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Ownership of stocks is more evenly spread out in the US population by 2023. During the pandemic younger people invested in stocks. WSJ graph of percentile of income and stock ownership shows  20-40th percentile of income households moving from 30% of households owning stocks to 40%, and 40-50th percentile of income households moving from 50% of households owning stocks to 60%. This means people in the middle incomes have built more household wealth  sharing in US stock gains of 16% in 2020, 27% in 2021, dropped 19% in 2022 and gained 24% in 2023. Recovery from the effects of free market policy experiments after Reagan that led to the 2009 financial crisis and shipping of factories overseas were met with a reverse response bringing factories home under Trump and Biden. Wage gains happened under Biden 2020-2024, and a Biden $1 trillion dollar infrastructure renovation adds to jobs and demand. Wealth in homes for US households increased on average from a low of 225,000 6 years after the financial crisis of 2009 to about $325,000 by 2022. This is part of a general recovery for the American people after the shocks of free market experiments with inadequate regulation and oversight by the government, and the neglect of manufacturing and communities dependent on manufacturing for employment and income with its uplifting of services sector that comes with it, the taxes that pay for public services also enhances community wellbeing through libraries, wellbeing, transport and other public services. ...

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Indian PM's address to the Rajya Sabha (upper house of parliament) in February 2024. The prime minister covers the changes that have happened in the last decade to lift 250 million out of poverty and the plans for the future for Vikshit Bharat, Developed India. He covers the long period after 1947 when after over 60 years the economy had stalled by 2014. India was not able to break free from underdevelopment and lacked the investment effort the country desperately needed. He gives the example of public sector corporations that were left to languish as loss making enterprises. Projects were not completed on time and suffered from mismanagement and leakages.The PM says in that period if one rupee left the nation's treasury in New Delhi only a small fraction reached the needy because of leakages in the system. British laws were left on the books and the nation suffered from a colonial period mindset about what India could or could not achieve. The Indian Budget was put out at 5pm last day of February till 1999 because this was the time the British budget was put out. The PM says India was barely able to reach No. 11 in the size of its economy in that period. In a decade the economy is now No.5 today, and plans to be the third largest by 2030, transformed into a modern economy for 1.4 billion people.  ...

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S. Gurumurthy of the Hindu points out the dangers of economic growth without job creation in a country like India. He points out that demonetization- removal of high denomination currency notes- came at a critical time when the economic growth was not creating enough jobs. He points to the five year period till 2010 as having created 2.7 million jobs with 8.5% growth. Even though with lower growth of 5.4% in the period 1999-2004 the job growth was for 60 million jobs created. Had demonetization not happened he says, the economy could have seen the problems the U.S. faced in 2008 with a bubble developing in the real estate market. The fundamental shift of the economy to digitization of payments, increase in tax receipts brings more of the informal economy- with a size of 50% of the economy generating 128 million jobs ten times the formal sector - into the formal economy. A step that is key for India to see rapid growth in the decade ahead. The slackening of the economy for a year is part of  a needed long term plan, says Prof. Gurumurthy, visiting IIT faculty in Bombay, just as liberalization was in the 1990's.  Some errors were made in implementation and flow of credit to the informal economy, including by the RBI, yet the fundamental shift through demonetization served a good purpose. Gurumurthy says, sadly this is missing in the current politicized debate.  ...

