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A visit by president Biden to Canada to meet president Trudeau shows a unity of purpose of the two leaders who have a close Justin and Joe relationship, says this report in NYT. Before the trip an agreement had been reached by which the two countries can ease pressures of migration from the southern hemisphere. Migrants seeking asylum in Canada from the US will be turned back at Roxham Crossing. Canada will accept 15,000 refugees from persecution, violence or economic devastation, to ease pressures of illegal crossings into the US from Mexico. The trip comes after Trudeau's frosty relationship with former president Trump. It also comes as Canada and the US build a closer relationship to meet challenges of multipolar world from China.

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Finland joins other Nordic countries such as Denmark in reducing immigration with a new coalition government in June 2023. It brings the Finns party together with Christian Democrats, National Coalition and the Swedish People's Party.

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Prospects for the Indian auto industry with 7% of India's GDP depend on a good monsoon rainy season and a vigorous vaccination drive. Sales declined badly in May 2021 with the second wave of the pandemic.

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Monica Hesse gives this exceptional story of Gladys Ament, which is the story of American women as they voted in election after election after the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920. In 2016 she is 96 years old and used an absentee ballot to vote for a first women president for the U.S.. Ament gives this touching and graceful account of a woman who lived through many presidents, and never failed to exercize her vote in every election held since the day she was born on Aug. 26, 1920. That day Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment giving it the majority needed to become the law of the land. This was the year Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, was in office. Her story starts in a two room schoolhouse in Lonaconing, Maryland, population 2054, when America was largely rural and rapidly urbanizing. The girls did the housework and the boys worked in the coal country, and women were not considered to be the ones in the home to go to a college or university. She dated a man who worked for the phone company, and later was drafted in the war. She joined Montgomery Ward filling catalogue orders. Her first vote was for FDR in 1944, in reality for Eleanor Roosevelt. And then she voted for Harry Truman, who she liked for his plain talk manner. Then Eisenhower, Nixon, Humphrey, McGovern, Carter, as she fulfilled the role of a mother and teachers aide at a school for special needs children. Her husband was not sure her daughter Mary needed to follow the two sons to college, but she made sure Mary did even though tution money was tight. She loved the self-respect which came with working, she was patient. The opportunities came and it was Mary who pursued her education and became an administrator who also supervised men. Things had changed, nobody thought of it twice, what Gladys had struggled with was now the accepted way of things. Then came a granddaughter and by this time young women had more opportunities, and there were as many women in universities as men. Gladys voted for the first black president and then for a first woman president at 96, 96 years after the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the vote in America. After that election in which she really voted for Eleanor Roosevelt- who was all over the country making speeches and talking to people to bring hope during the Depression years- she could see the potential in a next woman as president. She had seen some of the 18 presidents who had led the country as good leaders and some not so good, some who were seen as good in their years in office but later seen as having done poorly, she could see that women could do just as well or better after all these years of her voting and learning. ...

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India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says the decline in the auto sector sales includes as one of the factors the shift by millenials to ride sharing app services such as Uber, Lyft and Ola. A bigger factor is the lack of financing as less credit is available with bad loans hitting the banking industry. The current economic slowdown in India includes a drop in sales of automobiles.

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German chancellor Scholz and Canadian prime minister Trudeau sign an agreement in Newfoundland for exporting Canadian green hydrogen energy to Germany in just 3 years. Canada is seen as a major supplier to Germany for energy in the medium term including LNG. Newfoundland is the base for a green hydrogen plant. Windy areas which are not densely populated are considered ideal for production of green hydrogen, which is why Newfoundland was chosen.

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Would a generic Democrat do better? Mr. Biden's weakness is with less engaged voters says this analysis of a Times Siena poll showing less support in battleground states. One queer aspect of this poll is that Kamala Harris does slightly better because she does better with non white voters. Mr. Biden does well with white voters retaining all of his support achieved in the 2020 election with white voters. Another queer aspect of this poll is that a so called generic Democrat would win by large margins of over 5% in most of the battleground states over Mr. Trump, in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. Another queer aspect of the poll is that Michigan has all three- the Governor's position, the State Assembly and other positions in the hands of Democrats who have performed well in the state.

