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Antonis Samaras and the political opposition to harsh austerity measures in Greece- 2011-2012
07/02/2011
Antonis Samaras of the New Democracy Party opposes tax increases that will further reduce any prospects for economic growth in Greece. As opinion polls show his party passing the socialist party of prime minister Papandreou in popularity in July 2012, any future E.U. agreement for Greece will have to be negotiated with Samaras. The E.U.'s June 2011 plan for Greece faces strong criticism.
Linked Articles
Greek Opposition Slams Tax Rises
Wall Street Journal 07/05/2011
Greece and the euro: The abuses of austerityEconomist 07/02/2011
The yuan and China's competitiveness in international trade in 2012-2013
06/21/2011
Even with a gradual appreciation of the yuan China continues to maintain its competitive position in international trade with productivity gains offfsetting the small appreciation and a smaller increase in prices of Chinese products. This could mean the U.S. and Eurozone countries will continue to run trade deficits with China in 2012-2013.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 04/16/2012
No Appreciation for the Rising YuanWall Street Journal 06/21/2011
Impact of a slowdown in China and a global slowdown on different countries
06/08/2011
A slowdown in China will affect commodity exporting countries such as Australia, Brazil and Chile, and exporters of machinery such as Germany and Japan. A global economic slowdown will make it harder for troubled eurozone countries such as Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain to reduce their debt burden. It will affect U.S. exports which are increasing in 2011, and are the one bright spot for a economic recovery.
Linked Articles
What a China Slowdown Means for the World
Wall Street Journal 06/09/2011
Euro-Zone Cuts Face World of PainWall Street Journal 06/08/2011
The risks to the Chinese economy of accumulated problems in the financial system
05/25/2011
A Wall Street Journal editorial that draws attention to the opaqueness of the financial system and its accummulated problems. It raises questions about how this will come out. Other expert observers have raised these questions.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 05/25/2011
Beijing's Financial Day of Reckoning Is NearWall Street Journal 06/21/2011
BP's steady focus on safety under CEO Bob Dudley
04/20/2011
Dudley says BP is not going to get off the path of focus on safety, and "stepping up the accelerator of performance, thats not going to happen." BP's second quarter 2012 performance reflected lower levels of production to permit maintenance and improvements in infrastructure at its deep water oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico. Similiar maintenance will be undertaken at North Sea fields in the rest of 2012. Cost cutting on maintenance and infrastructure improvements to improve profit performance created an environment that led to the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and created huge legal liabilities.
Linked Articles
BP Posts Unexpectedly Large Loss
New York Times 07/31/2012
The Lessons of Deepwater HorizonWall Street Journal 04/20/2011
Bill Gates calls for targeted investment in education
02/28/2011
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will invest $290 million in a program to be launched at selected school districts. The programs are designed around improving teacher effectiveness and new personnel systems.
Linked Articles
Bill Gates Seeks Formula for Better Teachers
Wall Street Journal 03/22/2011
Bill Gates - How teacher development could revolutionize our schoolsWashington Post 02/28/2011
Israelis fears and hopes for the Peace Treaty with Egypt
02/01/2011
Israeli opinion is gradually shifting from fears and uncertainty about the situation in Egypt to hope that the Peace Treaty with Egypt will be preserved. The poor economic conditions in Egypt and the need to attract foreign aid and foreign investment reinforce the view that new leaders from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt will focus on economic issues. Ehud Barak put this clearly when he said early in the Arab Spring that the movement towards democracy in the Middle East is setting the pathway to modernity.
Linked Articles
Israelis Cling to Faith in Peace Treaty
Wall Street Journal 05/24/2012
Islamists at the GatesNew York Times 02/01/2011
A Brady Plan type solution to the debt crisis in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and other EU countries
11/30/2010
The extension of maturities for the debt of these countries is a key part of the solution. The Brady Plan that helped sove the Latin American debt crisis of the eighties and nineties is an example of the way out of the crisis. Resistance from bankers to taking losses of upto 30% and extending the maturities for debt. The need for Germany and other countries to set aside money that would be needed to recapitalize banks that need funds to handle these losses. Nicholas Brady when asked about this says it is important for this to be "a unified decision." This would create the confidence in the financial markets that will be needed.