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Labour will introduce 40 bills in parliament to make changes in renewable energy, the environment, transport railways, and for cost of living action. Great Britain Railways and Great Britain Energy are two public companies to be set up to reach goals in public transport modernization and in getting a five fold increase in solar needed to meet 68% cut in emissions by 2030 (Paris Accords commitment). Great Britain Energy will be capitalized with 8.3 billon pounds. (Labour scaled down its 28 billion pounds Green Energy Plan because of Tory mismanagement of finances but will continue to invest in vital projects). The answer is to take a creative approach. More money will be released through the Crown estate bill that will have the crown estate use its auctions of offshore land for wind energy and make investments in green energy. National Wealth Fund will invest in low carbon projects.  Fro water Labour will hold the water bosses to account and put companies such as Thames Water in special measures. Renationalisation was considered but was considered costly at this time, other action is being taken.  Nine bills are part of the 40– the planning and infrastructure bill; the better buses bill; the three rail bills, which are the passenger railway services (public ownership) bill, rail reform bill and high speed rail (Crewe to Manchester) bill; the Great British Energy bill and crown estate bill; the sustainable aviation fuels bill; and the water (special measures bill) – that all focus on protecting the environment. ...

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  Newly elected US president says he wants to end the Ukraine war and save lives- 300,000 dead, twice that number wounded. The Wall Street Journal conducts this important interview with Retired Brigadier General Kimmett on Ukraine. He says- the Ukrainian goal of restoring sovereignty over eastern Ukraine is unrealistic. Did European Union and American leaders making a principle of sovereignty of borders, and then applying it over the Donetsk Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine which share Russian culture and language, make an error.  About 4/5th of Ukraine is away from the battlefield frontlines and not involved in the war. Ukrainians in younger ages 18-29 are needed to rebuild Ukraine and same to rebuild Russia after the war with serious losses on all sides. Europe does not have the excess capacity, the industrial capacity and capabilities to supply arms and other materials to Ukraine. The newly elected US president says he wants to end the war and his goal is to save lives- about 300,000 dead and twice that number wounded. He also wants to save US strained resources with DJT saying every visit of Ukraine leader costs US $60 billion. Ukraine can hold intact its positions through 2025. But the point of prolonging the war is the issue when the goal of restoring sovereignty over eastern Ukraine and Crimea is unrealistic, and won't happen. ...

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Extreme drought affected Minnesota cattle farmers leading to elimination of many cattle herds.               Wildfire smoke from Canada settled down over the cities of St Paul and Minneapolis for days.                 Lack of enough snow and ice in winter led to losses in ice fishing and cross country skiing making winters unnatural in Great Lakes Region that also includes Wisconsin and Michigan. Walz acted, and his plain spoken communication style made a difference clearing misperceptions. Pew Research shows 67% of Americans favor clean energy but misperceptions abound.          Minnesota during his two terms now produces 50% of its energy from wind, solar and nuclear. Minnesota is now likely to be ahead of California in getting to 100% wind solar and nuclear for all its energy. Walz set the date 2040 into law for this to happen with 40 climate initiatives. A bill signed into law speeds up the permits for renewable energy projects. Walz’s communication style shows that when people understand the benefits and specifics you get things done. “The surest way to get people to buy in is to create a job that pays well in their community. All of us are going to have to be better about our smart politics, about bringing people in.”        ...

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Figures from Kiel Institute for World Economy show that European Union aid to Ukraine is nearly double that of the US- $187 billion for EU to $98 billion for US aid. The American Enterprise Institute conservative think tank also confirms EU aid is significantly higher. Trump said US was $250 billion to European Union $100 billion- completely the reverse of the facts. This is one aspect of the debate with Harris that was not fact checked to reach the 67 million watching immediately similar to the FBI correction on crime rates by David Muir.   "Look, we’re in for $250 billion or more because they don’t ask Europe, which is a much bigger beneficiary to getting this thing done than we are. They’re in for $150 billion less because Biden and you don’t have the courage to ask Europe like I did with NATO. They paid billions and billions, hundreds of billions of dollars when I said either you pay up or we’re not going to protect you anymore. So that may be one of the reasons they don’t like me as much as they like weak people. But you take a look at what’s happening. We’re in for $250 to $275 billion. They’re into $100 to $150. They should be forced to equalize.”   ...

