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Rapidly decling support for Mr Westerwelle and the Free Democratic party he leads in Germany. In the September 2009 elections the FDP won 14.6% of the vote. A Dec 27-30 Stern opinion poll shows only 4% support the FDP. This threatens the Christian Democrats-FDP coalition led by Chancellor Angela Merkel in the coming regional elections. Merkel and the CDP have held onto their support, with 34% saying they support the Christian Democrats, compared to the 33.8% of the vote the CDP won in the Sept 2009 national elections in Germany. Some of the problem lies with Westerwelle who is seen as arrogant and out of touch.The major reason is that in the Merkel coalition the FDP could not implement the tax cuts and other pro-business promises it had made earlier as an opposition party. Merkel is reluctant to move on tax cuts because German help may be needed in the eurozone financial crisis. The 4% showing in the poll puts the FDP below the 5% threshold required to hold seats in Parliament. Losses in regional elections for the Merkel coalition would give the opposition parties and the Social Democrats a bigger majority in the upper house, which would further weaken Merkel's legislative agenda and the credibility of the coalition....

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Britain's economy shrank by 0.5% in the last quarter of 2010, according to Office for National Statistics. Unemployment went up to 7.9% and 2.5 million jobless. Inflation up from 3.3% in the year to November, to 3.7% in December 2010. Mervyn King, governor of Bank of England, says inflation will go up to 4-5% in 2011. The austerity plan is only now beginning to go into effect and creates a difficult year. The VAT, a consumption tax, goes up to 20% from 17.5% on Jan 4th, and public spending cuts go into effect in April. With consumption depressed, higher investment and exports are the two areas supporting growth. There is a risk that the Bank of England will have to raise interest rates, as it left interest rates at 0.5% in December 2010. Under these conditions not much of a recovery can be expected in 2011-2012.

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The Bureau of National Labor Statistics in China says China's GDP growth for 4th quarter 2008 was 6.8%. Private economists expect growth to slow to something like 5% in 2009 as the full brunt of the housing downturn and the drop in exports manufacturing is felt this year. Housing and exports were the two engines that helped China to reach 12-13% growth rates for 2007 and 2008. 2008 was also the year of the Olympics, and it now appears that by excessive growth and production capacity in many industries and increasing exports China may have created severe imbalances in the world economy. One way this happened is through the huge and ever increasing trade deficits with the US. By reinvesting the money in US Treasurys, China made a huge wave of liquidity and cheap credit possible in the US creating a bubble economy. The other is through the inflated demand in commodities like oil from the Middle East and countries like Russia, and demand for iron ore and other metal commodities from places like Brazil and Australia. This put upward pressure on the prices of commodities, creating a bubble in the price of oil. With the bursting of these bubbles the economies of Russia, Brazil and Australia and other countries are in a deep nosedive. The effects have operated in myriad ways, including a circular effect of the bursting of the credit bubble in the US leading to a collapse of demand in the US market for Chinese goods. In turn the collapse in demand for German and Japanese goods in China with declining demand, as the effects moved through the channels of the international trading system. The decline in Chinese demand also affects the US ability to make a export driven recovery....

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Treatment costs with Praluent for cholesterol control are extremely high at $14,600 a year.

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India's Ministry of Finance predicts GDP growth of between 7 and 7.5% for 2018-2019, after faltering GDP growth in 2017-2018 following action on demonetization and introduction of a national Goods and Service Tax. The IMF predicts growth of 7.4% for India in 2018 compared to 6.8% in China in 2018, with growth of 7.8% predicted for India in 2019.  Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian says there are "robust and broad based signs of revival," though risks remain in rising oil prices and inflation. The level is below what it could be, yet robust considering the policy actions taken by the government for the long term such as the nationwide GST implementation, which was taken up by previous administrations of both parties in government but never implemented till 2017. In addition the government faces the tasks of recapitalization of banks, the issues of job creation as manufacturing in India in the global context is only beginning to take shape, and agrarian distress.  The new Budget takes up the issues facing rural areas of the country by compensating farmers to the extent of 150% of agricultural cost and introducing the largest health care security scheme in the world for poor families. This comes a year before new national elections. The Modi administrations's focus appears to be for taking steps that will generate growth over the long term and learning from errors, yet being bold enough to take the necessary action based on experience.   ...

