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Angela Merkel's experience with the reunification of East and West Germany and her views of the eurozone crisis
01/30/2011
The perceptions of the eurozone crisis of ordinary Germans and of former East German Angela Merkel are colored by the period of reunification of the two Germany's. This was paid for with a"solidarity surcharge" tax paid by Germans amounting to $1.7 trillion and led in its early stages to 4 million unemployed in the eastern part and 20% unemployment. It took over a decade for East Germany to build new modernized industries in the larger cities of the east, but still leaves the rural parts of former East Germany in a neglected state as young peoplemoved out. During this period industry in the west also regained lost global competitiveness, especially in industries such as automobiles and advanced machinery, using wage restraint agreements with unions and increases in productivity. Germans see the need for eurozone countries in the southern part of Europe needing to make similiar sacrifices and see the tax evasion in Italy and Greece as unacceptable. The real estate bubble, the lack of transparency for banks bad loans, and out of control regional spending in Spain is also seen in a similiar light. Greece is seen as the most egregious offendor because of the bad financial accounting that grossly understated the extent of the bad loans. Less publicized in Germany is the role played in the bad loans through poor lending practices of German and French banks and that as experts have pointed out Germany was to some extent bailing out German banks when it was bailing out Greece- till German banks reduced their exposure to Greece in 2011.
Linked Articles
In former East Germany, anxious residents resent paying for Europe’s problems - The Washington Post
Washington Post 06/21/2012
Merkel's Defense of Euro Forged in East GermanyNew York Times 01/30/2011
GE's Immelt and questions about the focus on US jobs and competitiveness
01/21/2011
Linked Articles
Comparative Advantage and American Jobs
Wall Street Journal 01/26/2011
Obama's Corporate MakeoverNew York Times 01/21/2011
The Volcker Rule banning proprietary trading by banks and recommendations by the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council
01/20/2011
Linked Articles
Charlie Rose Talks to Paul Volcker
BusinessWeek 10/27/2011
Volcker Rule May Work, Even if Rules Are VagueNew York Times 01/20/2011
The Brady plan and the expert opinion of John Cochrane and others about the need to extend the maturities of the debt of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and other EU countries.
11/30/2010
Linked Articles
'Contagion' and Other Euro Myths
Wall Street Journal 12/02/2010
Nervous Europe Trying to Halt Economic CrisisNew York Times 11/30/2010
Why at the heart of the Volcker Rule for bank regulation, according to Mr. Volcker, is the idea of CEO attestation
10/28/2010
Volcker's advice about writing the rule was to keep it broad so that it limited the room for evasion. Volcker advised regulators to remember what Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart said about pornography -"I know it when I see it." Treasury Secretary Lew pointed to the responsibility of the top executive to "set the right tone," for the whole organization.
Linked Articles
Volcker Rule to Require CEOs Guarantee Compliance
Wall Street Journal 12/06/2013
Volcker on His 'Rule'— Keep It BroadWall Street Journal 10/28/2010
The 61 million children of migrant workers left behind in China- 75% visited only once a year and 70% under the age of 11
08/27/2010
The price of rapid industrialization in China being paid by children of migrant workers and their parents- about 200 million people or close to 20% of the population. Government policy requires migrant workers leaving rural areas to work in factories to leave behind their children.
