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Reince Preibus, former Rebublican National Committee chairman, has a law practice in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He is the new chief of staff for president Trump. Not much is said in this report on Preibus about his personal background, except that he has a close relationship with Speaker Paul Ryan, and that he initially gave Trump a 40 minute lecture to withdraw from the presidential race after the controversial tape involving remarks made by Trump was released. He was instrumental in winning the election for Trump by bringing in the party machinery to support Trump during the last 2 weeks of the election, and at the time in the closing days of the election considered the prospect of being Trump's chief of staff on the chance that Trump would win. He now models his behaviour with Trump to that of senior people who manage Trump's resort properties, says this report. The report also points out that president Obama had 4 persons in the chief of staff position, so that it is possible there could be a change at some point. ...

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Largest drone and missile attacks on Kviv and Lviv of the war on August 20 2025 soon after DJT meeting with Putin in Alaska and EU leaders meeting at White House. This has raised concerns that Russia is not seriously working to end the war. The lack of EU peacekeeping force acceptance by Russia poses serious obstacles to Ukraine or the EU supporting an agreement that has no safeguards. It means the war may continue for some time till both sides see no gains from continuing the war. Russia's position at this time is that territorial changes need to be made in eastern region.

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William Galston in the WSJ says outright for the first time in the WSJ that the years from the last term of Clinton, through the Bush, and Obama administrations were an outright failure for the American people. He documents the losses- 5.7 million job losses in 2000-2010 as Clinton opened China's entry into the World Trade Organization without any precautions taken to prevent abuse of world trading rules after the experience with Japan. Worse no help to the displaced workers which fed into the resentment of workers. Sex scandals weakened the presidency and acted as the major distraction during the last years of Bill Clinton. Over the administrations of Bush and Obama almost the entire US manufacturing base was dismantled and shipped to China. Pharmaceutical companies were allowed to charge recklessly when Bush disallowed Medicare to negotiate prices for pharmacueticals placing additional burdens on the American people. Bush started long wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that cost the US dearly in lives and resources wasted with no vital US interests at stake as in Europe. This distracted attention from problems simmering at home. Obama continued these wars preferring to focus on reelection. The migration crisis, the neglect of infrastructure worsened during this period. The Bush deregulation of banks led to the 2009 world banking crisis that led to large layoffs worsening a bad situation from outshoring and creating a class of unemployed, and shrinking household wealth and savings. The Biden administration, the first Trump administration and now the second have started the process of revival of the US. And yet Biden, DJT are relative outsiders who came to the presidency and were not favored in the established order of the 1990-2016 period. One can say about Blair, Cameron, Boris Johnson in Britain, about Clinton, Bush, Obama in the US, and Schroeder, Merkel in Germany that the leadership was mediocre and failed the people of Europe and the people of America.     ...

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Most of the Address followed a familiar pathabout the economy, about the reasons for the Iran war being the nuclear threat most of all, and the way the president has sought to tackle the threat of ballistic missiles that could soon reach US and Europe. It was an update one month into the war with Iran. One part of it showed a focus on keeping the war short compared to other conflicts and limiting US losses by being very careful on that point. DJT cited the wars of the past 1 year 7 months for WW1, 3 years and 8 months for WWII, Korean War 3 years and 1 month, that soon stretched on for decades in the conflicts that followed. Vietnam 18 years, Iraq 8 years- wars that dragged on and led to US losing its economic position as the strongest nation economically. This one with limited goals nuclear threat removal and ballistic missile removal as the key goals on for 32 days, and right from the start clearly setting what US would not do and do- not take on role of opening Straits of Hormuz and asking China, Britain, countries that get the oil from Hormuz to take this on as China and Japan get 90% of their oil imports from Hormuz Straits. US is self sufficient and does not need that oil from Hormuz. It was the message to the MAGA base that does not want this war to become like the ones carried on for 8 years by Bush and Obama in Iraq which they clearly reject- the bigger goal is the US economy and reindustrialization not the deindustrialization that happened under  Bush and Obama destroying the US industrial base while fighting wars in remote places.  It was also meant to counter the idea of a president not conscious of responsibilities for limiting the duration of the conflict by removing goals such as opening Hormuz Straits which would involve the US in something it does not need and is the job of other nations who need that oil like China, Japan, Britain and India. ...

