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The deal for a peaceful end to the protester camps of Morsi supporters arranged by the U.S. and the E.U. through the foreign ministers from Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. E.U. envoy for Egypt, Bernardino Leon, says a simple package was proposed by Burns, Leon, and the two foreign ministers for removal of the camps to be followed by talks between the government and the Brotherhood party leading to new elections. Gen. Sissi refused to accept the package leading to the resignation of the leader of the secular parties, El Baradei. This deal by Leon is referred to by the minister for planning and international cooperation of the Morsi government in his op-ed in the NYT on August 16, 2013, and was an effort by the international community to bring a peaceful resolution of the problem leading to new elections.

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More doubts about the $200 billion program that will lend money to private investors to buy securities backed by student and auto loans, credit card debt and small business loans, called the TALF or Term Asset -Backed Securities Loan Facility. The Fed will provide these loans at attractive interest rates and provide an insurance policy for possible default of some of the securities, as investors stoped buying in October 2008. This is a vitally necessary step to keep consumer lending going as it collapsed in October. Lenders package these loans into securities and sell them so they can make more loans. See the link and graph on this. But will it stimulate purchases of automobiles and other items? It will keep the lending going but the problem lies in that lenders are asking for higher credit scores from consumers to make loans, and banks do not have confidence in consumers just as millions of consumers have damaged their creditworthiness by missing or late payments. And consumers are reluctant to borrow and make purchases. And while this is a necessary move to keep unclogging the credit channels in the system by the Fed and Treasury, it still means in actual practice to be a limited lending and borrowing to make the continuing slide in demand a continuing fact. Small businesses may fare better with credit unions which should pick up their lending. The situation with mortgage lending is again the same with higher credit scores required and millions of homeowners under water not able to take advantage of the lower rates to refinance. Cameron Findlay, the chief economist at Lending Tree says that at the end of the day it is not just about lower rates but also of qualifications with credit scores of 720 required and a down payment of at least 20%, at a time when unemployment is rising and wages declining. So he sees little or no significant meaningful impact....

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France is moving quickly with spending on the $37 billion stimulus. Public buildings, museums, cathedrals and historical sites are being renovated in 2009. About 50 chateaus, and 75 cathedrals are part of 100 million euros for cultural centres. About 75% of France's stimulus money will be spent in 2009, in contrast to the slow work in the USA.

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John Frisbie, president of the US-China Business Council, says the single most important issue over the last year for the council's members is China's innovation policies and how they link to government procurement. Concern about China's "indigenous innovation" policy.

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Economic reform legislation in Israel that unwinds the large conglomerates in Israel, and limits concentration of wealth in a small number of business enterprises limiting competition.

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The Commerce Department released revised figures of GDP growth for the first quarter that showed 0.4% annual rate of growth, which was revised from an earlier estimate of 1.9%. This is startling news because of the extent of the decline in this revision. The GDP growth estimate for the second quarter of 2011 is an annual rate of 1.3%. Economists at IHS Global Insight and Capital Economics point to lower growth in the remainder of the year if Congress cuts spending immediately and the prevailing uncertainty leads to businesses holding off on investment. Inflation adjusted consumer spending increased just slightly by 0.1%, as consumers are paying higher prices even if they spend more. The Commerce Department report also shows that the impact on the auto industry from supply chain disruption in the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake was not as bad as expected earlier. This means say analysts that the bounce from auto industry recovery will not help growth in the remainder of the year.

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David Cameron's standing with the British public is hurt by the phone hacking scandal and his close ties with News International's Coulson and Rebecca Brooks. This has boosted the standing of Labor party leader Ed Miliband. Miliband said in an intervew with the Observer newspaper: "I think that we've got to look at the situation whereby one person can own more than 20% of the newspaper market, the Sky platform and Sky News. I think it's unhealthy because that amount of power in one person's hands has clearly led to abuses of power within his organization." Miliband has called for the breakup of Rupert Murdoch's media holdings, saying News Corporation "has too much power over British public life." He told the Observer he would work to get a cross-party agreement on new rules governing media ownership that would reduce market share of News Corporation.