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Brazil's debt at 57% of GDP which is not likely to decline in 2014, is a concern for analysts at Moody's. Heavy spending and lower tax revenues with high interest rates will increase the deficit to 3.7% in 2014 from 2.48% in 2012, according to central bank estimates. Inflation is about 5.98%. Trade surplus is lower at about $2.6 billion for 2013. Brazil's foreign reserves are much higher than Argentina at $359 billion, ten times short term debt, Argentina at 109% of short term debt and Turkey at 84% of short term debt- which protects Brazil compared to its reserves in the 1997 financial crisis.

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Mexico, Chile, Columbia and Peru will sign an agreement in Cali, Columbia, eliminating tariffs on 90% of merchandise trade between their countries and set a 7 year timetable for the remaining 10%. Visa requirements for citizens of these countries have been removed and plans are being developed for a common market. These countries have a private sector that plays a major role in their economies compared to Brazil and Argentina where the state plays an important role. The combined GDP is as large as Brazil's in the Latin American region- about 35%. The regional stock exchanges of these countries have created a single bourse. Their is potential for more regional trade- the Economist estimates intra-regional trade in South and Central America at a low of 27%, compared with 63% in the European Union and 52% in Asia.

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The Economist points to a second hit from bad debt in the post 2008 stimulus binge of spending in China. This is after an earlier hit, that was absorbed as a result of high growth rates and high savings. About $420 billion was injected into 5 state owned banks since 1998, according to one estimate, as a result of the first hit to China's banks from bad debt. In this second round of bad debt, covered in more detail by David Barboza in the New York Times, and merely alluded to here, many bad loans to infrastructure projects were rushed through by local governments. The Economist considers this one of the successes of the state directed banking system, that loans were quickly made and projects started in the post 2008 crisis period; and expresses the view that this hit will be absorbed just like the last hit. However the more detailed account by David Barboza and in Business Week, points to the working of a system of incentives gone astray in a capitalist system without the necessary controls or regulation. Local governments used investment companies to take on loans, which were then used to prepare properties to be auctioned off at a profit and speculative prices to state owned companies in different industrial sectors. This is part of rampant speculation in China in real estate markets. Can China with its high savings and growth absorb a second hit? This depends on the magnitude of the hit and the size of the bad debt, which depends on how long this speculative market continues to operate, and how bad debt is hidden in the books. The difference this time is that large state owned companies in different industrial sectors are engaged in this speculation. The other difference is that the high growth rates in China depend on continued large trade deficits with the USA and Western Europe, something which is not likely to continue for long, as consumers in Europe and the USA with high debt are becoming cautious spenders. This suggests that China, like the US with the mortgage crisis, faces the same effects of unregulated or uncontrolled speculative behaviours, that can endanger the banking system....

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Raghuram Rajan, former chief economist at the IMF, and William White, former head of the economics department at Bank for International Settlements, both see the need to raise rates. But expert opinion on the other side sees the need for caution as the economic outlook worsens, and supports ECB and US Fed's efforts to counteract a deteriorating economic situation.

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How to deal with Bush era tax cuts is a big issue dividing Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. If no deal is reached by Jan 1. taxes on the average middle income family would increase by $2000 in 2013. Median inflation adjusted income declined 8.9% to $50,054 in 2011 from $54,999 in 1999, and economic mobility has fallen. The Democrat's position is for Bush tax cuts to apply to incomes below $250,000. Peter Orszag of the Congressional Budget Office and Jared Bernstein point out that while this makes the tax code move in a progressive direction it also creates handicaps in providing a sufficient revenue base to support middle class spending programs down the road. According to the Tax Polcy Center, if Congress is unable to reach agreement and all tax increases go into effect Jan 1, taxpayers in the bottom 20% of income distribution would see a $412 increase in taxes compared to an increase of $633,000 for the top 0.1%. New York Mayor Bloomberg has supported eliminating the Bush tax cuts for all groups, saying there is no free lunch. Alan Krueger, head of the White House Council of Economic Advisors, says the trends caused by globalization and skill-biased technological change which have increased inequality are likely to continue or accelerate. ...

