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Spain's economic recovery continues as businesses continue to invest following the inconclusive Dec. 2015 parliamentary elections.
Linked Articles
Spain’s Political Deadlock Dents Economic Rebound
Wall Street Journal 03/07/2016
Spain’s Political Deadlock Dents Economic ReboundWall Street Journal 03/07/2016
Linked Articles
As U.S. and Europe Pass the Hat at Climate Talks, China Clings to Developing-Nation Status
New York Times 12/09/2015
For Indians, Smog and Poverty Are Higher Priorities Than Talks in ParisNew York Times 12/09/2015
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
The missing working class - The Washington PostWashington Post 11/12/2015
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
Linked Articles
Eurozone Finance Chief Recounts Brinkmanship That Led to Greek Deal
Wall Street Journal 07/17/2015
Greek Plan Accepts Austerity to Get Debt ReliefNew York Times 07/09/2015
The question put by Mr. Han Martin-Buhlmann of shareholder association VIP at the June shareholder meeting of Deutsche Bank was- "Mr. Jain are a solution to the problem or part of it?" Over a week later a new CEO was appointed.
Linked Articles
Economist 06/13/2015
Shareholders’ Rebuke Pressures Deutsche Bank CEOs to PerformWall Street Journal 05/24/2015
Linked Articles
A Finance Minister Fit for a Greek Tragedy?
New York Times 05/20/2015
Greece on the BrinkNew York Times 04/20/2015
The deep differences between Greeks and Merkel operate at two levels. On the level of austerity policies Greece shares the view with other EU countries, the governments of Hollande in France and Renzi in Italy that austerity is not the best course for the eurozone. This view is also shared by people in Spain facing unemployment exceeding 20%, though the government of Rajoy in Spain like that of Samaras in Greece lived with the austerity policies with some changes. At this level there is also support from within Merkel's coalition government from Social Democrats. The other level of deep differences is on debt forgiveness and bailouts where Greece has to find its own way out in negotiations hoping that the EU and the IMF will agree to make concessions based on action taken by Syriza to ensure prudence in fianncial management. On issues such as minimum wage one would expect Syriza to be firm and make concessions where the hardship does not fall on the poorer and working class, winning support from the Social Democrats in Merkel's coalition. Beyond the symbolic moves and posturing the actual negotiations are likely to take into account the eurozone's need for help on the fiscal side desired by the ECB's Draghi to support monetary easing to fight deflation, and the need to keep the eurozone intact at a sensitive time. Syriza for its part is aware that a majority of Greeks favor staying in the eurozone.
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Greece’s new prime minister wants Germany to pay for Nazi war crimes - The Washington Post
Washington Post 01/26/2015
A young, impatient leftist is Greece’s defiant new face - The Washington PostWashington Post 01/27/2015
With a majority of children in California, Texas, and some midwestern states in the U.S. from less affluent or poor backgrounds, and about two thirds of all American students failiing to meet required proficiency in math and reading at 8th grade, the educational challenge of of creating a well qualified work force to build America's future is daunting. Eight years of policy changes in education and private efforts have failed to produce adequate results.
Linked Articles
U.S. student performance slips on national test - The Washington Post
Washington Post 10/28/2015
Majority of U.S. public school students are in poverty - The Washington PostWashington Post 01/17/2015
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
The central bank head, Nabiullina, the Economy minister, Ulyukayev, and the head of Russia's largest bank Sberbank, German Gref, all expressed skepticism about president Putin's confidence in economic policy at a banking conference in Moscow in Oct. 2014. The architect of Russia's finances in the first and second terms of Putin, Alexei Kudrin, expressed alarm in Nov.-Dec. 2014 about lack of confidence in economic measures as the ruble took a hit from lower oil prices. The Putin administration made errors in handling economic policy leading to the ruble going to the brink of collapse by Dec. 17, 2014. This was preceded by miscalculations in policy towards the European Union and Germany leading to a loss of international confidence, and deteriorating relations with OPEC's leading member Saudi Arabia leading to OPEC's production decisions hurting Russia.
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Russia Introduces Measures to Calm Economic Jitters
New York Times 12/17/2014
Putin Trumpets Economic Strength, but Advisers Seem Less CertainNew York Times 10/02/2014
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Air France-KLM Restructuring Puts New Focus on Its Low-Cost Airline
New York Times 09/11/2014
Air France Scales Back Transavia Plan, Giving In to Striking Pilots’ DemandsNew York Times 09/25/2014
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Russia Wields Aid and Ideology Against West to Fight Sanctions
New York Times 06/07/2015
What Putin Is Costing RussiaWall Street Journal 04/25/2014
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South Korean and Japanese Leaders Feel Backlash From ‘Comfort Women’ Deal
New York Times 12/29/2015
Coming to Terms on Japan’s Wartime Sex SlavesNew York Times 12/30/2015
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Donald Trump Calls for Ban on Muslim Entry Into U.S.
