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Dionne Jr. says the Republican primaries have opened up an overdue discussion on what American capitalism is, and what the right kind of capitalism is, not just what Europe is.

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Tensions rise in the Korean peninsula after the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile by North Korea that could reach Alaska. U.S. General Brooks says only "self-restraint, which is a choice, is all that separates armistice from war." The 1953 armistice never really ended the war between the North and the South on the Korean peninsula. The Kim regime in Pyongyang sees its missile systems and nuclear weapons as the only way for it to survive. For the U.S., Japan and North Korea, the situation is getting graver by the year, each year that North Korea develops its missile systems. The U.S. conducted its own military exercize with South Korea off the east coast, firing a number of missiles into the sea. Japan is now considering the Thaad missile defense system for its own defense. That missile defense system was put in place in South Korea by the U.S. in 2016. In a separate analysis David Sanger of the NYT says U.S. options are limited. After the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in Libya which gave up its nuclear weapons capabilities, other regimes see the nuclear weapons as a way to survive, which is why the North Korean regime puts emphasis on its nuclear program. ...

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Jay Powell, a former US Treasury official, now a scholar at the Bipartisan Policy Center, says the fears of budget problems in US states are survivable, even though they will be difficult and painful. He does not see widespread defaults, the way Meredith Whitney has predicted. Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University, says a major default would cause serious macro-economic dislocations. It would have impact beyond the US, in the European economies with serious budget problems such as Greece, Portugal and Spain. Analysts cite the following reasons why a widespread debt default by states and local governments is unlikely. Municipal bonds are held mostly by individuals, who own about two thirds of US municipal bonds, directly or through mutual funds. Most state and local government debt is long term, and does not rely on short term borrowing the way a Lehman Brothers did in the recent financial crisis. The states can raise revenues, as Illinois did recently. With the economy improving state tax revenues were up 6.9% in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to a year earlier, according to preliminary data from the Nelson Rockefeller Institute of Government, Albany, New York. That said, the following reasons show that life will be difficult and painful for states and local governments. State budget gaps total at least $125 billion, as they look to the coming fiscal year, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. And no federal help is in the works, as it was in 2009. Far less of newly issued muni-bonds are insured today - 6% compared to 57% in 2005- according to the Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Insurers are still recovering from losses in the recent financial crisis. A massive supply of new bonds has depressed the market just as Dec 31 expiration of a federal program, Build America Bonds, which provided help to states that were borrowing. Investors withdrew $23.6 billion from muni-bonds mutual funds since November, 2010. Moody's Investor's service has listed the states that will need to issue bonds to fund current operations. California will borrow billions to cover cash flow needs, and Illinois is considering an $8.75 billion 'debt restructuring bond' to pay past due bills, and a $3.75 billon bond for contributions to its pension system. Because banks have only 1.3% of assets in muni-bonds any defaults will not affect their ability to lend. But the impact will be felt in the US economy and overseas. In the event there was a default, some analysts believe the federal government would find it hard to say no when the federal government said yes to AIG....

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Three million additional Americans get access to Medicaid as a result of the Obama Healthcare Law (Affordable Care Act). Under the law states could expand Medicaid to people less than 65 years old with income of 133% of the federal poverty level of $15,521 for individual or $31,721 for family. About half of U.S. states expanded Medicaid and the rest kept the prior income guidelines. The figures are from a report by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which show 58 million Americans on Medicaid in third quarter of 2013, and up to 61 million in March 2014.

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The European Union response to Britain's decision to begin negotiations to leave the EU is a tough one that presents serious problems for Britain. EU Council president, Donald Tusk said that no talks on Britain's future trading relationship with the EU could take place till all the issues relating to Britain leaving have been resolved. Included is a bill of 60 billion euros, according to European authorites, for settling British committments in the EU. Tusk also said the EU wanted to see the rights of the 3 million EU citizens living in the EU, and the 1 million British citizens in the EU protected as a priority in negotiations. Without negotiations on a future trading relationship Britain faces tariffs and duties putting it at a disadvantage after the exit. Talks also cannot extend beyond March 2019 or new approval is needed from 27 EU states. The European parliament also has veto rights if the agreement is not seen as strong enough for the EU. Tusk says that Brexit has made the EU more united. Chancellor Merkel of Gemany has also separated exit from future trading relationship negotiations, the second only being discussed after the first is complete. The issue of Scottish independence also hangs in the balance, as the Scottish parliamentary leader Jack Salmond refused to accept prime minister May's point that her own constituency Islington had voted against Brexit yet she was negotiating for the whole of UK- Salmond responded in parliament that not taking Scotland's interests into account after it had voted against Brexit made "Scottish independence inevitable." The EU leaders are taking a calmer approach, in contrast to the more nationalist appeal in parliament to Tory back benches of prime minister May with promises she may have difficulty keeping.   ...

