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Quantitiative easing, the Fed and the Bank of England creating money to buy government bonds, is creating the liquidity the surplus dollars and pounds that are lowering the two currencies value. But as the Economist notes there is no easy exit strategies for the two central banks, as abandoning QE would lead to asharp rise in bond yields, continuing it would maintain dollar weakness. WIth the dollar's uncertain situation, the growing deficit, and low interest rates allowing QE to continue, the Economist sees an eventual breakdown of current currency arrangements, and the emergence of anew currency system similiar to Bretton Woods.

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The Trump administration is set to impose 15% tariffs on $156 billion of Chinese goods including laptops, mobile phones, and apparel, on December 15, 2019. This is in addition to the tariffs already in place on $361 billion of Chinese goods. The new list of goods for the tariffs on December 15 are goods that are made mostly in China. About 87% of the goods on this list are made only in China. If talks fail with China by this week the tariffs will go into effect. WIth this tariff all goods imported from China will have tariffs on the goods imported into the U.S. adding to the difficulties facing the Chinese economy. A recent article in the WSJ shows China is shifting to higher skilled manufacturing and the service sector to maintain jobs growth.

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Jaguar Land Rover has strong sales in 2013 of 425,006 vehicles. JLR is investing 1 billion pounds to build a factory in China, in a joint venture with Cherry Automobile Company. The factory will make 130,000 automobiles a year when it starts in late 2014. In Brazil JLR is investing 240 million pounds for a factory that will make 95,000 vehicles a year. JLR currently has assembly facilities in India for the Freelander 2 sport-utility vehicle and Jaguar XF sedan, and assembly facilities in Pakistan, Kenya, Malaysia, Turkey. JLR plans to spend 3.5-3.75 billion pounds in the fiscal year beginning April 1, an increase from the 2.75 billion pounds capital spending budget for 2013. 2013 capital spending was 17% of total revenue of 15.78 billion pounds. Dealers are expected to spend an additional 1 billion pounds on improving the sales network.

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Job cuts of upto 12,000 planned at Barclays in 2014 as part of restructuring effort. Barclays showed a net loss of 642 billion pounds for the 4th quarter of 2013. Underlying proft for 2013 declined to 5.17 billion pounds with 1.2 billion pounds in restructuring costs.

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Germany's furlough scheme is called Kurzarbeit. About 10.1 million workers are signed up for the scheme with about 5.6 million actually using it because they are working shorter hours than normal. Under the scheme about 60% of workers earnings are normally replaced with government aid with contributions from companies. For the pandemic the German government increased benefits to cover 70%-80% of lost earnings if a worker has lost over 50% of working hours. It cost about 9 billion euros and payments are made by the German Employment Agency. This scheme is being extended from the initial 12 month period to 24 months. A similar scheme in Britain that ends in October covered 80% of earnings for workers lost earnings up to 2500 pounds a month, at a cost of 35 million pounds up to August for 9.5 million employees at the peak. The British scheme is not being renewed. The U.S. has its own program of payments and unemployment insurance, yet unemployment is higher in the U.S. In Germany it was 6.3% in July, a moderate increase.  ...

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Emmanuel Macron faces a challenging situation in  the 2022 second round. He badly needs left wing supporters of Mr. Melenchon who came with one percentage point of right wing Marie Le Pen. Macron had expressed right wing sentiments about immigration and terrorism even more than Le Pen during the year leading upto this election. That this has alienated some left wing supporters is evident in a nIpsos poll for FR24 that shows 30% or about a third of the 22% of the voters that supported former Socialist candidate Jean Luc-Melenchon are likely to vote for Le Pen, who has campaigned on the issue of cost of living and softened her image and position on the European Union. 34% of Melenchon's supporters said they will support Macron and 36% said they are undecided. It is this undecided vote that could make a difference. Add to this the 25% of the voters who did not vote at all and the election depends on who can convince this segment. To reach these voters is Macron's main concern in the 2 weeks before the second round of the election on April 24. Macron says he will campaign hard-"from dawn to dusk, in direct contact with voters." He will have to offer something that convinces working class voters who some see he has humiliated during his first term.  ...

