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With the government goal of a $5 trillion economy in the next five years, India is expected to be the fourth largest economy in the world by 2026 after the U.S., China and Japan. India moved past France and Britain and will move past Germany by 2026, making the U.S. the only non-Asian economy in the top four. Britain is holding its own and its economy is expected to be larger than France's in five years.

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France joins Britain in requiring masks in indoor space. The number of new cases in France are now dropped down to a few hundred each day compared to several thousand before. This month in July the reproduction rate passed 1 suggesting need for caution as social distancing rules, avoiding French custom of kiss in greeting, and mask wearing are now being less strictly observed. Anyone not wearing a mask after August 1 would be fined $125 or 100 euros.

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Now that the euro dollar parity is reached what happens next. This report in WSJ shows there is room for more downside because of the weaker European economy. It says Europe had less of the covid payments to lower income groups and smaller payments than in the US. As a result this shows up in consumer spending. The parity with the dollar does not reflect the event of a shutoff of Russian supplies of gas to Germany. If this happens it will impact the euro further.

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Angela Merkel announces her decision to run for reelection as chancellor on Nov. 20, 2016, saying she will "fight for our values and our way of life." About 55% of Germans support Merkel. After 11 years in office Merkel if reelected would exceed the record in office set by Helmut Kohl from 1982 to 1998. Germany does not have term limits for the position of chancellor. The changed political situation in the U.S. and Britain has made the role of Germany much larger in international affairs.

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June unemployment numbers will jump say experts at IHS Insight as GM and Chrysler downsize even more to become smaller companies with even less market share. This will reflect closing Pontiac and sale or closing of the other GM brands Saturn, Saab, and Hummer. It will reflect closing of more dealerships of GM and Chrysler. THis might be offset by a pickup in sales if something like the European trading clunkers for new cars program takes off in the USA. But with the US customers more in debt and with rising job losses, the pattern may be different in the US. It may only offer a small boost in sales. Manufacturing still matters in a recovery. In 1980 manufacturing was 20% of America's output, now it is 11.5% says Mark Zandl of Moody's Economy.com. Manufacturing, he says, has a bigger impact than its size suggests, because it responds quickly. As sales resume workers are called back to their jobs. The sharp V shaped recoveries in the early 80's reflected the rapid response of manufacturing. After the 1980's both the declines and the recoveries were shallow in 1990-1991 and 2001. Now with GM and Chrysler shrinking further under the government plan to fix these companies, and taking the supplier impact, the rebound leg of the V is missing. The kick from the Big Three and their suppliers is missing, says Nigel Gault of IHS Insight. Of the 5.7 million jobs lost from Jan 2008 to June 2009, 1.6 million were in manufacturing and 289,000 were in motor vehicles, split almost evenly between assemblers and supplier networks....

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Trade shows and exhibitions for different industries are limping back to life in Europe. One show for camper vans in Dusseldorf, Germany, uses a limited physical event with online and virtual contact as a way to stage a successful event. The new world is one of hybrid shows in 2021 and beyond with digital media and physical activity in the real world mixed in. Europe's cities depend on a large share of their business on fairs. Everything in trade fairs is being scaled down and new ways are being tested.

The CIbus agricultural products fair in Parma, Italy too place is a slimmed down version focussed on a conference on how to relaunch Italy's agricultural and food industries. Masks mandatory and social distancing strictly done. Two auto camper fairs are planned one in Dusseldorf this weekend and one in Parma.

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Iraq is Iran's most promising market for gas exports. Iraq needs the gas for its power stations now that Islamic State has been decisively cleared from Iraq. Yet Iraq is having difficulty making payments to Iran for gas supplies because banks are not ready to handle the payments with the reimposed tighter U.S. sanctions and restrictions. The deputy head of media at the Electricity ministry in Iraq, Sadoun Shehan, told WSJ that transfer of money by Iraqi banks is prevented because of U.S. sanctions. U.S. sanctions were reimposed by the Trump administration after they were lifted in January 2016. The new sanctions prohibit gas exports from Iran. Iran had hoped to make the sales and also export to the European Union when sanctions were lifted. Iranian exports of gas that started in 2017 were itself delayed for 4 years by the war from Islamic State.  Iran has the second largest reserves of natural gas in the world. The Trump administration's sanctions have led to a drop of Iranian crude shipments by 29% in 3 months and added to upward pressure on oil prices to take prices to $80 a barrel. This issue has implications for India and China, particularly India as it faces both higher prices for oil and the tight restrictions in purchase of Iranian oil. ...

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Heat wave across the US pushing temperatures to 100 degrees in Washington DC and 120 degrees in Las Vegas.

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The Bank of England under Governor Carney cut interest rates 0.25% from a low of 0.5%, and suggested further cuts were on the way. This follows Brexit and action by the central bank to avoid a recession. The British pound fell about 1.6% to $1.3112 against the dollar, and euro 1.770 against the euro. Government borrowing costs declined, and the 10 year bonds yield dropped to 0.639%. Economic growth in Britian for the second half 2016 will be little or none. The GDP growth forecast for 2017 is now 0.8%, down from 2.3% before the Brexit vote. Bank of England staff say their calculations show Brexit vote has "conservatively" reduced growth by 2.5 percentage points over 3 years even after the rate cuts and stimulus action of the Bank of England, which other estimates show could add 0.5% over 2 years. This brings the Brexit impact to about 3% loss in GDP over 3 years, with these reliable estimates. Months after the Brexit vote the question remains whether Brexit supporters misled British voters, leaving the Bank of England to come up with a way to prevent a recession. After the austerity cuts since 2009 and the prospect of some improvement in the economy, this is a step backwards at a time when some of the working and middle class find themselves left behind. ...