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Ram Manohar Lohia is the Gandhian with a world view having been educated at Humboldt University in Germany, who took Gandhi's idea of the equality of all men and women into the India of the post 1950's. He mentored Mulayam Singh Yadav and other leaders who brought tribals, the lower castes, women, Muslims and others into the mainstream of Indian society in the 1990's and afterwards. He also created the first opposition movement in India giving Indian democracy a good framework. Mr. Modi has in his own way brought forward some of the ideas of Mr. Lohia and Mulayam Singh Yadav as he struggles to modernize a nation of 1.2 billion and bring Clean India, Water through Har Ghar Jal, and electricity, cooking gas, digital banking, agricultural support, food rations during covid, and infrastructure building,  to hundreds of millions of people.

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Lack of experience and vague policy positions are leading to the collapse of the Five Star party started by comedian Beppe Grillo in Italy. Unlike the movement against establishment politics started by Mr. Macron in France as a minister in the Hollande government with considerable business and government experience but still an outsider, Mr Grillo and his representative Mr. Maio in the government lack experience in governing. This is leading to its complete collapse only two years after its success at elections winning 33% of the vote. It shows that such movements can be short lived without a clear economic agenda that can be implemented, not mere criticism of the existing arrangements.

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Germany's Economy minister Zypries warned that Germany would take legal action by taking the case to the World Trade Organization if president Trump imposes tariffs above that allowed by WTO rules. She said this before a meeting at the White House between president Trump and Chancellor Merkel. The U.S. is Germany's largest export market with 107 billion in imports and the U.S. exports 58 billion euros of products to the U.S. Zypries accepted that the large trade surplus of Germany was "a problem," but that America "needs our machines and industrial plants" for the time being. Germany has insisted that it does not provide unfair advantages to its companies, and that German companies were simply more competitive. Trump has focussed largely on China for anti-competitive practices, though he mentioned BMW by name during the campaign. In the last 2 years the euro has depreciated significantly against the dollar giving German companies competitive advantage, largely as a result of the ECB- in opposition to German economic policy- trying to stimulate the economy of other southern eurozone countries such as Spain, Italy and France. ...

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The British economy has contracted for 6 consecutive quarters. Third quarter 2009 show a 5.2% decline over the same quarter of 2008, and a 0.4% decline over prior quarter.

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John Cochrane provides a no-nonsense assessment of what is happening in the euro-zone financial crisis. He says Americans should stop swallowing all that talk about "contagion" from Ireland. He puts it in plain language- there is no bailout of Ireland, this bailout is about bailing out of German and British banks that made risky loan to Irish banks and the Irish government. And he says that European governments if they choose to bailout German or British banks should do so frankly and openly and not by covering it up as a country bailout. If they did this he fears the governments and the German and British banks would face some serious questioning about their risky bets on Irish debt and the Irish property bubble. The German insistence that debt-holders would have to take a haircut, or losses on the face value of their bonds, has been diluted by the French inserting a provision that this would be after 2013 and on a case by case basis. Cochrane sees the vagueness of a case by case threat as the worst combination possible. He says this relies too much on the assessments of IMF and EU officials. The result would be for big financial institutions to bet on a bailout and to lobby these same officials hard. Cochrane's says the big culprit in the problem facing the euro-zone is short term debt. If Europeans won't let governments default, then they must insist on long-term financing of government debt. It is the short term debt of these countries that creates a crisis atmosphere. If investors become pessimistic about long-term debt, bond prices can go down temporarily without causing damage. The way a crisis happens is bad news develops, and governments having financed with short term debt need new money to pay off old debts. The way to handle this refinancing crisis is to have a large forced exchange of maturing short-term debt for long-term debt, and this is what occurs in "restructuring." And this kind of restructuring ocurred with the Brady plan that helped Latin American economies recover from a debt crisis in the late 1980's and early 1990's. This is the only viable solution, as it will be virtually impossible to bail out all euro-zone countries- Portugal, Spain, Italy and so on. For the US this is an eye opener to get its own financial house in order. US government debt is also tilted to short-term debt maturities, with the majority rolled over every year. and the Fed's quantitative easing will tilt this further to shorter term debt. And in the US, many states and local governments are in serious financial trouble....

