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Krugman says that this may be the third time that Obama and Geithner are trying to find ways to let the market and banks come up with a value for these toxic assets and take them off the books of the troubled banks. Each time there is he says new bells and whistles but its essentially doing what the Paulson plans were doing, and are a rehash of the Paulson plan. Now in the latest version on March 23 weithner proposed a complicated scheme in which the government would lend money to private investors, who would then use the money to buy the toxic assets. Krugman's view is that it wil not work. The main idea says Krugman behind all these plans is that the toxic assets are worth much more than anyone is willing to pay now because of the lack of confidence and illiquid markets. If this could be changed then they would be assigned amuch higher value and many of the banks would not be in trouble. The trouble with this approach is that with each passing month things are getting worse, a loss of 600,000 jobs a month, and with more foreclosures and higher unemployment, housing prices are probably going to look alot worse a few months from now. Which essentially means that mortgage related securities will remain discounted by alarge number regardlesss of any number of Paulson type or Geithner type plans to wish the contrary. And in the process valuable time is lost. ...

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Cyprus a small country of 860,000 people turned to a role as a offshore tax haven after the Turkish takeover of the northern part of the island in 1974. Before this the country was mainly agricultural, and depended on potato farming. To get some idea of what this means consider that the corporate registry in Cyprus has 320,000 registered companies, mostly shell companies setup for foreign companies and rich individuals looking to escape taxes. And a whole sector of professionals of accountants, lawyers and others has developed to service this.

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This exceptional report from rural areas in France by Roger Cohen shows why the support is growing for the far right and the far left in rural areas and smaller towns outside the large cities which have suffered from high unemployment and neglected as technology and capital moved to other areas. Cohen talks to Nicholas Bay, secretary general of the National Front, who says this election is about patriotism, the nation state vs globalization, as the National Front tries to portray its opposition as being less pro-France, and less pro French culture. The centrist candidate Macron stands in front of a statue of Alexandre Dumas in Picardy, an hour northeast of Paris, and says he is for an "open patriotism" that embraces people of different origins and embraces refugees. Cohen attends a Le Pen rally in Metz, Lorraine, talks to a National Front mayor in Picardy and left party supporters in the town, talks to foreigners in the banlieu of Sevran. Cohen says a National Front victory is possible if enough voters who support the far left party of Melenchon do not vote for centrist candidate Macron, and enough voters of centre right Fillon supporting French culture and nationalism drift to Le Pen. As in the Dutch election with Moroccans derided by the far right the immigrant issue is a factor. Against this background is how events play out in the last weeks of the election. In March and April the events in the U.S. show a Trump administration moving to the centre, adopting a quieter and more constructive tone towards Mexico and immigrants. Relations with Russia have worsened after the U.S. response to the chemical attack in Syria, and the French public may now see this as a common threat to NATO and the European Union. As in the Dutch election a lot depends on the last weeks of the election and how well the centrist parties, the centre right and the centre left get their message across about what is to be gained by building anew on the foundations of the past without risking a lot on an uncertain path of referendums and exit from the European Union.   ...

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Last week investors in mortgage securities, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, sent a letter to the Bank of America, demanding that it buy back billions of dollars of mortgages that were bundled into securities and sold by Countrywide. (Bank of America took over Countrywide in 2008). Investors contention is that the documentation supporting the loan is faulty, and that Bank of America did not correct the deficiencies in the loan files and lien records when these deficiencies were found. Investors can try to force a bank to buy back its securities, if the strict rules governing the issue of such securities were not followed. As the market for mortgage securities is about $1.4 trillion dollars, even if a small fraction of the securities is affected, it would pose serious problems for the banks. This is a problem that can't be papered over.

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This WSJ editorial gives a different grade to Ben Bernanke than a recent article by economist Austin Goolsbee. It says Bernanke gets low marks for keeping interest rates low during 2003-2004 to fight the effects of the dot-com bubble collapse as advocated by Paul Krugman. He also gets low marks for not detecting the 2008 mortgage collapse early. Once the crisis started Bernanke gets high marks for taking action in 2008-2009. His bond buying efforts under QE policies pursued by the Fed need more time to evaluate says WSJ and it is too early to declare it a success as Goolsbee and others have done. How successful Janet Yellen is in unwinding the bond buying purchases will determine if this was good policy. If this ends up in another bubble and aftereffects or in inflation, the Bernanke legacy will be seen in a different light.

