11.13.09

In his current Asian trip, President Obama visits Japan, then addresses a forum of leaders in Singapore, and eventually ends up in Seoul to discuss nukes and North Korea. But make no mistake, the axis of this week is the time Obama will spend in China, which has catapulted to the forefront of international affairs and is on its way to joining the United States as the alpha and omega of the global economic system. Read more…

01.28.09

As Wall Street continues its slow-motion hari kari, tens of millions of people on the lower-end of the income spectrum are finding that their access to credit is becoming all but nonexistent. As banks set aside ever more cash to cover themselves against potential future losses, the credit spigot that flowed so promiscuously to riskier customers is now not flowing at all. Read more…

01.20.09

If you were not one of the 2 million people watching the inauguration on the Mall in Washington, you could watch the spectacle on any number of television channels. Flipping between ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS would have yielded different commentary but largely the same mood: euphoria, awe at the magnitude of electing the first African-American president, and somber urgency about what confronts our financial system and the world. Yet, even as Obama warned of a difficult road, the crowds were wildly enthusiastic, and millions were moved. Main Street has turned a corner. Read more…

09.02.08

The near-miss of Gustav and the laughable (but effective) spin of the Republicans to foreswear politics and put on their “American hats” means that we can now resume watching our regularly scheduled show of politics. Obama’s acceptance speech last week was long on pocketbook issues, and short on foreign policy, and McCain will need to do the same. Indeed, his pick of Palin - who has zero foreign policy experience - highlights that this election is revolving around economic issues. Read more…

08.26.08

A rousing speech from Michelle Obama and we’re off. With the conventions in full-bloom, we will be treated to two weeks of constant coverage. In fact, with 4,000 delegates at the Democratic Convention and 15,000 members of the media, the convention in Denver is as much a media event as a political one - and that may be an understatement. The same will be true when the Republicans gather next week in Minneapolis-St. Paul. With every aspect of the agenda meticulously scripted in advance, the only drama will be scripted and produced, not spontaneous, and there will be as many surprises as there were at the opening and closing ceremonies of the Olympics in Beijing: none. Read more…

08.21.08

The recent polls showing a dead-heat race between Obama and McCain also indicate that economic issues are the single most important concern for voters, by far. And few people seem to feel that either candidate is doing much to address the underlying problems.

McCain has sidestepped the issue by attacking Obama and calling for more off-shore drilling as a panacea for higher gas and energy prices. It isn’t, but it has the virtue of simplicity, and higher gas costs are something almost all Americans - except those like me and my 8 million neighbors who live in New York City - can relate to. Obama has had a more nuanced approach and a very specific tax plan, but to date, his agenda hasn’t fully connected on a national level. Read more…

08.06.08

A cursory glance at the coverage this week of the Beijing Olympics shows an increasing crescendo of negative commentary. That is evident everywhere from the HuffingtonPost to the mainstream media, and even sports journalists have been jumping on the anti-China bandwagon. The recent decision of the Chinese government to deny former medalist Joey Cheek entry into the country because of his stated plan to rally athletes to pressure Sudan on its Darfur policy is just the latest issue to inflame opinion. Read more…

07.28.08

More than 75% of Americans now say that the economy is their number one concern heading into the general election in the fall. Those poll numbers are more than confirmed by consumer sentiment surveys which, despite a recent bounce care of the slight retreat of gas prices, have been at multi-decade nadirs. With incomes stagnant and spending squeezed by higher food and energy prices on the one hand and tighter credit on the other, hundreds of millions of Americans are feeling unable to meet their needs and/or desires with the money available to them. Read more…

07.22.08

This just in: General Electric and the government of Abu Dhabi just announced an $8 billion joint venture for commercial finance in the Middle East. Through Abu Dhabi’s investment arm Mubadala, the emirate will contribute $4 billion and GE the other $4 billion, growing to $40 billion in the coming years, with the aim of supporting various energy and infrastructure projects in the region, including an aggressive plan to sponsor green, clean and sustainable water and energy plants. As part of that, the fund will support several projects in Abu Dhabi’s Masdar City, a utopian project to build a carbon-neutral city in the desert. Read more…

07.15.08

Global stock markets are in summer free-fall; the stocks and bonds of financial institutions are sinking more quickly than the Titanic; and sentiment is veering into panic territory. We have, of course, been here before, not necessarily exactly here, but close enough. In 1990-1991, banks also went into a tailspin, and before that there was the S&L crisis, and before that, the massive failures of the early 1930s, and then back into the regular bank panics and financial collapses that were endemic to the U.S. financial system for much of our history. Read more…