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As oil prices decline to $40 a barrel in August 2015, the Kazakhstan government decides to save foreign currency reserves used to intervene in currency markets. The result is that the currency, the Tenge, loses a fourth of its value in August 2015.

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Paul Tough's detailed and vivid account of the problems in Chicago's South Side in 1987 when Obama worked there as acommunity activist, in 2007 when Obama visited the area and expressed his vision about what was needed for the Roseland section, and in 2012 when Tough visits Roseland to document life today in this part of Chicago. He sees the same problems and a need for an all round approach to help kids of parents without work living below the poverty line to provide not just financial help but the kind of support and institutional help that would help them overcome the disabling effects of growing up in broken homes and counteract the destructive effects of a poor environment surrounding them. He left Roseland with a feeling that the President has not pushed hard to accomplish much of what he started out to do and let opportunities slip by.

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The 11th Annual State of the News Media Report of the Pew Research Center is optimistic about the future of the news media business and news organizations. The optimism centers on the new investments in the business leading to new hiring for Buzz Feed, Washington Post, and other organizations, the access to news media on the tablets and the smartphones, the new ways and tools used to reach a younger demographic, on line video clips on the digital websites which are drawing users away from the news cable networks with viewership of Fox, CNN and MSNBC declining 11%. Six of 10 adults watch video online and half of them watch news videos. Interactive data presentation is popular. Younger people of highschool or college age get news on Facebook and social media networks, another way of consuming news information. Especially useful are results of the Pew Center's research showing 68% of American adults connect to the internet on tablets or smartphones, and 31% of tablet owners telling Pew they were taking out more time for news information. The tablet is particularly well suited for news information, and as lighter, thinner, easier to hold and fit into a pocket tablets are designed at lower prices, this trend is likely to get stronger....

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Boris Johnson wins the race to lead the Conservative Party and become the next prime minister of Britain. Several ministers resigned underlining the problem he faces lacking support from the Conservative party members who do not support exit from the European Union without some deal or arrangement with the EU. He will lead a minority government that could fall with the loss of support from within the Conservative Party itself. Boris Johnson beat Jeremy Hunt by 92,153 votes to 46,656. He now has a margin of only three votes with the help of the Unionist Party of Northern Ireland and faltering support from members of the Conservative Party who see Boris Johnson's idea of simply leaving the EU on October 31st deal or no deal as problematic. 

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A U.S. drone strike kills Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan leader Hakimullah Mehsud in the North Waziristan tribal area near the Afghan border on Nov. 2, 2013. It also takes out several of his closest aides. This follows the arrest in Afghanistan of his deputy chief, Latif Mehsud leaving a power vacuum in the TTP. The government of Nawaz Sharif in Pakistan opposes drone strikes publicly because of the unpopularity of the strikes in Pakistan. Yet this week Pakistan interior minister speaking in parliament disclosed that only about 67 civilians had died in drone strikes that killed 2160 militants. Because Mehsud was an extremely violent leader in the TTP and remained a threat to the government and army in Pakistan, this may be seen inside the government and army with relief so that a new chapter can be turned for Pakistan that focuses on development efforts, something that Pakistan prime minister Nawas Sharif was elected to accomplish in his term in office. This may also be a positive step for a peaceful transition in the region following U.S. withdrawal, and for peace talks mediated by Britain's prime minister Cameron between Pakistan and Afghanistan....

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Brazil held the Olympics and the World Soccer Cup, building new stadiums and living off the boom in oil and metals prices under previous governments. Today not only is there a lack of funding for infrastructure, healthcare, education and transportation.   This is now leading to lack of investment in healthcare services in a shocking way. The first full blown epidemic of yellow fever is hitting Brazil's cities of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Officials fear that it will spread in an area that has 23 million people if it hits the slums where A.aegyoti mosquitoes are to be found in swarms. Rio and Sao Paulo are trying to tackle it by vaccinating 23 million people. Yellow fever kills about 3-8% of people affected. The economic crisis with lack of funds, and the political crisis that has affected Brazil with corruption scandals has led to a delayed response, according to experts at UCLA infectious disease center.  The disease is traced to loggers and monkeys in the Amazon region which usually remains contained in that region. SInce 2016 the lack of a strong official response has led to the crisis where monkeys carry it a mile a day all the way south to the Rio and Sao Paulo region. A effective government response would have included the use of media to educate people on the need for vaccination for all except newborns and pregnant mothers. Instead social media Facebook and You Tube spread the idea that the vaccination was dangerous, anti vaccine persons who normally got no audience trashed the vaccine. So that today public health authorites have to deal with this problem. The vaccination is highly effective and invented in the 1930's, was not started till November 2016, even though the spread southward from the Amazon region started in 2016. In fact says Dr Marquez, an expert at the University of Pittsburgh, only one in 100,000 gets a reaction and one in a million dies. He says compared to this 6% of 30 million people in the region affected could lose their lives, or  2 million deaths. ...