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The incomprehensible situation that the UK Tory governments have not asked Shell and other oil companies to pay a properly implemented windfall tax on record profits. Shell made over $30 billion in profits in 2022 so far says this report in The Guardian and paid no windfall tax, because Mr. Sunak as finance minister put a huge offset to taxable profits by giving back 91p for every  1 pound as tax breaks to oil companies for investing in extraction in North sea fields when he imposed the windfall tax. Shell made large investments in North Sea fields that nullify the windfall tax so no such tax is paid. Mr. Sunak thus completely negated the very positive effect of the windfall tax. This tax if paid would help the UK with its fiscal situation during the pandemic and reduce borrowing costs, provide credibility in financial markets, fund assistance to vulnerable segments during a cost of living crisis, at a time of crisis in UK finances in October 2022.  ...

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In a massive intervention last week and again this week the Bank of England cut interest rates from 0.25% to 0.1% and launched a 200 billion pound program to buy UK government bonds and corporate bonds to support the economy and business. Investors sold UK government debt for short term cash holdings and invested in U.S. currency holdings as the safest asset they could find, as the economic effects of the coronavirus epidemic hit capital markets. Andrew Bailey, the Governor of the Bank of England stated that it was the government's job of preventing temporary "dislocation" becoming permanent economic "destruction." Business failures are expected as a result of the coronavirus impact and also layoffs resulting in a temporary jump in unemployment. The government needs to take steps to mitigate these effects in the UK as is being done in the U.S. by the Trump administration with $1 trillion in direct assistance to business and people affected by the crisis. ...

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The Pope describes the Ukrainian people as a brave people fighting for self-determination and condemns the ferocity and cruelty of Russia's troops. He also says he met a head of state who months before the start of the war had told him about the dangers of NATO too close to Russia's borders and risks of a serious conflict. He seemed to suggest that not enough was done to prevent the conflict, that EU and NATO could have found imaginative ways of addressing Russian fears of NATO's presence at its borders.

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A new test for Prostate Cancer, a test with high accuracy being developed in Britain- in it are proteins shed by prostate tumors in urine are tested.  This test is planned with testing of 200,000 people in Britain with funding of 42 million pounds. It has 0.92 accuracy compared to 0.62-0.75 for the conventional PSA Test. This test tests a different set of proteins. PSA Test is known to have false positives and is not accurate. This will revolutionize the testing for prostate cancer, one of the main cancers affecting men.

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The Australian bushfires may have killed more than a billion animals, according to estimates by Chris Dickman, ecology professor at the University of Sydney. The vastness of this year's fires leave some species little chance for survival. The government of New South Wales  state airdropped thousands of pounds of carrots and sweet potatoes to endangered brush-tailed wallabies that survived by taking refuge in the rocks.

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For the first time we hear of "period poverty" in advanced European countries. Scotland charities say there is "period poverty" in Britain as the pandemic hurts incomes across Scotland. Women and girls not having money to buy sanitary products needed during menstruation. The Scottish parliament passes a Period Products Bill to ensure all women have free sanitary products, the legislation costing about 10 million pounds.

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The mutation of the coronavirus is found in over 1000 people in south east England. UK health experts say this mutation has a "transmission advantage."  Acceleration of the spread of the virus is of particular concern in December because of Christmas and the overcapacity in hospital beds and ICU beds already happening in California and the shortage of hospital beds seen in London and in Germany.

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Britain faces two years of growth at near zero with a no-deal Brexit -even though it could avoid a recession by adding a stimulus package of 44 billion pounds and welfare spending amounting to 2% of GDP. The extra spending would blow the deficit reduction plans.

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Mogan McSweeney of Cork Ireland, son of an IRA courier with a politics and marketing degree from Middlesex University, joined the Labour Party in London fighting off Corbyn supporters during the Corbyn leadership till 2019. The Guardian says McSweeney settled on Keir Starmer as the candidate to replace Corbyn as a centrist on the right. It was says the Guardian McSweeney as an organizer against the Corbyn left that installed Keir Starmer in 10 Downing Street. And then by getting Starmer to appoint his mentor Mandelson led to Starmer becoming "the most unpopular prime minister in history." It says May local elections may sound the end of Starmer. McSweeney is blamed for some of Starmer's failure to project a image of firmness as he backtracked on issues on the advice of McSweeney, to the point that many in Labour party thought McSweeney made Labour driverless. As McSweeney ejected all Corbynites from the Labour Party he weakened the party and led to Labour bleeding its vote to the Greens and the Liberals. Labour's got a landslide with many Labour MP's winning by thin margins- its vote was slim only 34% of the vote, itself a warning that something was not right. On immigration the root causes were not addressed till early 2026- the ECHR human rights that needed to be put aside as written with serious flaws and which allowed asylum hotels. This led to a shift to Nigel Farage, called back from retirement to lead Reform UK in 2026 and way ahead of Labour and Conservatives in the polls. Worse 50% of Labour's vote disappeared in 2026 polls by February hardly 2 years after the win in 2024, as the support McSweeney helped organize had no depth of conviction- most of it to Liberals and Greens under Polanski. The result is that even the Guardian is disappointed and says McSweeney installed Starmer as PM and then made him "the most unpopular PM in history." Net favorability in Feb 2026 -57 similar to Sunak of Conservatives in June 2024. A 75% unfavorable rating in Jan 2026. And 14 points below the Labour party in "like" ratings. Only 18% are favorable for Starmer. It shows how a series of British prime ministers with mediocre backgrounds have failed in the country. ...

