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Kazuo Ueda is the new governor of the Bank of Japan. He is a professor of economics at the University of Tokyo and was on the policy board of the Bank of Japan from 1998 to 2005.

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This WSJ podcast looks at the influx of 3 million refugees into Poland from war torn Ukraine. During the last two decades many people from Poland left the country to find jobs in the European Union and Britain. As a result there were more elderly in many parts of Poland and acute shortage of workers. In the long run Polish officials see the refugees as assimilating easily and welcomed by the people in Warsaw and other cities. The influx of new people is seen as a positive for Poland in the long run. Yet in the current situation there are concerns about the ability of Poland to cope with social services needed for the elderly and traumatized refugees.  About one million of the three million refugees now in Poland from Ukraine are children and there is a dire need for school teachers and other help. Many are women and elderly with young men remaining in Ukraine. Poland has asked the US and Canada for help with dealing with the huge influx of refugees in a period of 2 weeks. ...

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This editorial in The Guardian calls the new British Health Secretary Sajid Javid's actions after only 4 months on the job a bit of breathtaking cynicism, and a slap in the face of family physicians in the UK. In 2015 the Tory government promised to increase the number of family physicians by 5000, instead numbers have dropped today by 4.5% to 28096, even as demand has increased. The complete lack of sensitivity of the new Health Secretary to the level of burnout in family practice in the UK, and the difficulty attracting young doctors to family practice, has aroused a furious backlash in the UK. He has called for an end to social distancing and more face to face appointments when government policy had decreased face to face appointments following lockdowns. Britain has one of the lowest numbers of doctors per capita in Europe, says the Guardian, and that the government is tackling the wrong problem beggars belief.

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Lessons can be learned about careful reopening in fighting the coronavirus from other countries. Here the Netherlands experienced a rise of cases by 500% within two weeks of reopening after some poor decisions. The Mark Rutte government decided to open all bars and nightclubs resulting in a twelve fold surge in these locations in one week. Most of the new coronavirus cases were in people 18-29. Data from Dutch public health institute shows 4 out of 10 new cases linked to bars and nightclubs with 262% surge in cases for young people 18-24 years. This goes to show that with the vaccination drive what we see is the cases shifting to younger people, the unvaccinated, and to activities like nightlife. People going to work, or doing hybrid remote work with trips to the office, workers in factories, people doing essential shopping, are not causing the rise in cases. Much can be learned from these examples in working out reopening that does not lead to new crises with surging cases in new waves of coronavirus. Earlier in 2020 summer tourists who ignored mask and social distancing restrictions in Croatia brought on a post summer coronavirus wave to Germany and Austria. This time Greece and Portugal are introducing restrictions. Greece plans to make vaccine health pass required effective July 21 to go into restaurants. Another lesson from Netherlands this week is that a 20,000 person music event of 2 days in Utrecht where QR codes were required showing vaccination or PCR tests failed. About 1000 cases were attributed to the Utrecht event alone. Reasons given are that people faked the QR codes, or that the covid testing system produced too many false results as much as 20%. The same QR code system was followed at nightclubs resulting in big problems. One can never be sure that things work as expected and the risks are great as this adds up. Even vaccines offer limited protection and only if fully vaccinated depending on the type of vaccine. One dose of the vaccine is simply inadequate, and obesity, other morbidities can lead to problems. Withdrawing the mandatory use of face masks in most situations is also a risky decision of the Dutch government. Face masks offer the added protection at a time of variants that spread quckly, and when large parts of the population have only one dose of the vaccine, some elderly are still not vaccinated, and young people have not been vaccinated in large numbers. ...

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Krugman points out that even though the economy has the lowest unemployment and inflation has dropped significantly, wages of working class Americans are up significantly, there is a huge infrastructure building effort, and investment in Make in America, there appears to be a disconnect when people are asked about the economy. Many tend to say they are personally better off yet the economy is not doing so well which is not reflected in  what is happening on the ground. Part of the problem could be the pandemic and the economic difficulties of the last three years that is only now gradually changing for the better and that the benefits of the better economy have not reached all people. Part of it is also a reflection of culture and other wars where opinion on social issues is transferred to the economy whether it is real or not. The extent of the culture wars has grown and sometimes been stoked for personal or party interest to affect the true civic responsibilities of the people to offer their best judgement based on careful understanding and reflection. ...