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White House Correspondents Dinner shooting on April 25 2026 at Washington Hilton, the scene of the shooting of Ronald Reagan decades earlier. It is unbelievable that over 2000 guests including the US president and important members of his cabinet would be assembled in a hotel in Washington DC that is not designed for this type of event security. The Washington Post raises questions about the security as the assailant stayed in the hotel. The president DJT says this shows why the White House should have a ballroom or hall that can hold such an event that is designed with security in mind. A 31 year old graduate in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology who worked as a tutor in science subjects was the assailant who was apprehended. Secret Service agents acted quickly to clear the podium where the president and vice president were seated. Most of the people in the hotel ballroom were in complete shock. DJT has not attended previous correspondents dinners saying the media has fake news- much of the press in the US tends to have political leanings that slant the news in one direction or the other and television channels exaggerate the divisions for profit by supplying information tailored to what audiences in their political spectrum want. That may be seen as a clever business strategy when it really hurts the  democratic process that has been nurtured for 250 years. It could be said that young people in particular believe what they are told by media run for profit, opinion created for profit, and this leads to violent behaviour. A robust debate has always taken place in the US- on Iran compare that with the Mexican War under president Polk in the 1850's, before the civil war when Lincoln debated Douglas, under Democrat Harry Truman when he did a whistlestop rail campaign after the war against Republican Wendell Wilkie, yet the fragmentation of rural-urban, white male and white female, within minorities today is excessively and without remorse stoked by the television channels and the newspapers.  ...

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DW.com on what international students from India or China pay at EU universities-  44000 euros in UK vs 4000 euros or less in Germany and France. For Chinese or Indian students Germany and France offer education for bachelor and masters degress that is attractively priced even at the higher prices being now set by the government. In the past Chinese students in France were able to get Masters degrees at very little cost. Germany is looking at the higher prices as a way to increase the salaries of teaching staff and professors whose salaries lag far behind the salaries in the US and other countries. For China and India no aid program is as vital for their economies and industrial development as the access the EU provides to its universities and educational system at a fraction of the real cost. Today German universities are attracting large numbers of Indian students from middle class families where the parents life goals are to get their children into European universities. American universities cost significantly more today as American bachelors and masters degree can cost upwards of 50,000 euros a year. Even local students in the US pay between $30,000 and $100,000 a year making bachelors and masters degrees no longer affordable for much of the American middle class and leaves working class parents children totally out of the universities system. One immigrant is from Cuba- Marco Rubio of Florida, now Foreign Minister of the US. He describes in his book - "Decades of Decadence How America's Spoiled Elites Blew Up Inheritance of Liberty, Security and Prosperity"- an average factory job in Florida in the seventies enabled his parents to send him to college, which he says is no longer possible for immigrants to the US today, and no longer possible for working class parents in general. For this reason Germany and France have to be commended for their generous policies towards Chinese and Indian students. Increases in the university prices in Germany and France to 4000 euros a year for international students makes a lot of sense when British universities charge about 44000 euros a year. ...

