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On the back of 18% growth in deliveries in Eastern Europe and 28% in Asia, VW increased operating profits for its core VW passenger car brand. This increased to 461 million euros even when sales declined in the US and Western Europe. Shows that German manufacturers can do well as long as the Asian, South American markets and Eastern European markets hold up well, as the US is entering a recession and exchange rates are unfavorable for manufacture in the euro region and export to the USA.

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After a period when Democrats let the narrative be shaped by "the entitlements crisis" and questioning the legacy of president Roosevelt- who many including Mr. Trump believe setup the groundwork for the prosperity of the early postwar years in America- the vision of the New Deal and FDR is back, says Glickman in the Washington Post. He says the New Deal order lasted from 1932 to 1980 when president Reagan was elected. Conservatives were skeptical about the New Deal, and Democrats such as Al Gore joined the Conservatives with their faith in limited government and unregulated or less regulated markets. To this was added the faith Democrats such as Mr. Clinton put in a new policy of openness in trade with China that ultimately led to todays $ 1 billion a day deficit with China. There is a new sense says Glickman that the tide is reversing and that FDR is now seen as the new ideal for a fairer and better America, and better investment in the people of America. ...

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A detailed account of how it happened and the hard work of Secretary Paulson from meetings at 7am to 11pm, with one banker saying it was harder than prison where you get 3 full meals a day. While Treasury reviewed its options, it asked Morgan Stanley bankers and Fed officials to go over the books at Fannie and Freddie. Treasury also handled calls from foreign cenral banks holding Fannie and Freddie bonds. The long meetings at Treasury, those involved, and the final meeting with the CEO's of the 2 companies where Paulson told them "Accept, or it will happen," they could go willingly or FHFA would declare them undercapitalized and take them over involuntarily.

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What else can the Fed and Treasury do after coordinated rate cuts with European nations, bailouts of wall street financial institutions, buyback of toxic assets? Making direct loans to homeowners facing foreclosure, the Hubbard and Feldstein proposals, McCain proposal. Economist Rob Shapiro adviser to Clinton, says the focus of the administration on Wall Street to the exclusion of homeowners is economically and politically myopic.

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WSJ looks at a washing machine factory set up in Newberry, South Carolina. It generated 1500 well paying factory jobs. It also generated $1 million in added tax revenues every year for investment in Newberry schools and public services. When multiplied thousands of times for 51 states this adds up to billions of dollars into schools and public services, transportation in the 51 states. Add to this the restaurants and other small businesses that are supported by 1500 workers and their families this creates additional jobs of 2 or 3 times the 1500 jobs created with additional tax revenues from these workers. This is also how America reached a higher standard of living after 1945 than any other country. The higher prices come from paying American workers higher wages than in a third country in Asia. And from the point of view of the thousands of such communities in 51 states in America this is overall a massive win compared to the destruction of such factory supported communities and destruction of American manufacturing itself. Some of the higher prices are paid by city dwellers in major metropolitan centers who have much higher incomes than rural and small town communities where factories are located which are easily borne considering the benefits they enjoy of a secure supply chain, and a better educated workforce, a better educated citizenry in the country they live in. These costs and benefits are rarely counted to bring all the hidden costs and hidden benefits into the equation in many economic analysis that give no value to the national interest and the importance of communities across the entire US rural, small town and urban.  ...

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Janet Mills, 2 term governor, 78 years, fails to have poll lead over Plattner with local Maine bred identity in the 2026 Democratic primary. It says a lot about the voter attitudes in 2026 which want to steer forward not backwards. Janet Mills ran ads on Plattner but did not get the lead, leading to her withdrawal from the primary. Republican Susan Collins looks hard to dislodge from this seat. Republicans in Louisiana on the heels of the SCOTUS decision against gerrymandered electoral districts want to redraw the electoral districts so that Democrats are left out of the state Congressional delegation entirely.