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| April 09, 2008 | Wednesday | Rabi-us-Sani 2, 1429 |
Updated round-the-clock, with major updates after 10:00 PST (05:00 GMT)
New Pakistan finance minister says targets can not be met ISLAMABAD, April 9 (AFP): Pakistan's new finance minister Ishaq Dar said Wednesday that the government's economic targets cannot be met because the previous administration “fudged” its figures. He said Pakistan's economy will probably grow by six percent, far less than the 7.2 percent projected by the previous government. “It was inaction and fiscal mismanagement by the previous government. There was fudging of figures,” Dar told a news conference in Islamabad. “GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was targeted at 7.2 percent but it will not be more than six percent.” Dar said the new government “has accepted the challenge.” (Posted @ 21:10 PST)
Seven killed in Gaza border violence JERUSALEM, April 9 (AFP): Two Israelis and five Palestinians, including militants and a teenage boy were killed in Gaza border violence on Wednesday after a Palestinian commando raid into Israel. The two Israelis and two Palestinians were killed in a gunbattle that erupted after the Palestinians stormed into Israel and opened fire, the Israeli army said. Another three Palestinians were killed when Israeli forces shelled a house in Gaza City, Palestinian medics said. The Israeli army said it wounded three Palestinians in an Israeli air strike on a vehicle in Gaza City. (First Posted @ 10:15 PST Updated @ 20:25 PST)
Iranian forces kill 13 Afghan refugees: Afghan police HERAT, Afghanistan, April 9 (Reuters): Iranian security forces have killed 13 Afghan refugees on the Afghan side of the two countries' border, an Afghan police official said on Wednesday. Afghan regional police chief Rahmatullah Safi said the 13 Afghans were refugees and had been shot just inside Afghanistan, in Herat province, late Tuesday. He said Iranian forces had not crossed into Afghanistan to kill the men. (Posted @ 20:10 PST )
Peru jails military officers for student massacre LIMA, April 9 (Reuters): A Peruvian court sentenced four former military officers to up to 35 years in jail for killing nine students and their professor because they were suspected of collaborating with left-wing guerrillas. Former intelligence chief Julio Salazar was sentenced to 35 years in prison. The country's top criminal anti-corruption court also jailed three former members of the Colina squad for 15 years, media reports said. Former President Alberto Fujimori is also on trial over the La Cantuta massacre that occurred during his 1990-2000 rule. Prosecutors accuse him of ordering the Colina death squad to carry out the 1992 massacre. He denies the charges. (Posted @ 20:00 PST )
50-vehicle Swiss motorway pile-up kills one, injures 10 GENEVA, April 9 (AFP): A major motorway pile-up involving around 50 vehicles including several lorries left one person dead and at least 10 injured close to the western city of Lausanne on Wednesday. The A9 motorway, which runs alongside Lake Geneva to link Lausanne and Montreux, was blocked in both directions after the accident which occurred shortly after 1200 GMT amid steady rainfall. (Posted @ 19:40 PST)
Three quakes rattle Vanuatu and New Caledonia CANBERRA, Australia, April 9 (AP): Three earthquakes, the largest of 7.5 magnitude, struck in quick succession Wednesday under the Pacific Ocean near Vanuatu and New Caledonia, the U.S. Geological Survey said. A 6.4 magnitude quake was followed 10 minutes later by a 5.9 aftershock. The third and largest quake came about 80 minutes later, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement. All three quakes were about 95 kilometers southwest of Isangel, Vanuatu, and about 170 kilometers northeast of Tadine in the Loyalty Islands, the USGS said. (First Posted @ 18:40 PST Updated @ 19:40 PST)
16 Iraqis die in Sadr City on 5th anniversary of Baghdad's fall BAGHDAD, April 9 (AP): Sixteen people died in Baghdad's Sadr City as fresh clashes broke out between security forces and militiamen in the capital on Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the fall of Baghdad. The city's Green Zone, which houses diplomatic missions and much of Iraq's government, also came under renewed attack by rockets or mortars early Wednesday. The U.S. embassy confirmed the shelling.The bloodshed served as stark reminders of Washington’s continuing inability to bring peace five years after U.S. troops swept into Baghdad and toppled Saddam Hussein's regime on April 9, 2003. Twenty-seven other people were wounded, said a hospital official. In another incident, a mortar shell crashed into a nearby residential area in the district around noon, killing seven people and wounding 36 others, police and hospital officials said. The U.S. military announced Wednesday that two American soldiers had diedAt least 14 American service members have died in Iraq since Sunday. (Posted @ 19:05 PST)
