Archive for the ‘International’ tag
Russia’s War on Palin
I love that Sarah Palin not only cannot backup her foreign policy experience with Russia. It shows a level of evasiveness we haven’t seen in politics in a long, long time. Commentators have tried to call her out on this, late-night humorists have mocked her. Now, she has gained a new enemy: Russia.
Turns out, the Russians aren’t buying this claim, either. They are attacking not only this claim, but her entire qualifications to serve in office. One outlet has even dubbed her “Mrs. Nobody Know-it-All”.
If she thinks the NY Times hates her, wait until she feels the wrath of media outlets who could care less about winning her approval. She’s losing credibility at home; abroad, it seems, it’s already gone.
Is Universal Healthcare Possible?
PBS’s FRONTLINE program, which always achieves an incredible level of journalism, recently ran a program on healthcare systems around the world. The premise of the program is whether the U.S. could learn anything from other modern, post-industrial, capitalist societies. The answer, of course, is “yes, the U.S. has a lot to learn.”
“Oblivion’s Swallowing Sea”
The Economist has a very poignant obituary for Lazare Ponticelli, the last French veteran of the first world war.
I (heart) Nellie Kroes
Microsoft has been fined (again) by the European Union. This time, the Commission brought down the hammer, fining Microsoft € 899 million ($1.35 billion) for failing to comply with a previous decision on patent licensing fees.
While the fine may only be a fraction of the company’s revenue, the fine represents about 10% of the company’s 2007 revenues, putting it towards the maximum end of the fine allowed. Under EC competition rules, a company may only be fined a maximum of 10% of its previous year’s turnover.
A Constitution for the UK?
The BBC is reporting that UK Justice Secretary Jack Straw is suggesting that Britain join the 21st 18th Century by creating a formal, written constitution. Such a quaint idea has been a long time coming.
While the Brits have had a collection of rights for centuries, there is no single document a barrister or judge can point to that spells out exactly what an individual’s rights are.
Britain is also a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, although it does not have the force of “primary legislation” in the UK. Human Rights Act 1998, Sec. 3.
Codification of a constitution is perhaps the most essential legal base that can exist in the modern world. In the 19th Century, the United States began the process of codifying her laws, mirroring — albeit quite poorly — the continental model.
According to M. Straw, such a process “could take 20 years or more.”
[From BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Straw's written constitution hint]
Transnational Securities Regulation
Between studying for the bar exam and sleeping, I find a few moments out of my day to read the newspapers. In particular, I like to read the French newspapers to help develop my language skills.
Today, I encountered an article in Le Monde stating that the SEC is investigating possible securities fraud in connection with the Société générale fiasco.
While the news of a “rogue trader” who gambled more than 50 billion € ($74 billion) and is reported to have lost at least 7 billion € has not had much press in the US, it is a major story in France.
What I find interesting is the possibility that the SEC will be able to have a direct regulatory impact on a French bank. Such transnational regulation is becoming more commonplace; see, for example, my discussion of the European Commission’s merger control investigation of Google’s DoubleClick acquisition.
(Update: forgot some zeros on M. Kerveil’s fraud. Should be 7 billion Euros, not 7 million).
Signs the economy is going to get worse
The world economy is going into recession. The US is sinking fast, and the world markets are being dragged down with us.
I know that for most policy makers, the US stock market is the amorphous “market”, but there is something extremely dangerous about the
The interest rates will fail for two reasons. First, the problems with the economy are more systemic than the Fed is wiling to admit. The solution is much like applying a simple bandage to someone who’s already lost a leg.
Secondly, the purpose for an interest rate cut is to increase the supply of money, but the current woes of the global economy are about a lack of available credit in the first place. With most major banks reporting losses of several billion dollars each, it is unlikely that there is much more money that can go into the economy.
Thirdly, there is the looming problem of inflation. With oil and food prices rising substantially, there are already inflationary pressures that threaten to dismantle the economic engine, no matter what the Fed decides to do.
While it may hurt, we need to take more of a Paul Volker approach to the economy. Instead of giving short-term interest rate cuts, we need to keep steady or even raise interest rates in order, painful though it is, to defeat inflation allow the economy to fully correct itself.
[From Fed Cuts Key Interest Rate as Asian Markets Drop for Second Day]
Google almost ready to acquire DoubleClick
According to a number of news sources, the FTC stated today that it will not oppose the proposed acquisition of DoubleClick by Google. The proposed deal, at US$ 3.1 billion deal would make Google the largest internet advertising company in the world.
However, the European Commission has not yet ruled on whether or not Google’s proposed purchase of DoubleClick violates Article 139/2004 [rules on merger control]. A ruling on this is due by April 2008.
