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An extended period of low oil prices expected in December 2015 as Saudis and other producers plan no changes to production
12/07/2015
Linked Articles
As Oil Keeps Falling, Nobody Is Blinking
Wall Street Journal 12/07/2015
Oil Prices Plunge 5% After OPEC Stands PatNew York Times 12/07/2015
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
Wall Street Journal 09/10/2015
Jeb Bush Tax Plan Makes Forays Into PopulismNew York Times 09/09/2015
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
Citadel’s Ken Griffin Leaves 2008 Tumble Far BehindWall Street Journal 08/04/2015
Tech Startup Box Inc. in cloud computing- travails of co-founders Aaron Levie and Dylan Smith with the IPO process and changing market sentiment
04/19/2015
Changing market sentiment about Box Inc. consistent losses as it goes after rapid growth, with one anayst calling it "a house of horrors," a long IPO process and investor demands, have an unnerving and distracting effect on the founders. Langley and Hardy describe the experience of startup founders as competition and market perceptions change.
Linked Articles
Rich, but Not Silicon Valley Rich for Founders of Box
Wall Street Journal 04/24/2015
Box, Provider of Cloud-Computing Services, Faces Make-or-Break MomentNew York Times 04/19/2015
Russia and global financial markets in 2014-2015- a disconnect between an economy connected to the global economy and separation from a postwar order of international cooperation within a global economy
01/29/2015
Linked Articles
Stopping Putin Without Firing a Shot
Wall Street Journal 02/11/2015
From Russia With No LoveWall Street Journal 01/29/2015
A Cuba stuck in the 1950's with little sign of change- NYT reporter Neuman's 17 hour road trip and president Obama's observations of the visit
01/06/2015
Linked Articles
On the Open Road, Signs of a Changing Cuba
New York Times 01/06/2015
Along With President Obama, the 21st Century Visited CubaNew York Times 03/27/2016
Two party systems and Malaysia's UMNO Party- (2) the future economic prospects of Malaysia under Razak, India under Modi, Indonesia under Widodo
12/08/2014
Najib Razak follows his father Tun Abdul Razak, Mahathir before him, all the way back to Tunku Abdul Rahman, all of the UMNO party, in an uninterrupted control of the United Malay Naional Organization Party which has ruled Malaysia for almost 6 decades. Malaysia has followed the example of Lee Kuan Yew in Singapore by keeping the opposition parties weak to maintain control. Both the UMNO and the party of Lee in Singapore face questions about the merits of suppressing the development of two party systems, at a time when government is changing hands to opposition parties in most of the region and improving economic prospects in each country with a change of government- Abe in Japan, Widodo in Indonesia, Modi and Sharif in India and Pakistan, Aquino in the Philippines, Wickremesinghe in Sri Lanka. A economic drift with no clear direction under Singh and Bhutto in India and Pakistan was reversed with the election of Modi and Sharif, the economic drift and deflation under the Kan and Noda governments was reversed in Japan with the election of Abe, and the economic drift in Indonesia is being reversed by the Widodo government. This shows how critical two party systems are to functioning democracies as middle classes develop and voters look for competing views of the future to choose from.
Linked Articles
Fund Controversy Threatens Malaysia’s Leader
Wall Street Journal 06/19/2015
Indonesian President Joko Widodo Pledges to Cut Investment BarriersWall Street Journal 12/08/2014
The struggle to rebuild Liberia's health system so that it can handle another epidemic after the Ebola Virus crisis
10/30/2014
Alongside the report by Helene Cooper from Liberia, Betsy McKay's report provides an exceptional view of the health system and people coping with the Ebola virus in the region.
Linked Articles
West Africa Struggles to Rebuild Its Ravaged Health-Care System
Wall Street Journal 06/05/2015
Liberia’s Ebola Crisis Puts President in Harsh LightNew York Times 10/30/2014
Profiles in courage, women renewing large organizations- Christine Lagarde at the IMF and Ginni Rometty at IBM
08/25/2014
Lagarde says in an intervew in the Washington Post, that she believes women come into leadership at large organizations when the job is tough, requiring everything you can give.
Linked Articles
Christine Lagarde: ‘Don’t let the bastards get you’ - The Washington Post
Washington Post 08/25/2014
Behind Ginni Rometty’s Plan to Reboot IBMWall Street Journal 04/21/2015
More women without jobs in 2014 compared to 2010, and the 20% of U.S. households in 2014 either underwater or with less than 20% equity in their homes
05/19/2014
Most parts of the Democratic base badly damaged in the Obama administration's policy decisions in the housing and mortgage crisis of 2008-2009. A delayed economic recovery with weakness in consumer spending as one of the predictable outcomes of the policy decisions taken for homeowners.