Sri Lanka says 93 troops killed in March COLOMBO, April 9 (AFP): At least 93 Sri Lankan soldiers were killed and 686 injured during clashes with Tamil Tiger rebels last month, the prime minister told parliament Wednesday. Premier Ratnasiri Wickremanayake, in a statement to the 225-member national legislature, said 38 civilians were killed and another 21 wounded in March. “The number of security personnel killed last month was 93, another 686 soldiers and police were wounded,” he said. His figures were higher than the numbers released by the defence ministry in their daily situation reports released to reporters here. (Posted @ 18:45 PST)
Two quakes rattle Vanuatu, New Caledonia CANBERRA, Australia, April 9 (AP): A large 6.4 magnitude earthquake, followed by a 5.9 aftershock, struck Wednesday under the Pacific Ocean near Vanuatu and New Caledonia, the U.S. Geological Survey said. There were no immediate reports of damage. The quakes struck 10 minutes apart more than 90 kilometers southwest of Isangel, Vanuatu, and about 170 kilometers northeast of Tadine in the Loyalty Islands, New Caledonia, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a statement. (Posted @ 18:40 PST )
At least two killed in Karachi violence KARACHI, April 9 (Reuters/APP): At least two people were killed in clashes between supporters and opponents of President Pervez Musharraf in Karachi on Wednesday, officials said. A Reuters reporter saw the bodies of two men who, hospital officials said had been killed in shooting. The violence broke out after lawyers clashed in court with Musharraf’s supporters. A police official said one person was found shot dead in a wagon in Burnes Road area while another person who was injured in firing died in Civil Hospital. A private television channel reported more than 20 buses, coaches, trucks and cars were torched in various parts of the city during the disturbances. (First Posted @ 17:20 PST Updated @ 18:35 PST)
Smallest planet outside solar system found MADRID, April 9 (Reuters): The smallest planet discovered outside our solar system has been found by Spanish scientists. “I think we are very close, just a few years away, from detecting a planet like Earth,” team leader Ignasi Ribas told a news conference on Wednesday. The rocky planet, with a radius about 50 percent greater than the Earth's, circles a small red dwarf star 30 light years away in the constellation of Leo, said the scientists from Spain's Superior Council for Scientific Investigations (CSIC). (Posted @ 18:20 PST)
China becomes world's biggest gold producer: survey LONDON, April 9 (AFP): China became the world's biggest gold producer last year, overtaking South Africa which held top spot for 100 years, the independent precious metals consultancy GFMS said here Wednesday. (Posted @ 18:15 PST )
Two Israelis, Palestinian killed in Gaza border battle JERUSALEM, April 9 (AFP): Two Israelis and one Palestinian were killed in a gun battle on Wednesday as Gaza militants entered a crossing into Israel, Israeli police and medics said. Two Israelis n their 30s were killed, the Magen David Adom rescue services said. Police said one Palestinian militant was killed, one was captured and another two managed to escape back into Gaza. (First Posted @ 10:15 PST Updated @18:15 PST)
Asif Zardari cleared in Murtaza Bhutto murder case: lawyers KARACHI, April 9 (AFP): A court on Wednesday cleared Asif Ali Zardari, widower of assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto of involvement in the 1996 murder of her brother, lawyers said. Mr Zardari faced a charge of conspiracy to kill Murtaza Bhutto, who died during a shootout with police in Karachi, an event that led to the end of Benazir Bhutto's second term in power. “The court granted our application for the quashing of the case and exonerated my client,” Zardari's lawyer, Shahadat Awan, told reporters outside the Sindh High Ccourt. “The prosecution failed to prove conspiracy charges and supporting evidence against our client in the Murtaza Bhutto murder case,” he added. (Posted @ 17:30 PST)