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Lane Florsheim's interview with Melinda Gates.  Melinda Gates is reinventing herself at age 60 years. Born in the 1960's  and as part of the Gates foundation she now faces both the opportunity and the challenges ahead of her new effort with The Pivotal foundation, which replaces the effort she made at Gates, the launch of a new book to share her experiences with panic attacks and coming to terms with her own inner voice that said start over.  Here she describes her life in Seattle that starts with a cup of coffee at 6.30, and a chance for reflection in the early mornig hours. She goes out for a walk by 7.00 with three trusted friends she has gone out for walks for 20 years. Melinda describes her new life with her love of kayaking and her chance to do this without being recognized in Seattle. Her three children and her grandchildren live in the East coast. She likes poetry and instead of the frequent travel abroad in her first life, in this second life she can devote time to her passion for making life easier and better for women. She describes meeting women in Louisiana and other states and seeking solutions for better women's health and mental health. She has an objective view of the times, and faith in American democracy, and her new role in the discussions as her own self as a woman. ...

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Tsai Ing-Wen is elected president of Taiwan by a landslide in the Jan. 2016 election. Tsai, leader of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) was elected with 56 percent of the vote, compared to 31 percent for the Koumintang candidate Eric Chu. The DPP won 68 seats out of 113 in Taiwan's parliament. Tsai told a news conference about Taiwan- China relations - "I also want to emphasize that both sides have a responsibility to find mutually acceptable means of interaction that are based on dignity and reciprocity."

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According to a 2011 study from the University of Michigan, less than one third of 16 year old teenagers in the U.S. had a drivers license in 2008. This is a sharp decline from about half in 1983. For 18 year old teenagers about 80% had a drivers license in 1983, only about 66% have a license today. Many of today's teenagers live at home and are moving to large cities where they prefer to use mass transit. Economic difficulties are also larger in today's environment.

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This Journal editorial points to the low labor participation rate of 63.2% in the U.S. as indication of the high unemployment in September 2013. About 90.6 million men and women over the age of 16 are not working, compared to total employment of 144.3 million, based on Labor Department statistics. Factors contributing to this are the six million baby boomers turning 65 since 2008, more young people staying in school in a poor job market, easier access to government support benefits such as unemployment insurance, disability.

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Aaron Back says Sony is paying serious attention to the profitability of its Playstation business. He cites IHS estimates of Playstation 4 costing $381 to make and the retail price set for $399, in contrast to the Playstation 3 which cost Sony $100 more to make than the retail price. Sony's Playstation business is expected to post operating loss of 27 billion yen in the fiscal year ending March 2014, with profits of 37 billion yen the following year, and 65 billion in the year following that.

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Simon Nixon of WSJ says even if the government took the estimated $120 billion in losses estimated by Goldman for the UK banking system. it would change public sector debt to GDP ratio for the UK from 60% to 73%, which is still better compared to other countries and does not trigger a credit downgrading. The UK has received a huge monetary stimulus and the lower value of the pound helps exports, so the situation is a mess but far from being a disaster.

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Unbranded drug advertising is becoming popular as it takes advantage of a loophole in the FDA rules, that if an ad doesn't directly name the drug, it doesn't have to include areading of the possible side effects. Pfizer used this method in an ad for antismoking drug Chantix during NBC's coverage of the Beijing Olympics. The 60 second commercial instead of naming the drug says go to site Mytimetoqyit.com to find ways to kick ahabit a woman is shown to have on the tV screen.

