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O'Malley, Sanders and Clinton agree that the media has spent much too much time on the Hillary Clinton email controversy. The first Democratic party debate also puts Sanders on the defensive on issues such as using force as commander in chief, gun control, and foreign policy including a no fly zone over Syria. Clinton defended her positions as consistent and having the same values throughout her political career, on the Patriot Act which she supported, and on other issues such as the Keystone pipeline, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership which she opposes because it does not do enough to protect U.S. jobs. Clinton emphasized her flexibility by saying that- "But like most human beings, including those of us who run for office, I do absorb new information. I do look at what's happening in the world." The debate was a win for Hillary Clinton because it helps to put the email controversy behind her, puts the focus back on her story and work as Senator and Secretary of State, and showed her ability to take on the many questions about her credibility....

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The situation in urban areas of Iran- which experienced popular protests in an earlier election- before the elections in 2013.

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CIC makes a shift in investment strategy away from energy assets to investment in Europe and the U.S., as western economies recover and the Fed tapers its bond purchases leading to credit outflows from emerging markets.

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Priceline surged in a tech boom of two decades ago before coming down. It has regenerated itself through its 2005 acquisition of Amsterdam based portal Booking.com, followed by acquiring booking site Agoda and travel search engine Kayak. This has helped the stock rise in the last decade. Over 90% of its revenue comes from outside the U.S., even though its original model of naming a price for a booking is gone.  Booking.com is making an attempt to penetrate the Chinese travel market with a series of acquisitions starting with online travel agency Ctrip.com. Ctrip.com is established but recent acquisitions are burning cash. There is skepticism about these acquisitions as Chinese company share prices are seen as inflated similar to the stock booms that went bust in the U.S. Booking.com invested heavily in online advertising primarily through Google. Yet though western customers use search engines to find and book travel, in China customers go directly to Ctrip or apps like Meituan to book trips. To get people to book Chinese travel companies offer large discounts, a model that may not be right for Booking.com. The effort is to add to Ctrip customer base the middle to lower income customers from Didi ride sharing app and the Meituan app, through its partnerships with these companies. The experience of other travel sites such as Expedia in the Chinese market is poor, with price wars and Expedia selling its majority stake to Didi Chuxing. Expedia's CEO at the time calls it "the wild, wild east" because of the intense competition. About 130 million Chinese travelled overseas in 2017, up 7%, and spending $115 billion. ...

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This WSJ report tallies the cost of maintaining U.S. forces in South Korea and Japan and shows that much of that cost is being paid by the governments of South Korea and Japan. This follows Mr. Trump's comments about the high cost of maintaining U.S. presence in the East Asian region. The editorial says the presence is essential to U.S. security and maintaining peace in the region. Japan is paying 100% of the $12 billion to replace the Futenma facility on Okinawa, and 94% of the $5 billion for the Marine Corps station Iwakuni in southern Japan, and even 36% for facilities on Guam, South Korea providing 93% of $11 billion for Camp Humphreys being built for all U.S. forces in Korea by 2017, says WSJ.

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Sundar Pichai is known for managing the development of the Chrome operating system. He later assumed responsibilities for the Android mobile operating system. He is a graduate of the Indian Institute of Technology at Kharagpur, India, has a masters degree from Stanford University and a MBA from the Wharton School. He joined Google in 2004. He has a low key style and prefers to smooth over differences, and build good relationships to move important projects forward. Google Founder Larry Page says Pichai has a great ability to see what's ahead and get teams mobilized around the big stuff for Google. He has assumed responsibilities for most Google areas in Oct. 2014, leading to the CEO position in a planned transition.

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Local media reports in China say president Xi Jinping has lost some credibility in his efforts to manage the stock market, with the prevailing sentiment that all government decisions require his approval, and the Tinajin warehouse explosion. One of the errors insiders in the Party say was to bring decisions normally under the prime minister Li Keqiang, such as decisions related to economic policy making and financial markets, under committees headed by Xi Jinping. As a result the perception that a good economic team was running the economy has been lost. Experts say the current leadership faces increasing pressure after events in July and August 2015, with sharp slowdown and efforts to use stock markets to reduce debt of state owned companies.