Wall Street Journal 12/08/2015
Along with Trump’s rhetoric, the stakes for 2016 have risen dramatically - The Washington PostWashington Post 12/09/2015
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A Humble Pope, Challenging the World
New York Times 09/18/2015
Poll: Americans widely admire Pope Francis, but his church less so - The Washington PostWashington Post 09/20/2015
Ignatieff of the Kennedy School and Kristof of the NYT say the inaction of Obama, Cameron, Harper and Abbott, is deplorable considering the gap between the 800,000 Merkel and the German people have openly welcomed and the 1500 the U.S. has accepted, and 166 the UK has taken in. There is hardly any mention of the issue by the leaders of the U.S. and Canada in September 2015, even as the global media has covered this daily. In Hungary the Orban government faile to remember the Hungarian uprising of 1956 and the violent crackdown by the Soviets, leading to a wave of refugees reaching other parts of Europe and the U.S.
Linked Articles
New York Times 09/04/2015
The Refugee Crisis Isn’t a ‘European Problem’New York Times 09/05/2015
Linked Articles
Merkel’s German Critics Say Greek Bailout Was Doomed From Start
Wall Street Journal 07/08/2015
Eurozone Sets Sunday Deadline for Greece Financing DealWall Street Journal 07/07/2015
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
The Obama administration pushes a free trade pact that includes the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam. This free trade pact is now seen as a U.S. effort to counter China in the Asian region. India, UK, Germany, France, Italy and other European countries decided to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank sponsored by China, on its merits, after the U.S. refused to join.
Linked Articles
TPP: Momentum on Trade Deal Bolsters U.S., Japan Efforts to Counter China
Wall Street Journal 04/17/2015
Lawmakers Introduce ‘Fast Track’ Trade Bill, Triggering Democratic DiscordWall Street Journal 04/17/2015
Linked Articles
Swiss Franc Bets Turned on a Dime
Wall Street Journal 01/19/2015
Surge of Swiss Franc Triggers Hundreds of Millions in LossesWall Street Journal 01/19/2015
A major miscalculation was totally misjudging Merkel and post-war German public opinion about policies that remind people about the period between the two World Wars- this is anathema to Germans who see the European Union as a way to build a new and different Europe. The other miscalculation was on how a foreign adventurous policy in Syria would affect Sunni world opinion, in particular Saudi Arabia. Just as Brezhnev took Russia into Afghanistan where Russia had no vital interest leading to eventual Soviet collapse, Putin risked alienating a key member in OPEC pricing moves and hurting Russia's economic interest. By not listening to Kudrin, the head of Sberbank, and other economic advisers from the first and second terms of the Putin-Medvedev administrations, Putin opened the door to two years of serious missteps, risking the very real accomplishments of the first and second term of creating a stable growing Russian economy with close economic ties to Europe. The only positive outcome of the crisis and low oil prices would be making the shift away from oil dependence, which was talked about but never seriously attempted in the Putin administrations. For this to happen major new investments would have to be made and technology links to the outside strengthened, both hammered by the missteps in 2013-2014. The irony of all this is that Putin gained the support of rural Russians in the countryside in the 2012 presidential elections by promising no return to the economic crisis conditions following earlier ruble collapses. Now by ignoring Kudrin and other wiser counsel from the first and second administrations he does just that.
Linked Articles
Putin’s Year of Defiance and Miscalculation
Wall Street Journal 12/18/2014
Russian President Vladimir Putin Seeks to Reassure on EconomyWall Street Journal 12/18/2014
For countries like Germany in the eurozone with what Draghi calls "fiscal space" but did not use it, the drop in oil prices from $100 to $65 in 2014 offers relief at the right time to get back to growth in 2015.
Linked Articles
Falling Oil Prices Spur New Bets on Global Economic Growth
Wall Street Journal 12/08/2014
Merkel Hints at Economic Policy Shift in GermanyNew York Times 10/09/2014
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
Linked Articles
As Cereal Slips, a New Battle Over Breakfast Dollars
Wall Street Journal 07/22/2014
U.S. Orange-Juice Sales Fall to Record LowWall Street Journal 07/22/2014
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