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Under the Volcker Rule setup during the global financial crisis of 2008-2009, banks total investments in private equity, hedge funds and similar higher risk funds cannot exceed 3% of high quality capital. During the financial crisis investment banks were highly leveraged leading to the collapse of Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers, and the precarious financial condition of other banks. Goldman has pared down about 60% of such investments. Remaining are $4.8 billion in private equity investments, $1.2 billion in real estate, and about $1.1 billion in both credit and hedge funds. Regulators have given the bank till July 2017 to comply. As banks recovered from the impact of the crisis, the tearing of the social fabric that happened with high unemployment in some groups especially older white men, has remained six years after the crisis- as evident in the U.S. election campaigns this year. As a result the mood has shifted for tighter regulation and both party platforms, Republican and Democratic, now call for reinstatement of the Glass Steagall Act, which separated commercial banking from investment banking as part of the lessons learned from the Great Depression. Volcker, was chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve during the Carter administration, known for taking a tough line against inflation. He was the principal driver of the move to restrict banks from risky activity, and faced considerable opposition from banks during the 2009-2013 period when the rule was being formulated.  ...

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Pakistan has moved ahead in developing its nuclear arsenal. The production of uranium and plutonium for bombs and developing new weapons to deliver them has actually been accelerated during the recent period of unrest in Pakistan. Four years ago Pakistan had an estimated 30 to 60 weapons. Hans Kristensen, is the director of the nuclear information project at the Federation of American Scientists and author of the annual global nuclear weapons inventory published by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Kristensen says it is not unreasonable to say that Pakistan has produced at least 100 weapons. Simon Gregory, Director of the Pakistan Security Research Unit at Britain's University of Bradford, puts the number at between 100 and 110. India is estimated to have 60 to 100 nuclear weapons. A 2008 agreement that lets India purchase nuclear fuel for civilian purposes was a motivation for accelerating nuclear weapons development in Pakistan. In December 2008, Peter Lavoie, the US intelligence officer for South Asia, told NATO officials that despite impending economic catastrophe, Pakistan is producing nuclear weapons at a faster rate than any other country in the world," according to classified State Department cables released late last year by the Intenet site WikiLeaks. This leak angered the Pakistan army chief Gen. Kayani who said "the real aim of US war strategy is to denuclearize Pakistan."...

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According to a report from the Southern Education Foundation about 51% of the students from pre-Kindergarden to 12th grade in the U.S. were eligible for the federal program of free and reduced price lunches, using an analysis of 2013 federal data. With the highest proportion of students in poverty concentrated in states in the southern and western U.S.. States all across the south, including Texas, show high concentrations approaching 60-70%, and states in the west such as California show about 50-60%. Midwestern states such as Illinois and Michigan show rates over 50%. The implications of this data are that these children from poor and sometimes chaotic backgrounds trail other children in educational development, are less likely to have educationally enriching activity, and more susceptible to dropping out or never attending college. Kent McGuire, president of the Southern Education Foundation says the map showing this is striking. He points to the disinclination to invest in young people today, compared to the focus on leadership in areas of creating opportunity and upward mobility in the decades of the 50's through the 80's. Michael Rebell of Teachers College at Columbia University, says reaching this point where a majority of public school children are from poor backgrounds has happened sooner, and the trend has accelerated over time. ...

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This account in the WSJ shows how Masayoshi Son is making huge bets with money from Saudi, UAE borrowed at 7% interest, and his own and partners money. The first Vision Fund  which raised $100 billion was invested quickly over 2 years in startups in the U.S. with an uncertain future and the WSJ says it is unusual that a fund would pile up debt to invest in companies that are unproven and which cost the Fund billions of dollars a year in interest payments. Many of the people hired are not from venture capital and have backgrounds in speculative Wall Street deals, including Deutsche Bank, according to the WSJ. Critics say money invested in every pet walking or hotel renting website is not going to make healthy returns. Creditor are being paid back with money they lent, with interest at about $2 billion this year, according to this report.  Beyond the question of returns there is the larger question of how capital markets are malfunctioning today. Money badly needed for infrastructure and keeping up with technological developments such as 5G and new technologies, for research and development, and for vital public services in health and education to build strong societies, being diverted to highly speculative deals and dealmaking. ...

