets outside of town. Also treated sewage water is used in sprinklers in public parks in Dubai but this water may ot be healthy or have a bad odor so some residents ask their children to stay inside when the sprinklers go on. So where is the $300 billion thats supposedly going to be spent in the next 10 yeas and where is the money thats being spent now going for something as basic as sewage systems to be inadequately funded and tackled? It also shows the imbalances in development that go on side by side in the developig countries. In the rush for western style living a lot of other things may be happening or neglected. In China basic labor rights, food and drug safety, and pollution of the nation's water system, and contamination hazards were left untackled or ignored as a lot of money went into new infrastructure and western style living for those able to acquire it in the cities. Thus the substandard housing with neglect of safety inspections, supply of shoddy materials for building and the corruption which made a lot of this possible, especially painful when it came to collapsed school buildings in the Sichuan earthquake, is a recent reminder of these imbalances in the developing countries middle classes making a rush to acquire western standards of living. In Dubai sewage is rising by 25% a year and one sewage plant that is 30 years old is all that Dubai has to meet its expanding sewage needs!!!...

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As many politicians and commentators deride programs by the government in the infrastructure area as " mere spending programs", Robert Frank, an economist at Cornell and NYU offers some much needed clarfication. High savings rates are not bad for the public, savings go into investment int he economy, and higher savings properly channelled can lead to higher productive investments that in turn generate a virtuous cycle of more investments. There is thus no conflict between private savings and economic growth. China's and India's higher savings rate leads to savings going into investments in the economy for higher economic growth. Only in sharp economic downturns does the paradox of thrift operate, here lower consumption leads to lower production and layoffs, and the economy goes into a tailspin as consumers hoard their cash and postpone purchases. There is an element of fear in that kind of downturn. So its aunique animal. With the government stepping in to provide investment, make up for jobs lost, and restoring confidence, the paradox of thrift does not operate. ANd its ok and desirable to have consumers save especially when they are so overstretched as they are today. A real world example is that much of the US credit card debt is at 20% interest rates or more. In just 5 years says Robert Frank each dollar invested in reducing debt would support more than $2.50 of additional consumption, in 10 years more than $6. Savings matter. The wastefulness of spending is not a given. It depends on where the government is spending. If there are productive investments like infrastructure that are waiting to be made, then with some due diligence and care the investments can be very efficient....

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Preserving muscle mass, function and strength is important as people age, especially after 50 years of age. One solution is resistance training, and nutrition also plays a part- with protein intake supplements helping preserve muscle as one ages. Preserving muscle is as important as preserving bone mass- with medical practitioners describing the condition as sarcopenia, similiar to osteoporosis. Nestle and Danone are developing nutritional products for this.

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Sale of 10% of Pakistan's largest oil company OGDCL for $813 million to international investors is a sign of confidence in the Pakistan economy and confidence in the whole South Asian region for sustained economic growth in the next 20 years. India's growth rate in the next 5 years is expected to reach 10% - see related piece on this estimate by Finance Minister Chidamabaram.

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More answers on more questions by readers, this time from the Guardian.

How does Britain get out of this mess- finding a deal acceptable to all, the Tories right wing, Labour party, and the EU, which isn't likely any time soon. Extending Article 50 beyond March 29, only adds a few months.

Is the UK going insane asked one reader. The answer from the Guardian- yes.

 

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U.S. toughens sanctions on Iran saying it would impose sanctions on all countries if they did not cut oil imports to zero by Nov. 4. Earlier expectation was that the U.S. would give waivers to countries that had made substantial progress to cut oil imports. In the past 20% cut in imports earned waivers in the Obama administration. U.S. is asking other Middle Eastern producers to increase production to meet demand. Banks refusal to finance trades is causing Indian Oil and Italy's Saras to cut oil imports from Iran.

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Italy's borrowing costs increased by one percentage point one week after the July 22, 2011 eurozone debt deal for Greece. The Italian Treasury sold 2.7 billon euros of 10 year bonds with a yield of 5.77%. The yield in late June for a similiar bond issue was 4.94%. Yields on Spain's 10 year bonds increased to 6%. German bonds are getting investors with a 10 year bond yield that has decreased to 2.62%, which means the gap between the German bonds and the bonds of southern European countries is widening.