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Dexter Filkins of the NYT says not only is democracy a fragile thing, but there are fundamental questions about the wisdom and the direction of the American led project here. But he does'nt go onto take this further, better to let the readers decide for themselves from the statement of the Chairman of the Independent Election Commission that the result will be the same. Then is the whole thing a charade? Abdullah was foreign minister in Karzai's government. What are the choices in this election, when the government of which he was a part of commands little support and is widely perceived as corrupt and ineffective, and which doesn't control much beyond Kabul, if he Abdullah now becomes part of it? This is why Filkins sees this as merely a project and amisconceived and badly executed one, if not an unmanageable one to begin with.

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Tyler Cowan says slower growth in India is a troubling sign in 2012, and as significant if not more than the eurozone crisis. A less mentioned and major problem is the low productivity in agriculture, and he points to Japan, Taiwan, and S. Korea where major increases in agricultural productivity preceded successful industrialization. With growing population and continued growth India will be one of the largest economies in the world. The other major problem is shortages of energy supplies and the inability of state owned company, Coal India, to upgrade technology and increase output.

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A collapse of the Kim regime would impact South Korea and China if millions of refugees cross the border into South Korea and China. Continuation of the regime also poses problems in terms of the eventual cost of reunification, the threat of nuclear proliferation, the increase in tensions with Japan.

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If not passed by Congress, the extension of unemployment benefits expires by July 4, 2010. This would leave an estimated 1.6 million people without the average check of $309 a week. A bill when passed is expected to reduce benefits and reduce aid to states and local governments facing budget deficits.

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Harvey Mansfield, a colleague of Mr. Wilson on the Harvard faculty, says in his tribute to him- Wilson never attempted to be more than a professor even though his ideas were widely respected, as if Wilson wanted to show by example and that there was nothing higher than setting an example.

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This editorial in the WSJ says the corporate tax cuts could be one of prime minister Abe's biggest accomplishments. This is likely to increase growth if well formulated. Even though this came up late in the discussion process this move has the potential to increase investment and attract global capital.

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After making headlines the issue of TikTok is no longer making news. Here is what has happened since- TikTok took the case to the Supreme Court after the Biden Administration's effort to bring it under US security with American ownership. The Supreme Court ruled in favor of the government. Social media helped Republicans and DJT in the election. DJT wanted TiTok to be an American company if it was to operate in US. China was opposed to this and would not allow ByteDance the owner of TikTok negotiate this-leading to an impasse. The DJT administration worked out a relationship  with China by September 2025 following tit for tat tariffs in May 2025. Xi's strategy was to put rare earths on the table after it had gained a 90% monopoly on rare earths processing technologies and supplies. Some supplies include a site in Greenland, so that the Greenland issue as opponents of US acquisition have made appear is not fiction. DJT Administration pulled back and negotiated a deal with China but realized how the US had left key gaps in its security which is why the Greenland issue came up in 2025. Similar to how Democrat president Harry Truman had done as the Soviets expanded influence in Greece and Turkey by 1948. Little of this making it to almost the entire US press and the entire European press, including Democrat Harry Truman's 1947 offer of $100 million ($1.5 billion in 2026) for Greenland, rights, title and ownership similar to Alaska purchase by Seward, and US Virgin Islands purchase in 1916 from Denmark.   The deal makes TikTok an American/ China investor run company with Byte Dance ownership of 20%, Oracle 15%, Silverlake US equity firm 15%, Abu Dhabhi (UK type) MGX 15%, and prior investors 30%. Prior investors are General Atlantic, SIG, Steve Case's Revolution with JD Vance having equity, Dragoneer, NJJ Capital. The company now valued at $20 billion based on 200 million US users. Yet this does not address the dangers and damage done by social media hours for youth in the US, endless hours from education shifted to phones and social media videos. Australia has banned it for under 16 year olds, UK parliament has voted to ban, French parliament has also voted for a ban, China has strict rules that protect its youth for use specifying hours and restrictions, leaving the US and India, Brazil vulnerable to dangers of social media. Strictly speaking You Tube is considered as social media even though it serves an information function, Facebook and TikTok are where a lot of the damage to education takes place in social media. US is entirely leaving its young people especially women unprotected. Once the fentanyl issue is tackled attention will again focus on these dangers to creating good citizens in the US  with civic education if democracy is to be preserved, something endless numbers of lobbyists- which even in Teddy Roosevelt's and FDR's, JFK's days have opposed- will again oppose.     ...