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A democratic delegate from California says she is "awestruck"  by how quickly people rallied behind Harris. Another from Pittsburgh says there is energy behind the change, as we are going to go back to an election conversation that will debate ideas and what is the vision of the United States.

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Abortion rights was at the centre of the governor's race in Kentucky and a constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights in Ohio in yesterday's US elections. Democrats supporting abortion rights won both races with large margins. Throughout 2023 abortion rights for women has emerged as a dominant issue in US elections.

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A look at how Kamala Harris plans to focus on specific aspects of the Biden Economic Policy Agenda that are of the greatest concern for the American public. Cost of living action is the highest priority. Harris has ideas on this issue to cut housing costs and has specific proposals from 2023 with rising housing costs to tackle this by limiting rent increases to 5%. She will also come up with specific actions to sharpen her focus on cost of living issues to help ordinary Americans cope with rising cost of living for groceries, autos, auto repair bills, insurance costs, and energy costs. Economic advisors include the following from the years since 2020 with Biden as his VP- Brian Nelson,Treasury Department, Mike Pyle   Deputy National Economic Advisor for International Economics, Brian Deese     former National Economic Council Director  Gene Sperling, former Biden Economic Adviser, Deane Millison former Harris Economic Adviser, Rohini Kosoglu, Grace Landrieu, Bharat Ramamurti.      ...

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The Yucatan Rail Project being moved forward by Lopez Obrador in Mexico is shown here in the WSJ. It moved forward during the pandemic years 2020 and 2021 and connects the Yucatan cities by rail. Yucatan cities  including Campeche and Merida bring about 8% of the country's exports and 10% of the country's GDP. Modern rail at 99 mph would connect the cities in the Yucatan to increase industry and tourism to develop the south east of the country. This is similar to the projects on the Brahmaputra river in the northeastern parts of India that are being opened up by new infrastructure rail and bridges for industry and tourism. Both the Yucatan and India's northeast are parts of the country that have much potential and have investment needs that were not realized in the past by previous administrations. The environmental impact in the northeast part of India and for the bullet train in the western region from Mumbai to Ahmedabad were held up by environmental concerns. A similar situation has happened for the Yucatan Rail Project. Even when enough trees were to be planted to help Mumbai residents for its Metro construction also shown in WSJ, he project was held up for political reasons. The bullet train project after its delay for political reasons will now cost nearly double that it would have cost before. It is supported by Japanese aid at very favourable financial terms that pay for the project, including direct government aid and Japan's rail technology. It is now moving ahead in 2022.  Infrastructure plays a key role in developing economies such as India and Mexico, yet it requires resolute conviction and perseverance as much of the political setup as shown in Mexico leads to leakage of funds meant for infrastructure and very little being done at great cost to the ease of living of ordinary people. In Mumbai and other cities in India. The same is true for Mexico which at this time of the pandemic needs to bolster its spirits and move ahead with much needed development work to help people in all parts of the country. With the Yucatan Rail Project Mexico can move to the next phase with wind farms on the Yucatan out to sea, and solar energy projects that could with new technology be transmitted to other parts of Mexico and to the US. It is important to keep trying and persevere on these new projects and look to a brighter future. For Mexico US relations better living conditions in Mexico also relieves the burden of illegal immigration and problems related to it in neighborly relations. Mexican officials should increase contacts with Indian officials working on the projects in the Assam region and  along the Brahmaputra river, in Indian states in the northeast, to exchange ideas and notes to gain from each other's experiences in integrating regions that were previously not integrated into the Indian and Mexican economies. This is a topic to be added to the G-20 topics to be discussed at the next meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on November 15-16, 2022. For Mexico it is an opportunity to also widen its infrastructure work to learn from what India is doing in solar and wind energy and build collaborative efforts. ...

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A decline in German manufacturing driven by the decline in its large auto sector. This in addition to Germany's large investments in China under Merkel and Chinese lockdowns will delay a post pandemic recovery, says this report in WSJ. Germany is now shifting its investments to the US as shown by the new investment in a VW Scout brand restarted in the US.