One dead, dozen injured in Karachi clashes: police KARACHI, April 9 (AFP/AP): A man was killed in the violence that broke out in Karachi on A paramedic was killed by gunfire and at least a dozen people were wounded as clashes broke out between rival political groups in Karachi on Wednesday, police said. Police said a paramedic has been fatally shot and more than 30 vehicles set on fire after a clash between rival groups of lawyers in Pakistan's biggest city. City police official Tahir Naveed said eight lawyers were injured in the scuffles between rival groups in downtown Karachi. Another police officer added that gunmen fired on an ambulance at the scene, killing a paramedic. A private television channel showed a bus and a car on fire and a police officer firing a handgun into the air. (Posted @ 17:20 PST)
Rebels seize key Somali town again MOGADISHU, April 9 (Reuters): Fighters in Somalia seized a strategic town north of Mogadishu on Wednesday for the second time in two weeks, a spokesman for the insurgents said. “Our forces have captured Jowhar. No fighting took place because the enemy troops had abandoned the town by midnight when they heard we were coming,” a spokesman, told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. (Posted @ 17:10 PST)
7 Taliban, 1 policeman killed in southern Afghanistan KANDAHAR, April 9 (AP): Clashes and an airstrike in southern Afghanistan killed seven Taliban fighters and a police officer, officials said Wednesday. Taliban militants ambushed a police patrol in Marja district of Helmand province late Tuesday. The ensuing battle left four militants and a policeman dead. Two other officers were wounded, said Helmand's police chief. An airstrike against two motorbikes carrying Taliban in Zabul province killed three militants and wounded two, said the provincial deputy governor. A woman and a child traveling nearby were also wounded. (Posted @ 16:50 PST)
Two vehicles set on fire as violence erupts in Karachi KARACHI, April 9 (APP): Shops on the busy M.A. Jinnah Road in downtown Karachi were shut and there was stampede after armed men resorted to firing near Tibet Center. Earlier there had been a scuffle between two groups of lawyers in the City Courts after which unknown persons resorted to firing at different places at M.A. Jinnah road during which at east two vehicles were set on fire. Meanwhile, strong police posse arrived at the scene and started patrolling on M.A. Jinnah Road. A police official said details of the incident were being probed. (Posted @ 16:35 PST)
Asif Zardari says Lahore incident conspiracy against democratic govt Islamabad, April 9 (PPI): The Co-chairman Pakistan People’s Party, Asif Ali Zardari, strongly condemned the beating of former federal minister Dr Sher Afgan Niazi. “The incident was shocking and is condemned in the strongest terms'', Zardari said in a statement issued on Wednesday. “It was intriguing the incident occurred when the new coalition government was about to take over in Punjab province, he added. Mr Zardari said it needs to be investigated why the law enforcing agencies watched silently and did not take timely action to rescue Dr Niazi. “The PPP is deeply concerned that some elements in Karachi and Lahore have tried to take law into their hands,” he said. “The two incidents appear to have been engineered by elements that want to bring a bad name to the new democratic governments even before their installation in the provinces,” he said. (Posted @ 16:15 PST)
India, Pakistan to review peace process next month: foreign ministry ISLAMABAD, April 9 (AFP): Nuclear-armed rivals India and Pakistan will next month review the fourth round of a slow-moving peace process launched in 2004, the Pakistani foreign ministry said Wednesday. The meeting in Islamabad will be the first major talks between the South Asian neighbours since Pakistan's new government came to power. “The Foreign Secretary level review of the Fourth Round of Pakistan-India Composite Dialogue will be held on 20 May 2008 in Islamabad,” the ministry said in a statement. (Posted @ 15:55 PST)
Train plunges into river in Malaysian Borneo: 3 killed, 20 injured KUALA LUMPUR, April 9 (AP): A railway official said three people were killed and at least 20 injured when a train plunged into a river in a Malaysian state on Borneo Island. A spokesman for Sabah Railways said the train is believed to have skidded off the wet tracks Wednesday before plummeting into the Padas river in eastern Sabah state. Rescue workers have found three bodies in the train. (Posted @ 15:50 PST)
US forces destroy Al-Qaeda training camp in Iraq BAGHDAD, April 9 (AFP): US special forces have destroyed an Al-Qaeda in Iraq training camp and a massive cache of weapons, including surface-to-air missiles, the American military claimed on Wednesday. The camp was discovered during an operation between April 2 and 5 in the Jazeera desert in central Iraq, a military statement said. The camp and the weapons cache was later destroyed by air strikes, the military statement added. (Posted @ 15:30 PST )
