Deep differences in 2015 between Alexis Tsipras of Syriza and the Merkel government in Germany on debt forgiveness and the bailouts for Greece

01/26/2015

The deep differences between Greeks and Merkel operate at two levels. On the level of austerity policies Greece shares the view with other EU countries, the governments of Hollande in France and Renzi in Italy that austerity is not the best course for the eurozone. This view is also shared by people in Spain facing unemployment exceeding 20%, though the government of Rajoy in Spain like that of Samaras in Greece lived with the austerity policies with some changes. At this level there is also support from within Merkel's coalition government from Social Democrats. The other level of deep differences is on debt forgiveness and bailouts where Greece has to find its own way out in negotiations hoping that the EU and the IMF will agree to make concessions based on action taken by Syriza to ensure prudence in fianncial management. On issues such as minimum wage one would expect Syriza to be firm and make concessions where the hardship does not fall on the poorer and working class, winning support from the Social Democrats in Merkel's coalition. Beyond the symbolic moves and posturing the actual negotiations are likely to take into account the eurozone's need for help on the fiscal side desired by the ECB's Draghi to support monetary easing to fight deflation, and the need to keep the eurozone intact at a sensitive time. Syriza for its part is aware that a majority of Greeks favor staying in the eurozone.

Linked Articles

Greece’s new prime minister wants Germany to pay for Nazi war crimes - The Washington Post

Washington Post 01/26/2015

Ishaan Tharoor, Ishaan, Tharoor

Washington Post 01/27/2015

Griff Witte, Griff, Witte

The miscalculations and missteps of Russian president Putin in 2014 leading to a major crisis for the Russian economy in 2015

12/18/2014

A major miscalculation was totally misjudging Merkel and post-war German public opinion about policies that remind people about the period between the two World Wars- this is anathema to Germans who see the European Union as a way to build a new and different Europe. The other miscalculation was on how a foreign adventurous policy in Syria would affect Sunni world opinion, in particular Saudi Arabia. Just as Brezhnev took Russia into Afghanistan where Russia had no vital interest leading to eventual Soviet collapse, Putin risked alienating a key member in OPEC pricing moves and hurting Russia's economic interest. By not listening to Kudrin, the head of Sberbank, and other economic advisers from the first and second terms of the Putin-Medvedev administrations, Putin opened the door to two years of serious missteps, risking the very real accomplishments of the first and second term of creating a stable growing Russian economy with close economic ties to Europe. The only positive outcome of the crisis and low oil prices would be making the shift away from oil dependence, which was talked about but never seriously attempted in the Putin administrations. For this to happen major new investments would have to be made and technology links to the outside strengthened, both hammered by the missteps in 2013-2014. The irony of all this is that Putin gained the support of rural Russians in the countryside in the 2012 presidential elections by promising no return to the economic crisis conditions following earlier ruble collapses. Now by ignoring Kudrin and other wiser counsel from the first and second administrations he does just that.

Linked Articles

Putin’s Year of Defiance and Miscalculation

Wall Street Journal 12/18/2014

Gregory White, Gregory, White, Anton Troianovski, Anton, Troianovski

Wall Street Journal 12/18/2014

Alexander Kolyandr, Alexander, Kolyandr, James Marson, James, Marson

Holdout bondholder Paul Singer of Elliott Management and Christina Kirchner of Argentina- the two sides in a dispute leading to Argentine default on its bonds in 2014

07/29/2014

Linked Articles

Argentina Finds Relentless Foe in Paul Singer's Hedge Fund

New York Times 07/30/2014

Peter Eavis, Peter, Eavis, Alexandra Stevenson, Alexandra, Stevenson

New York Times 07/29/2014

Alexandra Stevenson, Alexandra, Stevenson

Changes in American breakfast eating habits affect cereal and orange juice sales in 2012-2015

07/22/2014

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As Cereal Slips, a New Battle Over Breakfast Dollars

Wall Street Journal 07/22/2014

Julie Jargon, Julie, Jargon, Annie Gasparro, Annie, Gasparro

Wall Street Journal 07/22/2014

Alexandra Wexler, Alexandra, Wexler

U.S. president Obama's managing of foreign affairs 2008-2016- missed opportunities and failure to act

05/28/2014

Linked Articles

President Obama Misses a Chance on Foreign Affairs

New York Times 05/28/2014

The Editorial Board, The, Editorial, Board

Wall Street Journal 09/20/2014

Editorial

Questions about whether justice and accountability were accomplished in the U.S. Justice Department's settlement with Credit Suisse

05/19/2014

A WSJ editorial and a separate piece in the NYT question the assumption that justice and accountability were achieved in the U.S. government's settlement with Credit Suisse. The nagging question- is Attorney General Holder simply burnishing his image after failing to establish accountability and justice following the 2008 global financial crisis, which dealt a serious blow to America's middle class. Collective wrongdoing starts with individual actions, and holding individuals responsible establishes accountability, so that the public is protected from future actions of this nature. Somewhere since the crisis this principle has been lost in the Obama administration. A churn in management for failures is considered healthy for other American companies, and healthy for free enterprise, readers are likely to wonder why this is not so for the banks.

