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Akzo Nobel net profit hikes 58% to USD186m in Q1

by on April 21, 2011

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Akzo Nobel net profit hikes 58% to USD186m in Q1

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Akzo Nobel net profit hikes 58% to USD186m in Q1

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Raymond J. Learsy: You Need A Nobel Prize To Be High Dumb on Oil Prices

by Raymond J. Learsy on March 6, 2011

Huffington Post…

How ‘fortunate’ we are to have two Nobel Laureates bringing their vested Nobel prestige to matters relevant to oil markets. From their authoritative perch they instruct us on matters of oil pricing and get it dangerously wrong while we pay at the pump and the economy sinks. First we had Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman’s May 12, 2008 New York Times’ Op-ed, the “So Called Oil Bubble”(http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/12/opinion/12krugman.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=krugman&st=nyt&oref=slogin) with oil prices at $125 a barrel and steaming ahead to $147/bbl a few weeks thereafter, advising us that oil prices were all about ‘supply and demand’ and that neither speculation nor manipulation played a role. He thereby gave umbrage to our sleepwalking regulators and their agencies to continue to snooze away while helping the economy reach a near breaking point in September of that year. (please see “Paul Krugman and his Pious Pontifications at the Pump” 05.16.08) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/raymond-j-learsy/the-new-york-times-pious_b_102046.html?view=print Now we have another Nobel Laureate, Steven Chu, Secretary of the Department of Energy, whose grasp of oil markets and how they function rivals that of Paul Krugman. An erstwhile professor at the University of California, Berkeley he is accustomed to lecturing. In response to last week’s dramatic 6.7% jump in the price of West Texas Intermediate Crude (WTI) Mr. Chu lectured us in tone and in a manner in keeping with the Department of Energy’s doleful performance in protecting the nation and its economy from the rapaciousness of the oil industry and its attendant speculators and the manipulations of the OPEC oil cartel, instructing us all the while our pockets are being picked at the pump and inhabitants in freezing Maine and like environments having their family budgets devastated by soaring heating oil bills: “We don’t want to be totally reactive so that when the price goes up everybody panics and when it goes down everybody goes back to sleep.” (“Anxiety About Oil Spurs Calls to Tap the Strategic Reserve” New York Times, 03.04.11) These fighting words from a Secretary of Energy who has been happily snoozing on his watch almost from day of his swearing in (January 21,2009). From February 2009 the price of oil has skyrocketed from $33 a barrel (bbl), to $104/bbl this week. Most readers know well what this has meant at the pump. On a national basis with a consumption of some 20 million barrels a day that means a transfer of American consumers wealth at the rate of $1.4 billion ($1,400,000,000) a day or $511 billion a year ripped out of the economy going into the pockets of oil interests and their kindred Wall Street speculators. Aside from being asleep at the switch since his swearing in while the nation was being looted through the upward ratcheting of the price of oil, Secretary Chu did arise from his slumber long enough to do a little moonlighting on the side. He continued his scientific research publishing a paper on ‘gravitational redshift’ . http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_redshift that appeared in ‘Nature’ (463, 926-929) in Feb 2010 and a second paper, co- authored in July 2010. Certainly a brilliant mind but seemingly totally at loss when dealing with the rough and tumble of the oil markets and the insidious influence of the oil lobby. His performance between naps of having the price of oil, the core commodity to our fossil fuel dependent economy, increase, with barely a peep, by over 200 percent ($33/bbl to over $104/bbl) in a little over two years, is a feat that should send him back to Academe in short order. As commented in this corner previously (please see “The Looming Economic Crisis, The Price of Oil and Our Strategic Petroleum Reserve” 02.24.11) and in the closing paragraph of the New York Times article from which the Chu quote was taken, which referenced one Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst of the Oil Price Information Service. Simply put, Mr. Kloza said that releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve “would help spank the speculators”. But to spank the speculators, you have to understand what role the speculators along with the manipulators play in the formulation of exchange traded oil prices. And that’s a rough and tumble world not fit for Nobel Laureates. (A seriously informative and amusing look into the oil trading pits can be found in Leah McGrath Goodman’s recently published “The Asylum”). Mr. Chu’s talents would be ideally suited to head a commission seeking alternative energy solutions and helping to formulate government energy polices that reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. There his competence could be focused on issues of vital interest to the nation. On the other hand it is long past due, given the appointments of this and past administrations, that our government find a Secretary of Energy who really understands the real-time dynamics of the oil markets and what is at stake to the economy in the here and now. Someone who will not be led down the garden path by those whose singular interest is in pumping the price of oil.

