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Two party systems and the UMNO Party in Malaysia- (1) Debt, corruption and future prospects
05/24/2013
Linked Articles
Fund Controversy Threatens Malaysia’s Leader
Wall Street Journal 06/19/2015
Asia Goes on a Debt Binge as Much of World Sobers UpWall Street Journal 05/24/2013
China's new leader Xi Jinping, the military and the Communist party- securing party and military ties with the idea of "China Dream"
02/14/2013
Linked Articles
For Xi, a 'China Dream' of Military Power
Wall Street Journal 03/13/2013
Vowing Change, Chinaâs Leader Airs Other Message in PrivateNew York Times 02/14/2013
U.S. Fed chairman Bernanke's activist interest rate policies to tackle high unemployment and central bankers from MIT
12/12/2012
A pragmatic activist focus in economic thinking shaped at the MIT economics department in Cambridge, Masachusetts. The ECB's Mario Draghi, Bank of England's Mervyn King, and Bernanke shaped their thinking at MIT. Draghi and Bernanke had the same PhD. advisor- Stanley Fischer. Factors calling for a pragmatic approach include the lack of political agreement on th deficit, the housing and foreclosure crisis effects, higher inequality and unemployment effects on the middle class, the effects of the globalized economy on working class manufacturing jobs, people dropping out of the labor foce, and lower inflation, which called for a larger focus on unemployment. Bernanke emphasized the "enormous waste in human potential and productive resources of the economy" throughout 2009-2012. Draghi emphasized the abnormal nature of excessive borrowing interest rates for Italy and Spain during the ECB's bond buying efforts in 2011-2012. Both efforts had a stabilizing effect on the economies of the U.S. and Europe during a period of political discord about future policy.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 12/13/2012
MIT Forged Activist Views of Central Bank Role and Cinched Central Bankers' TiesWall Street Journal 12/12/2012
Mo Yan and Wang Xiaofang exposing corruption and arrogant government officials in China through fictional characters and humor
10/11/2012
Both writers use fictional characters to vent people's anger at arrogant officials from the government and party- this predates the communist regime and goes back to the days from the earlier part of the twentieth century down to the present day.
Linked Articles
The Deeply Odd Lives of Chinese Bureaucrats
Wall Street Journal 03/14/2013
Mo Yan Mines a Deep Well of Material in ChinaNew York Times 10/11/2012
The perils for Turkey's economy with the surge in short term external debt of the private sector and the street protests in Istanbul
10/04/2012
Linked Articles
Syria Isn't Turkey's Only External Worry
Wall Street Journal 10/04/2012
Financial Fears Gain Credence as Unrest Shakes TurkeyNew York Times 06/05/2013
What a difference a year makes for the government bonds of Italy and Spain
10/02/2012
ECB chief, Mario Draghi made the famous statement on July 23, 2012, that he would "do whatever it takes" to bring down the yields on the government bonds of Italy and Spain. These bond yields had reached 7.5%, worsening the debt position of the two countries. A year later in August 2013 the bond yields were down, the gap with German bond yields narrowed, and the first signs of recovery in the eurozone made investment in the bonds of Italy and Spain attractive. Emerging market debt faced the opposite of what they faced in July 2013, as the currencies of India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Turkey, Brazil and other developing countries depreciated significantly. As the U.S. Federal Reserve begins its pull back from its monetary easing policy capital flows and foreign investment to to emerging markets reversed causing grief in countries which depended on these inflows to finance deficits in the current account.
Linked Articles
How ECB Chief Outflanked German Foe in Fight for Euro
Wall Street Journal 10/02/2012
Europe Bonds May Offer More ValueWall Street Journal 08/23/2013
Lenovo's effort to increase smartphone sales in China and emerging markets
08/14/2012
Lenovo is positioning itself to become the dominant smartphone company in China, second only to Samsung. It is creating a brand presence in China's rural areas for PC's and mobile devices which is likely to further enhance sales. This effort extends to other emerging markets in Asia such as India and Indonesia. Other strategic decisions include bringing in more manufactuing in-house compared to competitors HP and others in the PC industry.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 10/25/2012
HTC Beefs Up China Push as U.S., Europe LagWall Street Journal 08/14/2012
Turkey, the U.S. and cluster bombs in Syria
06/28/2012
The U.S. stands by and takes a passive approach to artillery attacks on civilian populations and cluster bombs. Was some measure of respect lost in the process. The potential for a role with minimal cost of a no fly zone that could have prevented the air raids on civilians.