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Nikki Haley is doing what has happened before, fighting for principles in her party and showing that a fully significant 40 percentage points of her party believe in the old conservative ideas, of the Republican party. That of the country club type, the everyman who happens to be conservative the core of the party, small and large business owners. The situation is analogous to the intraparty struggles that beset the Democratic party after the abrupt end after 1000 days of the John F. Kennedy presidency and administration. Since the 1920's and two periods of rising inequality accompanied by technological change from the 1870's that ended with the Great Depression, the US had experienced a great revival under Franklin Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Eisenhower. In 1960 a new future was articulated by Kennedy of the new world that lay ahead, one he had seen upfront in Asia before, during and after the war. How would we bring the post colonial world of billions of people into the modern world. Since then both a modern China and now modern India are part of this change. "Today our concern must be with that future. For the world is changing. The old era is ending. The old ways will not do." Acceptance speech for the Democratic nomination for President, July 15, 1960. It was interrupted after the intraparty disputes that began in 1968, Robert Kennedy challenging LBJ, leading to Richard Nixon, and Edward Kennedy challenging Jimmy Carter leading to Ronald Reagan. John F. Kennedy had articulated a vision that still is alive today based on an understanding of how America's needs fit into all humanity's needs.  In some ways the situation after 2024 or 2028 still goes back to the vision of a new order of the world with emerging nations in Asia with 3 billion people, and additional billions of people in Africa, Latin America. The Arms buildup promised by Reagan in 1980 has yielded little about 50 years later, not even the fall of the Berlin Wall which today has been replaced by another struggle in Eastern Europe in 2024. Truman tackled the Berlin Blockade,  Eisenhower had faced upto Soviet tanks in Budapest, Kennedy had faced the Berlin crisis in 1963 his ich bin ein Berliner (I am Berliner). What purpose would an orbital weapons program serve- and could the US ever be or even want to be  "only one superpower in a safe world," with an orbital weapons program as Reagan and Weinberger went out to do and failed completely. America faces a situation analogous to 1920's with increasing inequality and weakness in the social fabric, as a result of four decades of rising inequality accompanied by technological changes, and misguided Reagan programs that diverted from John Kennedy's vision that the "old era is ending, the old ways will not do."  The vision put forward by John F. Kennedy has more relevance today for the future. That vision he articulated in the First Inaugural Address in which he also said that this work may not be accomplished "in our lifetime on the planet." It is important to remember that John F. Kennedy connected his vision to FDR when he said in his State of the Union Address to Congress in Jan. 1961- In the name of a great President whose birthday we honor today, closing his final State of the Union Message sixteen years ago. "We pray that we may be worthy of the unlimited opportunities that God has given us." This is the vision that stands before America even today in 2024.   ...

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Amitabh Kant reflects on his 6 years at Niti Ayog planning for development in India. He says energy transition is an important part of development for India. The integration of India as a major part of a new supply chain for the free world is a critical part of India's development. Kant talks about the aspirational districts program that covers transformation of the lives of 80% of India's people living in 112 districts. Moving India up by 79 positions on the World Bank Ease of Doing Business rankings is also one of the tasks he looks back at with a sense of achievement. Parmeswaran Iyer who headed the Swachh Bharat and Jal Jeevan Missions will now be new head of NIti Aayog, the organization that is driving India's development to 2030 and 2040. Niti Ayog stands for National Institute for Transforming India. Its pillars are- 1. Pro-people  2. Pro-Activity  3.Participation 4. Empowering 5. Inclusion of All 6. Equality 7. Transparency It has a maximum of 4 members. Suman Bery is vice chairperson appointed in March 2022. The members are appointed by the prime minister. It is different from the earlier Planning Commissions under Nehru in that it does the work of being a think tank yet the allocation of funds and decisions come under the prime minister and the finance ministry. ...

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The deal for buyout of Alitalia by Air France-KLM values Alitalia at0.10 euros a share about 80% below its closing share price of 0.53 euros per share last week. Air France-KLM will give one of its shares for 160 shares of Al Italia and will take on the airlines 1.3 billion euros in debt and losses of a millon euros a day. This values Alitalia at 139 million euros. The Italian Government has put in 4.3 billion euros in the last 5 years to keep Alitalia running till the European Comission ruled out any further help. Alitalia's market share in Italy has dropped to discount airlines like Air One Easyjet and Ryanairdropping from 80% to 30% in the last ten years. The new deal will drop Milan's airport considered to be one of the worst in Europe as a hub and use the airport in Rome ast he third hub after Paris and Amsterdam. It will also retain the Alitalia name. The fire sale of Al Italia shows how the new economic climate is affecting Europe and how a recession in the US could affect the market. At the time Al Italia was also running out of cash with only 282 million euros of cash left at the end of Jan 2008....