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How a small Kansas town of Grinnell in America finds a way to deal with the rural-urban divide and covid anxiety generated in the tumultuous years of 2020-2021, is the subject with pictures of this report in the WSJ. Grinnell is heartland America and its residents find a way to set Kansas and America in the right direction. One one side some resident worried they would end up like Minneapolis or Portland with protesters. An incident of drivers along Highway 70 emptying shelves of toilet paper in neighborhood stores is seen negatively by some  Grinnell residents and leads to forming an Emergency Preparedness Group to prevent outside agitators from creating problems. Others like the Enlightened Ladies Group try to calm things down. Gene Tilton, 84, and his son 63 years, whose family arrived in Kansas in 1880's did'nt see the need for forming some sort of vigilante group. He raises cattle and crops on a 10,000 acre farm. Michael Machen who practiced medicine in Gove County for 35 years also felt the same way and believed law enforcement could tackle the problem if there was one. Sheriff Mesch attended the Gove County emergency Preparedness Group public meeting by invitation in January 2021. This about the time when the Capitol in Washington DC was stormed by protesters and the country was divided after the election. At that time after 19 months of coronavirus deaths, racial unrest and political violence America was on edge, communities all over America were struggling with the idea that the immediate threat they faced was from other Americans not foreign adversaries. The sheriff told everyone at the Emergency Preparedness Group's public meeting where he stood- law enforcement could handle any threat and he didn't anticpate anything his deputies could not handle. He told the Emergency Preparedness Group that he appreciated their sentiment though, if he needed help he would ask, yet concluded that is the only way. From that rebuff by the sheriff the Group paused its activity and shifted its message to offering to help anyone deal with the deep cold spell in February, to cope with snow, tornadoes, fires, rattlesnake bites and similar hazards. They sponsored first aid classes, and a "Homesteader Gardening Class." Soon their idea was "we're here to help people, the last thing we want is for people to be uncomfortable." "Gove County" says Don Tilton, "has moved on." So must America today. ...

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A gradual deterioration in people's confidence in government from illegal activities was the threat XI Jinping saw early by 2013, after over 60 years of a single party running China. It has affected his entire outlook on what China's policy needs to be for its long term interest in modernization. A reminder is this account by Chinese state media that says Tomorrow Group run by a Chinese Canadian illegally collected $45 billion in deposits. Illegal collecting of deposits is connected to collecting on false pretenses money for investment or real estate without proper licenses. Shanghai Intermediate Court says $100 million was given to government officials. This company was dismantled between 2016 and 2020 and was run by a 50 year old Canadian Chinese businessman. It included 4 insurers, 2 trust firms, 2 securities firms and a futures company. Other such scandals including for stock manipulation were revealed by 2016. Xi Jinping was made president in 2013. He realized the danger to China of the extent to which the country's economy was exposed to illegal activity in business and what this could do to the country if the Communist party- the only party that China has known since 1900 and Japanese imperialist invasion other than the Nationalist Koumintang party-lost the confidence of the people and failed. The Nationalists party collapsed because of such illegal activities that profited a small group of business people and led to deep discontent in China in the 1930's and 1940's, the period when the Japanese overran most of China and setup puppet regimes. Corruption Control in Authoritarian Regimes- Lessons from East Asia by Cambridge University Press points out that this type of illegal activity led to the delegitimization of the Nationalists party which ruled parts of China not overrun by the Japanese during the period 1920 to 1949. This led to defeat to the Communists in the Civil war with little that even US help under General Joe Stilwell could reverse shown in Barbara Tuchman's book Stilwell and the American Experience in China. The US had not chosen to work with the Nationalists under Stillwell's leadership and Stilwell was even asked to resign by the Nationalists because he protested these illegal activities that undermined confidence in the government and made FDR deeply uneasy about the relationship with the Nationalists. Xi Jinping understood very well that this could happen again if these types of illegal activities were allowed to continue leading to policies he has pursued since 2013. He grasped that this would leave China without strong leadership at a time that was critical for its modernization. ...