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Raymond J. Learsy: You Need A Nobel Prize To Be High Dumb on Oil Prices

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Video: Phelps Says U.S. Workers `Need a Voice’ Through Unions

February 25, 2011

Feb. 25 (Bloomberg) — Edmund Phelps, who won the Nobel Prize for economics in 2006 and directs the Center on Capitalism and Society at Columbia University, talks about the role of unions in U.S. society and the challenge of closing state budget deficits. Wisconsin’s Assembly passed Governor Scott Walker’s limits on the collective-bargaining power of government workers’ unions, ending a debate that began Feb. 22, while Senate Democrats remained out of state to block the bill. Phelps talks with Carol Massar and Matt Miller on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Mundell Expect U.S. Economy to Grow Less Than 2% in 2011

December 27, 2010

Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) — Nobel Prize-winning economist Robert Mundell and Bloomberg Businessweek’s Peter Coy talk about the outlook for the U.S. economy. They speak with Carol Massar on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Obama To Renominate Nobel-Prize Winning Economist To Fed

December 23, 2010

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama will resubmit the failed nomination of a Nobel Prize-winning economist to the Federal Reserve, even though he faces even stronger opposition from the next Congress. The nomination of Peter Diamond fizzled when the Senate adjourned Wednesday without acting on it. But the White House said Thursday that the president will press ahead on the nomination. Diamond, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is an authority on Social Security, pensions and taxation. He shared the Nobel Prize in economics that was awarded in October. But Senate Republicans have opposed his nomination, questioning his practical experience and research. Republicans will hold six additional seats in the next Senate, making Diamond’s confirmation even more difficult. The Fed often operates with vacancies on its board. The board has seven seats but hasn’t had every seat filled since 2006. Chairman Ben Bernanke and the board’s other members belong to the Fed’s main policymaking group, the Federal Open Market Committee. The committee sets interest rates and makes other policies that influence economic growth, employment and inflation. The Senate Banking Committee had approved Diamond’s nomination in November and sent it to the Senate for consideration. It was the panel’s second attempt to overcome Republican opposition. Obama struggled to get Bernanke himself confirmed to a second term in the last Congress. Bernanke, a Republican, faced a backlash over the Fed’s role in bailing out Wall Street firms during the financial crisis. That angered ordinary Americans and stirred a wave of Senate opposition. Bernanke was ultimately confirmed by a 70-30 vote. It was the slimmest margin ever for a Fed chairman.

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Renowned Researcher Dr. Michael Nobel to Lead Advisory Board for B2P

December 15, 2010

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA–(Marketwire – December 15, 2010) – Dr. Michael Nobel, a world-renowned researcher and thought leader in the fields of medicine, social science and advanced technology, has agreed to lead a board of advisors for B2P Global, makers of an easy-to-use hand-held device that can help users safeguard the food supply against bacteria and other contaminants.

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Video: Stiglitz Says Recovery to Take Longer Without Stimulus: Video

October 22, 2010

Oct. 22 (Bloomberg) — Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize-winning economist and Columbia University professor, talks about the outlook for the U.S. economy. Stiglitz says the U.S. recovery will take longer without further fiscal stimulus. He speaks with Carol Massar on Bloomberg Television’s “Street Smart.” (Source: Bloomberg)

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Video: Stiglitz Calls IMF Rescue of Greece `Sad’ for Europe: Video

April 9, 2010

April 9 (Bloomberg) — Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz talks with Bloomberg’s Francine Lacqua about Greece’s debt problem and China’s currency. Stiglitz said an International Monetary Fund rescue of Greece would be a “sad” chapter in the history of the European Union. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Simon Johnson: Lloyd Blankfein: Time Man Of The Year

April 1, 2010

By Simon Johnson, co-author of 13 Bankers : The Wall Street Takeover and the Next Financial Meltdown In a surprise announcement earlier this morning , Time Magazine brought forward its annual “Man of the Year” award – and conferred this honor on Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs.

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Stiglitz Says Fed `Misjudged,’ Stimulus Withdrawal Risks Hurting Housing

March 16, 2010

By Toru Fujioka March 17 (Bloomberg) — The Federal Reserve’s decision to let its mortgage-debt purchase programs end this month risks driving up home-loan rates and worsening the housing crisis, Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz said. “The withdrawal of the support risks increasing the interest rate, increasing the number of foreclosures and exacerbating the strain, the stress, that American families are already facing,” Stiglitz said in an interview in Tokyo. He said officials “misjudged things,” and predicted foreclosures and bank failures this year will exceed the 2009 and 2008 totals. Stiglitz said the main dangers for the global economy are that central banks will “exit too rapidly” from measures adopted during the crisis, propelled in part by an “irrational” fear among some investors that inflation will soar. The liquidity created by central banks battling the recession isn’t likely to fuel consumer prices because of subdued consumer demand, he said. The warning by the former chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers is a contrast with the steps being taken by the Fed and its counterparts to rein in monetary stimulus to prevent a buildup of new imbalances that could destabilize the economy. In Asia, central banks are moving toward raising interest rates to prevent asset-price bubbles. While Asia’s economies are growing faster than those in other regions, Asia cannot make up for the shortfall in U.S. demand, Stiglitz said. It’s unlikely the global economy will return to “robust” growth anytime soon, he said. Growth Outlook While “double-dip” recessions tend to be rare, there is a “significant” risk of a slowdown in global growth, he said. The U.S. economy is likely to see growth “weakening” toward the end of the year, said Stiglitz, 67, who is also former chief economist of the World Bank. “The deeper risks I see for the global economy are continuing weakness in the American economy,” said Stiglitz, who shared the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics in 2001 with George Akerlof and Andrew Michael Spence for their “analyses of markets with asymmetric information,” according to the Nobel Foundation. Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues yesterday confirmed that their program to buy $1.43 trillion of mortgage- related debt will be completed by the end of March. The Fed’s Open Market Committee also kept its benchmark rate target unchanged at a range of zero to 0.25 percent and said it will remain “exceptionally low” for an “extended period.” Fighting Foreclosures “We have done nothing” to fight foreclosures, Stiglitz said today. He also said that the commercial mortgage market may deteriorate this year. A record number of Americans were in danger of losing their homes in the fourth quarter, even as new delinquencies declined, the Mortgage Bankers Association said last month. Loans in foreclosure rose to 4.58 percent of all mortgages, while those more than 90 days overdue — the point at which lenders usually begin the process of seizing a property — climbed to 5.09 percent, the Washington-based trade group said Feb. 19. Yesterday, Fed officials added language to their statement saying “ housing starts have been flat at a depressed level.” A Commerce Department report showed housing starts fell 5.9 percent in February, in part because of winter storms in the Northeast and South. To contact the reporter on this story: Toru Fujioka in Tokyo at tfujioka1@bloomberg.net

