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Bernanke made a defense of the Fed's $600 billion monetary policy move in a Washington Post op-ed piece. He stated that the Fed's move had already led to a rise in the stock market, and this is how it would start "a virtuous circle" that would lead to a recovery of the US economy. Questions raised about the risk that this virtuous circle could go in reverse if gridlock shows no progress in Washington's political establishment.

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Other European nations and the U.S. will be watching Germany's opening of small shops and small retail business under 800 square metres of space on April 20, followed by other business on May 4, in a gradual partial reopening of the economic activity

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Ghosn of Renault-Nissan used to be a skeptic about electric cars. Now he is on board. Nissan plans to sell an electric car in the US and Japn by 2010. It will be only hundreds of vehicles at first so it will take more time to take it to mass market, but the goal is to go for mass market. By 2012 Nissan will plan for a lineup of electric vehicles, so it will extend beyond small cars to small minivans and small commercial vehicles and small crossovers. 100% electric cars also are described as zero emission vehicles. But Nissan won't be the only company doing this. Mercedes is moving "very fast" in the direction of emission free vehicles, see the the interview with Daimler's Zetsche. Mitsubishi Motors and Fuji Heavy Industries are testing versions of electric cars. And GM plans to introduce the Chevy Volt in 2010. Toyota plans to have a plug in hybrid about this time. Mercedes will be the first to bring a lithium oin battery in its S400 coming out later this year which will be a hybrid. It is the cooling of lithium ion batteries that has been a major hurdle to development of electric cars and Daimler's Zetsche says they have solved this problem, have 24 patents, and developed a cooling system that works inside the car. Nissan has an electric car project that it is working on with California based Project better Place to produce electric cars for the Israeli and Danish markets. Ghosn has grasped the idea that the market is signalling a major and irreversible change towards smaller emissions and regulators are way behind on this curve. He says that if one is to sensibly participate in the growth of emerging markets which Nissan is doing in North Africa and India and Eastern Europe then one has to think in terms of sustainability and lower emissions, as putting tens of millions of more cars on the road around the world can damage the environment. And the only way this can be done to meet the aspirations of people in emerging markets is to lower emissions and to set this as the overriding goal. One gets the same sense from the Germans, see Zetsche, Daimler....

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At the conclusion of the summit of the G-8 the Obama administration had to drag along other countries to get to the $12 billion goal for 3 years of food aid to the rural poor and farmers, which is well short of the $15 billion discussed a few days earlier at the summit. Of this $4 billion a year, the USA will provide $500 million a year. THe $15 billion is itself a floor for such assistance in prior years. says Gawain Kripke, policy director for Oxfam International, "at this point the money is not looking all that good." See the link to food aid for this summit in NYT, Baker and Dugger, July 9, 2009, where the Food and Agriculture Organization says 100 million more people will be pushed into hunger by the global economic crisis of 2008-2009.

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Workers ended a 3 month strike at Caterpillar's Joliet, Illinois plant, essentially giving in to reduced healthcare and pension benefits and wage freezes for older workers. Under the deal workers hired before May 2005 receive no hourly pay increase, workers hired after that date get a one time 3% pay increase with future pay increases decided by Caterpillar management. Hourly pay at the plant ranges from $13 to $28. About 25% of the older workers are eligible to retire. A $7.8 million fund to supplement incomes of laid off workers will now be used for retirement bonuses. Caterpillar persuaded workers to ratify the contract by increasing the bonus for ratifying to $3100 per worker from $1000. During the strike Caterpillar continued operations by using managers and temporary workers and using 100 workers who crossed picket lines.

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Ford's plans for expansion at its manufacturing location in Chongqing, China, in 2012, will make this its largest manufacturing base outside of Michigan. An investment of $600 million for plant expansion will increase production capacity in Chongqing to 770,000 in 2014, from 350,000 today. The project has received government approval. Ford plans to introduce 15 new models in China by 2015, including a redesigned Ford Focus, which the Chongqing plant began producing in 2012. Ford plans to double the number of dealers by 2015 from 400 today. Ford sold 519,000 vehicles in China for 2011, a 7% growth from 2010. The market saw astounding growth of 46% and 32% in 2009 and 2010, but is rapidly decelerating with only 2% growth in 2012. Total sales in China were 18 million vehicles in 2011, making it the largest automobile market in the world.