UN shocked as Nepal police said to kill 8 Maoists, KATHMANDU, April 9 (Reuters): Eight Maoist cadres have been shot by Nepali police, party leaders said on Wednesday, while another party's candidate was killed in separate incidents of violence ahead of elections meant to map the country's political future. A small bomb also went off outside a hospital in the centre of the capital Kathmandu on Thursday but caused no injuries. The head of the United Nations mission in Nepal said he was “deeply shocked” by the deaths. (First Posted @ 09:25 Updated @ 15:20 PST)
Land clashes kill 18 in Ethiopia ADDIS ABABA, April 9 (Reuters): Clashes over grazing and farm land killed 18 people last week near the southern Ethiopian town of Wondo-Genet, police said. A police commander told Reuters the fighting on April 3 pitted members of the Gugi Oromo and Sidama clans, some 260 km south of the capital Addis Ababa. (Posted @ 15:05 PST)
Small bomb explodes outside hospital in Nepal capital KATHMANDU, April 9 (AFP): A small bomb exploded outside a hospital in Nepal's capital on Wednesday, less than 24 hours before the country is due to begin landmark polls that will decide its political future, police said. “A minor bomb was set off outside Bir Hospital, but no one was injured,” a senior police officer at the scene, told AFP. (Posted @ 15:00 PST)
Indian security forces kill five militants in occupied Kashmir SRINAGAR, occupied Kashmir, April 9 (AFP) Indian security forces shot dead five militants in that fighting erupted late Tuesday and carried on until early Wednesday, police said Wednesday. “The militants were killed in two gunbattles with police and soldiers in Doda and Reasi districts,” a police spokesman said. (Posted @ 13:55 PST)
Punjab Assembly MPAs take oath LAHORE, April 9: Some 353 Punjab Assembly MPAs took oath from the outgoing PA speaker Afzal Sahi. There are total 372 seats in the Punjab Assembly and the remaining 16 provincial parliamentarians will join after the by-polls. (Posted @ 13:45 PST)
Sindh Assembly session begins KARACHI, April 9 (APP) Sindh Assembly session began Wednesday after a delay of about two and half hours, with Speaker Nisar A. Khuhro in the chair. Opposition's MQM, PML(F), PML(Q) and NPP are continuing their boycott of the Assembly in protest against the manhandling of former Chief Minister Dr. Arbab Ghulam Rahim and misconduct with MQM women Monday. (Posted @ 13:25 PST)
Six killed in new Baghdad clashes BAGHDAD, April 9 (AFP) Clashes between Shiite fighters and US and Iraqi forces in Baghdad's Sadr City district early Wednesday killed at least six people, a local medic told AFP. He said 15 other people, including women and children, were wounded in the firefights. The medic, requesting anonymity, said the casualties occurred between “midnight and this morning.” (Posted @ 13:20 PST)
Blasts heard from Baghdad's Green Zone BAGHDAD, April 9 (AP) At least one rocket or mortar shell was fired Wednesday into the Green Zone in Iraq's capital, eyewitnesses said. Black smoke could be see rising after a blast from the heavily fortified area. There was no immediate word on casualties or damage, but helicopters could be seen flying into the area soon after the explosion. (Posted @ 12:20 PST)
Aslam Raisani elected unopposed Balochistan Chief Minister QUETTA, Pakistan, April 9 (APP) Nawab Mohammad Aslam Raisani of Pakistan People's Party(PPP) was elected Balochistan Chief Minister unopposed Wednesday, Speaker Balochistan Assembly Mohammad Aslam Bhutani announced here soon after the commencement of the House’s proceedings. The newly elected Chief Minister will take oath of office here Wednesday evening and will seek vote of confidence from the assembly Thursday. (Posted @ 12:10 PST)
Israeli soldier, Hamas militant killed in Gaza GAZA, April 9 (Reuters) An Israeli soldier and a Hamas militant were killed in clashes in the Gaza Strip Wednesday, the Israeli army and Palestinian medics said. An army spokeswoman said one soldier was killed and two others lightly wounded after troops entered the southern Gaza Strip. Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants said they fired rocket-propelled grenades and mortar bombs at the troops, who were backed by helicopters. A second Hamas militant was wounded in the clashes, medics said. (First Posted @ 10:15 PST, Updated @ 11:30 PST)
Hundreds in Mianwali protest assault on Sher Afgan Niazi ISLAMABAD, April 9 (AP) Hundreds of people protesting an assault on former Cabinet minister Sher Afgan Niazi blocked roads and burned tires in his hometown of Mianwali Wednesday, police said. About 300 people gathered at a busy intersection in Mianwali, setting tires ablaze and blocking traffic to condemn Tuesday’s attack on former parliamentary affairs minister Sher Afgan Niazi, said Abdur Razzaq, a Mianwali police officer. In an overnight protest against lawyers, dozens of Niazi's supporters set several rooms on fire at the Mianwali courts, Razzaq said. No injuries were reported. (Posted @ 11:30 PST)
