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IRA's were meant for Americans to save for retirement. Accounts over $25 million- there are 1000 accounts. Accounts over $10 million there are 11,600 accounts. When enacted rules for IRA never planned for accounts over $25 million. With investors in companies like Nvidia at 3 cents a share, huge holdings of over $200 million have been accumulated in IRA's. Joint Committee for Taxation shows about $250 billion in IRA and 401 K tax revenue not collected in 2025. Of this 63% goes to households that are in the top 20% of the income distribution- $157 billion from taxes for households that were so well off the IRA's were never meant for them.  Universal health care, NHS system like the UK's, would cost $4 trillion and offset is the current $5.3 trillion in a patchwork system saving $1.3 trillion. Universal health care would increase demand for health care yet by filling American healthcare needs improve health and reduce the cost of healthcare as fewer healthcare services would be needed for a healthier population. A better tax system would add to the US government's resources to provide healthcare and better infrastructure. The $157 billion above, other tax not collected which could be close to $1 trillion, would provide additional revenues for investment in healthcare and infrastructure, greatly improving quality of life for the American people.  ...

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Cook and Olson look at how U.S. shale oil firms have handled the slump in oil prices. Their report in WSJ says the shale firms have weathered the oil slump well, with production declines in 2016 of only 535,000 barrels a day compared to 2015. The Saudi decision to not cut production and let oil prices drop has affected mostly higher cost less flexible production for mega projects such as deep water projects and oil sands in Canada. Oil shale firms are expected to snap back, according to experts, as demand increases. U.S. production is expected to increase by about 700,000 barrels a day by end of of 2017, say experts.

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Blueberries, blackberries, plums, broad beans,recommended and cherries for plenty of flavanols.

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Massive tax relief of about $650 billion according to the Joint Committee on Taxation- in the U.S. economic package of $2 trillion -will help companies in the oil, aerospace, automobile,  airline and other industries ride out this coronavirus economic slump. They are designed to generate cash quickly for companies in this crisis.

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Panoramas of Lost London-Wealth, Work, Poverty and Change by Philip Davies, shows the London of the British Empire stretching from Canada, India to Australia, and its diverse buildings around 1905. It shows the world of Dickens in the poorer neighborhoods and the buildings of the upper classes. This is the world that gave birth to the Renaissance, Reformation, and the Industrial Revolution that changed first Europe and the World, with the advent of steam power, ships, science and electricity. 

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BBC cites a senior Foreign Office (Whitehall) figure about Starmer's appointment of Mandelson when the vetting raised serious questions, in this way-"it sums up Starmer's premiership: a man who claimed he was grown-up public servant turns out to be hopelessly out of touch with the detail." It cites many people from the UK Foreign Office and their concern about how the Labour government under Starmer has handled the Mandelson issue. Weith elections coming up, the BBC says this issue is not going away.

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The protests in Chile that started with a subway fare increase and then into protest against inadequate pensions, poor health care and schools, have turned into violent protests with extensive damage. Damage to supermarkets, stores and other businesses is estimated at billions of dollars. Damage to the modern Metro is about $370 million dollars. The economy will grow at 1% this year after growth of 4% in 2018.  The government plans a $5.5 billion stimulus, and the central bank could sell $20 billion including a quarter of its reserves to support the peso currency.  The government of president Pinera has only a 13% approval rating. A December poll by COES Santiago think tank shows 65% of Chileans support continuation of protests, and found that 89% of Chileans planned to back a new constitution. The old constitution was designed in a way that led to poor support for retirement and inadequate pensions. It also led to increased inequality in this country of 18 million. This constitution was drafted during the Pinochet dictatorship  and has now lost its legitimacy along with the rest of the political leaders. A referendum will be held in April 2020 for a new constitution.  The copper mines that support Chilean copper exports are intact and the country has low debt, which should help Chile invest in a recovery with the stimulus. ...

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China's sales of automobiles dropped by 7.4% to 20.7 million in 2019, according to the China Passenger Car Association. Sales of GM were hit hard with adrop of 15%, and Ford sales dropped for two successive years. Also hit hard were low to midrange Chinese brands with declining sales in western and central China. 

German and Japanese brands picked up sales with Toyota sales increasing by 9% in 2019.

 

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India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman says the decline in the auto sector sales includes as one of the factors the shift by millenials to ride sharing app services such as Uber, Lyft and Ola. A bigger factor is the lack of financing as less credit is available with bad loans hitting the banking industry. The current economic slowdown in India includes a drop in sales of automobiles.

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As the period of transition between administrations is a period when no action can be taken on the stimulus plan and 533,0000 jobs were lost in November, with the uncertainties facing the auto industry and more unemplyment expected as that industry donwsizes, and consumers overstretched, the Fed takes aggresssive steps. It reduces the target interest rate, an overnight bank lending rate called the federal funds rate, to between zero and one quarter percentage point. And it added that theat the Fed's policy will be to keep interest rates "exceptionally low " for some time. The 3 month Treasury bill rate, another borrowing rate has gone down to zero.

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Brilliant batting from Steve Smith with 210 in the first innings and a quick 82 in the second innings for the Ashes Test at Old Trafford. Australia set England a goal of 383. Pat Cummins took two wickets with England not scoring, with Pat Root bowled out in the first ball. England at 18 for two wickets have a uphill battle to save the Test. Steve Smith was adept at handling all the different bowling. 

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The effect of the lockdown on hundreds of millions of workers in the informal economy in the developing world.

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In December 2021 China's government ended tax cuts for buyers of automobiles, and ended long running electric vehicle subsidies. China's car sales are sluggish in 2023 leading to price cuts.