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After the German election the next election in France in 2022 will provide new direction for Europe. As in Germany with Olaf Scolz of the Social Democrats, in France an alternative is emerging with Xavier Bertrand of the Les Republicains. Like Scholz Bertrand was Labor Minister working to tackle difficult problems of increasing employment in the French economy going back a decade. In recent elections the party French president Emmanuel Macron created as a member of Francois Hollande's government has floundered. Macron hastily put together the En Marche in Amiens on April 16, 2017, when he was minister of Economy, Industry and Digital Affairs in the government of president Hollande. During the eight year period in which the centre right Christian Democrats CDU and center left Social Democrats SPD had ruled in a coalition government in Germany some version of centrist politics and government had also prevailed in France. After the Sarkozy years 2007-2012 under the centre right Les Republicains party  France turning to the centre left Socialists under Francois Hollande. As a young minister 39 years Macron lacked experience, and the initial enthusiasm that helped him win the 2017 presidential election is now missing. As in Germany voters are looking for change not just in slogans but in substance in a new Trans Atlantic partnership of US, Germany and France to tackle the may problems that were neglected in the last two decades of changing administrations in US and France and the Merkel administration in Germany- problems of social cohesion, of income inequality, division of country into rural and urban, eastern and western in Germany, southern and northern in the US, neglect of infrastructure, and failure to invest in the future.  France is now turning to the Les Republicains party in recent elections, and away from Le Pen's far right party and Macron's party.  Both Macron and Le Pen did very poorly in recent regional elections. This report in FR24 points out that the candidate for the Les Republicains party will be chosen at a convention, and not at a primary as happened in 2017 leading to the elimination of former Republicains president Nicholas Sarkozy. The president of the Haute France regional council Xavier Bertrand is the leading candidate from the regional election results. Bertrand was Sarkozy's minister of Labor and Solidarity from 2007 to 2009, and Minister of Labor, Employment and Health in 2009. Today Olaf Scholz, winner of the German elections in September 2021 was also Minister of Labor- in the Social Democrats/ Greens government under Gerhard Schroeder 1998 to 2005. Voters now realize that it is important to value experience, stability, combined with humility and a determination to get things done, compared to charismatic leaders with little to show in results, and tangible improvements in the quality of life, in national renewal.      ...

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Boston women's soccer team will be called BOS Nation. Its ads around Boston are controversial - "There are too many balls in town," says one ad. It tries to tie into Boston energy, in a new phase for women's soccer teams.

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Questions and Answers about Islamic State on the BBC website give a short and simple look at Islamic State or ISIS in Syria and Iraq, its origins and how it developed upto the Iraqi government's efforts to retake Mosul in northern Iraq in Dec. 2016.

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Two law school professors at Fordham University, Kysar and Sugin, say the Republican tax bill is extreme because it was not based on working with Democrats. As a result not a single Democrat supported this tax legislation. The problem- when the Republicans lose their majority in Congress- a serious possibility after the loss in a Senate race in deep red state Alabama- the whole issue of tax legislation would come up again. This is not without precedent as the Democrats won the presidential election in 2008 and Republicans made a sweeping victory in Congress in 2010.This is why Senators Casey and Wyden (Democrats) and Orrin Hatch (Republican) head of the Finance Committee stated on the floor of the Senate on Dec. 19, 2017, that the next time and in future both parties need to engage in real discussion on taxes. The lack of serious discussion on the health care bill passed by Obama in 2008 has created some of the same problems today that this tax bill passed in a similar way without discussion with the other party is likely to face by 2019. No one needs to look further to realize that the political system is failing in its job of grappling and solving the nation's problems. Kysar and Sugin say this bill is like the 1981 tax cuts skewed towards high income Americans which failed to generate economic growth as intended an led to a swift reversal with tax increases in 1982 and years that followed in 1983, 1984. President Obama failed to address tax reform after appointing the Bowles Commission and not taking up its recommendations to reduce deductions. Another effort at changing the system was made without serious debate, a kind of Republican response to the way Democrats passed the Affordable Care healthcare bill in 2008. Real changes to update the tax laws may be put off till both parties can wrap their hands around the problem together. ...

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Willingham of the NYT points to the crisis in the U.S.as many adults with high school education lack even the most basic skills to understand or check facts. National Assessment of Education Progress tests show little progress over 30 years. He cites the tests from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy for 2003 showing 95% of the people could not compare two editorial opinions and check a table for the facts.  Willingham says the problems are the lack of vocabulary, the lack of knowledge of usable facts that writers assume the reader knows.   Building and providing knowledge intensive education early on in earlier grades is needed. Standardized tests need to check for this knowledge so that it builds up. Don't ask about random topics, if a child is taught knowledge on New Zealand, he should be tested with questions on New Zealand. The Common Core Standards neglect this importance of content intensive, content rich information in curriculums. Massachusetts improved education by emphasizing knowledge. High information texts should be used in early grades so that children pickup knowledge early on and build on this grade after grade. The important thing is no to see reading comprehension as a skill but something that is intertwined with knowledge, the more knowledge exposure one has early on the better so that reading comprehension grows quickly and advances. Willingham brings up the idea that technology is not the culprit, it is not the answer either. What is important is to correctly grasp the need for vocabulary and knowledge and push this in the early grades to get good reading comprehension that advances grade after grade. Also important is getting children excited about reading, to get their imagination to work with knowledge gained, so that they pursue reading inside and outside the classroom and become regular readers.  ...

