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New York Times (July 30)

2013/ 07/ 31 by jd in Global News

President Obama will need to appoint a replacement later this year to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke when his term expires in January 2014. The incoming Chairman will be challenged to delicately wind down the Fed’s massive quantitative easing measures. Camps of support are already arising around the two front runners Lawrence Summers and Janet Yellen. The New York Times comes down firmly in the former’s support, writing “no one else can match Janet Yellen’s combination of academic credentials and policy-making experience. And no one ever confirmed to the job has come to it with as deep a grounding in both the theory and practice of monetary and regulatory policy as Ms. Yellen would bring.” Should she be confirmed, she would also become the first woman to head the Fed.President Obama will need to appoint a replacement later this year to replace Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke when his term expires in January 2014. The incoming Chairman will be challenged to delicately wind down the Fed’s massive quantitative easing measures. Camps of support are already arising around the two front runners Lawrence Summers and Janet Yellen. The New York Times comes down firmly in the former’s support, writing “no one else can match Janet Yellen’s combination of academic credentials and policy-making experience. And no one ever confirmed to the job has come to it with as deep a grounding in both the theory and practice of monetary and regulatory policy as Ms. Yellen would bring.” Should she be confirmed, she would also become the first woman to head the Fed.

 

Wall Street Journal (July 29)

2013/ 07/ 30 by jd in Global News

“Abenomics represents the best—and possibly the last—chance for Japan to avert a debt crisis that could set back the global recovery once more.” Around the world, everybody should hope for the success of Abenomics. If it does, “then the world’s third-biggest economy could re-emerge as a major engine of growth at a time when Europe is stagnant and China is slowing. If it fails, then Japan’s Mount Fuji of government debt could come tumbling down, sending shock waves through the global economy.”

 

Los Angeles Times (July 28)

2013/ 07/ 29 by jd in Global News

“North and South, on the 60th anniversary of the end of the Korean War, couldn’t be more different.” When the armistice ended the war in 1953, “one-third of all homes and two-fifths of all factories were destroyed. Seoul, Pyongyang and all other cities were little more than rubble. Food was scarce, orphans plentiful.” Today, not that much has changed in the North, but everything has changed in the South, which is now the world’s 12th largest economy. “There is no more inspiring story in the world over the past half-century—or a more compelling example of how political decisions can shape people’s lives.”

 

The Economist (July 27)

2013/ 07/ 28 by jd in Global News

“After a decade of surging growth, in which they led a global boom and then helped pull the world economy forwards in the face of the financial crisis, the emerging giants have slowed sharply.” This slowdown in emerging markets “is not the beginning of a bust. But it is a turning-point for the world economy.”

 

Euromoney (July issue)

2013/ 07/ 27 by jd in Global News

“June was the worst month for emerging markets since at least 2008. What about the next five years?… Growth prospects in the US and Japan are improving, just as those in the emerging markets are worsening. That is a fundamental switch to what markets have been used to.” Investors will “no longer ignore China’s lower growth rate, or the simmering political confrontations in Turkey and some other emerging markets.”

 

Bloomberg (July 26)

2013/ 07/ 26 by jd in Global News

“Everyone from officials at the U.S. Treasury to punters in London trading pits to salarymen in Osaka are so ecstatic to see a Japanese leader acting boldly that they’ve forgotten to study his strategy. It’s great that Abe wants to shake Japan Inc. out of two decades of complacency. It’s equally important, though, that his fixes are the right ones and are implemented carefully.”

 

Financial Times (July 25)

2013/ 07/ 25 by jd in Global News

“Since taking office in the spring, the new Chinese leadership knew it had to boost a slowing economy, while, at the same time, rebalancing it away from state-driven investment. Some of the measures included in the ‘mini-stimulus’ Beijing announced on Wednesday strike this difficult balance.” By cutting red tape for exporters and taxes for small companies, the package may succeed in letting “hundreds of small firms bloom.”

 

New York Times (July 23)

2013/ 07/ 24 by jd in Global News

“To keep commerce going with China, Japan’s most important Asian trading partner, Mr. Abe has to stop rubbing raw the wounds of World War II. That includes not visiting the Yasukuni Shrine, where war criminals from that conflict are honored. Nor should his government divert budget resources into military muscle flexing. Pushing into these politically contentious areas would erode the economic progress and promise of stable political leadership Mr. Abe has just worked so hard to achieve.”

 

Washington Post (July 21)

2013/ 07/ 23 by jd in Global News

Prime Minister Abe’s strong mandate is promising for Asia, and could help reduce tension. ”A healthy U.S.-Japan alliance is the region’s best hope for stability. That alliance, in turn, depends on a prospering Japanese economy and on at least cordial relations between Japan and other U.S. friends in Asia, most notably South Korea. Thanks to Japanese fatigue with the instability of the past decade, and to Mr. Abe’s political skills, he now has the best chance in a long time to deliver on those goals.”

 

Wall Street Journal (July 21)

2013/ 07/ 23 by jd in Global News

“Since taking office in December, Mr. Abe has shown a nearly unprecedented level of resolve on all three fronts [fiscal, monetary, regulatory] compared to recent prime ministers.” In his quest to reignite Japan’s economy, “Mr. Abe still faces a long and difficult road to get from where Japan is now to where he wants it to be. He may yet fail, or only partially succeed, in some of his priorities. But outside observers should not discount the extent to which Mr. Abe is giving voters something tangible to support. Voters certainly didn’t discount that on Sunday when they gave their support to Mr. Abe’s party.”

 

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