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Bank of Spain Gov. Miguel Angel Fernandez Ordonez said Spain finds itself in an "exceptional situation," as it goes "back into recession," and only exports acting to contribute to gains in GDP.

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The current economic expansion in the U.S. in April 2014 is at 58 months from the beginning of recovery in 2009. In this exceptional account Josh Zombrun of WSJ compares the current expansion to previous expansions since 1950, with the views of experts such as Stan Hall of the NBER committee, which studies turning points. This expansion is forecast to go for 90 months into 2016 by the U.S. Federal Reserve, and 102 months into 2017 by the CBO. Sooner or later, says Stan Hall, some adverse unpredictable event takes place that ends the expansion. So far the expansion has been slow and protracted, as predicted by economists Reinhart and Rogoff from previous financial crises in the last century, giving it room to grow as corporate earnings continue to improve. Fed chairwoman's sense of slack in the economy also provides room for employment and incomes to grow in the later stages of the expansion. This is good news for the emerging market economies such as India and China, and for the European Union, faced with slowing growth. So how does this expansion compare with earlier ones. The expansion of the 1991-2001 of the tech boom was 120 months, 1961-1969 of the Sixties 106 months, 1982-1990 of the Reagan era 92 months. The controversial one on shaky foundations is the recent housing boom 2001-2007 of 73 months ending in a huge bust with the 2008 financial crisis. The shorter expansions are the 1975-1980 Post-Vietnam one for 58 months, and the 1970-1973 spurt before the OPEC price surge. Figures are from the NBER, CBO and the Federal Reserve's Summary of Economic Projections....

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The Obama tax deal pushes tough decisions on spending into the future. It will put more money in people's pockets and as a result give a short term boost. Experts do not see long term benefits to the economy. It does not do what spending on much needed infrastructure and investment in other parts of the economy would do to give a long term lift to the economy.

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David Brooks calls the agreement reached Jan 1, 2013 on the fiscal cliff inadequate. He puts the blame on voters. On the Medicare couple that takes out more in benefits than it puts in, taking $343,000 out in benefits, while putting in $109,000, according to the Urban Insitute. The politicians are simply following the voter preferences of deferring the hard decisions. Taxes have to go up at a lower threshold than $400,000 says Brooks, and spending cuts need to be made.

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Chuck Hagel on the need to bring in more countries to handle difficult situations such as the one the US faces in Iraq and Afghanistan. He says thats why the world now has a G20 and not a G8. No country can face these situations alone especially when there is a mutual interest of many countries in these situations. He calls it a 20th century reaction to 21st century realities. He says the 2 wars cost more than a trillion dollars. One sees a new respect for international institutions such as the UN, World Bank, IMF, and GATT renamed WTO, even with Republicans. Chuck Hagel's point makes a lot of sense and is generally accepted in people's understanding of the situation from the Defence Department to the Administration, and among respected politicians. It is putting it onto practice that is the hard part. As Hagel puts it, it is important to remember what Lyndon Johnson told Senatior Russell, that he knew the Vietnam war could not be won, and yet he did not want to pull out and be the first American President to lose a war. This is a contradiction because if it can't be won its going to be lost under the next President or the one after that, in this case Gerald Ford. Hagel says it not ours to win and lose. Here he points to the interconnectedness and shared interests of all nations. Every great threat to the U.S., whether it is economic, terrorism, nuclear weapons proliferation, health pandemics, environmental degradation, energy or water and food shortages, is also a threat to global partners ansd rivals. So its wrong to view engagements in Iraq and Afghanistan through the lens that says its about winning or losing. And he asks win what? Too many cultural, ethnic and religious dynamics are involved for any one nation to control. Hagel concludes by saying that the US, the Defense Department, the Obama administration, must get this right, as it affects the global architecture for the next generation. Fresh thinking is needed. Single issue engagement is obsolete in the 21st century in dealing with global partners or rivals, or countries with aspects of both....

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Britain's chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, tells parliament it will be difficult for Britain to avoid a recession if Europe goes into a recession in 2012-2013. He also told parliament that British debt reduction will take longer than planned because of the economic slowdown. This means the British public will have to go through two more years of austerity than previously planned, now upto 2017. Britain will need to borrow an additional 111 billion British pounds through 2015. Britain's Office for Budget Responsibility forecasts economic growth at 0.9% in 2011, and 0.7% in 2012. Debt as a share of GDP will peak at 78% in 2015, instead of the 71% expected earlier. With strong opposition from the unions and a major strike planned by about 2 million workers on Nov. 30, 2011, the Cameron government plans to go ahead with its austerity measures. This includes eliminating 600,000 public sector jobs, and limiting pay increases for public sector workers to 1% for two years after the end of the current pay freeze....

