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Term Asset Backed Loan Facility of $1 trillion is aimed at bringing new life to the market for asset backed securities that effectively subsidizes loans to consumers and businesses to buy cars, pay for tution, buy farm equipment or use credit cards. Through the program an investment fund can put down $5 to $14 for every $100 it plans to spend and borrow the remaining $95 to $86 cheaply from the Fed. The investment fund agrees to buy highly rated securities issued by lenders that the Fed deems eligible collateral for the loans. About $10 billion in such loans could be made available to auto lenders, Ford Motor Credit and World Omni Financial Corporation. Modifications to the TALF program are being proposed by the banks, but are being reviewed for risk by the Fed and Treasury.

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The difficult task facing Governor Jerry Brown of making the painful cuts in education, the state's university system and social services, as he faces a $15.7 billion gap in the state budget. The Republicans in the legislature have made it difficult for governors in the state to get the two thirds majority to increase taxes, and the Democrats have opposed the spending cuts, leading to chronic budget shortfalls. Governor Brown says unless temporary tax increases, including quarter percent rise in sales taxes and income tax surcharge on the wealthy are passed, California will have to make cuts of $6 billion in January 2013. This would include cuts in public schools and the university system. This would be in addition to cuts of $8.3 billion he has proposed for cuts in welfare, social services, and health care for the elderly. Experts say the political culture in the state is a problem, and is proving to be impervious to this governor's long years of experience and considerable skills. Jerry Brown says California, and the U.S. are both living beyond their means and need to take the medicine....

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The Ifo Institute monthly business confidence survey shows a reading of 104.7 for November, up from 103.2 in October 2014.

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Chrysler reported second quarter 2012 income of $436 million, compared with a loss of $370 million in the prior year quarter. The prior year quarter included charges for repaying U.S. government loans. First quarter 2012 income was $473 million. Fiat reported a loss of 246 million euros for the second quarter 2012. The combined operations Fiat-Chrysler reported aloss of 103 million euros. This shows how the effort by Sergio Marchionne to takeover Chrysler and turn it around have proved to be a very successful move for Fiat. With a relatively small investment Fiat is now a majority owner of Chrysler having invested mainly its management knowhow and leadership.

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The AKP party loses its parliamentary majority in the 2015 general election. It wins 41% of the vote compared to 50% in the 2011 general election. This gives it 258 seats in the Turkish parliament, compared to 327 seats in the last election. Kurds, liberals and secular Turks were part of the antigovernment protests in 2013. This part of the electorate voted for the Kurdish People's Democratic Party, which won 13% of the vote. The traditional secular party in Turkey won 25% of the vote, giving the opposition to the AKP a combined 38% of the vote. Turnout was 86% for the election. The Kurdish People's Democratic Party is led by a 42 year old human rights lawyer, who told reporters: "As of this hour, the debate about the presidency, the debate about dictatorship, is over. Turkey narrowly averted a disaster."

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Infosys built its business on outsourcing by U.S. business. President Trump's executive order to "Buy American, Hire American" is changing the way it does business. Infosys plans to hire 10,000 software engineers in the U.S. by 2019. 

A big change is also coming from new technologies in computing that require small teams to work side by side with customers. This is best done by having software engineers in U.S. offices and not engineers in offices thousands of miles away. A president of Infosys says this is the new face of computing at Infosys.

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A project that started when he was 29 before Michael Byard left Britain for Australia to work for a shipping company, is renewed years later when Byard is 74 years and finished when he is 80. Byard built a complete 5 foot replica of Admiral Nelson's flagship HMS Victory from 3000 pieces all intricately put together. The Royal Navy has preserved the HMS Victory as the only surviving ship from the period of the Napoleonic war 1803-1815. Nelson used the flagship to command the British Navy during the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

Read Roger Knight's "Victory" for the story of the British Navy during the period that spans the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic War between 1793 and 1815, when the Royal Navy established British influence throughout the Mediterranean and in Asia and Africa. 

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Trump rally for 100 Days in Warren, Michigan, at a community college gymnasium, April 29, 2025. DJT also visits Selfridge Air Force Base and says it will get 15 new F-16 jets to replace old jets.  DJT says we're "getting woke lunacy and transgender ideology the hell out of our government." Border crossings of 8400 in February 2025 and 7200 in March 2025 are the lowest since the 1960's, one of the lowest ever, compared to 140,000 in March 2024 under Biden. DJT says he is protecting the middle class and Main Street. The millions of jobs lost to China, DJT says he is bringing them back. He talks about creating manufacturing jobs and restoring the industrial base of America that was lost in the last 30 years.  Trump lists the cost of everything from eggs to gasoline at the pump. He says there are three states where gas at the pump is below $2.00 a gallon. He cites the 345,000 jobs created in 100 days and the lowering of inflation.   ...

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Spain's prime minister Mariano Rajoy of the People's Party won two elections in December and June but failed to win a parliamentary majority. After 10 months as acting prime minister Rajoy leads a new government with the Socialist party agreeing to abstain in a parliamentary vote. Socialist Party PSOE faces internal divisions, and the minority government will find it difficult to pass legislation.