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Nobel Laureate Spence Says U.S. Economic Recovery to Take `Several Years’

March 10, 2010

By Vincent Del Giudice and Thomas R. Keene March 10 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. faces an extended recovery from the recession even after the government infusion of cash into stimulus programs and the banking system, said Andrew Michael Spence , a Nobel laureate in economics. “Right now the expectations are that somehow the government can magically restore the economy to balance,” Spence said in an interview today on Bloomberg Radio. “A more realistic view is it’s going to take several years.” Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said last month the economy is in a “nascent” recovery that still requires low interest rates to encourage demand by consumers and businesses once federal stimulus fades. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg News predict growth of 3 percent this year and next following a 2.4 percent contraction in 2009, which was the worst performance for a single year since 1946. “Diminished consumption” in the U.S. will be a drag on world growth, Spence said. “It’s very hard to progress on some global issues without a very strong America,” he said. The U.S. government should focus on support for the unemployed “over a more extended period” to bolster consumer confidence and spending, he said. Spence is joining the faculty of New York University Stern School of Business effective Sept. 1 after teaching at Stanford University in California. He shared the Nobel Memorial Prize for Economics in 2001 with George Akerlof of the University of California, Berkeley, and Joseph Stiglitz of Columbia University in New York, for their “analyses of markets with asymmetric information,” according to the Nobel Foundation. The U.S. economy has lost 8.4 million jobs since the recession started in December 2007, and the unemployment rate reached a 26-year high of 10.1 percent in October. The rate was down to 9.7 percent in February. (In the U.S., hear Bloomberg Radio on satellite radio: Sirius Channel 130 and XM Channel 129. In New York City, tune to WBBR 1130 on the AM dial.) To contact the reporters on this story: Vincent Del Giudice in Washington vdelgiudice@bloomberg.net ; Thomas R. Keene in New York tkeene@bloomberg.net .

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Donald Trump Points To Snow Storms, Calls For Al Gore To Be Stripped Of Nobel Prize

February 15, 2010

Donald Trump wants the Nobel Committee to strip former Vice President Al Gore of his Nobel Peace Prize . The New York Post reports that the billionaire told a country club crowd of 500 that recent snow storms on the east coast prove that Gore is wrong about global warming: “With the coldest winter ever recorded, with snow setting record levels up and down the coast, the Nobel committee should take the Nobel Prize back from Al Gore.” And “Gore wants us to clean up our factories… when China and other countries couldn’t care less… China, Japan and India are laughing at America’s stupidity.” “The Donald” did not include Vancouver’s unseasonably warm temperatures and lack of snow in his weather observations. After last week’s record-breaking storms, many scientists went to great lengths to explain that the storms do not disprove climate change. Some even believe that climate change contributed to the storms. Last Friday, another billionaire, Microsoft founder Bill Gates, went after climate change deniers and explained that climate change and CO2 emissions pose a huge threat to people everywhere. In 2009, Forbes ranked Bill Gates as the richest American with a net worth of $50 billion. Donald Trump ranked 158 on the same list, with a significantly smaller net worth of $2 billion.

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Stiglitz Says Financial Crisis Exposed `Major Flaws’ in Economics Theories

