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Washington Post (July 30)

2011/ 07/ 31 by jd in Global News

It’s high time for Congress to grow up and reach agreement on the debt ceiling. They are holding a “gun to the head of the nation’s economy. That makes for a dangerous atmosphere in which to conduct negotiations but one in which, we continue to hope, enough clear-thinking lawmakers will conclude that the time for compromise is now.”

 

Wall Street Journal (July 27)

2011/ 07/ 29 by jd in Global News

“Saturday’s tragic train crash near Wenzhou, in the coastal province of Zhejiang, raises important questions about the Chinese government’s ability to ensure basic safety standards.” The Journal points to the difficulty top-down Chinese institutions have in developing and supervising complex systems. “Like a multinational corporation with a long supply chain, a high-speed rail network depends on individuals at multiple levels of command taking responsibility for effective local operations. China’s predilection for top-down organization makes it difficult for information to flow horizontally and for subordinates to take the initiative to make improvements.”

 

Financial Times (July 26)

2011/ 07/ 28 by jd in Global News

“Made in China, undone in America.” Chinese firms that list in the U.S., often through reverse mergers, have seen their popularity drop and shares slump as questions arise over the propriety of their books. Some of the world’s most respected investors, including John Paulson, have taken their lumps. As of July 20, the shares of four of these firms were trading at less than half the price they were initially sold to US investors. Meanwhile, one of the stocks had been de-listed from Nasdaq and all eight were trading far below their one-time highs.” This trend has raised questions about whether reporting and regulation in China fall short of international standards.

 

Barron’s (July 25)

2011/ 07/ 27 by jd in Global News

There is a social media bubble. “Investor enthusiasm for social-media stocks is way overblown.” To illustrate Barron’s points out that 8 social media companies (Facebook, Groupon, Zynga, LivingSocial, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pandora Media and Zillow) with recent or potential IPOs only earned combined revenue of $3.5 billion. Alone, the Washington Post earned $1 billion more than the eight companies combined, but the market value of the Post is just $3.4 billion. In contrast, Twitter has been valued at $8 billion and Facebook’s theoretical value is $100 billion. While these may be great companies, they appear to be bad stocks for investors.

 

LA Times (July 24)

2011/ 07/ 27 by jd in Global News

“Too many countries are playing Russian roulette when it comes to seismic risk.” It is “a human triumph of the first order” that so few buildings collapsed as a result of “Japan’s Sendai earthquake on March 11, which released 600 million times the energy of the Hiroshima bomb.” But many governments have yet to adopt Japan’s stringent building standards. In many earthquake prone countries, a similar quake could kill a million people. Seismic risk mitigation is “the greatest urban policy challenge the world confronts today.”

 

The New York Times (July 24)

2011/ 07/ 26 by jd in Global News

Since Fukushima, “Americans have asked whether something just as horrible could happen here.” The odds of an earthquake/tsunami combination are low, but “the possibility that something equally unexpected and unplanned for could exceed current defenses at American plants cannot be discounted.” Regulators and operators should take stronger preventive measures. More specifically, they should follow the “thoughtful and common-sense recommendations” made by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) task force that was assembled to review America’s nuclear preparedness in light of Fukushima.

Since Fukushima, “Americans have asked whether something just as horrible could happen here.” The odds of an earthquake/tsunami combination are low, but “the possibility that something equally unexpected and unplanned for could exceed current defenses at American plants cannot be discounted.” Regulators and operators should take stronger preventive measures. More specifically, they should follow the “thoughtful and common-sense recommendations” made by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) task force that was assembled to review America’s nuclear preparedness in light of Fukushima.

 

The Wall Street Journal (July 23)

2011/ 07/ 25 by jd in Global News

According to the Journal, the “one significant achievement of the Dodd-Frank law” was the “requirement that regulators break the cartel of ratings agencies that helped ignite the 2008 financial crisis.” The journal does not want to see a retreat, but foot dragging is slowing the process. Ratings cartels systematize risk. Ultimate responsibility for risk should be decentralized to those making the decisions. Credit ratings companies should compete in the market to provide the best analysis.

 

The Independent (July 22)

2011/ 07/ 24 by jd in Global News

In assembling the latest bailout plan for Greece, European leaders have again “done the bare minimum required of them.” They have successfully “bought some time, but not much. Their failure to agree on a radical plan of action to restore confidence and address the root drivers of bond market panic means that this crisis is not over.”

 

The Economist (July 21)

2011/ 07/ 23 by jd in Global News

“China is getting old before it has got rich.” Thanks to its one-child policy, China doesn’t have enough kids. There are currently 8 working age individuals to support every senior over 65. “By 2050 it will have only 2.2. Japan, the oldest country in the world now, has 2.6.”

 

Los Angeles Times (July 21)

2011/ 07/ 22 by jd in Global News

The space shuttle touched down for the last time. “Born with Columbia in 1981, the shuttle was NASA’s longest-running space exploration program….The five shuttles launched, saved and revitalized the Hubble Space Telescope; built the space station, the world’s largest orbiting structure; and opened the final frontier to women, minorities, schoolteachers, even a prince. The first American to orbit the Earth, John Glenn, became the oldest person ever in space, thanks to the shuttle. He was 77 at the time.” It will take at least 3-5 years before astronauts can again depart America (this time via commercial carriers) for space. NASA is now focusing on a next generation of space flight, with the goal of manned flight to an asteroid and then to Mars. Both are distant goals and NASA’s future remains uncertain.

 

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