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Japanese prime minister Kishida joins president Biden in deciding not to run again with low popularity ratings and cost of living concerns of the public. The LDP administration of prime minister Kishida put through a $100 billion investment package to revive the economy in November 2023. In the first quarter of 2024 the Japanese economy GDP growth suffered from a 0.7% decline. Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida of the LDP party popularity has remained at around 25% and Kishida has decided not to run again for prime minister. His term expires in 2025. A new LDP leader will be elected. This report says growing voices in the LDP party persuaded Kishida not to run and have a new leader. Inflation which was tame for over a decade has increased with surging prices for oil and gas after the Ukraine war. The situation is similar to the US and EU where rising prices have hurt ordinary people struggling to make a living. Kishida committed Japan to investing 2% of GDP on defense. The effects of economic developments is that the Japanese currency is weakening. ...

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Was Merkel right in setting an amendment to the German Constitution to limit the structural budget deficit to 0.35% of GDP. It is called the Schuldenbremse Amendment. It means there is no money to invest in the country's future, no money for infrastructure even when it is old and crumbling for roads, bridges rail stations and airports, no money for digitization of the economy in which Germany has fallen behind, not enough for defense, and no money to fund needs in education, healthcare, childcare. And not enough money to invest in climate change action. Absent this investment the German economy falls behind, jobs become precarious and public dissatisfaction leads to volatile political situation. Like the Republican party in the US which calls for tax cuts and no walk the talk for infrastructure investment, the CDU/CSU and FDP, have a mindset opposing investing in Germany. Investment that the Greens and SPD promised but could not deliver with the FDP in the Scholz /Habeck /Lindner coalition over 4 years. ...

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Robert Gordon of Northwestern University shows the optimistic and pessimistic factors in the economy in terms of their contribution to GDP. He says botht he optimists and pessimists ae correct, with the question being the relative strength of the factors. He says the recovery will not be a V shaped recovery , and it will only be half as strong as the recovery of 1983-84, in the range of 3% to 4%, the annualized growth rate between 1982 4th quarter and 1984 4th quarter was 6.4%. Annualized growth according to the Commerce Department was 3.2% in 1st quarter 2010, following 5.6% growth annualized in 4th quarter 2009 In this picture international trade and exports have not played as strong apart as imports continued to rise. Overall personal consumption expenditures held up pretty well and showed +2.55, inventory change +1.57 as companies began to replace IT and other equipment, producers durable equipment and software, federal government +0.11. On the pessimist side residential structures were -0.29, nonresidential structures -0.44, net exports -0.61 showing that exports are not playing the part needed for the economy to recover, and state and local governments are -0.48. The progressively deteriorating situation expected as state and local governments cut back will weigh as aserious negative in this respect says Gordon. And this just as the inventory chnge numbers wind down to a smaller number. The total has to add upto the +3.24% growth for 1st quarter 2010 on an annualized basis as shown in the Bureau of Economic Analysis numbers. ...

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China's 15th Five Year Plan with shift to robotics, semiconductors, EV's, renewable energy, and lower investment in education, healthcare- the shift to a slowing economy, job losses. GDP per capita one third of the US much lower than most of southern Europe or Eastern Europe. China is still a middle income country. Unlike Japan which surpassed most of EU countries  GDP per capita, China with 1.4 billion people is a vast country. The shift in the emphasis in the 5 year Plan means economic growth  of 10-12% is now only 5%. With the collapse in housing construction and slowing manufacturing facing tariffs in the US means job losses.

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The Christian Democrats (CDP) under Angela Merkel received only 23% of the vote in the 2011 Berlin elections. The Free Democrat party (FDP) with 2% of the vote did not reach the 5% threshhold for seats in the Berlin legislature. This was the fifth time the FDP failed to win enough votes to get seats in the regional parliaments. This endangers the CDP-FDP coalition. The FDP campaigned against Merkel's policy of financial support for Greece. The Social Democrats support the euro currency union and issuance of euro bonds, which suggests voters are not choosing parties based on opposition to bailouts of troubled European Union countries. The Social Democrats-Green coalition will have a majority in the state legislature, as the Greens won 18% of the vote. The Pirate party of internet free-speech activists and leftist voters dissatisfied with existing parties were expected to win 9% of the vote, which is a first for regional parliaments for a party of this type. Some of this vote could have increased the Greens vote....