January 2, 2010

By Scott Lanman Jan. 2 (Bloomberg) — Joseph Stiglitz , the Nobel Prize- winning economist and Columbia University professor, said economists are among those at fault for the financial crisis, which exposed “major flaws” in prevailing ideas. The now-flawed premises include the ideas that economic participants behave rationally and that financial markets are competitive and efficient, Stiglitz said today in a slide presentation prepared for a speech today to the Allied Social Science Associations meeting in Atlanta. Instead, for instance, the housing bubble was fueled by the idea that prices would go up forever, Stiglitz said. The bursting of the bubble resulted in the recession that began in December 2007 and is now the worst since the Great Depression, having claimed more than 7 million U.S. jobs. Homeowners, investors and “probably” financial executives showed “marked irrationalities” and may have “bought into their own false arguments,” Stiglitz said. “Economists should be included in the list of those to ‘blame’ for the crisis,” Stiglitz said in the presentation, which Bloomberg News obtained via e-mail. There’s now a “window of opportunity” to build new theories “based on more plausible accounts of individual and firm behavior,” he said. In one slide, Stiglitz repeated criticism of Alan Greenspan , the Federal Reserve chairman from 1987 to 2006, for recommending consumers take on variable-rate home loans. Greenspan responded to Stiglitz two years ago that he meant to suggest that a “narrow segment” of customers might want an alternative to long-term mortgages. In the market for securities tied to mortgages, the products were so complex that investors couldn’t determine the quality of the underlying assets, “inducing large incentives for asset quality deterioration,” Stiglitz said. “Globalization had opened up a global marketplace for fools.” Stiglitz, 66, a professor at Columbia University in New York and a White House economic adviser under President Bill Clinton, shared the Nobel Prize in 2001 with George Akerlof and Michael Spence for work on problems that arise in markets when parties don’t have equal access to information. To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Lanman in Washington at slanman@bloomberg.net .

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Obama Says He’s Humbled by Nobel Peace Prize, Understands the Cost of War

December 10, 2009

By Julianna Goldman Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama said he was humbled to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and used his acceptance speech to defend the concept of a “just war” that is necessary to further the cause of freedom and human rights. “Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize — Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela — my accomplishments are slight,” he said during the Nobel ceremony in Oslo. “But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the commander-in-chief of a nation in the midst of two wars.” Obama said he has an “acute sense” of the price of military conflict at a time when he is deploying thousands of troops into battle. “Some will kill. Some will be killed,” he said. The Nobel ceremony in Oslo comes a little more than a week after the president announced deployment of 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. He also is winding down the U.S. military commitment in Iraq even as terrorist violence continues. “I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war,” Obama said. “We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes.” While expressing appreciation for the non-violent creed preached by Martin Luther King Jr . and Mahatma Gandhi, Obama said that as U.S. leader he can’t “be guided by their examples alone.” Necessary Force “I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people,” Obama said. Negotiations didn’t stop Adolf Hitler and won’t stop al-Qaeda, he said. “To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism — it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.” There are times and events where the use of military force is “not only necessary but morally justified,” he said. Among recent conflicts, Obama cited the military intervention in the Balkans, the first Gulf War to drive Iraqi armed forces under Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait and the U.S.-led overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks. He didn’t mention the 2003 invasion of Iraq to topple Hussein that was undertaken by his predecessor, former President George W. Bush . When war is waged, it must be done under universal standards of conduct, even when the enemy doesn’t follow the same code, Obama said. Standards for Conflict “I, like any head of state, reserve the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation,” he said. “Nevertheless, I am convinced that adhering to standards strengthens those who do, and isolates — and weakens — those who don’t.” Obama told his audience there are three ways to “build a just and lasting peace.” They include sanctions that “exact a real price;” the promotion of human rights; diplomacy and engagement; and economic security and opportunity. Security doesn’t exist, he said, “where human beings do not have access to enough food, or clean water, or the medicine they need to survive. “The absence of hope can rot a society from within.” Obama also said the world must come together to confront climate change. “There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, famine and mass displacement that will fuel more conflict for decades,” Obama said. ‘Cooperative Climate’ While Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to win the prize, he’s the first to win it so early in his term. Former presidents Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won in 1919. Former President Jimmy Carter won in 2002 and former Vice President Al Gore received it in 2007, both after leaving office. Thorbjoern Jagland , chairman of the five-member Nobel committee , said the awarding of the Peace Prize this year “must be viewed in the light of the prevailing situation in the world, with great tension, numerous wars, unresolved conflicts and confrontations on many fronts.” Obama “has been trying to create a more cooperative climate which can help reverse the present trend,” Jagland said in the text of his remarks at the ceremony. “It is now, today, that we have the opportunity to support President Obama’s ideas. This year’s prize is indeed a call for action to all of us.” The president arrived in Oslo early today and went directly to the Nobel Institute where he signed a guest book in a room with walls covered with photographs of former laureates including slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr . The president said he and first lady Michelle Obama were touched by the wall of pictures. “When Dr. King won his prize, it had a galvanizing effect around the world, but also lifted his stature in the United States in a way that allowed him to be more effective,” Obama said. To contact the reporter on this story: Julianna Goldman in Washington at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net .

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Obama Says He Is Humbled by Nobel Peace Prize, Understands the Cost of War