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Cost of living, of housing and healthcare, with the option of working remotely, is leading to more Americans leaving America for the first time since the 1930's than coming in. It is not just immigration policy discouraging immigration to the US. Middle class and younger Americans are seeing advantages in moving overseas if it costs much less for a better life and you can work remotely. In 2008 Gallup found 1 in 10 Americans wanted to leave, in 2026 1 in 5 want to leave for overseas locations.In 2025 more Americans left the US than came into the US. Estimates vary but one estimate is that in 2025 180,000 natural born Americans chose to leave the US. It is younger families, young people, from the southern US , from the midwest, all over the US, who are choosing to go to Europe or some other country to live and work. The State Department has no idea and does not keep track- it could be between 4 millon and 7 million Americans live overseas. Architects, engineers, professional people, are working out of small towns in teh French Pyrenees, or other parts of Europe.. Portugal - 365 increase inAmeicans in 2025. In a decade Americans living in Czech Republic, Nethelands, Spain, Germany has doubled. One couple profiled here moved to Portugal after preparing for 4 years. Portugal offers visas to stay if one can support himself, herself and family, which is the minimum wage or $27,000., which this couple could show as investment income. They could not find places to stay near good schools in LA because of the cost. Now in central Lisbon they can with $100,000 budget live a richer, fuller life, reduce hours of work, send kids to private school, no need for 2 cars as subways are nearby, and no need to put a ton of money aside every year for college. They have more time to themselves, more relaxed, and kids private school is close by. Today in the US setting aside a ton of money for college makes it difficult on $200,000 a year  in the managerial ranks as shown in reports in the WSJ. College can cost $100,000 a year for 4 years, 2 children $800,000, thats too much.  ...

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Most of the media has failed to cover this aspect, yet the Collective agreement is a big, a huge plus on June 17 2026 at the G-7 Summit (G-9 expanded with India and Brazil). There was discussion and effort to convey different points of view which was an healthy aspect of this G-9 meeting in Les Bain, France, near Geneva. German chancellor Merz described the atmosphere as very constructive with lots of open thoughtful discussion- "This is the ​first ‌time since [US] President [Donald] Trump took office that we ‌have issued a joint ‌declaration ​at a G7 summit and found common language on the major ​foreign and security policy issues of our time. ⁠I ​consider that ​a real success."  "This ⁠sets a new tone, including ⁠regarding ​trans-Atlantic unity and resolve." Merz says all issues on the summit agenda were talked about "very openly" and "very constructively." Merz  says he will support a peace deal in the Middle East, including a possible military mission if there is "a lasting ceasefire."  A series of "preconditions that are not yet fulfilled, so there is no immediate hurry." What this means, as most of the media has failed to cover this aspect including NYT, WSJ and Washington Post, is that the US and the EU, India and China, Brazil, the poorer countries  Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey, are now in a lot better positions, coming at it from different angles,  and are all aligned for their own interests, to push hard to support the US effort to get to the Memorandum of Agreement with Iran, and future settlement in Ukraine. The onus is for Iran and the entire Middle East to collectively come to an agreement to live with harmony among the neighbors for the mutual interest- including a nuclear free Middle East that is in their mutual interest- so that the rest of the world's people, a massive 5 billion compared to 500 million in the Middle East can industrialize, modernize, and make economic progress that benefits all the people of the world. ...

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Glaxo and its experience with Lamictal. How is Glaxo handling the marketing of this drug that can cause birth defects if taken by pregnant women.

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Two Cameroonians explore their country's history and tradition doing research into Africa's collective memory. They focus on law, traditional customs, and art. The name Cameroon also has colonial origins - coming from the camaroes or shrimps in Portuguese that were found by Portuguese explorers.