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A new study using ECB data by the German Institute of Economic Research shows rising inequality in Germany. The 45 richest households in Germany own wealth equal to the bottom half of the population- each group owning 214 billion euros in assets in 2014. The wealthiest 5 percent of the people in Germany own 51.1% of the country's wealth. ECB numbers are underestimating the inequality by showing that 5 percent control 31.5% of the wealth in Germany. The Institute's analysis shows Germany is worse than Spain and France when the wealthiest household's wealth is taken into account. 

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NYT shows about 1 million people in Turkey living in makeshift and other shelters after the earthquake. In the midst of the rubble of collapsed buildings. Many are out in freezing weather. There are 47,000 buildings that collapsed. 369,000 tents were sent to the quake zone, says the relief agency AFAD, 172,000 have been built.

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Two stories in the NYT and this one in the WSJ on Musk attending a high security briefing on China by the War Department. DJT says on Truth Social site that Musk would not be allowed in any China briefing. DJT says  of plans for defense against China - "I don't want to show it to anybody." Musk has manufacturing plants in China for his EV company Tesla.

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At the opening of the new aircraft manufcturing complex in Vadodara, Gujarat, PM Modi says- "The defense and aerospace sectors will be two important pillars of making India self reliant (atman nirbhar). We have. agoal of $25 billion in defense manufacturing by 2025, defense exports will be $5 billion." He said India will need 2000 aircraft in 15 years. "India will move forward with the mantra Make in India. Make for the Globe."

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This analysis in the WSJ looks at president Trump's handling of the economy during the period before and following the coronavirus. It says a Gallup poll taken in September showed 56% or a majority of Americans thought they were better off than four years ago. The same poll shows handling of the coronavirus that hurt the economy not getting high marks for the president. A lot of uncertainty remains says this report.

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Like Harry Truman Tim Walz can understand what free school lunches are about- Walz worked as a high school teacher, so did his wife Gwen. See the story on school lunches on this page.  He knows what cost of living is about with prices of groceries and gas and auto repairs rising. We want to say to America not since Harry Truman have finances of two vice presidents looked so similar- and their dedication to workers and families is genuine and of the kind that is needed for these times when working families and working men, rural families,  have deserted a Democratic party distracted by Tech millionaires and billionaires in its ranks. Tim Walz is America's Everyman in this sense of the word  with net worth excluding pensions of under $300,000, and shares the pain of meeting cost of living and other concerns that are spared from other vice presidents or presidents from wealthy backgrounds. The Minnesota Governor has modest income and wealth compared to recent presidential tickets. The former  high school teacher and congressman’s assets are mostly limited to pensions, whole life insurance and college savings. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, have net worth between $112,003 to $330,000, as of his 2019 financial disclosure, according to WSJ. The value of  federal pension benefit about roughly $800,000 to add to their net worth, based on The Wall Street Journal’s analysis. The couple did not report any dividend or capital gains income on their 2022 tax return, the most recent return available. ...

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Food insecurity issues India faces with climate change are covered in this report in NYT. The government is releasing stocks of subsidized tomatoes after extreme heat followed by floods destroyed part of the tomato crop. Floods are affecting all parts of India during July 2023. 

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Action that needed to come ten years back is finally taken. The new US president DJT says- "I have had many talks with China about the massive amounts of drugs, in particular fentanyl, being sent into the United States – but to no avail. Representatives of China told me they would enforce their maximum penalty, including the death sentence, for any drug dealers caught doing this, but unfortunately, they never followed through. As a result, drugs are pouring into our country, mostly through Mexico, at levels never seen before. Until they stop, we will charge China an additional 10% tariff, on top of any existing tariffs, on all of their products entering the United States.”  "On 20 January, as one of my first executive orders, I will sign all necessary documents to impose a 25% tariff on all products coming into the United States from Mexico and Canada, along with addressing its ridiculous open borders. This tariff will remain in place until drugs, particularly fentanyl, and illegal immigrants stop invading our country.” ...