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Trench candles are keeping Ukraine soldiers warm this winter on the front and in trenches. A can tightly filled with cardboard is what a trench candle is. If it is lit 1-2 hours before going to sleep at night it can generate a surprising amount of warmth. Warm clothing is being sent from many countries including Canada and the US to Ukraine soldiers.

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Los Angeles Unified School District has voted for a ban on smartphone use in schools starting in January. Governor Newsom is proposing to have a state wide ban in California to support children and parents in school education. Florida and Indiana are Republican led states with state bans on smartphone in schools. New York Governor Kathy Hochul seeks one in 2025. California Governor Newsom says: "When children and teens are in schools they should be focused on studies, not on screens." He has four children in schools. Dr. Murthy says in NYT that children spending more than 3 hours a day on social media were feeling the double the effects of depression and anxiety symptoms. And the actual use is 4.8 hours per day for this age group.

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In exceptional reporting from Seoul, WSJ's John Lyons shows how the opinion has shifted in a matter of months in South Korea over installing the anti-missile Thaad system provided by the U.S.  Gallup South Korea polls show that since the election campaign earlier in 2017 opinion has shifted sharply, from 52% supporting Thaad to 72% support after the July 28, 2017 North Korean launch of an ICBM missile recently. When he took office president Moon halted installation of 4 addition Thaad anti missile launchers, now Moon supports installation. and it is moving ahead.  Anti-war activists earlier protested the installation at a golf course in Soseong-ri, and formed a group supporting Moon. Now only a few protesters are to be seen, says Lyons. 

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Experts say wisdom is important for well-being the older you become. About 150,000 people are over 85 years age in New York City. This series in the NYT in Dec. 2015 looks at people in the city, their lives, and their attitudes to life. At this age as other physical abilities decline it is wisdom that makes up for this. By being positive about their aging and adapting to their limitations older people make better lives. Laura Carstensen, director Stanford Center on Longevity, says this period can be better than people think for seniors who have gratitude, forgiveness, calm and appreciation in greater degrees from 50 years to 70 years, continuing into the later years. Anger and stress being replaced by conveying gratitude. The positive attitudes to aging also affect memory and heart disease. One of the people covered Ping Wong, 90 years, plays mah-jongg with friends every day and does everyday activities that make her happy. Jonas Mekas, 93 years, is a filmmaker who continues his working activities- doing an exhibition in Brescia, Italy, publishing an anthology of his writings, and giving a lecture in Berlin on filmmaking. Mekas has an interesting philosophy of life- he says do what you are doing and don't think about it much, it will all end sometime, just do something good for humanity that someone else can pickup from you when you are gone, which is normal. A sense of optimism prevails in these lives. Says Mekas its important to not give up on the idea of paradise....

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Mark your calendar for May 29 when You Tube will host screenings  of the virtual film festival from multiple locations- Cannes France, Venice Italy, Berlin Germany, Toronto Canada, and New York. This is the "We Are One- Global Film Festival," with virtual cinema program for 10 days with feature films, documentaries, shorts and round tables. Films can can inspire and bring people in different countries together in a useful virtual format combining many of the best film festivals worldwide.

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Peter Magyar says-  "You performed a miracle today, Hungary made history today." Magyar's party needed 133 seats in the 199 seat Hungarian parliament to reverse some of Orban's more controversial policies on the judiciary and on government. Magyar's party Tisza won 138 seats and 57% of the vote compared to about 38% for Viktor Orban's Fidesz that has ruled Hungary from 1998-2002 and 2010 to 2026. Magyar likens the win to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, a spontaneous uprising against Soviet rule, and an earlier revolution in 1848. Voter tunout was the highest it has ever been at 78%. The city on the Danube river Budapest was lit up, parliament was lit up as Hungary celebrated a win for reintegration into Europe. For 400 years since 1600 the Hapsburg dynasty helped push back the Ottoman Turks invasion of Hungary and Vienna, and was one of the major Empires of Europe, with Britain, France, Russia, Prussia competing for influence. The Hapsburg  base was in both Vienna and Budapest and reflects the history of Central Europe from the Renaissance to the Scientific and Industrial Revolution. Magyar's first visit is to Poland. He will join European leaders from France, Britain and Germany, Italy, as they formulate policy on Ukraine and the future of the European Union. Under Orban Hungary was the lone dissent or combined this with Poland's Law and Justice Party government in the European Union. In 1923 the Law and Justice Party was defeated, in 2026 Fidesz is defeated, and the European Union is now able to speak with one voice in its opposition to Russia. As the US moves away from NATO the new European Union is in a better position to take on responsibilities for its defense. ...