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The Census Bureau reports that 46.2 million Americans were living in poverty in 2010. This is an increase of 2.6 million over 2009. This is the highest number of Americans living in poverty since 1958, when this statistic was first measured. Poverty is defined for 2010 as income at or below $22,314 for family of four. Also relevant is the median household income which went down to $49,445 in 2010, a decline of 2.3% from 2009. The typical household earned less in 2010 than in 1997, in inflation adjusted terms. The Census Bureau reports 16.3% of Americans had no health insurance coverage in 2010, the same as 2009.

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The People's Bank of China's decision to reduce the reserve requirement for deposits at banks by 0.5% is not likely to have much impact, as banks already have enough money to lend. The problem is more a lack of demand for loans as the economy slows. Inflation fears restrict the use of growth tools such as lowering interest rates and the housing bubble limits the use of construction spending to increase growth. Political uncertainty with a leadership transition, and economc uncertainty in Europe also limit options.

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David Wessel says the U.S. is in a liquidity trap. He says the 500 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Averages was a less significant event than the decision by the Bank of New York Mellon to charge clients for keeping large amounts of cash. In a liquidity trap investors are indifferent between keeping their money in cash or in investments providing a return, because interest rates are so low. Today the S&P 500 have in total an estimated $963 billion in cash. The solutions for gettting out of a liquidity trap include government stimulus spending, devaluing the currrency, and generating inflation that could make it easier to reduce government debt. The stimulus approach was adopted in the first 2 years of the Obama administration and there are now increasing pressures to reduce the U.S. deficit. Because of the role of the U.S. dollar as an international currrency and large sovereign holdings of U.S. currency, an outright devaluation of the dollar has not been considered an option. At the same time the weakening of the U.S. currency has helped exports and is encouraged by the Fed and the U.S. government. In a sense all three options are being tried in different degrees and ways. The stimulus was the early response till the deficit concerns began to increase and require attention, the efforts to lower the value of the dollar to increase exports is underway, and the rounds of quantitative easing by the Fed were intended to produce inflation (and avert deflation). All with limited success....

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Martin Feldstein says China is gaining control of three problems it faces of shrinking export markets, the effects from a large stimulus in response to the 2008 financial crisis, and inflation especially high real estate prices. The economy is shifting to higher role for services and less dependence on exports under the new five year plan. The real estate prices are levelling off after steep increases. And inflation is under control. New investment will go into infrastucture needs such as power development and low income housing. As the economic problems are being tackled, the political problems remain. China faces an aging population under its one child policy, and it will have to support an increasing number of retired people in the future. Inequality and corruption are two problems that continue to grow and present challenges to the new leadership taking over in 2013.

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Karl Case, co-author with Shiller, of the Case-Shiller housing index, describes what the American dream of owning a house was always all about- having a safe long-term investment with the happiness gained from ownership of one's own home. It was never really meant to become a way to pay bills, and enjoy an artificially high standard of living based on artificially high speculative returns of 30% a year. Based on the authentic verson of this dream, it is still alive, says Case. Buying a house today costs less because of lower interest rates, the costs of a house are lower, and it provides a return in the form of rent that the owner doesn't have to pay for the home. Case has not factored in unemployment and job uncertainty, especially with the worsening economic outlook in 2011. This may still depress housing markets.