Linked Articles
Turkey Steps Up to the Assad Challenge
Wall Street Journal 06/28/2012
Syria Uses Cluster Bombs to Attack as Many Civilians as PossibleNew York Times 12/20/2012
Meg Whitman's plan to turnaround HP
05/17/2012
Linked Articles
Defending H-P in Age of Tablets
Wall Street Journal 06/06/2012
Hewlett-Packard to Cut About 30,000 JobsNew York Times 05/17/2012
Criticism of Japan's central bank on the lack of an activist monetary policy to support economic growth 2010-2012
05/07/2012
Shinzo Abe of the LDP, the leading candidate for prime minister after general elections in Dec. 2012, says he will appoint a new central bank chief who supports an activist monetary policy. Abe supports the BOJ setting an inflation target of 2% compared to the 1% under current Bank of Japan chief Shirakawa. Both the governing DPJ and the LDP parties are strongly critical of Shirakawa and prefer to see an activist stance against deflation similiar to the one Ben Bernanke is taking against unemployment in the U.S. Abe returns to power after becoming LDP prime minister following the government of Junichiro Koizumi.
Linked Articles
Vote Challenges Japan's Central Bank
Wall Street Journal 12/13/2012
Pressure Rises on BOJ to Reach Inflation TargetWall Street Journal 05/07/2012
The administration of Japanese premier Noda after Ichiro Ozawa leaves the DPJ party
03/04/2012
Linked Articles
Rival of Japan’s prime minister fails to strike critical blow to ruling party - The Washington Post
Washington Post 07/03/2012
Prime Minister Noda says tax hike essential for Japan's sustainability - The Washington PostWashington Post 03/04/2012
Exit from the Eurozone and return to the drachma as the most likely and best outcome for Greece after April 2012 elections
02/22/2012
John Taylor and the Ifo Institue's Sinn say the recapitalization of Greece's banks and the lower interest rates negotiated after the March 2012 bailout make exiting the euro and achieving economic growth doable. The Papdemos government's need for time till 2015 to complete the program of changes, and the elections in April 2012 in which opposition parties outpolled Pasok and New Democrachy lays the political groundwork for the exit.
Linked Articles
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/08/2012
A Better Grecian BailoutWall Street Journal 02/22/2012
Xi Jinping, China's history of political convusions in the leadership and society, and the desire for consensus and careful thinking.
01/31/2012
Xi' s life story, his family, and the Communist party under Mao and Deng. What it says about the desire for consensus and careful thinking about the future direction of China.
Linked Articles
Xi Appeals for 'Purity' Amid Party Scandal
Wall Street Journal 03/16/2012
Heartland Return for Chinese LeaderWall Street Journal 01/31/2012
Pakistan Railways and Iraqi Railways- a picture of the Middle East and South Asia in 2014
05/18/2013
Declan Walsh and Tim rango provide aunique insight into the lives of common people in two regions of Asia and the Middle East. A century after the European powers invested in railway lines connecting all parts of the Middle East from Turkey to Iraq and Syria, and connecting all parts of South Asia from the Afghan border to Ceylon, two reporters of the NYT visit the railways in both regions showing the prevailing state of affairs. In Iraq decades of wars and conflict have reduced the railways to a crumbling condition. In South Asia mismanagement, cronyism, corruption has led to disinvestment in Pakistan Railways and inflicted similiar damage to the rail network. Through rail one can see into the life of common people in these regions. What one sees shows that five decades after the colonial powers left this region, the educated elites, the political parties, the military, the religious leaders, have all failed the common people of their homeland.
Linked Articles
A Train Ride Through Time: From Iraq’s Checkered Past Into an Uncertain Future
New York Times 10/18/2014
In a Journey on a Crumbling Railway, a Picture of a Nationâs TroublesNew York Times 05/18/2013
Auditor General and Supreme Court three panel bench in India agree that there was an improper allocation of coal licenses in India
12/28/2012
India's Supreme Court confirms in August 2014 an earlier report by the Auditor General about improper allocation of coal licenses under the Congress party administration of former prime minister Manmohan Singh. Because this is in a strategic sector of energy where India has fallen behind it has many implications for declining economic growth.
Linked Articles
India Allocated Coal Fields to Private Companies Illegally, Top Court Rules
New York Times 08/25/2014
India’s chief auditor leads battle against corruption - The Washington PostWashington Post 12/28/2012
The warning signs that were ignored by HP as it rushed into the Autonomy Acquisition
11/20/2012
Linked Articles
H-P’s Autonomy Write-Down: Remember Oracle’s Accusations Too
Wall Street Journal 11/20/2012
The Warning Signs At AutonomyWall Street Journal 11/20/2012
Dangers facing Turkey's economy with its dependence on foreign capital inflows and excessive growth in domestic credit for growth
10/04/2012
Foreign capital inflows that partly support the sharp growth in domestic credit could slow or reverse as happened in the 1997 Asian financial crisis. The IMF sees a credit to GDP ratio of over 5% as a warning light for developing economies. The IMF forecast is for this rato to be 7.28% for Turkey in 2103.