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Olympus kept losses dating back to the bubble in the 1990's off its books for 2 decades. Then covered up the losses by paying inflated fees to advisors for acquisitions unrelated to its core camera and medical equipment business. Three companies in health food, resource recycling and cookware manufacturing were acquired. The coverup of losses was disclosed by the company's first British born CEO, Michael Woodford, who lasted only 2 weeks. He was fired for damaging Olympus's reputation when he made disclosures about the coverups. Olympus paid about $687 million in advisory fees to a firm in the Cayman Islands, for a $2 billion takeover of medical instrument company, Gyros, in 2008. Shares of Olympus have fallen 70% as a result.

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For opportunistic politics the Evan Newmark Mean Street USA Meanie awards go to Obama, Budget director Orszag who joined Citigroup, Rep. Charlie Rangel, Michael Bloomberg. For the stuff that is going on in Wall Street Goldman Sachs, Steve Rattner in the pay to play pension scandal, high frequency traders on Wall Street in the May 6 Flash Crash, Blackstone CEO Steve Schwarzman and private equity's benefitting from tax loopholes. For Main Street Meanies the awards go to Bowles -Simpson and their leaving out cuts in Medicare benefits as they show extraordinary concern for the deficit, bond investors who will blame Wall Street and Obama for losses in bond funds in 2011, and the Americans living rent free in foreclosed homes as the robo-signing problems continue.

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American, Alaska Airlines, and Southwest Airlines are the only 3 airlines that never filed for bankruptcy. Analysts say that this has left it with a higher cost structure, and estimate that American's costs would be $600 million lower if it has the contracts Delta and Continental have. Delta Airlines merger with Northwest in 2008, and the planned merger of Continental and United, does not affect American Airlines management. CEO Arpey sees American as more nimble and trying to build something profitable, and sees being smaller than these newly merged competitors an advantage. American is focussed on markets around 5 major cities- Dallas, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami and New York. In international travel it has One World partnerships with British Airways and Japan Airlines.

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Efforts by Samsung to separate the operations and management of its chip business which sells to many competitors from its other businesses in television, mobile phones and other products. The current CEO of Samsung Electronics Choi Gee-sung resigns and a new management structure is being set in place. The Chairman Lee Kun-hee will play a greater role when the component and consumer product businesses collide. The heads of consumer product divisions in television and smartphones will no longer report to the new CEO of Samsing Electronics, Kwon Oh-hyun. Kwon has managed the chips business since 2008. Kwon joined the chips business in 1985, and he was one of the leaders for the effort in logic chips in 1998.

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The corporate income tax rate for American companies is 35%. But many American corporations do not pay 35%. G.E. is likely to pay no federal income tax in 2010. G.E. Capital lost billions during the financial crisis and it is using a tax loss carry forward. It is also using a tax break called the active financing exception which allows U.S. companies to avoid taxes on overseas profits if those profits are made by actively financing some activity or deal, a tax loophole created in 1997 that G.E. lobbies hard to keep. For G.E. the worldwide tax burden was 7.4%. Google also pays a low tax rate. Robert Willens, a corporate tax expert, says the typical multinational corporation pays about half the stated tax rate.

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Standard & Poors drops Russia's credit ratings to below investment grade on Jan. 26, 2015. It sees economic growth in Russia slowing to 0.5% for the next 3 years. This downgrade puts Russian bonds to the level of junk bonds. Fitch and Moody's have downgraded Russian debt but not to the level of junk bonds. The Russian ruble declined to 68 rubles to the dollar in currency trading. S&P's analysis states that "stresses could mount for Russian corporations and banks that have foreign currency debt service requirements without a concomitant foreign currency revenue stream." The Russian government, says S&P, will then have to chose between supporting the ruble and supporting these foreign corporations seeking help with foreign currency debt service requirements.

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About 10 million households in the U.S. are underwater in their mortgages, living in homes that are worth less than what they owe on the mortgage. According to Zillow Inc. in the first quarter of 2014, about 9.7 million households or 18.8% of U.S. homeowners are underwater in their mortgage. Another 10 million U.S. households have less than 20% equity in their homes. Underwater homes are concentrated in the bottom third of the price range with 30% in this range, resulting in fewer homes available to new first time buyers entering the market. At the same time the higher mortgage rates and 11% price increases in the last 2 years make homes costlier for first time buyers who face sticker shock, according to Zillow economists.

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Chevrolet and GMC finish in the top 5 in the J.D. Powers Initial Quality Survey for 2013. Owners reported 97 problems per 100 vehicles in the first 90 days of ownership for Chevrolet, and GMC owners reported 90 problems. The survey incudes problems with new technology such as navigation systems. Ford had 131 problems per 100 vehicles largely because of problems owners have with the new touch screen multimedia systems called MyFord Touch. GMC and Chevrolet use butons and knobs for the MyLink entertainment and navigation systems. By not doing extensive redesign GM moved up in the rankings. Because mechanical quality is about even for Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Ford, GM and VW, the rankings now include new tech systems performance for automobile owners.

