Peggy Noonan on American Democracy and a reminder to the presidency of Donald Trump- democracy is a serious thing

05/19/2017

Linked Articles

That Moment When 2016 Hits You

Wall Street Journal 04/23/2016

Peggy Noonan, Peggy, Noonan

WSJ 05/18/2017

Peggy Noonan

China's Jinping and Germany's Merkel warning about dangers of protectionism to world trade

01/17/2017

Germany and China take the lead to defend the world trading system following protectionist views expressed by U.S. president elect Trump.

Linked Articles

Xi Jinping signals China will champion free trade if Trump builds barriers

The Guardian 01/17/2017

Larry Elliott, Graeme Wearden

DW.COM 01/14/2017

Trump's business empire- overleveraging, debt, excessive risk, and shrouded in mystery, what the WSJ calls "a narrow escape"

08/20/2016

The business dealings of Trump do not reveal the wisdom and financial best business practice that will be needed to get the middle and working class in the U.S. back on its feet, and to build the country's infrastructure and defense needs.

Linked Articles

Trump and His Debts: A Narrow Escape

Wall Street Journal 01/04/2016

Peter Grant, Peter, Grant, Alexandra Berzon, Alexandra, Berzon

The New York Times 08/20/2016

Susanne Craig

Speaker Paul Ryan's House seat in Janesville, Wisconsin- improving economy in a U.S. midwestern factory town and the debate on trade, help for working class families

08/10/2016

The unemployment rate in Janesville, Wisconsin drops to 4.4% in May 2016, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was over 9% following the closing of the GM plant and the recession from the 2008 financial crisis. A working class town Janesville was hit hard by the closing of the GM plant in 2008. Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post describes the impact of losing about 5000 jobs at the GM plant, and the problems typical of most manufacturing dependent towns. Throughout the period since being first elected to Congress in 1998 Ryan has continued to be able to get elected on the basis of faith, family and public service, even though some of his policies may not have helped the poor and elderly or laid off workers. Ryan voted for rescuing the auto industry and worked hard to keep the GM plant, and listens to his constituents, and as the economy recovered by 2016 won easily in this old industrial midwestern town. His influence in national politics gives Janesville an opportunity to be heard, as it tackles problems common to many midwestern towns in the U.S.

Linked Articles

Could Paul Ryan’s ideas help his struggling home town? - The Washington Post

Washington Post 08/19/2012

Amy Goldstein, Amy, Goldstein

The Guardian 08/10/2016

David Smith

Goldman Sachs and U.S. regulators in 2015-2017- cutting risks in trading activity and private equity/hedge fund investments following the excessive leveraging of the 2008 financial crisis

08/04/2016

Stronger regulation takes shape through the efforts of Daniel Tarullo at the Federal Reserve and the LISSC. The situation with Goldman Sachs, one of the highly leveraged banks during the 2008 financial crisis still hoping to earn high profits with large trading activities.

Linked Articles

At Goldman Sachs, Stress Test Results Could Endanger an Important Profit Source

New York Times 03/08/2015

Nathaniel Popper, Nathaniel, Popper

WSJ 08/04/2016

Liz Hoffman

The Trump campaign organizational and advertising effort financing falling way behind Hillary Clinton in April 2016, and behind Mitt Romney at this stage in April 2016

04/20/2016

Linked Articles

Trump’s Campaign Spending on the Rise

Wall Street Journal 04/22/2016

Rebecca Ballhaus, Rebecca, Ballhaus, Beth Reinhard, Beth, Reinhard

New York Times 04/20/2016

Holas Confessore, Holas, Confessore

Donald Trump's proposal for 45% tariff on China's exports to the U.S.- how a policy of bringing jobs home could lead to the loss of 1 million U.S. jobs

03/08/2016

By damaging the international trading system including with allies such a Canada, Britain, France and Germany, the result of a downward spiral through higher tariffs in other countries, could end up costing the U.S. 1 million jobs. Under such a system the U.S. would lose many of the advantages of its booming tech sector, its tech driven global advantages in many industries, without signifcant gains in low cost imports such as clothing which would simply migrate to other countries such as India. The problem of worker wage stagnation in the U.S., and loss of jobs in certain sectors, is very real, but this is the wrong way to tackle the problem. China is already moving towards a consumer driven economy. Economists show that trade with Mexico would be seriously hurt both ways, creating more pressure of migrants at the border under such proposals as a 45% tariff and its indirect effect on Mexico, when the actual fact is that net migration from Mexico is the lowest it has ben in decades. Politics can do strange things as when two senators Smoot and Hawley from agricultural states Utah and Oregon, at the head of important committees in the U.S. Congress pushed and passed legislation for a 60% tariff in 1930 for the industrial sector they had no idea about. When Smoot and Hawley lost reelection in 1932 they left behind a lot of damage, especially for the farmers and workers they thought they were fighting for.