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Krauthammer says it has become a cliche for people to say "politics is broken" in the U.S. John Beers, head of the Standard & Poors sovereign ratings committtee, also cited a broken political system in his rationale for the U.S. credit downgrade to AA+. This happened even as S&P repeatedly emphasized the triple A rating for France during this weeks (early August 2011) tumult in the markets over French credit risks. But in reality when you look closely and have a sense about the serious changes being discussed, says Krauthammer, something exceptional has happened, and the system is working. For the U.S. Congress and the government to come to grips with an ever expanding debt -with 39 cents of every dollar spent being borrowed as Alan Simpson of the Simpson-Bowles Commission never tires of pointing out- when both branches of government have ignored or shunted off the question with a "deficits are ok" attitude for decades- is a significant achievement. When one looks closely contrary to what S&P's and other opinion says there is actually a political process that is working in the U.S. compared to the process in Europe. In difficult situations when strong opinions are bare knuckling it with each other this process can be boisterous, but it only suggests an effort to wrap ones hands around the problems in a serious way. This is actually one of the strengths of the U.S. system with its checks and balances and its spirited dialogue. In business management Intel's Andy Grove called it "constructive confrontation," and he described this as positive and essential for business institutions to survive and grow....

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China's domestic debt has surged to levels that precede a crisis, to 216% of GDP and heading for 271% by 2017 according to Fitch Ratings. As a result president Jinping has taken over control of economic policy and controlling debt, especially local government debt, is now a top priority for 2014. Jinping will head the "leading group" for overall top down reforms, reflecting the new urgency. Local government debt went up 67% from 10.7 trillion yuan to 17.9 trillion yuan ($2.95 trillion) in just 3 years from 2010 to 2013, according to the National Audit Office. About half of this debt is due by the end of 2014, according to Standard Chartered Bank economist Stephen Green. Another risk is that shadow banking with interest rates of 10% are now about 11% of new lending. The option adopted by the government to use central government funds and regulation to restrict lending could make local governments turn increasingly to the shadow bank lenders (trust companies, and informal lenders) making things worse. The other option of tackling it aggressively by letting some companies default has the risk of other lenders raising rates on loans and bonds. This makes solutions tricky and prone to problems of increasing severity. ...

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Krugman has some legitimate concerns. Noting that 600,000 jobs were lost in February, 2007, which would mean several million jobs lost, anywhere from 5 to 7 million jobs lost in 2009. In the face of this generating 3.5 million jobs by the end of 2010 as Obama plans to do, looks like not having done enough, and letting the worst effects of the downturn go on. And the lack of a plan to resolve the situation of failing banks, which are only drawing more of the government's capital, leaves continued weakness in credit markets and the economy that will hurt the unemployment picture through 2009. So in spite of all the rhetoric and good intentions, the lack of experience in dealing with a crisis of this magnitude, political deadlock, and an element of trial and error, learning and observing, as the President and his advisors deal with the evolving crisis, leaves the American economy exposed to many risks.

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The head of Italy's statistics agency Istat, Enrico Giovannini, says Italy's manufacturing sector has performed quite well, and the problem is with the services sector, in lagging sectors such as transport, communications, tourism, retail and social services. The manufacturing sector is only one sixth of the economy. He says productivity is poor and there is lack of investment in human capital and information technology for the services sector. IT's contribution to growth in Italy's labor productivity is the lowest in Europe, according to the European Investment Bank. Italy's total efficiency gains declined one half percentage point from 1995-2005. Retail and tourism sectors lack the needed productivity gains. This means actions taken by prime minister Monti to change labor laws and related changes will not be enough to generate confidence in the economy and economic growth. Giovannini says investment in human capital and productivity is badly needed, and shifting education and training to where there are new job opportunities....

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Friedman points to the need for workers to have a Curiosity Quotient or C.Q., and Passion Quotient or P.Q., in addition to Intelligence Quotient I.Q. to compete in a digital hyperconnected world. The ubiquitiousness of tech devices, instant access to information, learning and knowledge, for people in remote cities to smaller towns everywhere, reduces the span in which a particular knowledge subset is relevant. New developments take place faster creating continual obsolescence and need for constant learning and curiosity.

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An analyst survey by MacroMarkets shows home prices as measured by the S&P Case-Shiller national index will decline by 1.4% in 2010, then increase in 2011 by 1.3% and 2.7% in 2012. At this time weaker jobs data are making analysts cautious about a rebound in the housing market.