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According to preliminary estimates of the UK Office for National Statistics, gross domestic product fell 0.5% in October through December 2010, after expanding 0.7% in the third quarter of 2010. The UK inflation rate increased to 3.7%. At the same time the money the UK needed to borrow in December 2010 came in at 16.8 billion pounds, down from the 21 billion pounds in December 2009, showing an improvement in public finances. The two main drivers of UK growth are now set to slow down. Consumption spending down because of higher unemployment and inflation, and tax increases equivalent to 8% of GDP over 4 years. And government spending cuts leading to a reduction in spending for the 2011 fiscal year of 23 billion pounds. UK economic growth is 2010 is 1.4%, after contractions of 4.9% in 2009 and 0.1% in 2008. The UK Treasury chief George Osborne said the government will "not be blown off course by bad weather." Central bank governor Mervyn King pointed to the choppy recovery. Referring to the austerity policies King said, "the right course has been set and it is important to maintain it."...

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The UK Office for National Statistics shows Britain's GDP declined by 0.2% in the last quarter of 2011, compared to the prior quarter. The figures showed a drop in business investment. Polls by ComRes, show 51% of people in Britain see the government austerity cuts as having an adverse effect on the economy, with cuts being larger and coming too quickly.

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The Congressional Budget Office's Elmendorf says without spending cuts in payments to doctors and hospitals and other providers, providing coverage to the unisured will put the nation deeper into debt. Popular measures such as increasing preventative care, expanding medical records and rewarding doctors for choosing treatments that improve cost and quality have potential but its not proven how much the savings from this would be. The administration and the White House Budget Director, Peter Orszag, say they are in agreement with the CBO that something needs to be done to seriously reduce costs, reducing payments for Medicare and Medicaid to doctors and hospitals, and making other changes.

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Experts in the U.S. say the U.S. made a mistake in not supporting the idea of a new financial institution to meet the urgent needs of development and infrastructure financing of Asia's developing countries. India, Australia, S. Korea, Britain, Germany, France and Italy are joining as founding members in 2015. China has offered leadership in providing resources for the new bank. Jane Perlez says China is looking for the best talent worldwide to help write the charter for the bank and to run it. It is a project pushed forward by China's president Jinping, and was discussed at the 2013 G-20 meeeting in Moscow as a critical part of the agenda. Laurence Brahm, who supported Chinese premier Zhu Rongji in 2001 for entry into the WTO, says it is natural for China to look for ways to use its extra capacity in steel, concrete and pipes to build projects in other parts of Asia, which would mutually benefit China and the region. Paul Haenle of the Carnegie-Tsinghua Center in Beijing, says the U.S. lack of support is shortsighted, as the existing U.S. sponsored institutions World Bank and the Asian Development Bank are sorely lacking the resources to deal with the huge infrastructure challenges in Asia. China's Finance Ministry is looking for the best talent worldwide to write the charter and run the bank. Natalie Lichtenstein, a lawyer with 30 years experience working at the World Bank will write the bank's founding charter. ...

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The impact on the Republican party in 2012 of reform governors who came in with the 2010 U.S. elections- Christie of New Jersey, Walker of Wisconsin, Brownback of Kansas, Snyder of Michigan, Daniels of Indiana, Jindal of Louisiana and other state governors from Maine to Tennessee.

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Debbie Wasserman Schultz's vigorous efforts to fire up the Democratic party's base after the waning of support since the 2008 presidential election. She says it is a make or break moment for the middle class and drawing attention to the problems of the middle class is not class warfare. She was chosen by Obama as the Democratic National Committee chairwoman as the party heads into the 2012 presidential election.

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Speaker Boehner's difficulties getting Republican votes in the U.S. House of Representatives. 151 Congressmen and majority leader Cantor voted against the McConnell-Biden fiscal cliff agreement of Jan. 1, 2013.

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Liberal groups feel president Obama has lost the leverage he had after the McConnell-Biden fiscal cliff deal of Jan. 1, 2013, saying this only sets the stage for talk of spending cuts.