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A detailed look at the limits of the November 23, 2013 nuclear deal at Geneva negotiations with Iran. David Sanger of the NYT points out the limits of the deal and any future deal reached with Iran. Experts and negotiators of deals with North Korea point to the difficulties and the reversibility of such deals. Only a deal that takes the centrifuges and the nuclear fuel out of the country would be complete, say experts in Israel. In the period since 2009 when Obama took office Iran has increased the amount of low-enriched uranium to 9000 kilograms from 2000 and centrifuges from a few thousand to 18000, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, showing the difficulties of achieving such an agreement. The reactor at Arak is another pathway to nuclear weapons using plutonium. Any hidden facilities also present risks.

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So we need lobbyists and food producers and cola producers out of the schools. Here is an alarming fact- the current standards that govern whats served at all public and many private schools haven't been upsdated in 14 years. And the current standards don't even mention calories should be limited to 650-850 calories for lunch and 500-600 for breakfast. With the Institute of Medicine recommendations for more fruits and vegetables and healthy whole grain foods for school lunches comes cost its estimated that schools get $2.68 for the free lunches served to poor students, which cost $2.92 plus overhead and labor costs. The Obama administration is expected to add $1 billion but more is needed. Here s another place where money is needed at home that can be saved from expanding the war in South Asia-

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This NYT editorial points to the dangers lurking behid the jobless numbers. The House bill that passed recently for $154 billion to extend unemployment benefits- set to expire in Feb 2010- to June 2010, and increases aid to local and state governments. It also includes infrastructure spending and help for small business. But it does not do enough for young people whose joblesness is at all time high. For instance only 4 in 100 low income black students found work in Fall 2009 This according to a study by the Northeastern University Center for Labor Market Studies. According to the analysis done by this Center the employment rates among teenagers has risen four times faster than the rate among adults since 2000, and todayme over 65 are more likely to find jobs than youth of 16-19 years.

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How 13% unemployment is affecting Lawrence, Massachusetts, with a heavy Latino population, heavier concentration of foreclosures and poorly managed finances, and high rate of unemployment that affects those with high school diplomas, and younger people. Unemployment nationwide is 7.3% among whites and 10.9% among Latinos. And places like Lawrence have a young and undereducated population, with the unemployment rate for teenagers at 21.6% and for those without a highschool diploma at 12.6%. Surprising as it may sound the town was going through a revival before this happened suddenly without warning. It was a fading industrial city 25 miles northwest of Boston. A new $110 million high school, three new grade schools, and a renovated city hall. And a developer refurbished several abandoned mills along the Merricmack River, and leased out 1.4 million square feet to some 200 companies employing 2000 workers.