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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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The Economist points out serious problems at India's state owned banks. Following a $21 billion or 1.3 trillion rupee bailout from the government, and a new bankruptcy law to help banks deal with bad loans, the Indian banking sector was seen as recovering. Last week (Feb. 2018) showed new problems at three of the largest state owned banks. PNB, Punjab National Bank, is faced with fradulent transactions for 114 billion rupees, about a third of its market capitalisation. A jeweller, Mr Nirav Modi, had PNB employees issue letters of credit which were then used to borrow overseas, but the credit was not shown in PNB's books. The State Bank of India, SBI, is faced with losses after tackling bad loans. The Reserve Bank of India, India's central bank and bank regulator, has taken action to have banks recognize more bad loans to clean up the banking system.  The Bank of Baroda, the third largest state owned bank, is exiting South Africa after entering that market and lending to the controversial Gupta family that is seen as having undue influence on the government of ex- president Jacob Zuma of South Africa.  These events have battered the reputation of state owned banks in India. One private lender HDFC bank alone now has market capitalization worth more than the entire state owned banks in India. State banks are worth less than net assets in the market, showing a huge credibility gap. The bad loan situation that goes back to previous governments is affecting the growth rate in India's economy and creating new pressures on the government of prime minister Modi as it faces general elections in 2019. ...

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Baker and Shear show the changes in president Trump's views on Islam and Islamic extremism following his meetings with leaders from the region since taking office. In his speech to leaders of the region Trump said "Islam is one of the world's great faiths" and said what was needed was "tolerance and respect for each other." He also said it was not about "conflict between religions, sects or civilizations." General McMaster calls it "learning" for Trump, something Trump has shown a capacity for when he badly needs to get it together and make a conscious effort. As a result the page on the travel ban on the Trump website has been taken down. This is an astonishing about face seen in one way because of Trump's rhetoric during the election and right upto the travel ban, yet it also shows Trump's business instincts and willingness to learn and be open, showing he has many personality traits and is a more complex person than he looks at first glance. This may also be how he survived in business bankruptcies, by adapting and learning. Contrast this with the views of Marine Le Pen during the French presidential election, and it shows that the business side and commercial instincts of Trump make a real difference. He can appeal to the cultural angst of followers, whether it be for Mexico or the Middle East, yet take a sensible approach to get on with it when needed. Trump needed to be careful about words and meaning following a month of media revelations on the relations between Flynn and Russia, and the appointment of a Special Counsel to investigate Trump campaign connections with Russia. ...

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Though tens of thousands of workers in the French rail network are protesting in the streets about changes in the labor laws, the atmosphere in the National Assembly where president Macron has an absolute majority is different. In the National Assembly most of the legislators are young, inexperienced and there for the first time after the recent elections. Most owe allegiance to president Macron and his party En Marche. The labor code changes were passed without much discussion and on a thumbs up or down vote.  Legislators from Mr. Macron's party are seen by older surviving legislators from an earlier period in French politics as arrogant and do not consult with older legislators. The entire sociology of the National Assembly is overturned and presents a complete culture shock, says a leader of Macron's party who selected members for seats in parliament. Three fourths of members are here for the first time, 60% in Macron's party En Marche. About one third never held public office before. These members spend a whole week in parliament instead of the few days during the earlier Assembly. Yet for all the work and enthusiasm these members act as more of a rubber stamp for Macron's policies instead of offering healthy discussion so that policies can be modified where needed to better accomplish the goal of changing the French system where it can be improved. The result is a form of government that critics increasingly see as autocratic. For Macron this means the lack of a process of consultation that could improve legislation and increase consensus, creating larger support for the changes to the labor laws and the pension system. ...