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Supreme Court Justice could simply have retired and let then president Obama appoint her successor. She decided to stay into her eighties. As a result president Trump will choose a conservative as her successor and has the votes lined up in the Senate. In Britain the retirement age was changed from lifetime to 75 by an Act in 1959. In India the Constitution set the retirement age for the Supreme Court at 65. Only in the U.S. is this practice maintained.

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Threats of use of nuclear weapons by Putin, threats of climate change lead to this dire view of the world today.

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With the surge in travel that might even exceed prepandemic levels in the US this summer, being better prepared helps. Some tips in the WSJ- morning flights have fewer delays than later in the day, TSA Precheck $78 for 5 years or Clear at $189 a year are a good way to avoid lines, the Delta or United App that lets you know how far your gate is and where to be dropped off at the airport, packing right,  the drop off, and food and drink.

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India and Vietnam are key countries for reinvention of the supply chain to cover home production in the US with supplies from friendly nations. After the G20 meetings in New Delhi president Biden will go to Hanoi, Vietnam. Vietnam also maintains trade relationship with China as it depends on China for its manufacturing exports. China and Vietnam are both socialist nations, yet after a border war in 1979 Vietnam is building a stronger relationship with the US. It also has a trade relationship with Japan and Vietnamese workers help meet worker shortages in Japan.

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Adani Group plans to invest $20 billion in renewable energy over 10 years. Modi has set a goal of 450 gigawatts for India. 

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Indian Navy has expanded to 140 warships and technology modernization with domestically produced ships. About another half of that 140 will be added and produced inside India in the next few years. This effort to build the Indian Navy comes with the need to ensure freedom of the seas for open navigation. Much of the world's trade happens for raw materials and manufactured goods through the shipping lanes including the seas in the Indian Ocean and adjoining region. Indian Navy is showing the results of this effort as it protects the oceans in its region in 2024 in the interest of all nations. The US is supporting India's effort with flow of new technologies. The French are also supporting India's efforts and president Macron is in India this week. He will attend the Republic Day celebration as a special guest in New Delhi on Jan 26, after an unprecedented road show in an open SUV in Jaipur today with prime minister Modi.

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Mossberg says look for 500 gigabytes of storage, 4 gigabytes of memory, an i3 to i5 or i7 Intel processor, in buying a PC or laptop. He suggests waiting till fall 2012 for the new Windows 8, and summer 2012 for the newer PC's designed to use Windows 8. This will be a big change from before, because Windows 8 is designed to use the touch feature of tablets. Ultrabooks are a bit pricier, making PC's and laptops the lower cost option. Laptop makers are trying to increase margins on the machines. Mac's also will get a newer operating system called Mountain Lion by the fall.

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This Dw.com report shows how 4 countries, Bangladesh, Egypt, Senegal and the US re building sustainable food ecosystems in response to the Ukraine food supply crisis.

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Fully vaccinated people in Britain can now carry on life like normal within weeks and be free of quarantine, with no need to take daily tests.

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BBC environmental correspondent points out that the climate change executive order from U.S. president Trump reversing Obama's clean energy policies is designed to change the narrative to job creation. This follows approval for building the Keystone pipeline from Canada to bring oil from oil sands production to the U.S. The pipeline was also presented as a job creation effort. Environmental groups oppose the president's action. Court action and challenges are seen as helping Republican policy of delaying implementation of Clean Power Plan policy setup to control carbon dioxide emissions under the Obama administration. 

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 State tax shortfalls in the US were expected as consumer purchases dropped sharply in 2020 from the impact of coronavirus lockdowns. Yet this has not happened as total taxes for all states have remained essentially flat, only down less than 1% in 2020 over 2019. Widespread intervention by the US government helped households, businesses and financial markets, helping avoid the pessimistic projections. Stable employment for the more affluent households with steady jobs working from home brought in stronger tax revenues. The situation improved for most states in the second half of 2020, with roughly half the states taking in more revenue in 2020 than in 2019.  Idaho and Utah which attracted workers from the West Coast, had some of the highest tax revenue increases. The pandemic spared the high income jobs which generate most of the revenue helping to create surpluses in Colorado, Vermont, Georgia, Maine, California, Maryland and Virginia. In California a surge in initial public offerings in 2020 helped total tax revenue increase by 2.5%. Even a state like Illinois had personal tax collections higher in 2020 than 2019. This sets aside some of the fears that the pandemic caused about loss of jobs in state and local governments. With assistance from the Biden administration to state and local governments in the  $1.9 trillion aid package for 2021 this job loss could be restored to aid economic recovery. ...

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Happiness in Finland may be more about expectations for contentment being more reasonable, says this report on Finland. Colston and Michaels talk to Finns in different parts of the country to get a sense of how Finns look at life and why the country is rated so highly on a happiness index put out by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. For one thing Finland has a small homogenous population of 5 million people spread out over a vast densely forested region with a strong sense of identity and mutual help. It is also a technologically advanced country. This has enable Finland to maintain a state that provides an extraordinary amount of public services in education, health care, culture, that promote a sense of well being. Its participation in winter and other sports and sports facilities open to all also factor into this. This is true also of Denmark with 5 million people another country in the same region. Consider that the greater Mumbai region alone has over 20 million people, Shanghai 29 million and Tokyo 37 million. Just the pressure on space in homes is different. The long dark winters have an impact for Finns yet the people have adapted with a persevering quality that helps them deal with it. And having a peculiar Nordic version of mindfulness, a Buddhist quality, that brings contentment by understanding the nature of happiness which is mixed with tinge of sadness. Qualities that are shared throughout the Nordic region including Sweden.   ...