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The Public-Private Investment Program of the U.S. Treasury Department has not had a good start. With most banks passing the U.S.government's stress tests and raising $50 billion in the markets, PPIP which was intended to to help resolve the situation of all the toxic securites siting on the bank's books, has gone the way of all the prior efforts to solve this problem. Simply postponed this time hoping that the housing market recovers. With the Rogoff-Reinhardt study showing that it takes about 6 years or longer before housing recovers from such aserious crisis as this one, it would be 2012, before one sees an improvement. See the link to the Business Week analysis that shows housing markets in the USA having some aspect of normalcy in 2012. Yet even this analysis is using an optimistic scenario, because it assumes Moodys Economy.com estimates of economic growth for GDP of 4-5% in 2011- 2012. This assumes the consumer debt that has reached over 100% of GDP will be reversed quickly in 2010, and the the factory capacity utilization currently at 68% and expected to drop further in 2009- with more automobile manufacturing capacity remaining to be scrapped -will recover quickly in 2010-2011. This is unrealistic considering the combination of factors at work. Here Devin Leonard talks to PIMCO chief Bill Gross, who with Warren Buffett and PIMCO CEO Mohammed El-Erian, are key proponents of the PPIP program. Both El-Erian and Warren Buffett say they conceived independently of such a program, in which toxic securties are taken off bank's books with government help. As PIMCO is one of the largest traders of mortgage bonds in the country and has years of successful experience in dealing with mortgage bonds, the New York Fed under Geithner turned to PIMCO for advice in 2008. By this time PIMCO was under ownership of Allianz, a German insurer, which bought PIMCO for $3.3 billion in 2000, with $233 million and a $40 million retention bonus going to Bill Gross. Bill Gross describes how the program would function. PIMCO puts up $500 million, and Treasury matches this with $500 million. Analysts estimate that this partnership would be able to attract as much as $ 4 billion in low interest financing from Treasury and the Fed. Gross says that some of these securities pay as much as 14% interest, and even with a 70% default rate, this partnership could make $250 million a year on the $5 billion partnership, or a 5% return, with PIMCO making a 25% return on its original investment. This isn't exactly pro bono work as Buffett had originally suggested to Bill Gross in the midst of the crisis. But a more fundamental concern is that no one really knows exactly how much of toxic securties the banks have on their books, even though estimates have been made. If this is closer to $1 trillion, PIMCO's expertise and efforts will simply fall short of dealing with a problem of this size, and the window dressing of a problem of this magnitude could only hurt efforts for the eventual resolution of this problem. If housing does not recover as is expected till 2012 at the earliest, and the economy continues to deteriorate in unemployment and factory utilization, then the toxic securities on the bank's balance sheets may pose a bigger problem that will require serious action....

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PC's sales and broadband connections havent taken off the way mobiles have in India. Its not clear whay. Its too early to tell , its possible the sales are just beginning to pick up and sales growth is already faster than China's on a smaller base. Rajesh Jain and Prof Jhunjhunwala at the IIT Chennai have come up with a device the netPC which uses a new computing concept which wil use dowloadable software over internet connections. It will cost 2000 rupees and a monthly fee of Rs 400. A monitor is Rs 3000 extra. This device will use wireline connections and is supported by MTNL a stateowned operator of fixed lines.

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For the period 2000-2014, per capital bottled water consumption doubled in the U.S. from 16.74 gallons to 34.02 gallons, while at the same time soda sales with high content of sugar or sweeteners declined from 53.17 gallons to 39.92 gallons, according to Beverage Marketing. With 7% volume growth in 2014 the bottled water volume is expected to overtake soda by 2017. Coke and Pepsi have also moved into this market and combined have about 20% of the market with Coke's Dasani brand, and Pepsi's Aquafina brand.

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Denmark's efforts backfire on Greenland. EU leaders have failed to separate Denmark's actions as a former colonial power in which it acquired Greenland in the Treaty of Kiel 1813 with Sweden and England during the Napoleonic Wars. And EU leaders have bought into Danish views designed to maintain control of Greenland that talk of the tribal population of about 50,000 over an island the size of Canada- smaller than would fit into a baseball stadium- that is largely unpopulated because of the sheet of ice all year round in the Arctic region. Much of the North of Greenland was first explored by the US Navy under Admiral Perry in the 1890's. Denmark has done little to develop the island or improve lives for the native Inuit. Secretary of State Seward wanted Greenland during the Alaska Purchase 1867 and it was sought by the US in 1900's, again in 1947 for $100 million by US president Harry Truman. It is "unwise" as Secretary Bessent has said for EU leaders to accept the canard that this is somehow just DJT's idea, and ignore it is essential for US security, it is part of the Western Hemisphere to which the Monroe Doctrine applies, and climate change melting ice has made it critical for US policy to address this gap in US security for the eastern seaboard of the US. For Denmark it is as the US commmanders in chief stated in 1947- "completely useless." ...

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Strong spending on services, on items like travel and leisure spending is helping the economy avoid a recession in 2023. About $500 billion in excess savings from the pandemic period that Americans have to spend, according to a report from the San Francisco  Federal Reserve Bank, is keeping spending strong in mid 2023. The strong demand for travel also enables airlines and hotels to raise fares and rates.