Linked Articles
Europe's Central Banker Seeks Deeper Fiscal Union
Wall Street Journal 06/03/2011
Nervous Europe Trying to Halt Economic CrisisNew York Times 11/30/2010
The threat posed by China's local government debt to China's banking and financial system
07/29/2010
Because of the opaqueness of the financial system the estimates of the local government debt varies from 27% to 42% of GDP. Prof Shih of Northwestern University, an expert on this subject, now estimates this to be $2.6 trillion or 42% of GDP. Other estimates from the National Audit Office put this at 27% and from China's central bank put this at 30%. Prof Shih's earlier estimate was 34%. Because of the large number of local government entities and the lack of transparency the figures may actually turn out to be higher as China's regulators and other analysts improve their estimates. The 42% estimate is $2.6 trillion in local government debt. China's large foreign exchange reserves of $3 trillion and low interest rates will give China some space for addressing the problem with another round of injection of capital into the banking system.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 06/28/2011
Where China Hides Its DebtBusinessWeek 07/29/2010
The need for a new European economic government to back the euro currency.
04/29/2010
The French view that there should be a common economic government and clear institutional responsibilities and the German view that is not so willing to cede national sovereignty in economic matters. The fiscal and structural flaws that need to be repaired for the euro currency to work.
Linked Articles
Economist 05/13/2010
As Greek Drama Plays Out, Where Is Europe?New York Times 04/29/2010
Shrinking news coverage and fewer journalists in the newspaper shift to digital online
11/25/2009
It says a lot about the changes underway in the newspaper industry when a paper like the Washington Post closes its bureaus in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and covers the news there with travelling reporters. As local newspapers such as the New Orleans Times- Picayune move to three editions a week and an online edition, the number of journalists overing the area around New Orleans will shrink by a third in 2012. Advance Publications which runs the New Orleans paper will do the same for its papers in Huntsville and Birmingham i in Alabama.
Linked Articles
New Orleans Times-Picayune to limit printing to three days per week - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/25/2012
Washington Post shutters last U.S. bureausWashington Post 11/25/2009
Bank of England's Mervyn King and the new Business Secretary Cable see a need to shrink the banks.
10/21/2009
Policy on banking regulation will be shaped by two visions of the future of banking, Tory and Liberal, both agree on the need to reduce sysemic risks posed by large banks.
Linked Articles
Economist 05/13/2010
BOE's King: Big Banks Should Get Broken UpWall Street Journal 10/21/2009
A drastic overhaul, a sweeping restructuring is needed of the "fee-for-service" system to fix healthcare, the Obama health "reforms" risk becoming cosmetic.
06/14/2009
Cowen and Samuelson point out that without this big restructuring, taking in the uninsured into the system will only magnify the costs further. It would simply continue a unaffordable system of healthcare, that also delivers poor overall quality of healthcare for a steep price tag.
Linked Articles
Something’s Got to Give in Medicare Spending
New York Times 06/14/2009
Robert J. Samuelson - Wrong Way on Health 'Reform'Washington Post 06/15/2009
Increasing domestic consumption in Saudi Arabia will diminish reserve supplies and put pressure on oil prices in 2012-2013
06/23/2011
Saudi domestic consumption increasing at 10% a year will diminsh the Saudi role as a reserve supplier. Estimates are for zero reserve supplies by 2020 and oil imports by 2038, so large is the effect of growing use of oil at home. The Arab Spring means subsidies and social spending will increase, supporting continuing use of oil at current levels for a rapidly growing population.
Linked Articles
The End of the Saudi Oil Reserve Margin
Wall Street Journal 04/03/2012
Rising Saudi Thirst for Oil Drives Plans to Go NuclearWall Street Journal 06/23/2011
The signs of slower growth in China in 2012-2015 and what this means for commodity producer countries and producer countries of high tech machinery
06/09/2011
How the slower growth will affect commodity exporters Australia, Canada, Chile, S. Africa and high tech machinery exporters like Germany and the U.S.
Linked Articles
What a China Slowdown Means for the World
Wall Street Journal 06/09/2011
In China, Sobering Signs of Slower GrowthNew York Times 03/05/2012
Hope and reality in Nigeria (1)- Goodluck Jonathan, president of Nigeria, 2011-2015, and president Muhammadu Buhari 2015-2019
05/28/2011
There is hope in Nigeria in 2015 with the election of Muhammadu Buhari as president. There was hope in Nigeria in 2011 with the election of Jonathan Goodluck as president. Are too many young people in Africa and Asia seeing their hopes dashed and their dreams vanish? Will the demographic dividend be wasted in corrupt systems and inefficient management of the economy and resources? These are questions on so many young people's minds as two of the largest populated countries on the planet face new administrations and new hope for the future.
Linked Articles
Nigeria Is a Case Study in the Curse of Oil
Wall Street Journal 04/03/2015
Nigeria's prospects: A man and a morassEconomist 05/28/2011
Problems with China's statistics that understate the extent of the bubble in housing and other sectors
05/24/2011
The lack of reliable statistics in China and the tendency to understate the extent of the bubble effects in the economy will make it harder to to achieve a soft landing for the economy when the time comes.
