Washington Post (October 14)
Passage of the free trade agreement with South Korea took half a decade: a disgrace. Still there is ample cause for celebration. “South Korea is a stable democracy in Northeast Asia and a growing, trillion-dollar market. Under the new deal, 95 percent of industrial and consumer goods will soon move tariff-free between the United States and South Korea, adding $12 billion annually to U.S. exports — and fortifying an alliance that helps maintain peace and security in China’s neighborhood…. So, go ahead: Declare the glass half full and raise it to the long-overdue victory for free trade.”
Tags: Alliance, Democracy, Free trade, South Korea, U.S.
New York Times (October 11)
The Times applauds economists Christopher Sims and Thomas Sargent, who were awarded the 2011 Nobel in economic sciences. “The prize committee has rewarded two towering intellects—and delivered a challenge to politicians who are driven more by ideology than by serious consideration of the real-world consequences of their actions.” In particular, the Times hopes politicians will recognize “two important approaches: near-term public spending to spur jobs paired with tax increases to pay for the new programs and, eventually, to reduce the deficit.”
The Economist (October 8)
The solution to Europe’s crisis is fairly obvious, but there is one problem. The solution “depends on the Europeans to carry it out. The debt crisis has been running for 18 months now, and the only way that euro-zone leaders have dazzled is through sheer incompetence.”
Tags: Crisis, Debt, Europe, Incompetence, Leadership
Boston Globe (October 7)
“Personal computers, smartphones, and digital music players might well exist if Steve Jobs had never begun tinkering in his parents’ California garage in the 1970s, but they wouldn’t have developed so rapidly, so beautifully, and with so much thought to their users. Without Jobs, who died of cancer at 56 Wednesday, the technologies we love would lack almost everything we love about them.”
Tags: Apple, Death, PCs, Smartphones, Steve Jobs
Financial Times (October 5)
In a better-late-than-never move, the EU is moving to ensure banks are adequately capitalized. The EU still needs to get to the heart of the matter, “given that the biggest systemic risk to the region’s banks is contagion from sovereign debt.” Eurozone policymaking continues to deny “how serious the problems are until there is no alternative…. By then the cost of action is greater than it might have been with a more timely response.”
Tags: Banks, EU, Risk, Slow response, Sovereign debt
Time (October 3)
Kids don’t study enough is the common complaint. South Korea faces a different problem: Children are studying too hard. Government officials have started patrols to “find children who are studying after 10 p.m. And stop them.” The officials hope “to reduce the country’s addiction to private, after-hours tutoring academies (called hagwons).” South Korea hopes to curb excesses “to reduce student stress and reward softer qualities like creativity.”
Tags: Creativity, Government, South Korea, Studying
Wall Street Journal (October 3)
Hundreds of protestors were arrested for blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge as “the anti-Wall Street protest in Lower Manhattan entered its third week.” The protest has spawned similar protests in cities including Chicago and Los Angeles. Most of the protestors complaints are directed at “corporations that they say are too powerful and often unethical,” with firms that received taxpayer bailouts while still awarding bonuses singled out for extra scorn.
Hundreds of protestors were arrested for blocking traffic on the Brooklyn Bridge as “the anti-Wall Street protest in Lower Manhattan entered its third week.” The protest has spawned similar protests in cities including Chicago and Los Angeles. Most of the protestors complaints are directed at “corporations that they say are too powerful and often unethical,” with firms that received taxpayer bailouts while still awarding bonuses singled out for extra scorn.
Tags: Brooklyn Bridge, Chicago, LA, New York, Protest, U.S., Wall Street
Boston Globe (October 2)
Warren Buffett complained his tax rate was too low. He believes the wealthiest Americans have an obligation to pay more. In his honor, President Obama has proposed a minimum “Buffett tax’’ on the very rich. The Globe salutes Warren Buffet, contrasting him with other CEOs. Buffett is “a walking indictment of the puffed-up CEO who, in bad times, displaces blame in a torrent of MBA-speak – and takes home big bonuses no matter what.”
The Economist (October 1)
“Now the world’s biggest technology firm, measured by sales,” Samsung Electronics “makes more televisions than any other company.” Samsung is emerging as Asia’s version of General Electric, having “outstripped the Japanese firms it once mimicked.” But the secret of Samsung’s success is nothing new. Samsung is “a well-run family firm, with a strong culture and a focus on the long term, which has made good use of an indulgent state.”
“Now the world’s biggest technology firm, measured by sales,” Samsung Electronics “makes more televisions than any other company.” Samsung is emerging as Asia’s version of General Electric, having “outstripped the Japanese firms it once mimicked.” But the secret of Samsung’s success is nothing new. Samsung is “a well-run family firm, with a strong culture and a focus on the long term, which has made good use of an indulgent state.”
New York Times (September 28)
“The world has barely dug out of recession and the global economy is again slowing dangerously. Most leaders seem eager to make things even worse.” China should let its currency rise. The U.S., Germany, Britain and other rich countries should be spending to spur growth. Instead, everyone seems to be doing exactly the wrong thing, which “is what caused the Great Depression.”
“The world has barely dug out of recession and the global economy is again slowing dangerously. Most leaders seem eager to make things even worse.” China should let its currency rise. The U.S., Germany, Britain and other rich countries should be spending to spur growth. Instead, everyone seems to be doing exactly the wrong thing, which “is what caused the Great Depression.”
Tags: Currency, Economy, Great Depression, Growth, Spending