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DW.com looks at the challenges India faces in meeting its target of generating 500 gigawatts from renewable energy by 2030. Meeting Glasgow COP26 conference targets requires India to increase installation of solar energy at three times the rate in the past, as well as make massive investments in storage and grid infrastructure, says one expert. Right now India is on track to meet target of 175 gigawatts for 2022-2023.

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This report in The Guardian shows the growing mental health issues in China with about 400 million people in lockdown. The pandemic, aging of society, children leaving older parents for big cities, loneliness and isolation for older people, and rapid changes in society as China industrialized, are resulting in growing mental health issues for the people. There is an acute shortage of mental health professionals to deal with the crisis.

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Following an Indian proposal 2023 has been declared as the 'International Year of Millets.' Millet will be an integral part of G-20 meetings in India. There are about 6000 varieties of Millets cereal crops with varying colors and textures around the world. They are more nutritious than rice or wheat. For farmers it requires less water as millets do well on dry land, and require less fertilizer or pesticide.

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The restoration of the famous stained glass windows of Notre Dame Cathedral remains a challenge, says this report in FR24. Scientists are working on the 2000 stained glass panels of windows in a lab in the stables of a chateau, east of Paris. They were brought there after the fire two years ago. Some of them go back to the 13th century and remind us of how timeless our surroundings are.

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Heavy rains in western Germany, a weather pattern that has not been seen for 500 years, with storms making streams and rivers surge rapidly, are described here in the NYT. The speed of this flooding left residents in complete shock, with villages inundated in minutes. Weather patterns are becoming more unpredictable around the world. This is seen as one of the effects of climate change from overburdening industrial use in planet earth.

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The entire administrative setup in India through 700 district collectors will participate in the Good Governance campaign in India. Every district collector will present one good governance practice and one successfully addressed public grievance on www.pgportal.gov.in/ggw. All administrative heads at the chief secretary level are involved, including central ministries and departments, state governments, departments of personnel and training, in an effort to create a new culture of good governance practice in India.

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Taiwan computer and iphone maker Foxconn is setting up a new EV business with $600 million investment. GM, Toyota, Stellantis and other auto companies are making their own EV's and accumulating expertise in the manufacture of EV vehicles which have fewer parts and use software. Foxconn has operated as a supplier to Apple. It hopes to become a supplier of EV's with initial progress in Asian countries. 

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DJT First 100 Days. The Promises Kept and some of the hurdles along the way- on transgender, stopping flow of migrants and the border, getting a level playing field by reshaping world trade, attracting investment in manufacturing and making America a manufacturing nation. All this from Day One as there was no time to lose because of midterms being only 24 months away and Year One being the target for delivery.

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On one hand Chinese environmental officials are aware of the pollution problems in Beijing and Shanghai and other cities. Levels of nitrogen dioxide in Beijing exceed the WHO clean air guidelines by 78%. On the other hand the newly emerging middle class is seeking car ownership, and the local government officials need growth in the car industry to show good GNP and GDP growth numbers on which their performance is judged. Beijing and Shanghai and Anhui province local governments are part owners of some auto companies. About 416,000 people are employed in the Shanghai area auto industry alone and the auto industry in Shanghai pays about 900 millon dollars in taxes, according to government figures. At seven cars per 1000 population car sales are just beginning to take off. And with China's population its clearly not going to be possible to have the same level of ownership as in the US. The same is true for India. This would increase by many times the current demand for crude oil and increase emissions to the point of creating a disaster. And even today because of lax enforcement, and older models on the road, about 40% of vehicles in Beijing have no pollution controls and the other 60% have varying degrees of pollution controls. Experts say changes to the subsidized oil price policy, refineries that produce cleaner gasoline, policies to build more mass transit which has lagged behind in China as car sales took off (and probably more GNP impact from car plants than mass transit which act as inducement for local officials), and stricter fuel efficiency and auto emissions standards are needed....