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In an effort to create a single market India's Modi administration is replacing the multiple federal and state taxes with a single Goods and Service Tax. The bill passed India's parliament on June 30, 2017. It should increase GDP growth by 2%. The taxes are in 4 categories 5%, 12%,18% and 28% depending on the goods and services. Vegetables, some food items and milk are exempted.

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A good meeting of Merz with Trump at the White House and reaching out at a personal level. The German leader handed Trump a birth certificate of his grandfather from the Palatinate region of Bavaria. Merz says-

"I'm returning with the feeling that I've found in the American president someone I can speak with very well on a personal level," he said. "We have a lot in common, even in the different career paths we've taken between politics. That creates a certain bond."

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Google's $20 billion transfer to Apple so that it can have the monopoly on search, paying a competitor to take its business in this way to reduce competition does not look right in the courts of law and principles established since Teddyt Roosevelt's struggle to end oil monopolies in the 1900's. The US was built on competition, monopolies existed for short times till they were brought under the law and dismantled, and new competition evolved in a environment that is good for competition. The Apple -Google arrangement looks cosy and not in line with America's pillar of strength in its economy- competition, and not in line with the laws of the US economy. The rest of Google's monopoly only retards competition that is the heart of the US economy, and retard the new ideas that can bring new inventions and new industries to propel America and it's vision forward free of the burden of unfair and illegal monopolies.

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Japan's governing LDP party wins over two thirds of the seats in parliament in a snap election called one year before the end of the term in office. Prime minister Abe's popularity by summer 2017 dropped to about 30%, and yet with a divided opposition he managed to win the election with a large majority. The opposition led by the Democratic Party and Tokyo Governor Mrs Koike fragmented with the formation of new parties, Yuriko Koike's Party of Hope, and the Consitutional Democratic Party. Mrs. Koike failed to keep the opposition united with some missteps including asking for a loyalty pledge from candidates. This election win makes it possible for Abe to get a third term as leader of the LDP and eventually becoming the prime minister with the longest term in office. Abe had a poor start during his first effort as prime minister when he resigned in less than a year. This is a comeback for Shinzo Abe from that difficult period. Yet the constitutional changes to support Japan's Self Defense Forces with the growing threat from North Korea are not getting the same level of support. Opinion remains divided on that issue.  One aspect of this election is that very few women candidates are running for parliament. In contrast to the election in Britain with more women running for office and getting elected, in Japan's 2017 snap election less than 10% of candidates elected are women. ...

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Preliminary results show the SPD Social Democrats leading in Germany. The SPD had 25.7% of the vote, ahead of Merkel's CDU at 24.1%. This is the worst showing for the CDU in German elections. The environmentalist Greens Party came in at 14.8% of the vote. The pro-business FDP Free Democrats came in at 11.5%, the far right AfD at 10.3%, and the socialist Left party at 4.9%. Parties calling for big infrastructure investments in Germany with tax increases emerged as big winners reflecting the public mood in Germany after CDU led coalitions with SPD for the last eight years focused on the eurozone crisis and opened migration into Germany, while neglecting much needed investment in broken infrastructure. Both the SPD and Greens are calling for big investments and taking on additional borrowing to do so. They now have a combined 42% of the vote, and 47% when combined with the socialist Left. The Afd with 10% remains mainly a fringe party - and primarily a result of Merkel's decision to open migration from war torn Arab countries which she later reversed, and from from the CDU's failure to tackle social and economic problems of eastern Germany.    ...