Linked Articles
Left-Behind Children of China's Migrant Workers Bear Grown-Up Burdens
Wall Street Journal 01/17/2014
Lixin Fan, Trailing Chinese Migrant WorkersNew York Times 08/27/2010
Arizona's immigration law and the U.S. Supreme Court
07/29/2010
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 04/26/2012
Ruling Is New Hot-Button Issue in Hot SeasonWall Street Journal 07/29/2010
Greece's referendum and the 3 year bailout of July 12, 2015- military spending, shipowners taxes, and cuts to pensions
07/10/2010
Greece's left Syriza government almost pulled the country out of the eurozone over pension cuts, even as military spending in Greece remained at 2.4% of GNP compared to close 1.4% for the EU average. Greece did not propose further cuts to military spending to bring the Greece ratio closer to that of Germany and other countries in Europe, raising questions about prudent spending. Which is why Greece sometimes has aspects of the surreal to people not just in Germany and Holland, but other parts of Europe, and outsiders. Under the reform proposal and bailout of July 12, 2015 following the "no" referendum, Greece's parliament voted overwhelmingly in favor of the similiar cuts in pensions from an earlier EU proposal, with cuts of $300 million to the military spending by 2016. Greek shipowners will also pay taxes under the new bailout, negotiated by Greece with France's help when the referendum had damaged relations with the rest of the EU, particularly Germany with only 10% in polls willing to support any further concessions.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 07/11/2015
The Submarine Deals That Helped Sink GreeceWall Street Journal 07/10/2010
Paul Volcker and Economists in the Squam Lake Group share concerns about the U.S. Financial Stability Oversight Council
06/15/2010
Volcker voiced his concern that a lot depends on how tough and vigilant a new council is with banks in the US on a day to day basis. The 10 member Financial Oversight Council was set up in the US financial reform bill of 2010. Some of the economists in the Squam Lake Group, 15 highly reputed economists in the U.S., also share this concern.
Linked Articles
Paul Volcker Pushes for Reform, and Regrets His Past Silence
New York Times 07/09/2010
15 Economists Issue Crisis-Prevention ManualNew York Times 06/15/2010
Shiller, Charles Scwab and other experts on the nervousness of the individual investor.
05/14/2010
Charles Schwab says about 98% of individual investos are nervous in mid 2010. He questios whether safety an soundess mean anything anymore. Shillers Buy on Dips Index confirms Schwab's observations.
Linked Articles
Chuck Schwab Is Worried About Small Investors. Should We Worry Too?
BusinessWeek 05/27/2010
Fear of a Double Dip Could Cause OneNew York Times 05/14/2010
Germany's rescue plan for Greece.
05/03/2010
Germany finally cleared a plan to aid Greece after weeks of delay that created tension in global financial markets with Greece being shut out of capital markets.
Linked Articles
Germany Clears Rescue for Greece
New York Times 05/03/2010
The Greek Economy ExplainedWall Street Journal 05/07/2010
Skepticism about the Federal Reserve's ability to catch financial bubbles and to take action.
01/04/2010
The Fed's credibility for acting against bubbles in the housing and stock markets has been hurt by recent experience.
Linked Articles
If the Fed Missed This Bubble, Will It See a New One?
New York Times 01/06/2010
Fed chief Bernanke urges better financial regulation to prevent crisesWashington Post 01/04/2010
Shrinking news coverage and fewer journalists in the newspaper shift to digital online
11/25/2009
It says a lot about the changes underway in the newspaper industry when a paper like the Washington Post closes its bureaus in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and covers the news there with travelling reporters. As local newspapers such as the New Orleans Times- Picayune move to three editions a week and an online edition, the number of journalists overing the area around New Orleans will shrink by a third in 2012. Advance Publications which runs the New Orleans paper will do the same for its papers in Huntsville and Birmingham i in Alabama.
Linked Articles
New Orleans Times-Picayune to limit printing to three days per week - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/25/2012
Washington Post shutters last U.S. bureausWashington Post 11/25/2009
Greece's Path Back (10)- Germany's and chancellor Merkel's view of the euro and the changes needed
01/30/2011
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 04/10/2013
Merkel's Defense of Euro Forged in East GermanyNew York Times 01/30/2011
GE, GE Capital and CEO Immelt's legacy- skepticism about the role of GE CEO Immelt as head of the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness
01/21/2011
Linked Articles
GE Seeks Exit from Banking Business
Wall Street Journal 04/10/2015
Obama's Corporate MakeoverNew York Times 01/21/2011
A Brady Plan type solution to the debt crisis in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and other EU countries
11/30/2010
The extension of maturities for the debt of these countries is a key part of the solution. The Brady Plan that helped sove the Latin American debt crisis of the eighties and nineties is an example of the way out of the crisis. Resistance from bankers to taking losses of upto 30% and extending the maturities for debt. The need for Germany and other countries to set aside money that would be needed to recapitalize banks that need funds to handle these losses. Nicholas Brady when asked about this says it is important for this to be "a unified decision." This would create the confidence in the financial markets that will be needed.
