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Steinhauser, Walker and Stevis provide an exceptionally good account of the events leading to the March 25, 2013 EU 10 billion euro bailout of Cyprus, with the closing of one bank and the downsizing of another bank. The Cyprus government of president Anastasiades bluffed and lost. That Anastasiades and the Cyprus government would do this in serious negotiations with the finance ministers of Netherlands, Germany, France, the EU, ECB and the IMF at the headquarters in Brussels, in negotiations that ran to midnight on Sunday March 24, 2013, is simply astounding. Charles Dallara representing European bankers tried to do this with German chancellor Merkel at EU headquarters in Brussels during negotiations on Oct. 27, 2011, on an earlier confrontation over bondholder haircuts, bluffed to the last minute and lost. The way Cyprus handled the negotiations surpassed that. Right down to the last hours the Cyprus president waffled- backtracking on earlier agreement to close Cyprus Popular Bank. Calls were made by German finance minister Schauble to Merkel and by French finance minister Muscovici to French president Hollande to give a joint Franco-German response. Finally Anastasiades was told to pack up and leave on Sunday, March 24. The Cyprus government was not defending small depositors as its earlier plan was to tax all deposits at the two largest Cypriot banks 6.875%. Merkel saw this as an error as this would hurt small savers. The final agreement shut down Cyprus Popular Bank but protected insured deposits under 100,000 euros. Another disturbing sign for the ECB and the EU was Cyprus allowing several hundred million dollars to be wired out of the country even though banks were closed and an offical freeze on ouflows existed. A serious mistake in negotiations was when Cyprus finance minister kept EU finance ministers, the IMF and the ECB officials in the dark by not returning calls for 16 hours on Thursday March 25, 2013, while he tried to negotiate a deal in Moscow with Russia's Putin. This destroyed Cyprus's credibility leading to the ECB's warning to cut off liquidity to Cypriot banks which would put the banks into instant bankruptcy. By Friday morning, March 22, 2013, Merkel was angrily briefing her CDU party lawmakers on the negotiations, telling them the Cyprus government and Anastasiades did not get it, that the whole Cyprus model of outsized offshore banking sector- catering mainly to Russian investors - had collapsed. Cyprus unlike any other member of the EU was trying to face down Europe. Negotiations with Greece had been tough and street protests everpresent, yet negotiations went on in a responsible manner and in good faith, something missing here....

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Egypt plans to tackle the financial crisis after the pandemic and the war in Ukraine by increasing natural gas exports by one third. It has the LNG terminals to do this which are underutilized. The LNG could be exported to Asia or Europe at ten times the price buyers in Egypt pay for it. The way this additional natural gas is to be exported is to impose 15% cut in use of natural gas in Egypt similar to what the European Union has done with its 15% mandated reduction. This will then be diverted to LNG terminals. The max temperature for air conditioning is 25 degrees under the new plan and lights are dimmed or shut off after 11 pm in streets, shops and malls.  The war in Ukraine has doubled the price of wheat and other basic food necessities imported from Ukraine and Russia. This put a heavy burden on state finances in Egypt with subsidies on bread and other food for 70 million people out of 102 million people. Investment needs are also affected. Saudi Arabia has stepped in with help as no IMF program has been set. A 14% devaluation of the currency took place in 2022 and another devaluation of the currency is expected. ...

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Official currency reserves of developing world countries almost quadrupled over the last decade to $2.9 trillion. Reserves of industrialized countries went up by 150%. In 2005 reserves went up by 18% for developing countries and declined 1.5% for developed countries. 70% of total currency reserves are in developing countries. This is a huge accumulation of reserves by developing countries in a short period. In 2005 74% of overall reserves were in U.S. dollars. The reserves help countries pay bills and make investments. For developing countries having sufficient reserves helps in two other ways. The reserves are a buffer in emergencies , and means countries like Brazil and S. Korea don't have to turn to the IMF or the U.S. for assistance. Another way this helps is for countries like China to be able to use their reserves to keep their currencies from appreciating and maintain a competitive edge in exports.

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Planting of corn still strong only down a little bit from last year to plant more of soyabeans and other crops. Price of corn not considered to drop but there are risks for farmers that corn prices have gone up too much.

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An estimated 850,000 cases of measles in the US over 25 years is expected if vaccination rates drop in the US, according to one Stanford study.

