Early last week at the G20 summit in Paris, a hot microphone picked up a private conversation between President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in which the two leaders were griping about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (more)
With his remarks in Jakarta, Indonesia, President Obama made history once again. Sadly, it’s a most unenviable title. I believe he is the most anti-Israel president in U.S. history. (more)
On a day when the price of gold soared past $1,400 an ounce and oil hit high for the year, President Obama found himself in India Monday on the defensive over the Federal Reserve’s decision last week to print more money so it can buy up $600 billion in government bonds — a move Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke insists will stimulate an economy stuck in neutral. (more)
GYEONGJU, South Korea—A proposal among the Group of 20 nations to target curbs on current-account imbalances, meant to avert a “currency war,” itself ran into opposition from industrial and developing nations Friday. (more)
The falling dollar is on most everybody’s mind, especially in financial markets here at home and globally. A currency war? World protectionism? Race to the bottom? (more)
The same fiscal hubris that pushed Greece’s economy past the breaking point has become Obama’s economic policy: spend without regard to future consequences. Spend regardless of revenue. Spend, and give no thought to the effect on the private sector. Just spend. (more)
Unbridled by domestic American politics, the International Monetary Fund gave Social Security — the so-called “third rail of American politics” — a bold kick Thursday in a report that urged the Obama administration to focus more on closing the deficit. The report also said that economic growth would occur at a slower rate than the White House is predicting and that the nation will fall deeper in debt than anticipated. (more)
Tim Geithner has undoubtedly become one of the top advisors in the Obama administration, not just in the Treasury, but in the Obama White House. While he and I disagree on a host of key policy issues, I loved the back-and-forth exchange we had during yesterday’s interview. Incidentally, Mr. Geithner stated that the Obama administration hopes to keep the top tax rate on dividends and capital gains capped at 20 percent. Be thankful for small blessings. (more)
Recently, the G-20 met in Toronto to discuss the economy and when they’d finished, they announced an agreement to cut deficits in half by 2013. (more)
Forget the G-20, the BP oil spill, the World Cup, forget even S.E. Cupp. (more)
Giant banks, while bracing for a wave of tougher regulation in Washington, will not have to face a new set of global rules on capital and liquidity anytime soon. (more)
President Obama made some interesting comments last night about budget deficits, signaling the onset of an age-old battle with Republicans over whether to cut spending or raise taxes (or possibly both). (more)
Topics – Housing Prices drop to 1963 levels, Fed stays the course, Financial Reform sprints, G-20 agenda for US announced, Business Roundtable concerns voiced, Selective TARP update and markets continue to slide. (more)
TORONTO (AP) — A Toronto man was charged Wednesday with possession of explosives in what police are calling a Group of 20 summit-related arrest. (more)
Topics – Conferees vow completion this week — RVs and Debit Cards are the focus — Climate change bill looks unlikely — Internet rules and backrooms — Uncertain Certainty, and markets remain down globally. (more)
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Dmitry Medvedev visits Silicon Valley for the first time on Wednesday, eager to reinvent his country’s outmoded, oil-dependent economy — and lure talent and money from the high-tech capital. (more)
Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman says that Germany has begun imposing austerity measures far too soon and that it could endanger fragile economic growth. His comments are just the latest in a trans-Atlantic dispute about fiscal policy. (more)
China said it will allow a more flexible yuan, signaling an end to the currency’s two-year-old peg to the dollar a week before a Group of 20 summit. (more)