Linked Articles
For Global Steel Industry, China Poses Guessing Game
Wall Street Journal 05/24/2011
The Great Property Bubble of China May Be PoppingWall Street Journal 06/09/2011
The mismatch in skills that will make it harder to bring down the unemployment rate in the U.S. in 2012-2013
03/15/2011
Labor Department and other information points to a serious skills crisis in the U.S. that will make it harder to tackle unemployment.The lack of emphasis on jobs training by the Obama administration is also making the situation harder to tackle.
Linked Articles
On Jobs, No Time for a Celebratory Beveridge
Wall Street Journal 04/11/2012
Many Workers Seen Lacking Skills for New JobsWall Street Journal 03/15/2011
Nathan Sharansky says there are limits to how much you can control people through the use of fear and all people everywhere want freedom
02/05/2011
Nathan Sharansky makes the case for democracy. Rice talks about the long arc of history and trusting America's best idea and the principles of 1776, as a guide that will serve us well. Sharansky is a former human rights activist from the former Soviet Union, who worked with Soviet physicist Andrei Sakharov for human rights and democracy before the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Linked Articles
Condoleezza Rice - The future of a democratic Egypt
Washington Post 02/16/2011
Democracy's Tribune on the Arab AwakeningWall Street Journal 02/05/2011
Dim outlook for Rebalancing the World Economy
01/20/2011
The widening U.S. trade deficit with China in 2011 and no evidence of a shift to domestic consumption in the Chinese economy make it increasingly unlikely that there will be a rebalancing in the world economy.
Linked Articles
No Appreciation for the Rising Yuan
Wall Street Journal 06/21/2011
Don't Bank on China 'Rebalancing'Wall Street Journal 01/20/2011
Criticism and reservations about the Fed's second round of quantitative easing.
10/25/2010
The likelihood that the US Federal Reserve's move to buy an estimated $750 billion of Treasury bonds will be ineffective in the absence ofiscal policy options.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 10/26/2010
Our Fiscal Policy ParadoxWall Street Journal 10/25/2010
Greece's referendum and the 3 year bailout of July 12, 2015- military spending, shipowners taxes, and cuts to pensions
07/10/2010
Greece's left Syriza government almost pulled the country out of the eurozone over pension cuts, even as military spending in Greece remained at 2.4% of GNP compared to close 1.4% for the EU average. Greece did not propose further cuts to military spending to bring the Greece ratio closer to that of Germany and other countries in Europe, raising questions about prudent spending. Which is why Greece sometimes has aspects of the surreal to people not just in Germany and Holland, but other parts of Europe, and outsiders. Under the reform proposal and bailout of July 12, 2015 following the "no" referendum, Greece's parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the similiar cuts in pensions from an earlier EU proposal, with cuts of $300 million to the military spending by 2016. Greek shipowners will also pay taxes under the new bailout, negotiated by Greece with France's help when the referendum had damaged relations with the rest of the EU, particularly Germany with only 10% in polls willing to support any further concessions.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 07/11/2015
The Submarine Deals That Helped Sink GreeceWall Street Journal 07/10/2010
The inaction at GM 2009-2013 for the defective ignition switch recall and the inaction at Toyota for unintended acceleration recall
02/10/2010
GM's management lost track of quality issues that were buried at lower levels during the bankruptcy period. Toyota's management in the U.S. referred the NHTSA to quality managers in Japan who did not make the necessary effort to look into and address the problem. This shows that quality is not just a technical issue for the engineers and requires management atention at the highest levels, direct reporting to top managers. It also shows that quality problems never go away, will always be present, no matter how good you think you get. Small mistakes can be very costly as BP, TEPCO in the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Toyota, have shown in the recent past.
Linked Articles
General Motors Misled Grieving Families on a Lethal Flaw
New York Times 03/24/2014
Safety Agency Scrutinized as Toyota Recall GrowsNew York Times 02/10/2010
The slow and faltering progress on USAID and other rural development projects in Afghanistan
10/28/2009
This will rank as one of the great failures in this decade old war. Most of the progress is patchy and on-again and off-again as described here.
Linked Articles
Afghanistan Doesn't Need More Troops
Wall Street Journal 10/28/2009
U.S. military dismayed by delays in 3 key development projects in Afghanistan - The Washington PostWashington Post 04/29/2011
Clearly not a Roosevelt like approach or major change in regulatory structures says Nocera of NYT.
06/17/2009
A lot will now depend on who is in charge and creating a culture where strong regulation is an essential step for proper functioning of markets.
Linked Articles
Obama’s Remarks on Financial Regulatory Reforms
Wall Street Journal 06/17/2009
Only a Hint of Roosevelt in Financial OverhaulNew York Times 06/18/2009
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