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Latest data from the U.S. Treasury shows it has collected $63 billion in tariffs over the preceding 12 months. Even though there is no agreement on trade with China, president Trump says the U.S. is benefitting from higher tariffs by tens of billions of dollars. In May he estimated tariff revenues could reach $100 billion.This report in the WSJ says this could happen if the the new tariffs of 10% on additional $300 Chinese goods imported to U.S. goes into effect on September 1. This is likely considering that China sees this in different terms than the U.S. such as its sovereignty, whereas the U.S. sees it simply in terms of fair trade. With new elections China may be simply putting things off till the election is decided as Mr. Trump has pointed out. The tally of what the U.S. Treasury gets annually if $100 billion is generated in tariffs goes something like this. Of this $30 billion was generated previously for the U.S. government, so the incremental amount is $70 billion. Of this about $16 billion goes to offset the effect of loss of farm exports to farmers, mainly soyabeans exports to China, through a rescue fund. This leaves additional $54 billion for the U.S. Treasury. Money that could conceivably be put back into infrastructure that the U.S. badly needs in mobile and fixed to improve internet speeds and move up from its low rankings compared to China and other countries. A WSJ report this week shows Germany in worse shape than the U.S., both countries having dismal status in mobile infrastructure- the U.S. at No. 37, and Australia No. 4, Canada No. 3, and even Croatia No. 9. This throws some light on why this trade dispute has become intractable, for China the right of a sovereign nation to move past middle income status even as its telecom technology with Huawei 5G is top class, and for the U.S. the right not to fall behind in advanced technologies such as Telecom. It is also why one hears so much about Huawei and why it has become a flashpoint of the conflict in trade and trade practices. It is thought Mr. Trump is conducting this trade dispute. Yet less known is the fact that prominent Republicans in Congress such as Senator Warner have stated on television talk shows that they are concerned Mr. Trump may give up too much in negotiations that lead to the U.S. not being able to compete in telecom advanced technologies that matter for competitiveness and for national security. What was treated by Bush and Obama administrations routinely without much attention to the consequences is now a top concern for Republicans and others in Congress and business. ...

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War in Ukraine after failed Alaska effort by US to end the war. In September 2025 Russia holds out, spurning peace efforts from the US president, to see if the economy holds out over the next 24 months and Russia can get Ukraine to abandon it's efforts to join the EU and Western European alliances. The baffling aspect of this war is that the neutral aspect adopted by Finland before the war, by Sweden, by the Swiss, was never considered as a realistic option by Ukraine, looking beyond the problems of the 1930's and having awareness that there were weaknesses in both the capitalist and the Soviet systems, to take the broad larger view. And with that being realistic that a better effort would be to reflect on the corruption and lack of clean government, the need to build the healthy institutions that would serve the people best. The approach taken by Gandhi in India in its relations with Britain, to preserve the best and improve on what failed the Indian people, and reflect on the integrity, the right attitude needed for India in the Modern World. From the Russian side the failure to use the period before the shift to renewable energy to invest the capital used in the war of $200 billion a year for a stronger economy and industrial base in 2022- 2027- an investment of a trillion dollars that would make it the industrial power and support its position as the preeminent power in Northern Europe. ...

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Ukrainian view on surrendering the 25% of Donbass it does not control for peace deal are shown here in interviews by DW.com in that region near the frontlines. The Kviv Institute of Sociology survey shown here is that 71% of Ukrainians are against giving up the 25% of Donbass. Survey in the Donbass region show 47% opposed, 29% undecided and 24% support giving up tereritory for a peace deal. About 200,000 people mostly pensioners and people who do not want to see their home being looted still live in the Kviv controlled Donbass areas near the frontlines. What about elections? If elections are held and an Ukrainian party including that of Zelensky were to agree to surrendering the Donbass how would the Ukrainian 71% opposed or undecided react. Other attitudes to giving up the rest of Donbass is that there is afeeling even among people who might favor this for a peace deal that Russian forces might continue the war at a later time. Germany's Merz is investing heavily to build up the Bundeswehr and recharge the German economy- the German response is to coordinate with UK, France and Italy and the EU to set up a bloc independent of the US to respond to the peace overtures of the US president with one's of it's own that do not include giving up the Donbass, and to create guarantees that the war ends here, no sporadic starts as in the last 2 decades. ...

