The Economist (July 5)
Prabowo Subianto and Joko Widodo are facing off in Indonesia’s July 9 presidential election. While both candidates support protectionist policies, “Jokowi’s appears milder. Foreign investors certainly prefer him: Deutsche Bank reports that if Mr Prabowo wins, 56% of investors surveyed would sell their Indonesian assets and just 13% would buy, while a Jokowi win would cause 74% to buy and just 6% to sell.”
Tags: Assets, Candidates, Election, Indonesia, Investors, Joko Widodo, Prabowo Subianto, President, Protectionist
Financial Times (April 8)
“Whatever the thundering herd of investors may think, it is too soon to declare that Mr Draghi has won the war for the euro. The eurozone still faces deep underlying economic and political problems that are beyond the control of the president of the ECB and his colleagues.”
Tags: Colleagues, Draghi, ECB, Economic, euro, eurozone, Herd, Investors, Political, President, Problems
New York Times (January 29, 2014)
President Obama delivered his sixth annual State of the Union address to Congress. It “acknowledged the obvious: Congress has become a dead end for most of the big, muscular uses of government to redress income inequality and improve the economy for all, because of implacable Republican opposition.” The President’s determination to bypass Congress and do whatever he can to get things done without legislation is realistic: “Mr. Obama should employ every tool in his box to bypass those barriers.”
Tags: Barriers, Bypass, Congress, Determination, Economy, Government, Inequality, Legislation, Obama, Opposition, President, Republicans, State of the Union
New York Times (January 23, 2014)
“It is hard to imagine a country more miserable than the Central African Republic.” Though potentially rich, the country has been repeatedly looted by previous leaders. Ongoing conflict has displaced a quarter of the population and claimed 1,000 lives since December. “So, to the degree to which they can offer any hope for this broken-down state, the announcement of a new interim president, a decision by the European Union to send a peacekeeping force and a pledge of half-a-billion dollars in humanitarian aid are all good news.”
Tags: Central African Republic, Conflict, EU, Humanitarian aid, Leaders, Looted, Peacekeeping force, Population, President, Rich
Chicago Tribune (October 16)
“Raising the debt limit neither authorizes new spending nor increases our national debt by a single dime…. It simply allows us to pay the bills Congress has already racked up.” As such, the debt ceiling should be repealed. “All it does is make the markets jittery and provide an opportunity for contemptible, hypocritical grandstanding that distracts from serious negotiations about taxes and spending. At worst it crashes the economy. No president, Democrat or Republican, should ever again have to negotiate with Congress with such a threat over his or her head.”
Tags: Congress, Debt ceiling, Democrat, Economy, Markets, National debt, Negotiations, President, Republican, Spending, Taxes, U.S.
Financial Times (November 23)
“Instead of protecting a revolution,” by usurping power Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi “risks relaunching one.” The largest nation in the Arab world, “Egypt, is the standard bearer for all those who rose up against autocracies.” President Morsi’s “deft handling of foreign affairs has shown that his government can be an effective interlocutor between Middle East and west.” Egypt may help prove the potential of democratic Islam. Still, “as long as there are no checks on his exercise of power, this will be in doubt. The decree should be reversed. Democracy is often noisy, complex and slow. But its processes cannot be usurped.”
Tags: Democracy, Egypt, Islam, Middle East, Mohamed Morsi, Power, President
Financial Times (September 11)
“Xi Jinping was being groomed to become the next general secretary of the Communist party and hence president of China. The only thing that remained was to set the date for the 18th party congress and anoint him. There is just one problem with this well-choreographed transition: Mr Xi has disappeared.” Missing for more than a week, Chinese authorities are acting as if nothing is wrong and denying the existence of Mr. Xi’s previously scheduled meetings. Did he have a heart attack? A car accident? Rumors are swirling and internet searches for “back injury,” the official excuse for his absence, are being blocked by government censors.
Tags: China, Communist party, Party congress, President, Xi Jinping
Washington Post (May 28)
“The unfortunate result should not lessen the significance of what occurred last week: the freest and fairest vote for president in Egyptian history…. An elected Egyptian president, even a bad one, could lead his country, and the region, into a new era — one in which democracy is on the rise”
Wall Street Journal (March 3, 2012)
“Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia’s paramount ruler since 2000, will reclaim his old job as president in Sunday’s elections. The drama comes in the aftermath…. Anticorruption blogger and activist Alexei Navalny will be in the middle of it.” Amid recent protests, he “has emerged as the charismatic and fresh face of the movement.” Just 35 years old, Navalny works from a small office with a staff of just 11. Yet he is feared by the Kremlin. Navalny remains the only opposition leader banned from state-controlled TV.
Tags: Navalny, Opposition, President, Putin, Russia
Wall Street Journal (March 3, 2012)
“Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia’s paramount ruler since 2000, will reclaim his old job as president in Sunday’s elections. The drama comes in the aftermath…. Anticorruption blogger and activist Alexei Navalny will be in the middle of it.” Amid recent protests, he “has emerged as the charismatic and fresh face of the movement.” Just 35 years old, Navalny works from a small office with a staff of just 11. Yet he is feared by the Kremlin. Navalny remains the only opposition leader banned from state-controlled TV.
“Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Russia’s paramount ruler since 2000, will reclaim his old job as president in Sunday’s elections. The drama comes in the aftermath…. Anticorruption blogger and activist Alexei Navalny will be in the middle of it.” Amid recent protests, he “has emerged as the charismatic and fresh face of the movement.” Just 35 years old, Navalny works from a small office with a staff of just 11. Yet he is feared by the Kremlin. Navalny remains the only opposition leader banned from state-controlled TV.
Tags: Navalny, Opposition, President, Putin, Russia
