The common challenges facing Pakistan's elected democratic government and its military leaders in modernizing the economy

05/18/2013

A new dynamic is taking hold in South Asia even as Indian officials remain skeptical. China's prime minister Li Keqiang visits India with a trade delegaton and sees trade reaching $100 billion a year between the two countries and growing rapidly. Pakistan's military and civilian leaders also see the urgency for modernizing the economy and building infrastructure as Pakistan begins to catchup with its neighbors in Asia.

Linked Articles

Pakistan army chief meets incoming prime minister in ‘good omen’ - The Washington Post

Washington Post 05/20/2013

Richard Leiby, Richard, Leiby

New York Times 05/18/2013

Declan Walsh, Declan, Walsh

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

Brian Blackstone, Brian, Blackstone, Marcus Walker, Marcus, Walker

Wall Street Journal 08/23/2013

Murray Coleman, Murray, Coleman

The Sentier Research study that shows median American household income decline of $4019 from Jan 2009 to June 2012

08/23/2012

Worst hit groups in terms of the decline are blacks, people 55-64 nearing retirement, those with a high school diploma but no college degree. The decline affects both younger and older Americans.

Linked Articles

Big Income Losses for Those Nearing Retirement

New York Times 08/23/2012

Catherine Rampell, Catherine, Rampell

Wall Street Journal 08/25/2012

Editorial

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

Michael Flethcher, Michael, Flethcher

Wall Street Journal 07/18/2012

Michael Corkery, Michael, Corkery

The July 2012 Report by an independent parliamentary panel on the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster and prime minister Naoto Kan's testimony

05/28/2012

The report calls the disaster "a profoundly man-made event," and "a disaster 'Made in Japan,' " citing cultural factors that contributed to the accident. It is sharply critical of TEPCO and the Japanese government's response. Both the report and the testimony of the prime minister at the time of the accident, Naoto Kan, refer to the 'nuclear bloc' or 'nuclear village' in Japan that promotes nuclear energy. Some of its actions are dangerous to safety, such as locating the nuclear safety agency NISA inside the same ministry that promotes nuclear power, a critical flaw. Ironically Germany made the decision to make a gradual shift out of nuclear power after looking at the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster and near collapse in Japan, while Japan is reactivating its nuclear plants to meet energy needs without having obtained public confidence in the system of nuclear energy including the essential safety actions. The result is a profound credibility gap about the nuclear plant industry, and public opposition in Japan.

Linked Articles

Report blasts Japan’s preparation for, response to Fukushima disaster - The Washington Post

Washington Post 07/06/2012

Chico Harlan, Chico, Harlan

New York Times 05/28/2012

Martin Fackler, Martin, Fackler

Two different pictures of the American consumer- real spending up 2.3% in the 1st quarter 2012 and yet a thin cushion of reserves say researchers

03/29/2012

Lower utility bills from lower natural gas prices and the offset from higher fuel efficiency of newer automobiles help push consumer spending slightly higher in the face of gasoline at average $3.92 per gallon in April 2012. Yet the cushion for American consumers remains weak say researchers at Stanford and the U.S. Federal Reserve.

Linked Articles

U.S. Consumers Not Out of Gas

Wall Street Journal 04/16/2012

Justin Lahart, Justin, Lahart

Wall Street Journal 03/29/2012

Mike Esterl, Mike, Esterl

Zhou Xiaochuan, head of the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, and the Development Research Center (DRC) think tank

02/23/2012

The road map and priorities of the DRC and the PBOC are now the road map and priorities of the Jinping-Keqiang administration A sense of deepening awareness takes hold on party leaders Jinping and Li Keqiang that the current trajectory of Debt to GDP ratios could lead to the kind of situation before the banking crisis in Japan and S. Korea. The importance of striking a balance with growth of private companies to support future growth and move away from reliance on state owned enterprises is part of the change supported by DRC and PBOC.

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China's Central Banker Leads Push to Overhaul Economy

Wall Street Journal 11/05/2013

Bob Davis, Bob, Davis, Lingling Wei, Lingling, Wei

Wall Street Journal 02/23/2012

Bob Davis, Bob, Davis

Research in motion's Blackberry faces steady decline with slow sales of Blackberry 7 smartphones

01/28/2012

Blackberry takes a $267 million writeoff on unsold Blackberry 7 model phones at retail stores in March 2012. After new CEO Thorsten Heins took over his strategy was to put put more of the new Blackberry 7 model phones into user hands. The failure to compete with new Android phones and the Apple iPhone places Research in Motion into a position from which it will be hard to recover.

Linked Articles

BlackBerry Maker in Turmoil

Wall Street Journal 03/30/2012

Will Connors, Will, Connors

Wall Street Journal 01/28/2012

Will Connors, Will, Connors

Free trade and its impact on counties and communities across the U.S.

09/27/2011

About one-third to two-thirds of the benefits from trade are erased by the cost of government payments in the form of unemployment insurance, food stamps and disability benefits for U.S. communities that fare worse from a surge in imports. This is one of the conclusions in a research study by professors Hanson and Autor of 722 clusters of counties in the U.S.

Linked Articles

Cities Adapt With Mixed Results

Wall Street Journal 09/27/2011

Justin Lahart, Justin, Lahart

Wall Street Journal 09/27/2011

Justin Lahart, Justin, Lahart

Black people in the U.S. and declining economic advancement in 2008-2016

07/26/2011

Black people see fewer opportunities in the public sector in 2015. The black community has hardly recovered from the damaging effects of foreclosures and higher unemployment following the financial crisis of 2008, and the gap between whites and black people has widened during the last ten years.

Linked Articles

Public-Sector Jobs Vanish, Hitting Blacks Hard

New York Times 05/24/2015

Patricia Cohen, Patricia, Cohen

Washington Post 07/26/2011

Peter Whoriskey, Peter, Whoriskey

The closed door budget negotiations between Republicans Boehner and Cantor and the Obama White House

07/12/2011

The closed door negotiating sessions puts the budget process outside the public scrutiny that is required by law. The lack of accountability and transparency. The use of the budget and competing claims to turn this into the first phase of the 2012 U.S. presidential election.

Linked Articles

Budget Shell Games Are Contrary to Law

Wall Street Journal 07/14/2011

Michael W. Mcconnell, Michael, W., Mcconnell

Washington Post 07/12/2011

Fahrenthold, Kane

U.S. House Speaker Boehner's Republican proposal in "fiscal cliff" deficit negotiations and the Feldstein proposal for 2% cap on deductions

05/04/2011

Linked Articles

Plan to Limit Tax Breaks Gets a Push From Boehner

Wall Street Journal 12/05/2012

John D. Mckinnon, John, D., Mckinnon

New York Times 05/04/2011

Martin S. Feldstein, Martin, S., Feldstein

Pfizer and Merck organize R&D using international innovation hubs- 2011-2015

05/02/2011

Efforts to tap into the latest external science at universities and research centers outside company labs is leading pharmaceutical companies to try a different approach to R&D. Pfizer closed its R&D facility in Sandwich, England and opened one in Cambridge. It opened hubs in Boston, La Jolla. Merck has followed this approach with a decision to setup innovaton hubs in Boston, San Francisco, London and Shanghai.

Linked Articles

Merck Plans Radical Overhaul of Drug R&D Unit

Wall Street Journal 12/28/2013

Peter Loftus, Peter, Loftus, Jonathan Rockoff, Jonathan, Rockoff

Wall Street Journal 05/02/2011

Jonathan D. Rockoff, Jonathan, D., Rockoff