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Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has called for an "innovative, co-operative and responsible" approach to Brexit, saying that fragmentation is in no one's interest. With the British pound weakening inflation is expected to rise ahead of growth in wages. Speaking at the Mansion House next to the Governor was Philip Hammond, Britain's finance minister, who pointed out that people did not vote for Brexit to become poorer. This report in the BBC points to Hammond's position becoming closer to Mark Carney's following the parliamentary election in June 2017.

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The huge failure to tackle insulation of British homes in several schemes launched for energy security by first Cameron and then Johnson, are shown here in The Guardian. Many businesses in the insulation industry closed in 2013 with the neglect from the Cameron government. In a recent energy security plan the administration of Boris Johnson failed to show a plan for insulation of British homes. As a result of this neglect over a decade the British homes are among the leakiest in Europe when it comes to insulation. Labor party has announced a plan to insulate 2 million homes in the first year alone in response, and to do this over 10 years at the cost of 60 billion pounds. Italy has a plan where it pays 110% for the cost of insulation, replacing boilers, installing heat pumps, installing solar panels, for Italian homes. It has cost 17.5 billion pounds so far. One or two year programmes are insufficient and likely to fail. The flipflopping of Mr. Cameron on green energy the worst kind of solution. This is because something like a ten year programme is needed to get serious results in energy efficiency for homes in Britain. To retrofit new building 30,000 skilled workers are needed, to install efficient new heating systems 60,000 new technicians. There is a stagnating level of technical skills of this kind in the UK as a result of neglect and lack of a well executed strategy. ...

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Labour will introduce 40 bills in parliament to make changes in renewable energy, the environment, transport railways, and for cost of living action. Great Britain Railways and Great Britain Energy are two public companies to be set up to reach goals in public transport modernization and in getting a five fold increase in solar needed to meet 68% cut in emissions by 2030 (Paris Accords commitment). Great Britain Energy will be capitalized with 8.3 billon pounds. (Labour scaled down its 28 billion pounds Green Energy Plan because of Tory mismanagement of finances but will continue to invest in vital projects). The answer is to take a creative approach. More money will be released through the Crown estate bill that will have the crown estate use its auctions of offshore land for wind energy and make investments in green energy. National Wealth Fund will invest in low carbon projects.  Fro water Labour will hold the water bosses to account and put companies such as Thames Water in special measures. Renationalisation was considered but was considered costly at this time, other action is being taken.  Nine bills are part of the 40– the planning and infrastructure bill; the better buses bill; the three rail bills, which are the passenger railway services (public ownership) bill, rail reform bill and high speed rail (Crewe to Manchester) bill; the Great British Energy bill and crown estate bill; the sustainable aviation fuels bill; and the water (special measures bill) – that all focus on protecting the environment. ...

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There is a ton of cheese lying in storage -1.4 billion pounds - as Americans shift to foreign varieties and exports to China and Mexico are hurt by the tariffs war.  Americans are becoming more adventurous in their cheese eating habits. Many say they cannot stand eating processed cheese anymore. Processed cheese consumption is going down just as foreign cheese varieties are picking up strongly. Mozzarella cheese is up and cheddar cheeses is down with mozzarella popular in pizzas.   Cheese producers such as Sargento in Wisconsin are shifting to Gouda, a Dutch variety and other European cheeses as they adjust to the changing habits of Americans tired of processed stuff including processed cheeses.  Cheesemakers from Ireland and Quebec and local makers in Wisconsin were ramping up their production of cheese when the trade tariffs with China and Mexico hit dairy products. Cheese exports to China are down 63%. The result is that 1.4 billion pounds of cheese are now in storage in cold storage warehouses. Americans still eat a record 37 pounds of cheese every year, but processed cheese per capita is now half of what it was in 2006. Netherlands based Gouda producer Campina is expanding in the U.S. to meet the demand for gouda and other varieties.  Dairy farmers that supply cheese makers are hurt. Milk prices are down around 40% from a 2014 peak. 600 dairy farms closed in Wisconsin in 2018 alone. ...

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The 28 year old pilot Andreas Lubitz of Lufthansa Germanwings Flight 9525 was being treated for depression at Dusseldorf University Hospital at the time of the flight. Several torn up doctors notes found in his apartment by investigators, including for the day of the flight by his neuropsychologist, show he did not disclose his condition to his employer. Prosecutors say he had intended to "destroy the aircraft" when he flew the plane into France's southern Alps.