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Biden's Address to Congress 2021
05/05/2021
Biden announces his $1.8 trillion Families Plan in his speech to Congress in April 2021. It is meant to help struggling families, women, workers and students.
Linked Articles
Biden’s Speech to Congress: Full Transcript
NYTimes.com 04/30/2021
Video: President Biden’s Joint Session AddressNYTimes.com 04/30/2021
America's self-reliant economy - Biden with Trumpian undertones
01/21/2021
The Biden administration is seen as continuing the efforts of president Trump to pursue American interests in trade, technology, American workers and business to restore America's leadership role in the free world to what it was in the 1950's. Biden from Delaware is in the same tradition as president Harry Truman from Missouri in that period. Because of Biden's age this could be a one term presidency, and strange as it may sound it could be a presidency of Trump in foreign affairs and trade, technological leadership, without the rhetoric, and a socially cohesive presidency of Democrats in the tradition of Harry Truman. What then to make of all the fights of the Trump presidency? Much of this can be seen as an effort to break the status quo which did not benefit American workers.
Linked Articles
Biden’s Economic Team Charts a New Course for Globalization, With Trumpian Undertones
WSJ 12/01/2020
Trump touts record of ‘no new wars’, standing up to China in farewell addressFrance 24 01/21/2021
Economic losses of 3% in GDP per head with Brexit and 8% with no-deal Brexit leaving Britons poorer
12/01/2018
As the Brexit option becomes clear as a hit to ordinary Britons and the British economy prime minister Theresa May takes her deal to the British parliament for a vote. Most opinion says it will be rejected, if not rejected outright by Conservatives and Labour MP's. A second vote may be taken. The Opposition Labour Party prepares for a new election with a divided government.
Linked Articles
The Economist 11/30/2018
Don’t write off the prime minister’s deal just yetThe Economist 11/30/2018
Why initiating Brexit by invoking the Lisbon Treaty's Article 50 could go into 2017, or even past 2020 into new general elections- (4) the elections in France and Germany in 2017, and chancellor Merkel likely to link granting benefits of the single market to free movement within the European Union
08/16/2016
Chancellor Merkel has clearly stated that she sees the benefits of a single market going along with the idea of free movement within the European Union. With elections in 2017 and after not giving into Eastern European states in 2016, Merkel is likely to again remind Germany and France of the the true spirit in which the founders setup the European Union.
Linked Articles
Wait and see: Theresa May is in no hurry on Brexit | Europe | DW.COM | 15.08.2016
DW.COM 08/15/2016
EU Governments Gird for Steely New British LeaderWSJ 07/12/2016
What Greece won in the negotiations and what Greece lost in the failure of talks with the EU, capital controls, closing of banks and the referendum on July 5, 2015
02/27/2015
Major concessions were won by Greece on the most important issues of the surplus, and the size of the public sector with high unemployment. Compromise was being reached on the value added taxes and age for getting pensions, next down the list. Next on the list were pension cuts which undoubtedly would hurt pensioners but in the larger picture of the economy would come after the size of the surplus and dateline, and the size of public sector. The size of these cuts is small compared to the cost of 60 billion euros from the damage done to the economy, and the alternatives for pensioners and the rest of the country. under bank closure. For the EU this was seen as part of pension reforms and for left leaning Syriza compromising on behalf of pensioners.
Linked Articles
IMF Raises Referendum Stakes With Call for More Aid for Greece and Debt Relief
Wall Street Journal 07/03/2015
What Greece WonNew York Times 02/27/2015
Two party systems and Malaysia's UMNO Party- (2) the future economic prospects of Malaysia under Razak, India under Modi, Indonesia under Widodo
12/08/2014
Najib Razak follows his father Tun Abdul Razak, Mahathir before him, all the way back to Tunku Abdul Rahman, all of the UMNO party, in an uninterrupted control of the United Malay Naional Organization Party which has ruled Malaysia for almost 6 decades. Malaysia has followed the example of Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore by keeping the opposition parties weak to maintain control. Both the UMNO and the party of Lee in Singapore face questions about the merits of suppressing the development of two party systems, at a time when government is changing hands to opposition parties in most of the region and improving economic prospects in each country with a change of government- Abe in Japan, Widodo in Indonesia, Modi and Sharif in India and Pakistan, Aquino in the Philippines, Wickremesinghe in Sri Lanka. A economic drift with no clear direction under Singh and Bhutto in India and Pakistan was reversed with the election of Modi and Sharif, the economic drift and deflation under the Kan and Noda governments was reversed in Japan with the election of Abe, and the economic drift in Indonesia is being reversed by the Widodo government. This shows how critical two party systems are to functioning democracies as middle classes develop and voters look for competing views of the future to choose from.