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Berlin Brandenburg Airport or BER was supposed to open in 2011 or 2012,instead it will open in October 2020, nine years behind schedule, three times over budget. There were 2 parliamentary probes into what went wrong. The planning was faulty and plans were changed, blueprints were not finalized, resulting in a long sequence of problems with such basic items such as the fire safety system, and shoddy electrical wiring, faulty smoke extractions systems. A technical manager was jailed for three years for accepting a bribe from a contractor who then went bankrupt.  The airport CEO Mr. Daldrup says his job was to mop up problems like a "crime scene cleaner." It may be an example of how German values in hard work and good engineering declined as the country lost its focus in the period after reunification and the austerity years under chancellors Schroeder, Merkel, a period when new infrastructure and public services suffered neglect.

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Jeremy Stein tells Eisinger that it is important for the Fed to recognize when a bubble is taking place and take action including jawboning and regulatory action to limit bubble behaviour in capital markets. Fed chairman Yellen did this for social media stocks and bio tech sector stocks in 2014 by pointing out that that the rise in stock prices were excessive, resulting in a pullback.

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French regional elections show a defeat by Conservatives of Le Pen's far right party and president Macron's party. Conservatives maintained a lead of 10% of the vote over Le Pen's party. Macron's party failed to make it to double digits in the vote with about 7%. Sixty six percent of voters stayed away from the poll. The Conservatives and the Socialist parties did well holding on to their regions. This changes the landscape for the presidential election in 2022. 

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A local government vehicle in China, Sixth Division of XPCC fails to make a bond payment in August 2018. This is the first such instance of failure to make a bond payment for a local government vehicle in 2018. Economists estimate China's total debt at 242% of GDP in 2017, and government efforts to tighten liquidity and reduce support for overextended local government investment vehicles.

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Behaviours of young people going to beaches and bars, ignoring social distancing guidelines and not wearing masks is leading to a rise in the number of daily cases in Europe. This includes an illegal rave in a Berlin park. The incidence of coronavirus is now 19.6 per 100,000 people for persons ages 20 to 29 compared to 9.7 per 100,000 for the French population as a whole. Germany has recorded 900 new cases daily, France 1000, and Spain 2000 as a result of these youth behaviours during the last week.

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Ji Chaozhu, immigrated to the U.S. during the Japanese invasion of China on the advice of Zhou Enlai. He studied in the U.S and returned to China in 1949. He was the main interpreter for the Chinese leaders in their meetings with American leaders from 1954-1979.

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The disaster of floods in the Brazilian southern state of Rio Grande do Sul that leaves over half a million people displaced, 70,000 in shelters, and 2.3 million people affected. A third of city residents in Canoas displaced. A similar situation in Porto Alegre. The Guardian shows pictures of the floods.

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Adani Group plans to invest $20 billion in renewable energy over 10 years. Modi has set a goal of 450 gigawatts for India. 

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The American Institute in Taipei, Taiwan, acts as the U.S. embassy in Taiwan. It is about half the size of the embassy in Beijing- with 450 diplomats and is set on a hillside in Taipei over 16 acres. The $250 million complex was planned during the Bush administration and built during the Obama administration. The U.S. withdrew diplomatic recognition of Taiwan as representing China in 1978 in an effort to counter the Soviet Union during the Cold War. After the emergence of China as an Asian power the U.S. has upgraded its relations with Taiwan, under the agreement which provides U.S. support for defense of Taiwan. Under president Trump the Taiwan relationship has grown with president Trump's call to the new president of Taiwan following recent elections.