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"This nation was founded on a simple yet profound principle: No one is above the law. Not the president of the United States. Not a justice on the Supreme Court of the United States. No one. But the Supreme Court’s 6-3 decision on July 1 to grant presidents broad immunity from prosecution for crimes they commit in office means there are virtually no limits on what a president can do. The only limits will be those that are self-imposed by the person occupying the Oval Office.  "I served as a U.S. senator for 36 years, including as chairman and ranking member of the Judiciary Committee. I have overseen more Supreme Court nominations as senator, vice president and president than anyone living today. I have great respect for our institutions and the separation of powers.What is happening now is not normal, and it undermines the public’s confidence in the court’s decisions, including those impacting personal freedoms. We now stand in a breach.That’s why — in the face of increasing threats to America’s democratic institutions — I am calling for three bold reforms to restore trust and accountability to the court and our democracy.First, I am calling for a constitutional amendment called the No One Is Above the Law Amendment." ...

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The Vickers commission, has been appointed by the Cameron government to look into the British banking system and the largest banks. Ringfencing to protect retail deposits from the bank's other investment activities has been suggested. The focus is on increasing capital requirements as critical to protecting British taxpayers and the banking system. This means going beyond the Basel 3 requirements to build an extra safety buffer for the types of situations the British government was faced with in HBOS, where losses were even greater than average. Determining this should be coordinated with EU and Basel regulators.

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A New York Times/CBS poll shows 69% of Americans polled between March 21-25, 2012, feel the U.S. should not be involved in a war in Afghanistan. This is up from 53%, in a poll only 4 months before this poll.

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Title insurance payout is only 3%. The Biden administration wants to cut the cost of title insurance for home buyers.

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It is a summer of surprises, Germany loses to Columbia, Brazil loses to Panama, Italy loses to South Africa, and the American team barely gets away with a draw after an excellent performance by Portugal.

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The lack of enough monsoon rains in acountry that depends for 60% of water in agriculture from rain-fed water and only 40% on irrigation is profound. The impact is uneven- in the south rain shortfall was 7%, in the northwest 36%, in the central part 19%. India has 52 million tons of wheat and rice - enough for one year. The monsoon impacts 600 million people depending on agriculture in rural areas.

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In a manner similiar to that in other European countries such as the UK and Germany, where multiculturalism is being debated, Norway is having its own debate about immigration policies and its impact on Norwegian society. The concentration of immigrants in east Oslo and other neighborhoods creates a more visible presence than actual numbers. About 11% of Norway's population of 4.9 million are immigrants. Of the 550,000 immigrants who came in between 1995 and 2010, half are white from Poland, Sweden, and other countries. But the Somalis, Eritreans, and other immigrants coming for asylum are from the poorest countries and find assimilation difficult. There is a consensus among Norwegians and in the political parties that immigration policies need to be revised.

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The numbers are shocking. In 2019 alone the costs of the Opioid epidemic in the U.S. was $188 billion including healthcare, child and family assistance programs, criminal activities, and lost wages, according to the Society of Actuaries. Now 3 large pharmaceutical distributors and some pharmaceutical manufacturers are hoping to settle the lawsuits by paying $50 billion. The costs to the nation are enormous in human toll and in lost economic activity.

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The election debate brodcast live on Iranian television between Moussavi and Ahmadinejad. Moussavi described Ahmadinejad's foreign policy as engaging in " adventurism, illusionism, exhibitionism, extremism, and superficiality. He also described Ahmadinejad's denial of the Holocaust as harming Iran's standing with the rest of the world, and undermining its dignity. The debate was intense with Moussavi at one point saying the Iranian president was moving towards a "dictatorship." Ahmadinejad said that Moussavi was being supported by Khatami and Hashemi to bring him down. A video showing this simple home was circulated before the debate to contrast Ahmadinejad's simple style with that of some of his opponents like Nateq Nouri, a conservative Speaker of Parliament.

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The in-house manufacturing approach has benefitted Lenovo. This was especially evident during the flooding in Thailand when PC manufacturers were faced with a shortage of hard drives. Because Lenovo assembles its own computers unlike competitors Dell and H-P, it was able to move quickly to focus on products for which hard drives were available and emphasize high profit margin products. The additional flexibility and speed helped Lenovo increase market share from 13.7% to above 14% in the 4th quarter of 2011, and ship 13 million computers. H-P experienced a market share decline to 16% in the 4th quarter 2012 from 18% the prior quarter. Profit for Lenovo after several years of losses was $473 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2012. Lenovo co-founder Liu Chuanzhi and Mr Yang took control in 2009 and refocussed the company on China and emerging markets leading to increasing sales. Mr. Yang has been with the company since 1988, when it was not called Lenovo. He became CEO in 2001 and recently he has taken the post of CEO and chairman. Yang's four year plan in 2009 was focussed on increasing its network of resellers in China to the point that even in rural areas customers could reach a Lenovo store with customer service. At meetings in 2009 the decision was taken to increase in-house manufacturing to 50% from 30%. Lenovo hoped to gain an advantage with its own manufacturing capabilities in working closely with suppliers to come up with differentiation in key components such as display screens, battery and storage, and improve existing products for a market edge. Lenovo is also promoting its brand with increased advertising to promote customer acceptance of the brand....