Linked Articles
No Ticker Tape Parade for Brazil's Currency Heroes
Wall Street Journal 06/06/2013
Syria Isn't Turkey's Only External WorryWall Street Journal 10/04/2012
The new Jinping-Keqiang leadership and reducing pharmaceutical and healthcare costs to help consumers in China (1)
10/03/2012
After a decade of decline in consumer spending in favor of infrastructure spending to where it is now only 35% of GDP, or half that in the U.S. as a percentage of GDP, China's leadership realizes the need to help consumers. It is seen as high on the list of priorities for the Party's survival. Ordinary Chinese, rural households and the elderly are seriously affected by the high cost of healthcare and the need to set aside a large portion of savings for medical emergencies (Orlik). This further depresses consumer after the impact of low savings rates. With a bursting of the property bubble the money depositors shifted to real estate is also at risk for middle class investors.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 10/03/2012
Politics Is a Bitter Pill for GlaxoWall Street Journal 07/25/2013
The Obama admnistration and the conflict in Syria
08/28/2012
A brief history shows the Alawite community constitutes about 13% of the population in Syria and live mainly in the coastal region near the Mediterranean. Under the French Alawites generally supported the colonial regime and the community was used by the French colonial regime to act as a buffer as they ruled a predominantly Sunni population. The Alawites joined the military and Hafez Assad, an Alawite general, seized control in 1971. His son now rules Syria. The Obama administration has largely missed the struggle of the people for freedom from dictatorships in Syria and Egypt under Mubarak.. With Turkey and Egypt supporting the young people in Syria, the U.S. investment is minor in military and other support compared to the cost of letting the war continue with unintended consequences for the entire region.
Linked Articles
New York Times 11/13/2012
Assad Draws Shock Troops From Elite Sect in SyriaWall Street Journal 08/28/2012
Friedman, Avraham Burg and Morsi- on the way forward for moving beyond the intractable to the possible in the Middle East
08/04/2012
The democracy movement in the Middle East and the yearning for economc and political participation of the people of the Middle East creates new opportunities to move forward beyond the conflicts of the past to a better future for the people of the Middle East. The role of leaders in the U.S., Europe, and the Middle Eastern countries of Egypt, Turkey and the newly democratic states in this region in setting new goals and plans and rising up to the challenges.
Linked Articles
New York Times 11/24/2012
Israel's Fading DemocracyNew York Times 08/04/2012
Enrique Pena Nieto's vision for the future of Mexico
05/20/2012
Nieto describes his vision and outlines his plan for Mexico in an op-ed in the NYT and in an interview with Lally Weymouth of the Washington Post. He says this is a new generation and this is not the PRI party of the past.
Linked Articles
New York Times 07/02/2012
Interview with Mexican presidential candidate Enrique Peña Nieto - The Washington PostWashington Post 05/20/2012
The $436 million payment by Greece to holdout bondholder Dart Management and the $1.5 billion demanded by holdout bondholder Elliott Management leading to Argentine default in 2014
05/15/2012
Greece made the payment to Dart Management at a time of 20% unemployment and daily protests on Athens streets, a month before elections in June 2012. Greece only did this as a last resort for release of EU funds that were being held up to make pament of interest on debt. This exacerabated discontent inside Greece as pensions were being cut and layoffs taking place, including increase in electricity bills. The Syriza party made gains in that election and the two main parties lost ground to other parties, including a violent anti-immigrant party. Argentina's Christina Kirchner faces a difficult time with the unions and centrist parties in Buenos Aires province, with a shortage of cash and sovereign wealth fund down to $29 billion in May 2014. Stevenson points out the payment to Elliott Management could lead to a situation where Argentina owed $15-$27 billion to all holdout and exchange investors in its bonds.
Linked Articles
Argentina Finds Relentless Foe in Paul Singer's Hedge Fund
New York Times 07/30/2014
Bet on Greek Bonds Paid Off for a Vulture FundNew York Times 05/15/2012
The growth compact for Europe: union-government cooperation to build competitiveness in France
04/17/2012
Unions and major parties in France are in agreement on wage restraint and accepting lower wages to preserve jobs, similiar to the effort in Germany during its period of high unemployment.
Linked Articles
France Moves to Make Labor More Flexible
Wall Street Journal 05/01/2012
French Presidential Election Stokes Investor ConcernNew York Times 04/17/2012
Zhou Xiaochuan, head of the People's Bank of China, China's central bank, and the Development Research Center (DRC) think tank
02/23/2012
The road map and priorities of the DRC and the PBOC are now the road map and priorities of the Jinping-Keqiang administration A sense of deepening awareness takes hold on party leaders Jinping and Li Keqiang that the current trajectory of Debt to GDP ratios could lead to the kind of situation before the banking crisis in Japan and S. Korea. The importance of striking a balance with growth of private companies to support future growth and move away from reliance on state owned enterprises is part of the change supported by DRC and PBOC.
Linked Articles
China's Central Banker Leads Push to Overhaul Economy
Wall Street Journal 11/05/2013
New Push for Reform in ChinaWall Street Journal 02/23/2012
Turkey and the move to democracy in the Middle East
02/17/2012
Linked Articles
Turkey Steps Up to the Assad Challenge
Wall Street Journal 06/28/2012
Tunisia Islamists Test Ideas Decades in the MakingNew York Times 02/17/2012
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