Linked Articles
Economic Recovery Yields Few Benefits for the Voters Democrats Rely On
New York Times 05/19/2014
Mortgage, Home-Equity Woes LingerWall Street Journal 05/20/2014
Britain's RBS bank and the issue of high bank bonuses after a $15 billion loss in 2013
02/27/2014
Linked Articles
Royal Bank of Scotland to Slash Costs as Losses Deepen
Wall Street Journal 02/28/2014
Bailed-Out Royal Bank of Scotland Sees Years of LossesNew York Times 02/27/2014
Faces of workers quitting work or reducing hours as they qualify for subsidies on health insurance under the Obama Healthcare Law
02/05/2014
Faces of the workers taking subsidies available to lower income workers under the Obama Health Care Law. The Congressional Budget Office projections for 2021 show about the equivalent of 2.3 million workers worth of hours reduced as a result of the healthcare law subsidies giving workers more choice. Many use the time to work on startup business or child care for grandchildren. The jobs freed up and the hours could be taken up by other workers looking for jobs. Gains in childcare would be another result.
Linked Articles
Health Law To Cut Into Labor Force
Wall Street Journal 02/05/2014
They quit their jobs, thanks to the health law - The Washington PostWashington Post 02/09/2014
China PBOC's efforts in early 2014 to slow and slightly reverse appreciation of the yuan and have it trade in a 2% up or down trading range
12/10/2013
PBOC continues to carefully manage the currency in 2014 by slightly lowering its value, with plans to widen the trading range up or down by 2%. The yuan appreciated by 2.9% in 2013.
Linked Articles
China Intervenes to Lower Yuan
Wall Street Journal 02/27/2014
Brawny Yuan Stands Apart from the CrowdWall Street Journal 12/10/2013
Jeremy Corbyn and the proposal in 2015 for a National Investment Bank in Britain to make investments in education, health services and infrastructure
09/11/2015
A new leader of the Labor Party in Britain proposes a National Investment Bank. Some of the funding would come from an estimated 20 billion pounds of tax debt, 20 billion pounds in tax evasion, and 80 billion pounds in tax avoidance, according to experts in the Labor Party. Corbyn says he would reverse the introduction of fees for university education by previous Labor governments and has publicly apologized for the fees. The fees plan would cost about 7.1 billion pounds and be paid for by a 2.5% increase in the corporate tax, slower deficit reduction or increase in the insurance tax, says Corbyn. Germany continues to provide free university education.
Linked Articles
Leftist Jeremy Corbyn elected leader of Britain’s Labour Party - The Washington Post
Washington Post 09/12/2015
Jeremy Corbyn, Unlikely Front-Runner for Labour Leader, Poised to Win Party VoteNew York Times 09/11/2015
Faces in Changzhi and Chengdu as China closes cement and steel plants to cut large overcapacity in 2015
08/28/2015
The closing of a cement plant in Changzhi and the closing of the Panchenggang steel factory in Chengdu in 2015, are part of an overall effort to closer older, less efficent, higher polluting facilities. The transition means more workers laid off and a period of retraining in other fields, and economic uncertainty in these urban areas.
Linked Articles
China’s Shift Away From Industry Drains Life From a Steel Town
Wall Street Journal 09/08/2015
Zombie Factories Stalk the Sputtering Chinese EconomyNew York Times 08/28/2015
Ban on election advertising on commercial television and radio in Britain and strict limits of $29.5 million for each party in general elections- contrast with the U.S.
05/02/2015
Britain disproves the popular belief that an ever upward trajectory for election spending is inevitable. The 2010 general election in Britain cost half that of the 1880 general election in 2002 prices, say researchers. In the U.S. spending has increased to the point where candidates may be spending more time fund raising than talking about the issues. The 2016 presidential election in the U.S. is estimated to lead to $10 billion in spending. India, Brazil, and other developing countries face a similar situation.
Linked Articles
Britain’s Campaign Finance Laws Leave Parties With Idle Money
New York Times 05/04/2015
F.E.C. Can’t Curb 2016 Election Abuse, Commission Chief SaysNew York Times 05/02/2015
Elvira Nabiullina, head of Russia's central bank, and Russia's response to the collapse in oil prices that helped avoid effects on the economy
02/09/2015
Exceptional performance by an exceptional economy minister and banker. Elvira Nabiullina's humility, drive and policies help shape Russia's careful management of the collapse in oil prices.