Linked Articles

How Trump’s Hard Line on Trade Could Backfire

Wall Street Journal 03/25/2016

Bob Davis, Bob, Davis

Wall Street Journal 03/08/2016

Holman W. Jenkins Jr., Holman, W., Jenkins, Jr.

The premium for shares in the Shanghai and other financial markets on the mainland and the difficult task facing policymakers in Beijing in 2016

01/06/2016

Linked Articles

Uncertainty About Stock-Selling Ban Clouds China’s Markets

Wall Street Journal 01/06/2016

Anjani Trivedi, Anjani, Trivedi, Chao Deng, Chao, Deng

Wall Street Journal 01/06/2016

Alex Frangos, Alex, Frangos

The problems threatening the white working class in America and the rise of cultural illiberalism

11/12/2015

Experts point to the economic anxieties of the white working class in America, a broad group that has increasingly fallen behind as technology advances in the 21st century with globalization and mobile capital, causing serious social fissures in society. One of the dangers is to the ideas of liberal society itself with the rise of cultural illiberalism, such as that presented by the Trump candidacy for president in 2016, and Marie Le Pen's National Front in France, as liberal elites in centre right and centre left lose their hold on working class voters.

Linked Articles

The Bleak Reality Driving Trump’s Rise

Wall Street Journal 12/16/2015

William A. Galston, William, A., Galston

Washington Post 11/12/2015

Andrew J. Cherlin, Andrew, J., Cherlin

2016 U.S. presidential candidate Jeb Bush's Tax Plan that spells out details, and takes a shot at 4% growth for restoring lost social and economic mobility in the U.S.

09/09/2015

The efforts to wrestle with the deficit in 2011-2012 led to a vigorous debate on changing the tax code, yet political leaders failed to take up new ideas or spell out the details. Jeb Bush, with advisors Martin Feldstein and Kevin Warsh, takes the unconventional approach of putting in the details, and taking up ideas such as the idea of limiting itemized deductions to 2% of adjusted gross income proposed by Feldstein in that debate. On the $2.1 trillion in income held overseas by U.S. companies Bush proposes 8.75% tax paid over 10 years. On business investment he proposes capital investment be allowed to be deducted in full immediately. It is based on the idea that business investment can drive a vigorous recovery, that workers bear 50% of the burden of higer taxes through sluggish wage growth. It levels the playing field for debt and equity capital, removing "carried interest" provision, as a lesson from the excessive leverage taken by financial institutions in the past.

Linked Articles

The Bush Growth Plan

Wall Street Journal 09/10/2015

Editorial

New York Times 09/09/2015

Alan Rappeport, Alan, Rappeport, Matt Flegenheimer, Matt, Flegenheimer

Trump's casinos and Griffin's Citadel hedge fund- risky financial investments and path from collapse to recovery

08/04/2015

WSJ reporters Grant and Berzon on Trump, and Copeland on Ken Griffin of the Citadel hedge fund provide an inside look at the financial dealings and maneouvring of Trump, the huge risk and leverage taken on at Citadel by Griffin. In doing so they provide insights into the manner of operating and personality of the two businessmen.

Linked Articles

Trump and His Debts: A Narrow Escape

Wall Street Journal 01/04/2016

Peter Grant, Peter, Grant, Alexandra Berzon, Alexandra, Berzon

Wall Street Journal 08/04/2015

Rob Copeland, Rob, Copeland

Errors made by the IMF, Syriza Tsipras far left government, leading to the third bailout program of 2015 for Greece

07/06/2015

Just when the first signs of growth in the economy were taking place in 2014 the IMF held back on a 7.2 billion euro payment to Greece which would have increased liquidity to the private sector for growth. The IMF hope to gain leverage with a future Syriza far left government. The first half of 2015 led to economic anxiety in Greece with a failed negotiating strategy of Syriza far left government focussing only on the debt and not on the economy. The damage led to about 85 billion in addtional financing needed following the closing of Greece's banking system in July 2015.

Linked Articles

IMF Warns Eurozone That Greece Needs Far More Debt Relief

Wall Street Journal 07/15/2015

Ian Talley, Ian, Talley

New York Times 07/06/2015

Gikas Hardouvelis, Gikas, Hardouvelis

Norway parliament's decision to divest holdings in companies 30% dependent on coal opens up debate on coal- (3) Coal India and the 1 billion ton target for 2020

05/14/2015

With about 300 million people without electricity, and India lagging behind Brazil and Indonesia in the percentage of population lacking electricity, the goal is to modernize the coal industry and increase production. This shows the different tradeoffs in less developed countries such as India, which face a completely different set of tradeoffs, and are moving in the opposite direction out of necessity. China is just entering a period after rapid modernization where the discussion about the tradeoffs is shifting, whereas India remains in a very different phase.

Linked Articles

Norway Will Divest From Coal in Push Against Climate Change

New York Times 06/05/2015

John Schwartz, John, Schwartz

Wall Street Journal 05/14/2015

Raymond Zhong And Niharika Mandhana, Raymond, Zhong, And, Niharika, Mandhana