Linked Articles
Fund Controversy Threatens Malaysia’s Leader
Wall Street Journal 06/19/2015
Indonesian President Joko Widodo Pledges to Cut Investment BarriersWall Street Journal 12/08/2014
Warnings at a banking conference in Moscow in October 2014, and the ruble on the brink of collapse on Dec. 17, 2014
10/02/2014
The central bank head, Nabiullina, the Economy minister, Ulyukayev, and the head of Russia's largest bank Sberbank, German Gref, all expressed skepticism about president Putin's confidence in economic policy at a banking conference in Moscow in Oct. 2014. The architect of Russia's finances in the first and second terms of Putin, Alexei Kudrin, expressed alarm in Nov.-Dec. 2014 about lack of confidence in economic measures as the ruble took a hit from lower oil prices. The Putin administration made errors in handling economic policy leading to the ruble going to the brink of collapse by Dec. 17, 2014. This was preceded by miscalculations in policy towards the European Union and Germany leading to a loss of international confidence, and deteriorating relations with OPEC's leading member Saudi Arabia leading to OPEC's production decisions hurting Russia.
Linked Articles
Russia Introduces Measures to Calm Economic Jitters
New York Times 12/17/2014
Putin Trumpets Economic Strength, but Advisers Seem Less CertainNew York Times 10/02/2014
The slow process of reform for credit ratings agencies involved in the 2008 global financial crisis six years later in 2014
02/05/2013
Linked Articles
S. & P. E-Mails on Mortgage Crisis Show Alarm and Gallows Humor
New York Times 02/05/2013
The Stone Unturned: Credit RatingsNew York Times 03/22/2014
What a difference a year makes for the government bonds of Italy and Spain
10/02/2012
ECB chief, Mario Draghi made the famous statement on July 23, 2012, that he would "do whatever it takes" to bring down the yields on the government bonds of Italy and Spain. These bond yields had reached 7.5%, worsening the debt position of the two countries. A year later in August 2013 the bond yields were down, the gap with German bond yields narrowed, and the first signs of recovery in the eurozone made investment in the bonds of Italy and Spain attractive. Emerging market debt faced the opposite of what they faced in July 2013, as the currencies of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Brazil and other developing countries depreciated significantly. As the U.S. Federal Reserve begins its pull back from its monetary easing policy capital flows and foreign investment to to emerging markets reversed causing grief in countries which depended on these inflows to finance deficits in the current account.
Linked Articles
How ECB Chief Outflanked German Foe in Fight for Euro
Wall Street Journal 10/02/2012
Europe Bonds May Offer More ValueWall Street Journal 08/23/2013
New GASB, Moody's rules show a widening gap in the funding of public pensions in the U.S.
07/18/2012
The Volcker- Ravitch State Budget Crisis Task Force identified the problems facing U.S. states and cities which have poorly funded public pension funds. The problems are large and real as seen through the GASB rules, and the findings of the Volcker-Ravitch Task Force.
Linked Articles
New rules expose bigger funding gaps for public pensions - The Washington Post
Washington Post 08/17/2012
Report Details Threats to States' Fiscal HealthWall Street Journal 07/18/2012
Torrelodones, Castilla La Mancha and the effort to clean up accounts in local government in Spain
06/25/2012
Wasteful spending, cronyism, corruption and lack of transparency in local government marked the years of the construction and real estate boom in Spain. Now grassroots efforts are taking place across Spain to clean up accounts, ensure transparency, and divert wasted resources to meet vital needs. Similiar efforts are taking place from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Sicily, Italy, as Europ faced with high unemployment and austerity cuts comes up with its own efforts for renewal from the bottom up setting the political elites aside.