Linked Articles
Economist 04/19/2016
Ruble’s Fall Tests Governor of Russia’s Central BankNew York Times 02/09/2015
Looking back at Hong Kong and China today and yesterday- China in 1842 and in 1945, nationalism and commercial interests of foreign powers
01/09/2015
A wariness with foreign powers in China stems from the influences left behind from the British commercial interests and the Japanese invasion of China. Compared to that period, the period of collaboration on an equal footing and playing field is is a short and recent one that has taken place for just three decades 1985-2015. Fears that the accelerated development in China could slow down without a strong central government, combine with the awareness of the need for western technology and open communications in today's global economy to accelerate the development, create in the Chinese mind a problem that needs to be tackled carefully to continue progress. Awareness of the huge inequalities and corruption in the rush towards modernization, need to tackle extensive contamination of air and water, and need for social security and healthcare for an aging population create a new urgency for careful policy making to sustain progress.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 01/12/2015
‘China 1945,’ by Richard BernsteinNew York Times 01/09/2015
The case for a minimum wage for U.S. workers with families to support- how Australia approaches the issue taking into account the median wage
12/31/2014
Australia's minimum wage is 54% of the median wage, compared to 38% for the U.S., according to the OECD. Australia's wage setting body sets the minimum wage for workers over 20 years of age, and takes into account the median wage in the interest of fairness. Workers with families to support need the Australian minimum wage of 16.87 Australian dollars ($13 U.S.). All of this money goes into consumer spending providing an immediate boost to the economy.
Linked Articles
Australia Weighs Whether Its Minimum Wage Is Too High
Wall Street Journal 01/26/2015
States’ Minimum Wages Rise, Helping Millions of WorkersNew York Times 12/31/2014
Abenomics advisers Yamamoto and Hamada, and Japanese prime minister Abe's decision in Nov. 2014 to challenge the Finance Ministry's views
11/20/2014
Abe calls for a snap election in Dec. 2014 after delaying the second increase in the consumption tax from 8% to 10% in 2015. About 53% of the Japanese public opposed the doubling of the consumption tax by 2015 in 2011 poll as the DPJ party Noda administration pushed for it on the advice of the Finance Ministry. Now after the 3rd quarter showed Japan in a recession over 70% of the Japanese public oppose a second increase in the consumption tax to 10% from 8% in 2015. Abenomics advisors Hamada and Yamamoto now say this increase in the tax (especially when wages are only gradually increasing) was never a part of the Abenomics.
Linked Articles
Japan’s No. 1 Reflationist Does a Victory Dance
Wall Street Journal 11/20/2014
With Bad Economic News for Japan, Abe’s Magic Seems to EvaporateNew York Times 11/20/2014
Lufthansa low cost carrier Eurowings and Air France-KLM low cost carrier Transavia in 2015- an effort to setup separate airlines to remain competitive
09/28/2014
Linked Articles
Lufthansa Chief Carsten Spohr Defends Airline’s No-Frills Push
New York Times 12/08/2014
Air France Pilots End Two-Week StrikeNew York Times 09/28/2014
German chancellor Merkel and U.S. president Obama on an increasing NATO presence in the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia
08/23/2014
Linked Articles
Obama Pledges NATO Backing for Baltic Allies
Wall Street Journal 09/03/2014
Merkel Seeks to Defuse Ukraine Crisis as Convoy Returns to RussiaWall Street Journal 08/23/2014
GE (General Electric) low tax rate of 4.2% in 2013, 10.3% in 2014, and the move to a normal tax rate in 2015
03/05/2014
An aggressive policy of tax reduction using GE Capital at GE leads to an astonishingly low tax rate. Shareholders see the uncertainty from GE Capital's volatile earnings and tax strategies with great skepticism. GE shares dropped to $6 during the 2008 global financial crisis because of GE Capital losses, and GE needed government rescue funds. The day CEO Immelt announced the decision to exit the banking business GE shares went up by 11%. GE's tax rate without the banking business will go up to about 20%.
Linked Articles
Price of Selling GE Capital? Tax Breaks
Wall Street Journal 04/14/2015
How corporate America is losing the debate on taxesWashington Post 03/05/2014
Reviving Detroit- Darren Walker of the Ford Foundation and not giving up on American cities
02/15/2014
The Ford Foundation was founded in Detroit in 1936, the Knight Foundation also has roots in the city. Both foundations donated the money needed to revive Detroit in 2014. The state of Michigan under Governor Snyder also acted with exceptional courage and wisdom to save the floundering city after a decade of collapsing infrastructure and services. The state acted responsibly by obtaining a supervisory role over the city's troubled finances. With all the surrounding atmosphere and talk of Republican deadlock with Democrats in the White House and Congress, Snyder, Walker, Judge Rosen, and others showed rare wisdom and courage to come together for innovative solutions.
Linked Articles
Finding $816 Million, and Fast, to Save Detroit
New York Times 11/07/2014
Mediator in Detroit Bankruptcy Walks Fine Line Between City, CreditorsWall Street Journal 02/15/2014
Pete Seeger (1920-2014)- An American Life
01/28/2014
Linked Articles
Pete Seeger, legendary folk singer, dies at 94 - The Washington Post
Washington Post 01/28/2014
Pete Seeger, Songwriter and Champion of Folk Music, Dies at 94New York Times 01/28/2014
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