December 10, 2009

By Julianna Goldman Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama said he was humbled to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and used his acceptance speech to defend the concept of a “just war” that is necessary to further the cause of freedom and human rights. “Compared to some of the giants of history who have received this prize — Schweitzer and King; Marshall and Mandela — my accomplishments are slight,” he said during the Nobel ceremony in Oslo. “But perhaps the most profound issue surrounding my receipt of this prize is the fact that I am the commander-in-chief of a nation in the midst of two wars.” Obama said he has an “acute sense” of the price of military conflict at a time when he is deploying thousands of troops into battle. “Some will kill. Some will be killed,” he said. The Nobel ceremony in Oslo comes a little more than a week after the president announced deployment of 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. He also is winding down the U.S. military commitment in Iraq even as terrorist violence continues. “I do not bring with me today a definitive solution to the problems of war,” Obama said. “We must begin by acknowledging the hard truth that we will not eradicate violent conflict in our lifetimes.” While expressing appreciation for the non-violent creed preached by Martin Luther King Jr . and Mahatma Gandhi, Obama said that as U.S. leader he can’t “be guided by their examples alone.” Necessary Force “I face the world as it is, and cannot stand idle in the face of threats to the American people,” Obama said. Negotiations didn’t stop Adolf Hitler and won’t stop al-Qaeda, he said. “To say that force is sometimes necessary is not a call to cynicism — it is a recognition of history; the imperfections of man and the limits of reason.” There are times and events where the use of military force is “not only necessary but morally justified,” he said. Among recent conflicts, Obama cited the military intervention in the Balkans, the first Gulf War to drive Iraqi armed forces under Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait and the U.S.-led overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks. He didn’t mention the 2003 invasion of Iraq to topple Hussein that was undertaken by his predecessor, former President George W. Bush . When war is waged, it must be done under universal standards of conduct, even when the enemy doesn’t follow the same code, Obama said. Standards for Conflict “I, like any head of state, reserve the right to act unilaterally if necessary to defend my nation,” he said. “Nevertheless, I am convinced that adhering to standards strengthens those who do, and isolates — and weakens — those who don’t.” Obama told his audience there are three ways to “build a just and lasting peace.” They include sanctions that “exact a real price;” the promotion of human rights; diplomacy and engagement; and economic security and opportunity. Security doesn’t exist, he said, “where human beings do not have access to enough food, or clean water, or the medicine they need to survive. “The absence of hope can rot a society from within.” Obama also said the world must come together to confront climate change. “There is little scientific dispute that if we do nothing, we will face more drought, famine and mass displacement that will fuel more conflict for decades,” Obama said. ‘Cooperative Climate’ While Obama is the third sitting U.S. president to win the prize, he’s the first to win it so early in his term. Former presidents Theodore Roosevelt won in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson won in 1919. Former President Jimmy Carter won in 2002 and former Vice President Al Gore received it in 2007, both after leaving office. Thorbjoern Jagland , chairman of the five-member Nobel committee , said the awarding of the Peace Prize this year “must be viewed in the light of the prevailing situation in the world, with great tension, numerous wars, unresolved conflicts and confrontations on many fronts.” Obama “has been trying to create a more cooperative climate which can help reverse the present trend,” Jagland said in the text of his remarks at the ceremony. “It is now, today, that we have the opportunity to support President Obama’s ideas. This year’s prize is indeed a call for action to all of us.” The president arrived in Oslo early today and went directly to the Nobel Institute where he signed a guest book in a room with walls covered with photographs of former laureates including slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr . The president said he and first lady Michelle Obama were touched by the wall of pictures. “When Dr. King won his prize, it had a galvanizing effect around the world, but also lifted his stature in the United States in a way that allowed him to be more effective,” Obama said. To contact the reporter on this story: Julianna Goldman in Washington at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net .

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Obama Says U.S Must Remain a Voice for Freedom in Peace Prize Acceptance

December 10, 2009

By Julianna Goldman Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama will accept his Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo today with a speech that will focus on war while pledging the U.S. “will always be a voice” for those who struggle for freedom. “We do not have to think that human nature is perfect for us to still believe that the human condition can be perfected,” Obama will say in accepting the award, according to excerpts of his address released by the administration. “We do not have to live in an idealized world to still reach for those ideals that will make it a better place.” Obama, 48, receives the honor as a national leader presiding over one war he is seeking to end and another he is escalating. The Nobel ceremony in Oslo comes a little more than a week after he announced deployment of 30,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan. To contact the reporter on this story: Julianna Goldman in Oslo at jgoldman6@bloomberg.net

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Dennis Whittle: There is Way More Luck Involved

December 9, 2009

But something else is going on here, says Princeton University psychologist Daniel Kahneman, who won the Nobel prize in economics in 2002. “We believe that people with certain characteristics will produce certain consequences,” he says. “But we’re wrong, because there is way, way more luck involved in determining success than we’re prone to think.” That is from a nice article in the WSJ by Jason Zweig, who describes how we tend to attribute success and failure to leaders rather than other factors.

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CIC buys 45% stake in Russia’s Nobel Oil

October 17, 2009

CIC buys 45% stake in Russia’s Nobel Oil

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CIC buys 45% stake in Russia’s Nobel Oil

October 17, 2009

CIC buys 45% stake in Russia’s Nobel Oil

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Melissa Biggs Bradley: A Call for Real Service, Not Lip Service