Linked Articles
Europe's Recession Sparks Grass-Roots Political Push
Wall Street Journal 05/21/2013
A Spanish Leader Emerges as a Crusader for AusterityWall Street Journal 06/25/2012
How the Sony-Ericsson mobile joint venture turned out to be a big mistake for Sony
10/06/2011
The CEO of Ericsson says Ericsson's strengths are not in the areas Sony needs for developing smartphones to compete with Apple and Samsung. The joint venture was made at a time when Nokia dominated the mobile phone market. This changed with the smartphone a decade later. Critical to Samsung's success in smartphones was speedy decision making and company wide manufacturing capabilities. Sony-Ericsson's glaring weaknesses were in these two areas. Sony acquired Ericsson's stake and now faces the challenge of tackling entrenched competitors starting with its home market.
Linked Articles
Sony Stakes Recovery on New Smartphone
Wall Street Journal 03/01/2013
Sony Nears Deal to Buy Out Ericsson From Joint VentureWall Street Journal 10/06/2011
BP's steady focus on safety under CEO Bob Dudley
04/20/2011
Dudley says BP is not going to get off the path of focus on safety, and "stepping up the accelerator of performance, thats not going to happen." BP's second quarter 2012 performance reflected lower levels of production to permit maintenance and improvements in infrastructure at its deep water oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Similiar maintenance will be undertaken at North Sea fields in the rest of 2012. Cost cutting on maintenance and infrastructure improvements to improve profit performance created an environment that led to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and created huge legal liabilities.
Linked Articles
BP Posts Unexpectedly Large Loss
New York Times 07/31/2012
The Lessons of Deepwater HorizonWall Street Journal 04/20/2011
Biden's multi-trillion infrastructure spending plans for renewal of America
03/30/2021
Linked Articles
Live Updates: Learning From the Past, Biden Aims for Big Spending Early in His Term
NYTimes.com 03/30/2021
Behind Biden’s Big Plans: Belief That Government Can Drive GrowthWSJ 03/30/2021
Eliud Kipchoge and Roger Bannister - contrasts and the running style
10/13/2019
Kipchoge's entire focus is on running in 2019 with the world watching and the richest man in Britain heading company Ineos backing him. Bannister is only shown later on BBC and is focussed on completing his medical studies, with no major financial supporter.
Linked Articles
The barrier broken on salad and spikes
The Times 10/13/2019
London Marathon 2019: Eliud Kipchoge on freedom, simplicity & power of the mindBBC Sport 04/26/2019
The Women20 Summit in Berlin and the path for women to the workplace in Europe, the U.S., and other countries
05/08/2017
The views expressed at the Women20 Summit at the G-20 summit in Berlin reflect the views of women leaders including Angela Merkel. Problems women in the U.S. are facing are covered here by Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen. For the first time leaders of the stature of Merkel and Yellen are talking about these issues openly to drive the debate and clear the path for women.
Linked Articles
The real issues at Women20 | Business | DW.COM | 26.04.2017
DW.COM 04/26/2017
To Lift Growth, Janet Yellen Says, Make It Easier for Women to WorkThe New York Times 05/05/2017
Lack of individual accountability for banks in legal settlements with regulators- (2) the old management still in place, " a solution to the problem or part of it?"
05/24/2015
The question put by Mr. Han Martin-Buhlmann of shareholder association VIP at the June shareholder meeting of Deutsche Bank was- "Mr. Jain are a solution to the problem or part of it?" Over a week later a new CEO was appointed.