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Credit Suisse Pleads Guilty in Felony Case

New York Times 05/19/2014

Ben Protess, Ben, Protess, Jessica Silver Greenberg, Jessica, Silver Greenberg

Wall Street Journal 05/21/2014

Editorial

McDonald's and a shift in nutritional habits in the U.S., especially in the younger age groups

01/17/2014

With about one third of the population in developed countries considered obese, there is greater awareness especially among younger people, about the need to read nutritional labels carefully, look for fresh food, and manage calorie intake. There is a shift also away from fast food to places where there is greater nutritional choice and to eating at home. The recession may have induced more people to consider eating less outside.

Linked Articles

Americans' Eating Habits Take a Healthier Turn, Study Finds

Wall Street Journal 01/17/2014

Melinda Beck, Melinda, Beck, Amy Schatz, Amy, Schatz

Wall Street Journal 08/25/2014

Julie Jargon, Julie, Jargon

China PBOC's efforts in early 2014 to slow and slightly reverse appreciation of the yuan and have it trade in a 2% up or down trading range

12/10/2013

PBOC continues to carefully manage the currency in 2014 by slightly lowering its value, with plans to widen the trading range up or down by 2%. The yuan appreciated by 2.9% in 2013.

Linked Articles

China Intervenes to Lower Yuan

Wall Street Journal 02/27/2014

Lingling Wei, Lingling, Wei

Wall Street Journal 12/10/2013

Alex Frangos, Alex, Frangos

The management styles of Jeff Bezos at Amazon and Paul English, co-founder of Kayak

07/25/2013

Bezos and English prefer small teams to get things done quickly. Layers of management are cut out and employees given freedom to test ideas.

Linked Articles

Paul English of Kayak, on Nurturing New Ideas

New York Times 07/25/2013

Adam Bryant, Adam, Bryant

Washington Post 08/08/2013

Craig Timberg, Craig, Timberg, Jia Lynn Yang, Jia, Lynn, Yang

Insights into the thinking of Janet Yellen and Ben Bernanke for a strong labor market before increasing interest rates

07/18/2013

Yellen is expected to look beyond the unemployment rate target of 6.5% set by Bernanke in Dec. 2012, and give emphasis to the long term unemployed. Bernanke also mention the under employment rate as an additional factor to consider.

Linked Articles

Don’t Expect Job Data Alone to Persuade Fed on Rates

New York Times 01/23/2014

Floyd Norris, Floyd, Norris

Wall Street Journal 07/18/2013

Jon Hilsenrath, Jon, Hilsenrath, Victoria Mcgrane, Victoria, Mcgrane

The Jinping-Keqiang leadership in China and the need to help consumers by reducing pharmaceutical and healthcare costs (2)

05/31/2013

The particular need to help the elderly in an aging population for China. The elderly suffer most from the need to set aside a large portion of savings for healthcare costs (Orlik).

Linked Articles

Politics Is a Bitter Pill for Glaxo

Wall Street Journal 07/25/2013

John Bussey, John, Bussey

Wall Street Journal 05/31/2013

Tom Orlik, Tom, Orlik

Losses and management turnover at mining companies leading to scaling back of orders of mining equipment and Caterpillar performance

01/18/2013

Losses at Rio Tinto and Anglo-American with risky projects is leading to management turnover and a scaling back in investment. The lower commodity prices, declining growth in China and risk averse strategies in turn affects Caterpillar's growth in its key mining equipment business. Analysts do not expect the situation to improve till 2015.

Linked Articles

Caterpillar Chief Faults China Unit

Wall Street Journal 01/29/2013

Bob Tita, Bob, Tita, James R. Hagerty, James, R., Hagerty

Wall Street Journal 01/18/2013

John W. Miller, John, W., Miller, Alex Macdonald, Alex, Macdonald, Robb M. Stewart, Robb, M., Stewart