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Former Nissan head Carlos GHosn is released from a Tokyo jail on $9 million bails after 108 days in jail. He will live in a court approved residence to prepare for trial The surprise arrest of Ghosn took place on Nov. 19, and earlier bail requests were rejected until this one. Prosecutors say Mr. Ghosn had used Nissan money for personal benefit when Nissan assumed the loss on a derivatives contract made by Ghosn, and for failing to include $80 million in compensation in financial disclosures.

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Abrasive and greedy behaviour of some internet company leaders is turning off the public, investors, and management This was the situation at Uber, resulting in new management at the company. At WeWork there are other problems and behaviours that are seen as totally inappropriate, including partying. Like many internet companies including Uber that investors have shown exuberance about but are losing money, WeWork is a fast growing subleasing company with losses of $1.6 billion in 2018. During a time when a large percentage of Americans lack savings to meet a medical crisis, this sort of behaviour and the greed of a small class of investors who have supported huge valuations in the absence of tangible products of matching value presents a strange picture of America with misguided priorities.

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Saudi Arabia signed a series of agreements with India at the G20 Summit with $100 billion in investments planned including digital, rail, energy  and other connectivity for the IMEC corridor for India through Middle East to Europe. Saudi prince MBS announces the IMEC Corridor and talks about its significance at the G20 Summit.

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People in Kalamazoo county Michigan star struck with the presence of Michelle Obama with Kamala Harris on one stage.

Michelle Obama says-

"The race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris is too close for my liking. I am deeply concerned … that too many of us are still confused and buying into the lies and distortions from people who do not have our best interest at heart.”

Kamala Harris embraces Michelle Obama on stage to huge applause and says-

"She is an inspiration...And she motivates us to get to work, especially when the stakes are high.”

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Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the Government Pension Fund Global, is run by Yngve Slyngstad. The fund has $570 billon, $100,000 for each of Norway's 4.9 million people. The fund took a 23% loss in 2008. Then the fund made a shift from 40% equity holding to 60% equity holding, which has paid off. The losses were reversed with a 26% gain in 2009 and a 10% gain in 2010. The fund gets all of Norway's oil revenues less about 4% of the fund's value that goes to the state budget. Slyngstad became CEO in 2008, and persuaded finance ministers to take on greater risk, leading to $175 billion in stock investments during the financial crisis. He has told Parliament that he will get returns of 4% after inflation- higher than returns of 3.1% that were made since 1998. With assets equal to 2% of the total market value of stocks trading in Europe, the Norwegian fund is a major investor. Rules set for the fund prohibit investments larger than 10% in any one stock.

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Germany's goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2045 will be achieved by the city of Freiburg in 2038. Freiburg's new city hall has 800 solar panels on the facade and the new soccer stadium has a solar installation on the stadium roof.  Green Party and Economy minister Habeck's motto is "Ready- because you are," well suited to Freiburg. Baden-Wurttemberg's requirement for all commercial buildings to be fitted with solar panels could soon be a requirement in Germany.

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Condoleeza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State, who insisted on meeting opposition leaders in Cairo during the Mubarak regime (in Condoleeza Rice, Washington Post, 2/16/2010, The Future of a Democratic Egypt), reflects on the situation after parliamentary and presidential elections in Russia in March 2012. She says that the growing middle class in Russia seeks respect and participation in how Russia is to be governed. She thinks Russia's dependence on oil and commodities for revenues fosters a climate of corruption and it should move faster in the direction of diversifying its economy. Russian entry in the World Trade Organization, fostering a climate for Russian engineers and scientists to work inside Russia and start new companies, and building U.S. and European business and private ties with Russia's public and private sectors, should be promoted to help the Russian economy diversify. Resetting Russian relations or depending on the U.S. government to come up with solutions appears to be the wrong answer, Rice points out, because resetting is still based on internal politics in Russia. ...

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This editorial in the Washington Post describes joining Russia in joint action in Syria and Iraq as a dangerous policy for the U.S., for several reasons. The main being that Russia has been the obstacle to peace in the region because of the way all Sunnis in the Muslim world now see Russian actions as leading to millions of refugees and the prolonged war. It also says Russian forces are not effective in the current campaign. It cites Secretary of State Kerry's comments about Sunni perceptions of Russia's role.