October 13, 2009

Last week, I attended a dinner on the top of the Mutual of America building at 320 Park Avenue, where Nobel Laureate Elie Wiesel made a call to the room full of executives to become more engaged; to give real service, not lip service. It was a far cry from the typical New York fund-raising dinner. We were there to celebrate the American launch of FIDESCO, an international non-profit that recruits volunteers, who take their faith to heart, to share their professional skills by living and working in developing countries. Yes, the purpose was to raise money, but the more radical premise of FIDESCO is that they want people–CEOS, doctors, teachers, lawyers–to give their time (two years, in fact). The introductory film began with images of New York at its shiniest: gleaming Mercedes, glittering store windows, sleek restaurants but slowly reflected in their surfaces emerged the faces of sick and starving children. As FIDESCO’s U.S. president explained, the fact that the volunteers live among the poor has a multiplying effect. The actual work that they do is one element but then they come back, resume their professions and spread their perspective among others. Cartier executive Frederic de Narp, who is involved in the organization, is just such an example. After working in Tokyo for Cartier, he spent two years in Haiti working with children. He returned, rose to head the brands operations in Italy and Switzerland before becoming CEO in America. He is on the board of FIDESCO and clearly believes as much in corporate excellence as he does in committed community service. Elie Weisel, the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize and author of Night, learned about FIDESCO from de Narp. He began his talk with a story from his native Romania. “In winter, a man in his house says to his son, ‘It’s cold outside. Close the door.’ The son replies, ‘If we close the door, will it not be cold outside?’ Today,” Wiesel continued, “‘I would say, “If I leave the door open it is because I would like to invite those who are cold to come in.’” The spiritual Wiesel, who has come to be known as the voice of silent victims of the Holocaust as well as other genocides, then spoke about the one area where we should be atheists. “When it comes to those who need help don’t rely on god,” he said. “When that beggar is here, give him something. God has other problems.” He went on to say that giving is reciprocal because it rewards those who receive as well as those who give. “The beauty of FIDESCO,” he argued “is that we all do what we can. The idea is that you can help children, if not all, at least one.” Throughout the evening we had heard individual stories of children in Rwanda, India and even Gainesville, Georgia who had been helped by FIDESCO. Wiesel ended the evening by sharing the mantra that he repeats to all of his students. “When my students say, ‘What should I take away?’ I always say. ‘Whatever you do, whatever the endeavor, the mantra should be think higher, feel deeper. If you bring joy to one family or hope to anyone, it should be enough.’” Spoken like a true beacon of peace but also an incredibly powerful reminder of what matters during a typical busy New York season.

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Were The Economics Nobel Prize Winners "Ironic" Choices?

October 12, 2009

The odds favorite to win the Nobel, Eugene Fama, lost the prize to two other Americans, Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson. Ostrom & Williamson study the way decisions are made outside of markets, which is the focus of many other economists.

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Fortune’s Stanley Bing: The Nobel Prize in Inscrutability (i.e. Economics) goes to…

October 12, 2009

News that Americans Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson have won the Nobel Prize for economics sent the already contentious community of social scientists into a predictable tizzy. Several factors seem to have catapulted the two, who were separately lauded for their respective work, to the top rank of a beleageured profession. “We primarily recognized each for the inscrutability of their contribution,” said an unnamed representative of the Nobel committee, who made himself available from a phone booth in Stockholm. “Of all economists now working in the world, these two are among the least comprehensible to the general public and even their peers, especially in their native English.” The sheer opaqueness of each to the untutored observer is best conveyed in the news reports announcing their selection. The NY Times, for instance, reported that : In its announcement, the committee said Ms. Ostrom “has challenged the conventional wisdom that common property is poorly managed and should be either regulated by central authorities or privatized. Based on numerous studies of user-managed fish stocks, pastures, woods, lakes, and groundwater basins, Ostrom concludes that the outcomes are, more often than not, better than predicted by standard theories.” Mr. Williamson’s research, the committee said, found that “when market competition is limited, firms are better suited for conflict resolution than markets.” What? Other reports are not much more illuminating, nor is the Wikipedia entry for Mr. Williamson , which states: His focus on the costs of transactions has led Williamson to distinguish between repeated case-by-case bargaining on the one hand and relationship-specific contracts on the other. For example, the repeated purchasing of coal from a spot market to meet the daily or weekly needs of an electric utility would represent case by case bargaining. But over time, the utility is likely to form ongoing relationships with a specific supplier, and the economics of the relationship-specific dealings will be importantly different, he has argued. Eh? One thing is clear: The ability to generate a large body of work on matters whose importance are shrouded in mystery is a key attribute of all world-class economists, and Ostrom and Williamson are clearly in the vanguard here. Economists, of course, are a testy and opinionated bunch, and the selection of these particular practitioners of the dark art engendered the predictable sniping and grousing among the white-socks-and-Birkenstocks cognoscenti. “I don’t know why I didn’t win,” said Max Farbush, who lives near Stanford and often visists the neighborhood around Wharton for its cheese steaks. “I’m as incomprehensible as they are.” When pressed, Mr. Farbush revealed that his work centers on the relationship of markets to their produce. “There’s no rational reason that eggplants should cost as much as they do,” he stated. “It’s clear that subjective perceptual issues enter into such transactions.” Speculation has already begun as to the 2010 winner, and a short list is now making the e-mail rounds. It’s too early to pick a favorite, of course. But while professionals like Mr. Farbush are clearly being considered, the smart money remains on game changers who are right now shaping the world recovery, which places one name at the top of any prospective list. When called to respond to their rumors, the White House declined to offer a comment.