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A review of the Volcker Rule for bank regulation in its final form by the WSJ in Dec. 2013 shows it leaves out language permitting portfolio hedging. Banks will not be allowed to use portfolio hedging creating new risks. Regulators wrote in the rule that hedges are not to "give rise .. to any significant new or additional risk that is not itself hedged contemporaneously." The Volcker Rule in its final form was influenced by regulators awareness of the J.P. Morgan Chase bank's huge losses from portfolio hedging in the Whale case. Senators Merkley and Levin in the U.S. Congress wrote to regulators saying a loophole in the Volcker Rule allowing portfolio hedging would lead to a repeat of the "London Whale."

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The U.S. Defense Department awards Boeing a $30 billion contract for aerial refueling tankers. The first phase of this deal requires building 18 aircraft by 2017. EADS, the European supplier that lost out on its bid, had planned to build the planes in Mobile, Alabama, EADS had support of some southern states. Boeing sent a design based on its 767 commercial aircraft. This gives new life to Boeing's 767 program which was launched in 1982 and is seeing declining orders- down to 50 orders. Boeing says this supports 50,000 manufacturing jobs at Boeing plants in Washington and Kansas, and at suppliers around the country. EADS said it would have brought jobs to the Gulf region and keep 48,000 Americans employed.

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As the Fed cuts rates again moving to 0.5% on December 16, 2008, as expected , it brings US interest rates closer to Bank of Japan's rate of 0.3%. Higher rates have led Japan's giant insurance companies and pension fundsinto Us Treasury's, with Japan holding $ 573 billion in US Treasurys in September according to the USA Treasury Department. On 4 week securites the US has already sold Treasurys last week at a yield of zero which attracted money as a safe haven.On December 12, the dollar settled at 91.04 yen, down 18.4% this year. The concern is that a weaker dollar could result from a move away from dollar assets and the stronger yen would further weaken the prospects for Japanese exporters.

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Economists at Goldman and Citigroup see a loss of another 2 million jobs, with job losses into 2010, for total job losses of about 4 million jobs, even after the jobs saved or created of 2.5 million jobs from the large stimulus of $700 billion that the Obama administration is said to be planning. A lot depends on smart policy from the new Obama administration because it will require enough stimulus and public investment to break the loop of falling unemployment, and at the same time allow private investment and business to get back to work with new investments in plant and equipment without getting bogged down in industrial policy with the government trying to do alot more than it is capable of.

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Fears that the European banking sector is very weak and not enough has been done to fix the problems. KBC bank of Belgium has receivbed $41.5 billion in 3 separate rounds of government help. For abank with total assets of $425 billion this exceeds the bailout of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Moody's has issued awarning about credit risks at 30 Spanish banks and lowered its ratings of the Greek banking sector. Nonperforming loans at Russian banks compose 10% of the average bank's books and could rise to 25% by endo of 2009. Sweden has big problems for banks that laoned to the Baltic countries. A European bank analyst at Standard and Poors estimates a doubling in writeoffs for European banks in 2010.

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The expected glut in office space in London. About 8 million square feet of new office space is being built in the financial district known as the City and a large part of it is coming in in 2008. The level of construction is 60% higher than the City's 10 year average. About 80% of this office space is speculative , that no tenants exist yet for the space, normally only 50% is speculative. And this is happening when new lease signings in the City fell by 49% in the 4th quarter compared to the third quarter. Big banks like Citigroup are cutting down on office space and Macquarie Group and Australian bank is postponing plans to lease office space for a London headquarters.

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The Pilbara iron ore region in western Australia in red desert 675 miles north of Perth, is where China gets a lot of its iron ore, mainly from mines run by BHP, Rio Tinto and Fortescue. With the Chinese economy slowing Australia's growth rate dependent on commodities exports like iron ore is declining. Australia's central bank has lowered growth forecasts to 1.5% for 2008-2009, and this is considered optimistic by economists. With prices of iron ore jumping Australia's terms of trade had improved by a leap but now it looks like the terms of trade have peaked. The budget surplus of A$22 will be cut by two thirds by this and also from the A$10.4 stimulus package announced by prime minister Kevin Rudd.