Six Colombian soldiers killed after entering mine field BOGOTA, Colombia, April 9 (AP) Six Colombian soldiers were killed Tuesday after they walked into a mine field while pursuing a column of leftist guerrillas, the army said in a statement. Another five soldiers were injured in the explosions, which took place in a region 145 miles south of Bogota. (Posted @ 10:15 PST)
Hamas militant killed in clashes with Israeli troops GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip, April 9 (AP) A Hamas militant was killed and four other armed men were wounded in clashes with Israeli troops in the southern Gaza Strip Wednesday, Hamas said. (Posted @ 10:15 PST )
Gunbattles kill 11 Tamil rebels in northern Sri Lanka COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, April 9 (AP) Sri Lankan troops killed 11 Tamil separatists in several gunbattles across northern Sri Lanka, the military said Wednesday. A defence ministry official, requesting anonymity, said the latest fighting took place Tuesday along the front lines that separate government-controlled territory and rebel territory in the north. Army troops killed six guerrillas in the Vavuniya district, just south of rebel-held territory, and in the nearby Mannar district another five rebels died, the official said. Four soldiers were wounded in the clashes. Another two battles wounded 16 rebels and one soldier, he said. Rebel spokesman Rasiah Ilanthirayan could not immediately be reached for comment. (Posted @ 10:10 PST)
HRW says CIA rendered 14 suspects to Jordan NEW YORK, April 9 (Reuters) At least 14 people have been secretly handed over by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency to Jordan for interrogation and torture since the September 11 attacks, Human Rights Watch said in a report Tuesday. “While a handful of countries received persons rendered by the United States during this period, no other country is believed to have held as many as Jordan,” the New York-based rights group said in a statement. CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano Tuesday evening said: “Renditions are a lawful, valuable tool and they have been used for years to take terrorists off the streets. The United States does not transport individuals for the purpose of torture and has no interest in any process that would produce bad intelligence.” Human Rights Watch said its 36-page report, “Double Jeopardy: CIA Renditions to Jordan,” was based on firsthand information from Jordanian former prisoners who were detained with the non-Jordanian suspects. (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
Bush gets an earful from Afghan governors WASHINGTON, April 9 (AFP) Eight Afghan governors met Tuesday with US President George W. Bush and informed him about the plight of their country as coalition forces fight terrorists and the Taliban. The governors complained about the slow pace of progress and how it was serving the militants' interests, and about the “excesses” of coalition forces. Asadullah Hamdam, Governor of Uruzgan province, was the first to raise the issue of indiscriminate arrests by coalition troops. Khost Governor Arsala Jamal said: “We have 640 detainees in Bagram…special operations is the biggest, biggest challenge and (it has a) negative impact on the people's mind in regard to coalition forces. There is no single bigger issue than that.” (Posted @ 09:40 PST)
US soldier dies in Baghdad bomb attack BAGHDAD, April 9 (AFP) A US soldier was killed Tuesday by a roadside bomb in northeast Baghdad, where American and Iraqi forces are fighting Shiite militiamen, the US military said. A statement said the bomb struck the vehicle the soldier was riding in at around 12:30 p.m. (Posted @ 09:30 PST)
Seven killed in violence ahead of Nepal polls KATHMANDU, April 9 (Reuters) At least seven people, including an election candidate, were killed in west Nepal in violence ahead of elections, officials said Wednesday. “We have recovered six bodies from the site of a violent incident in Dang district,” Home Ministry spokesman Modraj Dotel said, about the clash late Tuesday. One candidate from the Communist UML party was killed in another incident in nearby Surkhet district late Tuesday, Dotel said. (Posted @ 09:25 PST)
A deficit of leadership By Joseph Stiglitz
THE financial crisis being felt around the world will get worse – unless strong actions are taken by governments. The strongest action of all is required in the United States, where this global maelstrom originates.
