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The cost to Bank of America of the $2.5 billion acquisition of Angelo Mozilo's Countrywide is estimated at $40 billion in 2012
12/27/2011
In many ways the business practices at Countrywide were at the heart of the mortgage and real estate crisis of 2008. The cost of this for Bank of America is estimated at $40 billion.
Linked Articles
BofA's Blunder: $40 Billion-Plus
Wall Street Journal 06/29/2012
OverheardWall Street Journal 12/27/2011
Tax increases on the wealthy in Japan by the Shinzo Abe government to promote a sense of fairness in tax policies
12/27/2011
Linked Articles
Tokyo Set to Raise Levy on Wealthiest
Wall Street Journal 01/11/2013
Tokyo's Move to Raise Tax Hits SnagWall Street Journal 12/27/2011
China's Stimulus plans in 2012-2013 and the increasing risks of breaking by taking the unsustainable existing economic model even further
12/18/2011
Linked Articles
China’s stimulus policy means trouble down the road - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/31/2012
Will China Break?New York Times 12/18/2011
Convergence of ideas on deficit reduction around Simpson-Bowles and limiting tax expenditures and deductions
11/17/2011
Limiting tax deductions, loopholes to say $35,000 for high income earners goes further than earlier proposals from Obama advisors to limit tax deductions to 28% in distributing the tax burden more equitably. Obama advisor, Christina Romer, and Romney advisor Feldstein, support limiting tax deductions in this way to help reduce the deficit, creating the basis for an agreement between Republicans and Democrats.
Linked Articles
Budget Showdown Offers an Opportunity for Progress
New York Times 11/10/2012
GOP supercommittee members’ tax plan gives party an identity crisis - The Washington PostWashington Post 11/17/2011
The Romney plan for job creation in the U.S. through private investment in a climate of reduced uncertainty
09/06/2011
A new Romney administration would create 2.3 million jobs in 18 months according to Romney economc advisor Glenn Hubbard.
Linked Articles
Glenn Hubbard: The Romney Plan for Economic Recovery
Wall Street Journal 08/01/2012
Not More of the SameNew York Times 09/06/2011
Alan Meltzer and Thomas Hoenig's criticism of Federal Reserve Bank chairman Bernake's failure to look at long term consequences of low rates
08/11/2011
Hoenig points to the Fed's lowered rates in 2003 after the burst of the dot com bubble and higher unemployment of 6.5% in 2003 and Meltzer which led to the mortgage meltdown of 2008. Meltzer points to QE II's $600 billion monetary easing in 2010 which failed to revive the economy or reduce unemployment in 2011. They emphasize the Fed's lack of attention to the long term consequences of their actions. Both question the role of the Fed in creating jobs and see the role of the Fed as a neutral player, as deeper structural changes such as ashift to export driven economy, lower consumption take time and are only delayed by a continuation of old policies.
Linked Articles
Kansas City Fed President Defies Conventional Wisdom
New York Times 08/13/2011
The Folly of Economic Short-TermismWall Street Journal 08/11/2011
Ford Motor Company's push to meet new fuel efficiency standards on the F-150 for 2014
07/27/2011
Ford plans to cut body weight on the F-150 pickup truck by 700 pounds, 15% of the body weight, by switching to aluminium from steel. This will enable a 25% increase in fuel efficiency.
Linked Articles
Ford's Trade-In: Truck to Use Aluminum in Place of Steel
Wall Street Journal 07/27/2012
Five Car Makers Back White House's Tougher Fuel Economy RulesWall Street Journal 07/27/2011
Antonis Samaras and the political opposition to harsh austerity measures in Greece- 2011-2012
07/02/2011
Antonis Samaras of the New Democracy Party opposes tax increases that will further reduce any prospects for economic growth in Greece. As opinion polls show his party passing the socialist party of prime minister Papandreou in popularity in July 2012, any future E.U. agreement for Greece will have to be negotiated with Samaras. The E.U.'s June 2011 plan for Greece faces strong criticism.
Linked Articles
Greek Opposition Slams Tax Rises
Wall Street Journal 07/05/2011
Greece and the euro: The abuses of austerityEconomist 07/02/2011
The Wall Street Journal calls the June 2011 E.U. plan for Greece "the French deception," and the Economist says it is doomed to failure
06/30/2011
Doubling the interest rate on loans owed by Greece to French and German banks is called "the French deception" by the Journal . The Economist sees the sharp spending cuts and tax increases having enough detrimental impact on economic growth to make the debt load larger than before.