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Ostrom, Williamson Share Nobel Prize in Economics for Work on Governance

October 12, 2009

By Niklas Magnusson Oct. 12 (Bloomberg) — Elinor Ostrom and Oliver Williamson of the U.S. won the Nobel Economics Prize for their work on economic governance and the organization of cooperation. “Ostrom has demonstrated how common property can be successfully managed by user associations,” while Williamson “developed a theory where business firms serve as structures for conflict resolution,” the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, which selects the winner, said today in Stockholm. They will share 10 million Swedish kronor ($1.4 million) in prize money. “Over the last three decades these seminal contributions have advanced economic governance research from the fringe to the forefront of scientific attention,” the academy said. Williamson, 77, is a professor emeritus at the University of California at Berkeley. Ostrom teaches at Indiana University in Bloomington. Alfred Nobel , the Swede who invented dynamite, established awards for achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, peace and literature in his will in 1896. The economics prize was set up by Sweden’s central bank in 1968. Past winners include Milton Friedman , Amartya Sen and James Tobin . The award’s official name is “The Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.” The money, a gold medal and a diploma will be handed out at a ceremony in Stockholm on Dec. 10, the anniversary of Nobel’s death. The economics prize last year was awarded to Paul Krugman , a professor at Princeton University and a columnist for The New York Times, for his theories on world trade. From 1969 to 2008, the Nobel Prize for economics was awarded to 42 Americans, eight Britons, three Norwegians and two Swedes. Economists from Germany, France, the Netherlands, India, Israel, Canada and the former Soviet Union each won once. To contact the reporter on this story: Niklas Magnusson in Stockholm at nmagnusson1@bloomberg.net

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Obama Nobel surprises world

October 10, 2009

Obama Nobel surprises world

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Video: Obama Wins Nobel Peace Prize

October 9, 2009

President Obama wins the Nobel prize for his extraordinary efforts for his diplomacy. (Bloomberg News)

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Fiber Optics, Digital Imaging Pioneers Kao, Boyle, Smith Win Physics Nobel

October 6, 2009

By Trista Kelley Oct. 6 (Bloomberg) — Three scientists whose research helped speed up the transmission of information won the Nobel Prize in Physics. Charles K. Kao , who worked at Standard Telecommunications Laboratories in Harlow, U.K., and now teaches at the Chinese University in Hong Kong; Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith of Bell Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey, will share the 10 million-kronor ($1.4 million) prize, the Nobel Assembly said today in Stockholm. The research “helped to shape the foundation of today’s networked societies,” according to a statement. “They have created many practical innovations for everyday life and provided new tools for scientific exploration.” Kao’s research led to a breakthrough in fiber optics while Boyle and Smith invented the first successful imaging technology using a digital sensor. Last year’s physics prize went to Yoichiro Nambu of the U.S., and Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa of Japan for showing how subatomic particles that are supposed to act similarly sometimes don’t, leading to a better explanation of how the universe was formed. Annual prizes for achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine, peace and literature were established in the will of Alfred Nobel , the Swedish inventor of dynamite, who died in 1896. The Nobel Foundation was established in 1900 and the prizes were first handed out the following year. In 1901 the first Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Wilhelm Röntgen for his discovery of X-rays. The physics prize has since been awarded for discoveries and inventions, according to the Nobel Prize Web site. Yesterday, Elizabeth Blackburn , 60, a professor at the University of California in San Francisco; Carol Greider , 48, a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore; and Jack Szostak, 56, a professor at Harvard Medical School in Boston, won the Nobel Prize in medicine for research on cell division and the “immortality enzyme” that can help them multiply without damage. To contact the reporter on this story: Trista Kelley in London at tkelley2@bloomberg.net

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`Immortality Enzyme’ Wins Blackburn, Greider, Szostak of U.S. Nobel Prize

October 5, 2009

By Michelle Fay Cortez Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) — Three American scientists shared the Nobel Prize in medicine for discovering telomerase, an “immortality enzyme” that allows cells to divide continuously without dying and could play a role in the uncontrolled spread of cancer cells. Elizabeth Blackburn , an Australian-born professor at the University of California in San Francisco; Carol Greider , a professor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore; and Jack Szostak , a professor at Harvard Medical School and investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, will share the prize, the Nobel Assembly said today at a press conference in Stockholm. Last year’s prize in medicine went to France’s Francoise Barre-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier and German virologist Harald zur Hausen for identifying viruses that cause AIDS and cervical cancer. Annual prizes for achievements in physics, chemistry, medicine or physiology, peace and literature were established in the will of Alfred Nobel , the Swedish inventor of dynamite, who died in 1896. The Nobel Foundation was established in 1900 and the prizes were first handed out the following year. An economics prize was created in 1969 in memory of Nobel by the Swedish central bank. Only the peace prize is awarded outside Sweden, by the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo. To contact the reporter on this story: Michelle Fay Cortez in London at mcortez@bloomberg.net

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Krugman Says `End of the World Postponed’ as U.S. Economy Exits Recession