Linked Articles
Europe's Central Banker Seeks Deeper Fiscal Union
Wall Street Journal 06/03/2011
Nervous Europe Trying to Halt Economic CrisisNew York Times 11/30/2010
The Volcker Rule banning proprietary trading by banks and its implementation
10/28/2010
Linked Articles
Volcker to Push Back on Banks' Trading
Wall Street Journal 02/13/2012
Volcker on His 'Rule'— Keep It BroadWall Street Journal 10/28/2010
Criticism and reservations about the Fed's second round of quantitative easing.
10/25/2010
The likelihood that the US Federal Reserve's move to buy an estimated $750 billion of Treasury bonds will be ineffective in the absence ofiscal policy options.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 10/26/2010
Our Fiscal Policy ParadoxWall Street Journal 10/25/2010
Temporary workers in Germany and in the U.S.- the consequences for consumer spending, in higher inequality and poverty
08/17/2010
About a fourth of workers are temporary workers in the U.S., according to the Census Bureau. In Germany OECD figures show temporary workers going up from 16% of all workers in 1998 to 21.5% by 2010.
Linked Articles
The Rise of the Permanent Temp Economy
New York Times 01/26/2013
German Workers' Wages Belie Country's ReboundWall Street Journal 08/17/2010
Arizona's immigration law and Mexican-Americans in the U.S.
07/19/2010
Linked Articles
New York Times 07/19/2010
Arizona Orders Tucson to End Mexican-American Studies ProgramNew York Times 01/07/2011
Andy Grove of Intel and a reminder about Silicon Valley's role now missing role as a serious innovator and job creator at home
07/01/2010
Andy Grove reminded Silicon Valley about the dangers of forgetting manufacturing's important role in the U.S. in 2010. This is even more true today with the working class lagging behind in this recovery. He asked at the time what kind of society are we creating with professionally employed workers and lots of unemployed. It reminded him of 1932 with troops holding bayonets facing unemployed people outside the White House, and of his days in Hungary in the 1956 uprising. Grove also called for serious innovation which he did not see happening at the time in Silicon Valley.
Linked Articles
Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley
New York Times 03/25/2016
Andy Grove: How America Can Create JobsBusinessWeek 07/01/2010
The Volcker Rule and the report of the Squam Lake group of 15 prominent American economists
06/15/2010
Linked Articles
15 Economists Issue Crisis-Prevention Manual
New York Times 06/15/2010
Volcker to Push Back on Banks' TradingWall Street Journal 02/13/2012
Experts like Shiller and Roubini about see dangers of a double dip recession.
05/13/2010
Prolonged period of zero interest rates that encourage excessive risktaking, and declining confidence levels with higher uncertainty, pose serious dangers.
Linked Articles
Charlie Rose Talks to Nouriel Roubini
BusinessWeek 05/13/2010
Fear of a Double Dip Could Cause OneNew York Times 05/14/2010
Cost cutting and cost reduction strategies at Toyota and BP that misfired.
02/22/2010
It costs about $6 millon a day for BP to fix the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in May 2010. It cost Toyota much more to make the larger recall and in lost sales and the damage to its image than the $100 million estimated saving by efforts to limit the recall.
Linked Articles
Drilling Down: A Troubled Legacy in Oil
Wall Street Journal 05/01/2010
Toyota Cited $100 Million Savings After Limiting RecallNew York Times 02/22/2010
Danone and P&G's (Procter & Gamble) innovative strategies for reaching low income customers in emerging markets.
12/12/2009
In 2004 Indonesian managers showed Franck Riboud, CEO of Danone, a pyramid of customers in Indonesia's population of 240 million people. It showed only 20 million customers at the top of the pyramid as the only ones who could afford Danone products. At that point Ribaud made up his mind to go after the large number of people at the lower end of the pyramid and come with strategies to do this profitably. By 2010 46% of Danone's sales were from emerging markets, up from 10% a decade earlier, showing the pace of the change. Unilever, P&G, Nestle, Colgate-Palmolive and other companies are following similiar strategies. P&G has used Mexico as a lab for experimenting with new products at low price points and Danone has done this in Indonesia.
Linked Articles
Danone Expands Its Pantry to Woo the World's Poor
Wall Street Journal 06/25/2010
P.& G. Sees the World as Its ClientNew York Times 12/12/2009
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