Linked Articles
Greece and the euro: The abuses of austerity
Economist 07/02/2011
The French DeceptionWall Street Journal 06/30/2011
The lack of any meaningful help to prevent foreclosures for homeowners who are unemployed.
06/04/2011
The adverse effects on housing, on banks holding second mortgages, and on the economic recovery in the U.S., of the lack of a plan and little effort by the Obama administration to help the unemployed facing foreclosure. Most of the programs to prevent foreclosure were designed at the time of the bailouts for subprime lending situations. Prof. Davis at the University of Wisconsin call it outrageous that less than $2 billion of the $45 billion allocated to help homeowners at the time of the bailouts had been spent by Treaury Department as of May 2011.
Linked Articles
Unemployment Strains Foreclosure Aid
New York Times 06/04/2011
Second-Mortgage MiseryWall Street Journal 06/07/2011
Pfizer's focus on its core pharmaceutical business in 2011-2015
05/02/2011
Rockoff's interview with Pfizer CEO, Ian Read, in which Read describes his strategy of focussing on new drug development and locating closer to hubs with large universities and research centers such as La Jolla, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and Cambridge, England. Pfizer sold its infant nutrition business to Nestle as part of this plan.
Linked Articles
Pfizer Profit Declines 19% After Loss of Lipitor Patent
New York Times 05/01/2012
Life Beyond Lipitor for Pfizer ChiefWall Street Journal 05/02/2011
The real estate bubble in Canada in 2012-2013
03/29/2011
Linked Articles
Canada Tightens Mortgage-Financing Rules
Wall Street Journal 06/22/2012
Housing Booms North of the BorderWall Street Journal 03/29/2011
Madeleine Albright, Condoleeza Rice and Hillary Clinton- Early warnings and the failure of the Obama administration to respond in Egypt
02/01/2011
Condy Rice and Madeleine Albright raised red flags about the situation in Egypt- Rice in 2005, and Albright as part of the Egypt Working Group in 2010 when Mubarak conducted another fradulent election. Hillary Clinton and president Obama acted as if taken by surprise and were hesitant in their response.
Linked Articles
U.S. Had Year of Warnings Over Egypt
Wall Street Journal 02/16/2011
Michael Gerson - Arabs' urge for self-government shouldn't be a surpriseWashington Post 02/01/2011
The passage of the unpopular sales tax hike and political uncertainty in Japan
12/27/2011
Critics say the Democratic Party of Japan should have invested efforts in its election promises to cut wasteful spending. Polls show a majority of Japanese oppose the doubling of the sales tax to 10%.
Linked Articles
Vote Ensures Japan Will Double Sales Tax to 10%
Wall Street Journal 06/27/2012
Tokyo's Move to Raise Tax Hits SnagWall Street Journal 12/27/2011
Honda's struggle to recover after the tsunami in Japan with lower margins
12/21/2011
Honda is seeing lower margins as it struggles to recover in the U.S. and other markets. Honda had to use more incentives than Toyota in the U.S. market leading to deteriorating profit margins in 2012. Sales of newer models failed to catch on making Honda dependent on the Civic and the Accord in the U.S. market. The appreciating yen added to the impact on margins with a further shift to manufacturing overseas planned as a response.
Linked Articles
Honda Pins Revival on U.S. Auto Sales
Wall Street Journal 06/01/2012
Honda Revs Up Outside JapanWall Street Journal 12/21/2011
Tax evasion in Italy and Greece and Germany's insistence on good governance and financial practices for a sound euro currency
11/25/2011
One estimate of tax evasion in Italy cited by Faiola in the Post is $340 billon a year. Greece has a similiar problem. This is one area in which the culture and practices of individual countries have to converge to acceptable norms to make a common currrency viable, something the founders of the euro currency did not take as seriously as needed and account for in a disciplined framework. The political enthusiasm for a union of European countries of EU founders led to ignoring the dangers of not having controls and convergence in place.