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Fumio Kishida leads the LDP party in Japan to an absolute majority in parliament in the recent election. The LDP with its partner Komeito won 293 seats in the 465 member parliament. He called for reducing inequality, following a similar effort by president Biden in the US. A supplement to the budget will provide aid to families with children and small businesses suffering from the effects of the pandemic. Kishida will double defense spending to 2% of GDP following tensions in the Asia-Pacific region. 

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Startling fact seen in this chart of Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis in the adjoining article next to this one- that in 2026 we are seeing 1929-1937 levels of military spending to GDP ratio of 2-3% just before it jumped to 45% in 1940. It is a cautionary tale not to spend too little (2-4% is a danger point) as lack of military modernization means a lot more spending soon after, almost 10 times that- 10 times 4% or 40% in World War II.  Message to the US is not what Starmer and company are saying in Europe- it is that don't invite the existential crisis of 1940 again for western (US, EU, Canada, UK) and eastern democracies (India, Japan, Indonesia, Australia) by not doing military modernization. And 2-4% of GDP for military spending is not going to be enough to do this.

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The German parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of sending heavy weapons to Ukraine as the Russian invasion continues in eastern and southern Ukraine. The German parliament voted on Thursday, April 28, marking a major shift in policy for Germany with 586 in favor and 100 opposed, and 7 abstaining. Military aid should continue and accelerate wherever possible says the proposal that was passed with the backing of the ruling coalition of Greens, SDP and FDP, and backed by the largest opposition party the Christian Democrats (CDU). The far right AfD opposed the proposal. The proposal also foresees an appeal to China for it to "abandon its acceptance of war" and actively support a truce, says this report in DW.com.

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The Indian government's chief economic advisor, Kaushik Basu, says the opening up of India's retail sector would have benefitted everyone including middle traders. This would happen because the retail sector would go through a vast expansion creating room for more players even though the per unit margin from products would go down. Experts say the infusion of new technologies and investment in India's supply chain and cold storage setup would help reduce food prices and inflation. Basu made the comments at the launching of the New Oxford Companion to Economics in India in Feb 2012. Basu is co-editor and it has contributions from Ratan Tata, Pranab Mukherjee, and Nandan Nilekhani.

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Medications that are appropriate for certain subgroups of patients and a case for approving medications with the target subgroup in mind.

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US $1.5 trillion budget request for 2027 fiscal year by the president for military and defense spending is about 4.7% of US GDP forecast of $31.8 trillion in 2026. In 1960 it was 9% following the Korean War. It dropped to 3.1% of GDP by 2000 and stayed around 3.4% till the current effort to modernization of the US military is thought to require about 5% of GDP.  (World Bank charts). The US spent far higher during an earlier period reaching 14% of GDP in 1953 during the Cold War with the Soviet Union. This report shows WSJ Analysis of where the $1.5 trillion request for Defense is going-  $1.1 trillion for War Department and $350 billion for critical munitions. The munitions are in short supply and war in Iran shows that it plays a critical part in defensive systems such as intercepting of missiles as missiles in short supply affect overall capabilities. An additional $200 billion for Iran War. Pay raises for Defense personnel. $66 billion for shipbuilding- 34 ships to put the US back in the lead for shipbuilding it has lost to China, with the help of Japan which is also ramping up the shipbuilding it has lost to China. US and Japan were leading shipbuilders in the  1930's and in the 1960's, then lost it to South Korea and China. About a 12% decrease in other Department's budgets including Health and Human Services, Treasury, Commerce, Interior, Housing and Agriculture.  These cost reductions some of it coming from more efficient functioning and from concepts such as zero based budgeting where every line item in the budget gets reviewed every year for how much is needed for the purpose, is the purpose still valid, and can it be done more efficiently costing less. $660 billion is coming from the savings. The Nation's capital will also get a facelift, a major renovation, after being ignored for years. In the new Budget is $10 billion for the Presidential Capital Stewardship Program within the National Park Service for beautification projects in Washington D.C., which will give the National Capital a much needed new look for millions of visitors from the 51 states in the Union.    ...