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In Brazil's 2018 elections most candidates talk about shoring up crumbling infrastructure, and law and order. Yet no one talks about the budget crisis as there is no money left for doing this.  Shocking as this may sound after years of overspending and a recession, Brazil now uses borrowed money to pay pensions and salaries, and keep schools and hospitals open. Brazil's public spending exceeds revenue by about 7% of annual economic output. Taxes are already 40% of economic output, according to CIA's World Factbook website, making it hard to raise taxes.  This WSJ analysis says you cannot overstate the problem in Brazil as about two thirds of the budget goes to paying old age pensions, payroll of public sector and public healthcare. By 2020 these liablilities will grow to the point there is nothing left for discretionary spending such as roads, infrastructure, new hospitals, police equipment. Trimming pensions and freezing wages are likely options to tackle the problem. Still this leaves Brazil with the prospect of a lost decade.   Neighboring Argentina is experiencing a contracting economy and had to turn to the IMF for assistance.  The decline in GDP comes as a new conservative administration took over promising an improvement in the economy. The peso declined by 18% in 2018 so far leaving Argentina's public and private debt of $166 billion which is 80% denominated in U.S. dollars much harder to pay off. The stronger dollar has hurt Argentina leading to a $50 billion support agreement with the IMF.  Much of Latin America is now in an economic crisis. ...

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Zarkadakis points to modern Greece's burden of history since the struggle for freedom from the Turks in 1821. The resurgence of European interest in ancient Greece, he says, burdened modern Greece with a narrative of their identity based on romantic and idealistic notions of Europeans in other nations. It also burdened ordinary Greek people with learning three Greek languages, including the language of the ancient Greeks. Failure to live up to the expectations of the intellectual classes of Europe from their perceptions of a distant past led them to look down on the people of Greece- as evident in perceptions in the German media about Greeks as lazy (the Mediterrranean peoples and lifestyles not as hardworking as the Germans) and liars (the national accounts being largely fudged till a Dutchman at the IMF presented the correct picture in 2009), and cheats (extensive tax evasion). He says this ignores the national traits of Christian Orthodox (which would suggest "mercy" or significant forgiveness of debt when debt reaches a point of becoming uncollectable) the economic history of successive defaults in 1893 and 1932 (lack of economic maturity), a strong cultural trend that tends to circumvent the governing authority. The desire to modernize Greece of the intellectual classes and governing politicians in Greece, and the dependence on the European Union as the sole guarantor of such modernization, has he points out led to a sort of arrogance that ignores the anxieties and fears of the ordinary people of Greece. This was evident in the way efforts to get a referendum on the austerity plans imposed on Greece were quashed by EU officials and the Greek politicians. ...

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Are elite colleges worth it and do they embody virtue today even if they did in the past. Dartmouth is not the little college embodying virtue that it was in the days of Daniel Webster. Some of the elite colleges have turned into business propositions that have neglected their history and their heroes in favor of an imported mix of ideas that have nothing to do with America's past, places where Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln would find they are foreigners.

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A sharp increase in imports leads to a growing trade deficit affecting the outlook for the Pakistan rupee. The central bank allowed the currency to devalue by 3% in the last week. The IMF has called for a weaker Pakistan rupee to narrow the trade deficit. The Pakistan rupee stands at about 109 rupees to 1 U.S. dollar, according to Thomson Reuters data. Experts say it is overvalued by about 25%. Pakistan gets about $20 billion in remittances from overseas for 2016, about 7% of GDP, and the central bank has now reversed an earlier policy of intervening in currency markets to prop up the rupee. A lower value for the rupee is now seen as good for economic growth.

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"Because of the pressure on public services that resentment (by public) is real"- Shabana Mohamed tears up old rules in asylums that put migrants before British neighborhoods. Under the old rules refugees were given 5 years of protection and allowed to bring their families, followed by possible permanent status. Now this is cut to 30 months and if the country is safe the person has to go back, Waiting time to be able to settle in Britain will be extended to 10 years. The system worked in Denmark cutting by 90% the flow of migrants. In 2025 100,000 claimed asylum inUK half of them coming in small boats.  The asylum people placed in hotels has resulted in an outcry from locals in many British towns who see a way of life of the British people being pressured by the migrants some from remote countries with different cultures and leading to lack of safety for women on the streets. In Denmark without these changes the labour working class party would have lost power to a movement like that of Nigel Farage Reform UK which wants to shut the door completely on migrants. Public patience appears to be gone. Similar situations have happened in Dutch politics and is happening in other countries including Germany and France. ...

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Modi in West Bengal - many rallies across the state for second phase of State Elections and goals for Vikshit Bharat (Modernized India 2047) with West Bengal as a key part in Paribortan or Transformation. The state has lagged far behind other states in India in industrial development, in women's rights, in standards of living, with much of the younger generation finding it hard to find jobs in a largely agricultural economy. State policies of the government have provided poor governance, lack of rule of law, and discouraged industries from setting up in the state, leading to a sense that the future is bleak for the state if this continues for any longer. As this poor state of governance has been happening for 15 years. Bengal played an important part in India's struggle for independence. Post war governments under the Congress party, Communist Party, and a local regional party TMC have all failed in succession to modernize the state economy and build its industries, leaving it as an agricultural backwater for the Indian economy. This election is an opportunity for the new generation of people in their 20's and 30's, for women, for all Bengalis to give modernization working together with the federal government and Modi a chance to set it on a new path to modernization.  ...