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Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra has the right attitude in sports. He is 38, has decided to play cricket only in certain formats, about 8 matches a year. He is a fast pace bowler for Himachal Pradesh cricket team. Here he shares thoughts with PTI reporter that he does not follow what people say about him, about his age, and does not follow Twitter or Facebook. He says what matters is how he practices for the sport. After 12 surgeries and a injury this year Ashish says he knows what it is to be under the knife. People will say many things if he plays well and even more things if he does badly. Ashish says what matters in the end is how he prepares for the sport, like any sport it is the preparation and long hours of practice that make a difference. What he does and how he plays the selection board and the captain of the team know very well, which is why he was invited to play again for India. Ashish can bowl fast comparable to younger bowlers, and has played for India as long as other veteran players M.S. Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh. He conserves his energy by not playing 5 day Test matches. He can then give 100 percent to the 24 or more balls he may bowl in a game. He bowls at about 140 km per hour. In many ways Ashish has the right attitude for sports. Leaving aside the praise or criticism and concentrating on what is ahead. Not even thinking too far ahead. Sometimes it is just the next game, this year, which needs all the attention and can make all the difference. Playing the right way, working diligently at it, helping coach younger players, is all that really counts, in this sport, or any sport.       ...

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This editorial from the Editorial Board of the WSJ calls on president Trump and the Trump family to adopt an attitude of radical transparency. It points out that a major reason Hillary Clinton lost the election in 2016 was because of the failure to establish a needed level of trust with the American people. It goes over the history of the Clinton administration and finds a failure to reveal all the facts early on that led to a long grueling search for these facts by the media and prosecutors. It says president Trump should learn from this lesson. The meetings of Trump Jr. with a Russian official are cited  as an example of a very badly handled situation with the slow and continuous unraveling of the story in the media because of this lack of transparency. This editorial makes a strong call for a complete U turn of how the Trump administration has handled this type of story. It says the Republican party may not stand with Trump if popularity ratings currently at 36% drop lower and the party sees a danger of losing the House of Representatives in the next election. If this happens a Democratic Party with the House could investigate the matters involved, and a strategy of transparency now is the best strategy, says WSJ. This includes not calling everything to the contrary, leaks and other stories critical of the Trump handling of events as "fake news." It says president Trump is wrong to think that his larger than life personality and social media followers is sufficient to insulate him from all this, to make him in the words of the Journal bigger than the Presidency itself. Realities are realities, it says and its a tough world of Washington politics in which the president finds himself in, which offers little respite, and has humbled many presidents.   ...

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Dipti Deshpande writes in the Economic Times that how India's economy recovers depends a lot on how well the government tackles the problems of vaccine supplies, vaccination staff and incentives for vaccination to the public, vaccination logistics, and vaccination skepticism. Vaccination plays a large role in the reduction of fear and permits resumption of normal activity as seen in the US, UK and France. Government education of the public on vaccine safety should be conducted on an organized basis across the country starting now for the gaol of vaccinating the entire population by December 2021. In the 200 days remaining in 2021 the government would have to administer over 1000 million doses or at the rate of 5 million doses a day just for the single dose population, with the second dose meaning additional supplies and logistical effort, organized health staffing, all to be organized.  The thrust of this article is that the economy and especially laggard sectors such as services would gain a fully powered recovery if the problems of vaccine supplies and vaccination drives are resolved early with preparation, lessons learned, and proactive action all taking place immediately. The period after the decline in cases to below 50,000 a day which is fast approaching for India is one that needs to be used to take deep yogic breaths, and prepare the Indian mind for the next challenge for government and nation.   ...

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Uncertainty in China's stock market with the ban on stock selling by large institutional investors. Goldman Sachs estimates that $184 billion in shares could be put up for sale if the ban was unambiguously lifted. The price swings on the market would be accentuated say analysts because of a decline in trading volume.