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Experts say the election of Manuel Lopez Obrador as president of Mexico in June 2018 makes it easier to renegotiate the NAFTA treaty because Mr. Obrador's centre left positions to improve factory conditions and with it factory wages in Mexico, align better with Mr. Trump's goal of raising labor standards in Mexico. Robert Lightnizer, U.S. Trade Representative who leads the U.S. in talks wants to see 40% of the content of auto vehicles that trade duty free within the North American trading bloc of Mexico, Canada and the U.S. to be made at a particular wage level. The wage level the U.S. discussed is $16 an hour. The wage in Mexico is about $8 an hour on average in 2017, with parts plants at $4 an hour, according to the Centre fro Automotive Research. Mr. Obrador is more likely to favor the higher wages for Mexican workers because of his close relationship with the unions in Mexico. Mr. Obrador takes office Dec. 1, 2019, yet a leading member of Mr. Obrador's team will now join in the negotiations as soon as Mr. Obrador is declared president elect by end of June.   ...

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Nicholas Kristof says the strategy adopted during the Clinton administration of negotiations with the North and a partial lifting of sanctions worked better than the situation today. One criticism leveled at that agreement was that North Korea cheated and developed uranium weapon technology on the side. Yet says Kristof the situation is worse today. Under the "Agreed Framework" of the Clinton administration North Korea's Kim regime did not add to its nuclear weapons. Kristof says that policy of putting pressure on China has not worked. It would help if China did not transfer any technology to North Korea. Yet the basic policy of China remains in that it does not want renunification on the Korean peninsula that would put bring a U.S. ally on its southern border. The Bush administration and the Obama administration's policies did not lead to diplomatic progress and the world is a more dangerous place with North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile capability in 2017. Kristof says it is time to give diplomacy a chance to work. See Bosworth, for how a veteran U.S. diplomat has built channels to North Korea through many years of diplomatic effort.   ...

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Japan's car exports have grown in the last six years to double what they were before, growing to $40 billion. This includes a jump in export of SUV's vehicles. Just in the first quarter of 2018 the export of automobiles from Japan to U.S. is up by 10%. Japan is not keen on talking about this issue. President Trump is looking at negotiating a one on one trade deal with Japan instead of through the TPP agreement. as this is seen as a better way to address a $60 billion trade deficit. TPP is not a solution for the U.S. imbalance in trade with Japan as Japan already has no tariffs on imported cars. Yet other barriers exist that make it difficult for U.S. automakers. Ford exited Japan in 2016 and the U.S. has only 1% of the Japanese market. Japanese buyers stay away from American cars and prefer the smaller highly fuel efficient cars made in Japan by Japanese automakers. Perception of buying home made also exist. Other barriers also exist such as zoning and for setting up dealerships, unique safety standards. Japanese automakers make most of the sedans in the U.S. but export the SUV's from Japan. ...

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Attorney General nominee William Barr sayshe will not interfere with the Mueller Russia investigation, calling it "vitally important" that this investigation be completed. This happens as there is increased scrutiny of President Trump's interactions with Russia. This follows a report that the Federal Bureau of Investigation had opened a counter intelligence probe into Mr. Trump in 2017, as questions were raised about the abruptness of the firing of FBI Director Comey.  Mr. Barr defended a memo he had written critical of Mr. Mueller for his theory of obstruction of justice by Mr. Trump. He said he considers that a minor aspect of Special Counsel Mueller's probe. Barr says the memo did not question the special counsel's core investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. Mr. Barr was Attorney General under George H.W. Bush and would follow his earlier prioritizing of crime fighting and immigration policies. He needs some support from Democrats to be nominated, and to win this support he reiterated that "where judgements are to be made by me, I will make those judgements solely on the law."  ...

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Glencore is faced with falling prices of copper and other metals, declining profits from commodities trading, and a high net debt load of $30 billion. CEO Glasenberg is losing credibility with investors with a sharp decline in the share price, especially as the commodities trading operations are not able to cushion the fall in commodities prices. Commodities trading division adjusted profits for the 1st half showed 29% decline to $1.1 billion. Its share price declined 10% on August 19, 2015. Glasenberg is the second largest shareholder after the Qatar sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Holding LLC. The company went public in 2011, and acquired Xstrata in 2013. Since 2014 Glencore has lost half its market value as prices of metals fell sharply. The company is based in Baar, Switzerland. Glencore's results for the first half of 2015 showed anet loss of $676 million compared to profit of $1.72 billion in the prior year. Revenue declined by 25% to $85.71 billion.