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Estimates of new rule making as a result of the Financial Reform Bill of 2010, range from 243 new federal rule-makings required based on an analysis made by law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, to higher numbers made by other experts. The Journal reported in a separate piece on the analysis made by Davis Polk and Wardwell. That estimate includes 67 one time studies and 22 new periodic reports, as being a estimate on the low side. The Journal says the larger banks would benefit by being better able to handle the extra regulatory costs.

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Mark Carney, chief of the central bank of Canada, was chosen to be the next Governor of the Bank of England, succeeding Mervyn King. Carney's private sector experience with Goldman Sachs has given him contacts with people in the city of London and in British industry. He also studied at Oxford for a doctorate in economics. He helped Canada strengthen the economic reforms made in the previous 15-20 years, in his position as head of the Bank of Canada, say experts. This helped Canada withstand the 2008 financial crisis better than other countries. He says he can "play a constructive role in relaunching this institution with its new responsibilities."

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Clarence Cammers, 64, one of Paul Ryan's constituents back home in Wisconsin, has a question for Ryan at one of his townhall meetings. Clarence is worried about what would happen to his son Tim, 32, if Medicare cuts went through and his son had to use vouchers for getting health insurance. Ryan's district includes Racine withe high unemployment, and Janesville which was devastated by the closing of the General Motors plant in 2010. Most of the people there are conservative, believe in fiscal responsibility and a balanced budget, but they are also older, working class people. Some of them like Clarence are dependent on their Social Security check to get by from month to month and are not sure they can cope with the kinds of cuts Ryan is proposing. In this story Clarence and Tim discuss the meeting and come to the conclusion that Tim will lose either way- with taxes going up or Tim not getting the retirement that he should be getting. Clarence a life long saver decides he will cut back on his expenses and save $588 from his $1912 monthly social security check for Tim. Tim has severe attention deficit disorder and works for $10 an hour in food prep at a resort....

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The participation of Islamist men who did a lot of the hard fighting against Gaddafi with secular leaders in the new government of Libya. Islamist leaders complain the west does not understand them and their aspirations for freedom above all else. One Islamist leader says westerners think we want to lock up our women in boxes. See the amazing account of Belhaj in an interview with Nordland of the New York Times, Sept. 1, 2011. Belhaj is an Islamist who led the rebel fighters into Tripoli and was appointed head of the administration in Tripoli. He tells Nordland he is grateful to NATO for its help and holds no rancor for the past.

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Ami Ayalon, a former director of Israel's Security Agency (Shin Bet), proposes that Netanyahu take the small tangible steps in the direction of a two state solution for Palestine. He says this would lay the groundwork for reduction in tensions in the Middle East by aligning Saudi Arabia and other Sunni States, Turkey, Israel and the U.S., towards a lasting settlement. Ayalon refers to two changes in the Middle East that others have observed- the street is exercizing major influence on events in the Middle East and this presents an opportunity to defuse a lasting irritant in the form of treatment of Palestinians. The Iranian Shiite influence in Iran and Iraq provides Sunni and other Muslim states an incentive for serious and lasting settlement of the differences with Israel. These are two influences that present opportunities to move forward, says Ayalon. Adding that if Netanyahu fails to grasp this and make serious moves in negotiations, Israelis should vote him out of office. The move he is calling for is for Israel to declare it has no sovereignty claims over areas east of the security fence built in the West Bank. A voluntary evacuation and compensation would take place and settlers who stay would have some form of assured status under the agreement. The Israel Defense Force would remain in the area till a firm agreement with guarantees is put in place....

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Questions about the U.S. raid at Abottabad on May 1, 2011, that killed Osama Bin Laden. Was a Pakistani military helicopter involved in the raid as the Pakistanis say. President Obama said that the U.S. did not trust anyone, especially knowing where he was located. Abbottabad is 40 miles from Islamabad, and the location of a Pakistani military academy. Obama's statement that no intelligence was shared with the Pakistanis makes sense till the next question that comes up immediately.That question is how American helicopters took off close to the Osama compound- in an area with a large military presence- without the Pakistani military knowing.

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Investors moved $24.3 billion into European equity funds in Jan 1- Feb 19, 2014, according to fund tracker EPFR Global, and U.S. stock funds saw outflows of $5 billion.

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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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German government will cut taxes by 24 billion euros in 2009 and 2010, and run a deficit of 6.5% of GDP- higher than Italy's 6.2%- to help the economy.

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India will continue to maintain progress and will be a good investment destination in 2008 even in the light of the strong rupee and the slodown in the USA.

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New York City's finance and insurance employees have held steady at 345,000 through 2008 October first 8 months. How many of these jobs will remain as the business shrinks?