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Friedman visits the campaign office of Abdel Moneim Fotouh, a doctor running for president of Egypt. What he finds is a lively debate among Egyptians, new and many voices discussing the future of Egypt and a transition to democratic forms of government and economic progress. One newly elected member of parliament Hamzawy tells Friedman that Islamists from the Brotherhood have about two thirds of the seats, the liberals 20%. Moderates within the Islamists like Fotouh, who left the Brotherhood, form a separate faction inside the Brotherhood. There will be a need to transcend differences and work together. Egypt is still under the rule of the military, but many democratic voices are now present and a lively debate is on which will provide the impetus for real change and progress, if properly channelled.

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600,000 knee replacement surgeries a year in the US and 30 million suffering from osteoarthritis. The Wash. Post looks at new options which include use of coral that can repair the cartilage in a knee. The coral is part of Agili-C approved by US FDA and developed by CartiHeal. It is made from a calcium carbonate that is derived from exoskeletons of coral that act as a scaffold in the body to help regenerate bone and tissue, says the Washington Post in this article.

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China's BYD started in electric batteries and expanded into electric cars. It has emerged as the dominant electric car company in the world as China now has half of the electric cars on the road in the world. 35% of exports of electric cars are from China. Keith Bradsher of NYT reports from Shenzen that its first car was made in 2007 of poor quality, similar to Toyota in the 1930's as it tried car manufacturing for the first time. It has surpassed Tesla in making electric cars. In each of the last 2 years it has increased electric car sales by one million to reach electric car sales on 3 million. EV sales in China were up in 2023 to 9.49 million cars giving BYD the largest share of 31%., by comparison US electric car sales were 1.2 million. New assembly lines are being built in Brazil, Hungary and Thailand. And new lines are planned for Mexico and Indonesia. This kind of growth was seen only by General Motors in 1946 after the end of the war. It also shows the progress China is making. In solar panels something like the addition of 900 million solar panels meeting the entire increase in electricity demand for each year, so that emissions targets can be met earlier than planned to tackle climate change.  The same changes are happening in electric cars. China now has 40% of electric cars or gasoline/electric plug in cars going up to 50%. For export China is building large carrier ships, the first that will take 5000 cars for export to the Netherlands. The lowest priced electric car model the Seagull was priced at $11,000. BYD's lowering of manufacturing costs have given it the ability to price the cars to attract new car buyers.  Wang Chuanfu who studied at Central Southern University in Changsha known for its battery research, was an engineer who started the company in the 1990's to make batteris for Motorola. Between 2003-2006 he experimented with making cars in the hope of making electric cars. Stalled efforts in 2009 and 2011 were met with arenewed effort in 2016 trying a new approach to cut costs by developing a battery where supplies of lithium or cobalt would not be a constraint. He developed a new battery using iron and phospate to replace lithium cobalt batteries. A big break came in 2020 with the Blade battery that increased range to the level of cobalt lithium batteries at a much smaller cost. BYD hired German Audi designers for new model design. This time BYD was in the right position to build a car company matching all others with costs lower by about 35% than VW for some models. This comes from- lower costs to make in China, making its own parts inside the company for 75% of parts compared to VW only about 35%, and by the savings from its battery research.  BYD has shown ability to shift with market needs and opportunities. In 2022 assisted driving was facing hurdles, BYD had second thoughts about the new technology, by 2023 as it was increasing in use BYD committed $14 billion in autonomous driving technology. Driving range is a problem for people in urban areas going back to their villages in China. BYD has an advantage here compared to Tesla- it makes hybrid plug ins that account for half its sales. Toyota has also had emphasis on hybrid plug ins where it missed the opportunity was that it moved very slowly on all electric cars not realizing how fast things were moving outside it's world. This is the situation America also faces in 2024 and beyond who can deliver on the infrastructure capabilities, new research ,and tap American potential to compete in this new world where one innovation will follow another. ...