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DJT says time is on their side to negotiators so that the blockade on Iran will remain till a deal is made that cover nuclear materials. US blockade of Iran in force till a deal is reached as final deal will require going beyond Memorandum to nuclear materials -this is the situation on May 24 2026. Mediators Pakistan and Turkey have only got as far as getting a Memorandum- a written document of intentions not actions taken on nuclear materials- while all the time the IRGC Iran says nuclear is not included. What explains this? There are now two factions inside Iran that are the IRGC and the elected president of Iran, one not as committed to nuclear weapons as the IRGC at the cost to the people of Iran and the nation's economic future. This war has proved that while oil producing countries are causing great damage to their economies and productive potential- this includes Russia, Iran and Saudis-the world is moving on its goal of reduced dependence on oil followed by fossil free future in 2 stages. By the first stage if modernization does not take place in the Middle East it will lose forever the opportunity to modernize infrastructure and fall behind other countries including China, India, Brazil and other nations that have made the shift.  ...

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Exports have increased in Portugal to 41% of GDP in 2013 from 28% in 2008. Shoe companies exported 1.7 billion euros, according to the Portuguese Footwear Association, and shoe exports are a bright spot in the trade balance. Portuguese companies have invested in the industry to improve quality and are able to command higher prices. Portugal now expects 1.2% growth in 2014, according to EU and IMF forecasts.

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The IMF predicts UK budget deficit at 13.2% of GDP in 2010. And that public debt could hit 98% of GDP by 2014. Ctigroup expects that inflation will be 3.4% in 2010 and the expectation is that the Bank of England will raise interest rates before the ECB or the Federal Reserve. The large deficits and debt are affecting the value of the pound which is in steady decline.

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DW.com's Becker looks at how much an iPhone would cost if made in the USA. Jason Dedrick of Syracuse University says it would add $20-$30 if final assembly was done in the U.S.. If components and parts were also made in the U.S. this would go up to $80-$90. Other factors are that the production clusters set up by Foxconn have taken three decades to set up and would take time to replicate. President Trump has said Apple should make the iPhones in the U.S. to create jobs. As Foxconn is rapidly adding robots and automation the number of jobs are shrinking in the production process.

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China's Finance Ministry is having a difficult time controlling local governments using local government financing vehicles to invest in more infrastructure, airports roads and subways. One such city is Wuhan which plans six subway lines, three bridges over the Yangste river and a new airport. Much of the money comes from land sales. The Finance Ministry in a 2013 report pointed to the unreliability of land sales for future borrowing as the property market is slowing, and because it is highly unpopular to requisition land for land sales. This matters because the IMF says debt is growing faster in China than when Japan, South Korea and the U.S. fell into deep recessions at different times between the late 1980's and 2009. Local government debt accounts for one fourth of the increase in China's domestic debt since 2008. New rules by China's bond agency in Dec. 2014 prevents investors from using low grade debt to borrow cash. In the past local governments found a way around the central governments effort to curb growth of debt by restructuring the local government vehicles or some other way, as Wuhan has done. Wuhan Urban is the local government financing vehicle for Wuhan and its debt increased by 20% in 2013. Wuhan's mayor, Tang Liangzhi, is pushing construction to the point where he is known as Mr. Dig, Dig. One reason for China's slowing growth below 6-7% is the need to control the growth of debt. Local government debt in China reached 36% of GDP in 2013, double the figure in 2008, and will increase to 52% of GDP in 2019, according to the IMF. And the increase is not proportionally delivering the same results as before. JP Morgan estimates that over 4 units of borrowing are needed in 2015 for every unit of investment, compared to less than 2 units of borrowing for every unit of investment in 2007. PRC Macro Advisors of Hong Kong says half of the borrowing by financing vehicles goes to pay interest on existing debt in 2014. There are 8000 such local government financing vehicles in China today each competing to build infrastructure in its neighborhood, in the case of Wuhan to build a computing back office for financial companies and as transportation hub, even though its uncertain whether this will be realized or not. The problem is that alternative investments as an opportunity cost are being neglected, the hospital not being built as China's population ages with underinvestment in health care, and the private company with better returns that is unable to find financing. A classic example of crowding out of better return investments as a glut of housing and road/bridge/ airport infrastructure gets built. The central government is wary but faced with slowing growth pushes problems down the road, what experts call a Japan syndrome....