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A Flash Eurobarometer poll before French elections in 2017 show 56% of Europeans in the EU saying the euro is a good thing, only 36% saying its not, those saying its good at 64% in Germany, and being 57% in Spain, and 53% in France. Walker of the WSJ says the euro has survived the crises of the last few years, with some but not all the steps taken to avoid a repeat of the problems, and public opinion still favoring the eurozone as it looks forward to economic growth in coming years. The middle class is not attracted to risking its savings in euro denominated assets, costs of the turmoil that might be caused by leaving the euro act as a signal for caution, and in Southern Europe countries remember the days before the euro with devaluations and high inflation. With gradual economic recovery it appears that the euro is still the best option there is. Surveys show three fourths of the French oppose leaving the euro, and experts say the euro is not to blame for France's slow economic recovery- more confidence and political stability with economic renewal are seen as the ways to get France going again. This may be why the national elections in France will likely bring a president who is pro-EU. ...

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This article by Horowitz in the NYT shows some of the criticism leveled against the Clintons and how they were out of touch with the white working class voters who have drifted to Mr. Trump.  It may be overdone in that not all white working class voters have drifted to Trump, and a Gallup survey has shown Trump supporters to be some white working class but also many from other groups in society, and many older less educated voters.  Trade Unions have played a large role in this election, and workers in manufacturing have voted Democratic in midwestern states such as Wisconsin, Michigan and Illinois. Horowitz also ignores some points in this campaign such as when Bill Clinton was adept at openly stating that he agreed with people who said Obamacare had increased premiums, and that some of the Obamacare program needed to be fixed. This took some of the criticism of Republicans on Obamacare and turned this around. He also showed a better understanding at times of the plight of working class people just from his habit of listening and thinking about how this affects ordinary people, a skill he has even to this day. A 2014 NBC/WSJ poll showed Bill Clinton with a 56 percent favorability rating, which is higher than president Obama, and exceeded only by Michelle Obama at 64 percent. ...

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The campaign rhetoric for renegotiating NAFTA and building a wall at the border has had a sharply negative effect on growth in Mexico. Growth slowed in 2016 and is expected to be close to zero in 2017 with declining foreign investment in the economy. The uncertainty is leading to sharp decline in foreign direct investment of 24% in the first 9 months of 2016, according to the Bank of Mexico. Further declines can be expected in 2017. The decline in the value of the peso of 16% since May 2016 has led to 6 interest rate increases in the past year. Inflation on annual basis was at 4.72% in Jan. 2017 and is rising. As Mexico depends on exports for one third of its output growth, and 80% is sent to the U.S., there is a need to diversify with trade agreements made with the European Union and other countries. Mexicans now question the value of NAFTA trade agreement as average growth of 2.6 since NAFTA was signed is below the 4.6% in the 2 decades prior to that. And poverty level is the same with about 60% of people in the underground economy. In addition crime, drug trade, a weak education system, weak rule of law, political corruption, show that Mexico has not made the progress since NAFTA that it should have made. ...

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The decline of Catholicism in Brazil from about 90% of Brazilians practicing Catholicism to 60%. The rise of a new evangelical type of Catholicism in northern Brazil, compared to the more conservative Catholicism practiced in the urban areas of south eastern Brazil. The Vatican's reluctance to embrace the new evangelical Catholicism.

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Polls show 83% of the German public support increasing the minimum wage to 8.50 euros an hour. About two thirds of the public support increasing income taxes on high wage earners. The Social Democrats talks with the CDU to form a coalition are likely to lead to CDU accepance of the condition for a minimum wage of 8.50 euros an hour, but not to the condition for raising the taxes on high income earners. The SPD sees the higher taxes as a way to pay for new infrastructure. A survey done for TV broadcaster ZDF shows 61% of Germans favoring a SPD-CDU coalition. In the 2013 elections the SPD gained 25.7% of the vote and the CDU-CSU gained 41.5%. The SPD is pushing for flexible retirement age, equal pay for men and women, a tighter financial regulation, and a growth and employment strategy in the EU.