Linked Articles
Economist 06/13/2015
Shareholders’ Rebuke Pressures Deutsche Bank CEOs to PerformWall Street Journal 05/24/2015
Looking back at Hong Kong and China today and yesterday- China in 1842 and in 1945, nationalism and commercial interests of foreign powers
01/09/2015
A wariness with foreign powers in China stems from the influences left behind from the British commercial interests and the Japanese invasion of China. Compared to that period, the period of collaboration on an equal footing and playing field is is a short and recent one that has taken place for just three decades 1985-2015. Fears that the accelerated development in China could slow down without a strong central government, combine with the awareness of the need for western technology and open communications in today's global economy to accelerate the development, create in the Chinese mind a problem that needs to be tackled carefully to continue progress. Awareness of the huge inequalities and corruption in the rush towards modernization, need to tackle extensive contamination of air and water, and need for social security and healthcare for an aging population create a new urgency for careful policy making to sustain progress.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 01/12/2015
‘China 1945,’ by Richard BernsteinNew York Times 01/09/2015
Tragedy in Africa (2) - Ebola virus and the breakdown for healthcare, running water, electricity, coupled with food shortages in West Africa
10/10/2014
Linked Articles
Liberia’s Ebola Crisis Puts President in Harsh Light
New York Times 10/30/2014
Rising Food Prices Make Africa Fight Ebola on Empty StomachWall Street Journal 10/10/2014
BaFin, German federal financial regulatory authority, and the problems at Deutsche Bank- regulators slow to act on information
03/28/2014
Eyk Henning of the WSJ points out the slow response of regulator BaFin to information about problems at Deutsche Bank that suggest a broken culture in a report on March 28, 2014. This comes 6 years after the WSJ first reported the LIBOR rate manipulation in 2008 leading to British and U.S. regulatory investigations. In April 2015 Deutsche Bank made a legal settlement for LIBOR rate manipulation of $2.5 billion with U.S. and British regulators. As the time when regulatory authority passes to the European Central Bank, and after a period of 7 years since the 2008 WSJ report, BaFin finally sends its report on the broken culture at the bank. A month later the two co-CEO's at the bank resign.
Linked Articles
Germany Blasts Deutsche Bank Executives Over Culture
Wall Street Journal 07/17/2015
German Financial Watchdog Bites BackWall Street Journal 03/28/2014
The LNG ship Prelude and the oil drilling rig Noble Bully 1- New technology changing the prospects and look of deep water oil drilling making it safer, cost effective and increasing production
01/03/2013
Shell's experience and technological improvements are changing the way oil drilling in deep waters is done. Chevron and other companies are also developing their expertise as this is critical in reaching the more difficult to access reserves deep in the ocean floor.
Linked Articles
A Novel Ship Extends Shell's Reach
Wall Street Journal 01/03/2013
Shell Plans Boat to Tap Gas FieldsWall Street Journal 01/29/2014
The Obama-Biden campaign and the heated rhetoric on Social Security, Medicare, the middle class and financial regulation
08/15/2012
Linked Articles
Washington Post 08/15/2012
Ryan pick presents new challenges for Biden - The Washington PostWashington Post 08/16/2012
The Mass at Reims Cathedral in France then and now 50 years later for a lasting reconciliation between France and Germany
07/06/2012
German chancellor Adenauer and French president De Gaulle met at Reims Cathedral in May 1962 The service commemorating the 50th anniversary of that historic meeting and service was held recently. It was an occasion to bring together two leaders with diverging opinions on the eurozone financial crisis, Merkel and Hollande. Their mentors Jacques Delors of France and Helmut Kohl of Germany played an important role in setting up the EU and its institutions.
Linked Articles
Fifty Years Later, a New Chance for Reconciliation
Wall Street Journal 07/06/2012
Germany and France Celebrate Their BondNew York Times 07/08/2012
BP stays in the Gulf after the Gulf Oil Spill
03/03/2012
BP executives say BP plans to invest $4 billion each year in oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico for the next decade, 2012-20122. Investments will be made in safety for deep water drilling.
Linked Articles
BP Expects to Spend $4 Billion a Year in Gulf
Wall Street Journal 04/30/2012
BP, plaintiffs reach Gulf of Mexico oil spill settlement - The Washington PostWashington Post 03/03/2012
Pernambuco and other states in Brazil's northeastern region- lack of investment in public health, education and transportation services infrastructure
05/21/2011
During the boom years much of the investment, about three fourths of the growth rate of over 4%, came from infrastructure investments that supported exports of soyabeans, iron ore and other commodities to China. Under the Worker's party socialist governments that get much of their support from the northeast, this disguised the low investments in public infrastructure services for drinking water, health sanitation, public schools and transportation services. This is a problem in developing countries of Latin America, South Asia, and Africa, with some regions lagging behind in essential infrastructure services, even with high growth rates.
Linked Articles
The Brazilian Doctors Who Sounded the Alarm on Zika and Microcephaly
Wall Street Journal 01/30/2016
Brazil's north-east: Catching up in a hurryEconomist 05/21/2011
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