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Bernie Sanders announces his support for Hillary Clinton as nominee of the Democratic Party after a long season of bruising primaries. The effort is now to heal the divisions in the Democratic Party. Hillary Clinton has adopted some parts of the Sanders agenda including some aspects of providing tution free education in public colleges. Both Hillary and Bernie appeared at a joint rally in New Hampshire. Sanders said that at the Democratic Platform Committee ending on July 10, 2016, the two had come together on setting a platform that he believes is the most progressive ever for the Democratic Party.

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Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party wins a vote in the Scottish parliament by a 10 vote margin with the help of the Scottish Greens to request  a vote on a referendum around Spring 2019. The British government is likely to agree to a referendum, but on its own timing after Brexit negotiations are completed and Britain leaves the European Union. Scottish voters by a large margin rejected Brexit. This has put England at odds with Scotland, risking a breakup of the union between Scotland and England setup by Acts of the parliaments of the two countries in 1707.

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Fidel Castro dies at the age of 90 in 2016. He was a polarizing influence in Latin America. Many of the guerilla movements in Latin America originated with support from Castro's Cuba. This led to the right wing dictatorships such as Pinochet's Chile and Videla's Argentina, with dictators consolidating their rule saying they were acting in response to these guerilla movements. In Venezuela this led to the rise of  a movement that has polarized the country and led to mismanagement of the economy, even with rich natural resources unable to tackle inflation and development goals.

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Lyrarc Renewal America Insight For three decades America neglected its infrastructure. The Biden administration is moving quickly after the passage of the $1 trillion infrastructure package. Of the $1 trillion in infrastructure package passed into law, $120 billion is for competitive grant programs, money going to states for specific projects. WSJ shows how $1.5 billion in grants for doing the planning for projects is spent concentrating resources on key priorities. Projects getting priority are for improving bicycle and pedestrian safety getting 18%, road projects getting 50%, transit 18%, maritime 8%. Projects favored will reduce carbon emissions, increase bicycle paths, reconnect neighborhoods left out in earlier highways built. They include projects in St Louis County, Missouri for walking around safely, new transit center in Charlotte, N.C., and improvements in streets, sidewalks and bicycle paths in parts of Manchester, New Hampshire. Pete Buttigieg, Transportation Secretary is leading this effort. He says this will "improve infrastructure, strengthen supply chains, make us safer, advance equity, and combat climate change." ...

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A supply chain crisis with shortages of goods is affecting all economies in the world. The price of oil has increased to $80 and supply chain shortages are affecting most industries. Power shortages in China lead to cutbacks in consumption for industry and some large cities not having essential  electricity for traffic lights. Coronavirus pandemic has disrupted supply chain factories in Vietnam and Malaysia because of lockdowns. Once a product is manufactured it still has to be shipped from far flung places in today's cumbersome and costly supply chain. Cost of shipping is up 3 times according to one shipping index in one year. Prices to ship from China to Rotterdam in Netherlands is up 6 times in one year. Global supply chains at such high cost of shipping means that companies will look to invest in manufacturing at home so that they do not pay high shipping costs and also create jobs at home, and are able to build critical experience in manufacturing technology. ...

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Higher savings, covid assistance checks, and cheap credit led to higher consumer spending in the second half of 2020. This lasted through the higher inflation in 2022 when consumer spending outpaced inflation by two percentage points. The share of monthly income set aside for savings dropped from a high in April 2020, to 7.5% in December 2021, to 3.4% in December 2022. This is rapidly reversing with increase in mortgage rates and interest rates by the Fed to 4.75%, home and car sales the lowest in a decade. Inflation is at 5% year over year and wages up 4.6% in December year over year. The labor market is tight with about 10 million unfilled jobs and unemployment at 3.4%. Tech and other companies that overly expanded during the pandemic and are under antitrust oversight are laying off some employees. A recession is possible but this depends on how Jay Powell at the Fed reads the employment situation so that it brings down inflation but not so much that it hurts American workers. ...

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This report in WSJ says Fox News took issue with Tucker Carlson host of the FNN network prime time TV show for remarks he made about colleagues on the network.  Before FNN Carlson worked for MSNBC,CNN and Arkansas Gazette newspaper. He was co-host of CNN show "Crossfire." Mr. Carlson is paid $20 million a year. Since the days of president Lincoln and the Douglas debates political debate has created new audiences. In their current form they bring advertising revenues for networks on the right and the left and skilled practitioners of the art are in demand at television networks. What is new is that this discourse has gradually deteriorated to where it has broken down in some ways.