Linked Articles
New York Times 12/01/2011
Amid crisis, Italy confronts a culture of tax evasion - The Washington PostWashington Post 11/25/2011
China's move forward with nuclear energy after the Fukushima nuclear accident
10/10/2011
A move away from coal used for electricity supplies towards nuclear energy. The increase planned is from 11 gigawatts of nuclear energy in 2012 to 40 gigawatts by 2015 and 60-70 gigawatts by 2020. Five nuclear energy projects will be planned at a cost of $27 billion with financing help from a Shanghai IPO offering in 2012.
Linked Articles
China Nuclear Firm Plans Up to $27 Billion IPO
Wall Street Journal 06/06/2012
China Marches On With Nuclear Energy, in Spite of FukushimaNew York Times 10/10/2011
Krugman and the WSJ- Differing views on taxes and the middle class
08/17/2011
Linked Articles
New York Times 11/18/2012
Warren Buffett's Tax DodgeWall Street Journal 08/17/2011
Problems with the EU July 2011 Plan for Greece and other troubled eurozone countries
07/28/2011
The lack of funding and powers for the European Fiinancial Stability Facility to deal with future crises. EFSF lacks adequate funding and power to buy bonds of troubled eurozone countries including Italy and Spain. Other issues that remain unresolved A sense that the EU leaders are a step behind each developing crisis and have not wrapped their hands around the whole problem.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 08/08/2011
The Euro Crisis: Big Rescue, Big DoubtsBusinessWeek 07/28/2011
Small spurts in U.S. real estate markets from foreign or out of state buyers that fizzle out- S. Florida and Phoenix, Arizona
07/26/2011
Sporadic bursts of activity in real estate markets first in Miami in 2011 and then in Phoenix. The surge in activity is from buyers from Brazil for S. Florida, and buyers from Canada for Phoenix, as well as out of state buyers looking for speculative or rental properties to rent out to homeowners who go into foreclosure. The buyers from Canada and Brazil are in these markets because of a real estate bubble of their own in their home countries and is hardly the basis for a dependable recovery on housing prices, as the IMF has signalled a warning light for economies such as Brazil.
Linked Articles
Rise in Phoenix Housing Shows Path for Other Cities
Wall Street Journal 03/13/2012
Affluent Buyers Reviving Market for Miami HomesNew York Times 07/26/2011
The June 2011 European Union plan for Greece faces strong criticism for being unworkable
07/01/2011
This plans doubles the interest rate for Greece debt owed to French and German banks under a French banking proposal. Sharp spending cuts and tax increases face opposition inside Greece and their negative impact on economic growth may leave Greece with a much larger debt to GDP ratio in 2011 than in 2010.
Linked Articles
Greece and the euro: The abuses of austerity
Economist 07/02/2011
Move Buys Time for Greece, But Growing Debt LoomsWall Street Journal 07/01/2011
China's Stimulus plans in 2012-2013 and the housing bubble
06/09/2011
Linked Articles
China’s stimulus policy means trouble down the road - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/31/2012
The Great Property Bubble of China May Be PoppingWall Street Journal 06/09/2011
The health of China's economy June 2011- the opaqueness of the financial system and the risk of China not making a soft landing
05/25/2011
Asset price bubbles, loose monetary policy and inflation in China. Slowing growth and risks of a hard landing. The opaqueness of the financial system with the state, banking, industrial and real estate sectors intertwined making it difficult to get a true measure of risks building up.
Linked Articles
The Great Property Bubble of China May Be Popping
Wall Street Journal 06/09/2011
China's Growth RisksWall Street Journal 05/25/2011
The Republican "cut, cap and balance" pledge and the Paul Ryan plan for Medicare
04/05/2011
Linked Articles
GOP Hopefuls Betting Voters Want Deep Cuts
Wall Street Journal 07/18/2011
Ryan's Plan for Medicare Is Huge Bet by GOPWall Street Journal 04/05/2011
Apple's low tax rate of 9.4% on global profits
03/24/2011
Companies ranging from Apple and Google to GE pay low tax rates. The New York Times reports that corporate share of U.S. tax receipts dropped from 30% in the 1950's to 6.6% in 2009. This has a serious impact on states and local governments and the federal government as they cut essential services and education to balance their budgets or lower deficits.
Linked Articles
Apple's Tax Strategy Aims at Low-Tax States and Nations
New York Times 04/28/2012
G.E.'s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes AltogetherNew York Times 03/24/2011
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