Part of America’s economic problem today is a crisis in confidence — in its central bank, the Federal Reserve, in the regulators, in the Bush administration, in the political process. The way the crisis arose, and the way it has been handled, has provided ample reason for that lack of confidence. Bravado statements that everything is fine, followed by unprecedented and non-transparent bailouts and precipitous decreases in interest rates, has led to confidence in the Fed and the administration plummeting, as has confidence in America’s banks and their ability to manage risk.
The admission by Bush’s treasury that there is a need for regulation may at first seem refreshing, coming after steadfast insistence that these markets are self-regulating and must not be tampered with. But the fact that a core feature of the plan is to give the Fed — the very agency responsible for many of these problems — more oversight is hardly reassuring. It didn’t use what -powers it had to prevent the crisis; what -assurance is there that with more -”oversight” it will do any better?
Underlying the US’s financial woes are three distinct but related problems. First, a debt crisis, exemplified by sub-prime mortgages, with millions of Americans with mortgages greater than the value of their house.
Second, with so many bad debts, and such uncertainty about their magnitude, there is a credit crunch. Banks don’t even know the extent of their own problems; how then can they have much confidence in lending to others? It is not, however, just a problem of illiquidity; it is deeper than that — balance sheets have been badly hurt, and will have to somehow be repaired.
The third problem is macro-economic. The US has been sustained by a housing bubble, leading to a consumer binge. Household savings rates have fallen to zero. The Iraq war — and the soaring oil prices accompanying it — has depressed the economy. Money spent on oil or on Nepalese contractors in Iraq is money that isn’t being spent at home; these dollars don’t provide much stimulation for the economy.
The Fed let forth a flood of liquidity, and the regulators looked the other way as bad loans were made and debt became excessive. In a sense, it had to, if the economy was to keep going, if the costs of the war were to remain hidden, if Americans were to be persuaded they could have a war for free. Hundreds of billions of dollars in mortgage equity withdrawals offset the war’s adverse effects. But that game is over. The only reason things aren’t worse is that the US has exported its problems, just as it did its toxic mortgages. The falling dollar has helped US exports but hurt other countries’ exports to the US. It is the 21st century version of the “beggar thy neighbour” policies that predominated in the Depression.
Dealing with the crisis demands a multi-faceted approach. At the bottom, we need to help homeowners stay in their homes. Generous help is given to rich Americans, through tax deductions, government absorbs up to 50 per cent of the cost of owning a home for those in the upper-income bracket. But it provides little assistance to poor Americans striving to buy homes. Many of the foreclosures are concentrated in particular neighbourhoods; public programmes are needed to prevent that blight from spreading and deepening.
At the other end, government rescues will be necessary, as witnessed in Bear Stearns or Northern Rock. But they have to be done better. The US government didn’t charge a dime in insurance premiums, and yet Bear Sterns shareholders are walking away with more than a quarter of a billion dollars. It is outrageous for the government to say it is worried about moral hazard when it comes to poor homeowners, many of whom were taken advantage of by predatory lenders and are losing not only their houses but their life savings — and yet somehow to be unconcerned when it comes to the investment banks.
We should be clear, however, that monetary policy and these last-minute rescues can only prevent a meltdown of the economy; it can’t resuscitate it. As Keynes pointed out, it’s like pushing on a string — and even more so in this era of globalisation. With housing prices falling, new liquidity won’t make homeowners borrow more or banks lend more. The money will look for safer and higher returns elsewhere, like China, which is now worried about US irresponsibility showing up in asset-bubbles in its own economy.
Even the Fed recognises there is a need for fiscal policy. But what is needed is not the kind of stimulus that has been passed to date — too little, too late, and badly designed. With soaring deficits likely to hit a new record it’s important to maximise the amount of stimulus for each dollar of spending. Election-year politics may force the administration to do something, or at least not to stand in the way of Congress doing something.
Given where we are, the downturn is likely to be the worst in at least the last quarter century, probably since the Depression. But the US has more than just a trade and fiscal deficit; it has a leadership deficit. The result is likely to be a downturn longer and deeper than need be. And the whole world will suffer. n
—The Guardian, London
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