September 21, 2009

By Kati Pohjanpalo Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) — The global economic downturn has probably hit bottom though the recovery will be “slow and painful,” said Paul Krugman , the Nobel Prize winning economist. “The end of the world appears to have been postponed,” Krugman, a professor at Princeton University, said at a seminar in Helsinki today. The world economy “does not appear to be falling into an abyss but is still” in trouble. The outlook is “very fuzzy’ and a W-shaped recovery may become U-shaped. Germany, France and Japan emerged from recession last quarter, adding to evidence some of the world’s biggest economies are over the worst. The U.S. recession probably ended in late July or August, Krugman said, after gross domestic product fell 1 percent in the second quarter from the prior three months. The Nobel Laureate said “the truly extraordinary thing” has been “the collapse of world trade,” the subject for which he was awarded the prize last year, and he cast doubt on the potential for exports to lead the global recovery. He also said China’s economy isn’t big enough to serve as a growth engine. “The problem is that this is a global financial crisis,” he said. “How can we have an export-led recovery unless we find another planet to export to?” No Locomotive Krugman questioned whether China’s economy is large enough to be a locomotive of recovery. “One of the reasons it’s so difficult to tell a story about a fast recovery is the large surpluses in Asia,” he said. “If they can find a serious increase in consumer demand, that would help. We don’t really understand why the Chinese savings rate is so high, but it’s probably due to” large precautionary savings. He warned that any decision by China to diversify its currency reserves away from the dollar would “hurt Europe and Japan the most.” While budget deficits “saved the world” in the short term, “for most people things are going to get worse,” he said. “Governments can help us cope with the crisis, but they have levels of debt that are sufficiently high to be a source of concern.” Even so, the recovery remains too frail to warrant scaling back support measures, he said. “Exit from stimulus should certainly wait until we have clear signs that we’re closing the output gap. This is no time to start exiting stimulus.” ‘Don’t Panic’ Economies can “suffer” more than necessary if governments introduce austerity measures prematurely, Krugman said. “Obviously deficits are building up, but to respond with severe cuts increases the human and the economic cost right away. You do not want to inflict upon yourself the equivalent of an IMF program. You want to avoid doing that if you can. You have to keep an eye on the debt numbers but not panic over them if you can avoid it.” While, last quarter’s drop in U.S. GDP was the fourth in a row, the longest contraction since quarterly records began in 1947, Krugman said the U.S. has $1.1 trillion in annual capacity “staying idle.” The U.S. consumer “that’s been such an important driver of the global economy, is exhausted,” he said, forecasting U.S. unemployment may rise until early 2011. Reason to Invest Leading the recovery will be business investment, he said, “but what’s going to drive business investment? It would be very helpful if someone could” make a discovery that would lead us out of this recession. “If we can introduce effective climate change policies, particularly the cost of carbon emissions,” that “would be a reason to invest.” A “good” agreement at the forthcoming international climate change summit in Denmark “wouldn’t just be good for the planet, it would be good for the recovery,” Krugman said. The crisis has hurt the euro in its ‘competition’ with the dollar, he said. “The international role of the euro is that it has suffered a setback. The crisis has not been good for the euro and its competition with the dollar as the international reserve currency.” Krugan said he was concerned global efforts to emerge from the crisis “could just drag on and on for a long, long time.” “The consequences of that are that you start to have problems with financing the debt and you start to have social and political problems,” he said. My great concern is that this just drags on and on with severe consequences for political and social stability.” History is no guide to a path to recovery, he said. “The trouble is, we really have no road maps. The only model is the Great Depression itself.” That “was ended by a very large spending program known as World War II and we don’t really want to repeat that.” To contact the reporter on this story: Kati Pohjanpalo in Helsinki at kpohjanpalo@bloomberg.net

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Paul Krugman On Economy: "End Of World Postponed" By Stimulus

September 21, 2009

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) — The global economic downturn has probably hit bottom though the recovery will be “slow and painful,” said Paul Krugman, the Nobel Prize winning economist.

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Joseph Stiglitz Urges End To GDP ‘Fetish’ In Favor Of Broader Measures

September 13, 2009

Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize- winning economist, urged world leaders to drop an obsession with examining gross domestic product and focus more on broader measures of prosperity.

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North Korea’s Kim Jong Il Sends Message via Funeral Envoys to South’s Lee

August 22, 2009

By Kevin Cho Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) — North Korean delegates who are in Seoul today to pay respects to the late Kim Dae Jung conveyed a message from their leader Kim Jong Il to South Korean President Lee Myung Bak . Kim relayed an oral message “regarding the progress in inter-Korean relations,” presidential spokesman Lee Dong Kwan told reporters. He declined to give details, citing the “sensitivity” of the message. President Lee met with the North Korean group, led by Kim Ki Nam , secretary of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party, for 30 minutes from 9 a.m., the presidential spokesman said. The president told the delegates that “there is no issue that can’t be resolved if South and North engage in dialogue with sincerity,” the spokesman said. A six-member North Korean group sent by Kim Jong Il arrived in Seoul Aug. 21 and placed a wreath at one of the funeral altars for former president Kim, who died Aug. 18. Lee thanked the North for offering condolences. The state funeral for Kim , who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000 in part for his efforts to improve relations with the North, is scheduled for 2 p.m. today. To contact the reporters on this story: Kevin Cho in Seoul at kcho2@bloomberg.net

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Stiglitz Says Dollar’s Role as Store of Value Is `Questionable,’ Has Risk

August 20, 2009

By Shiyin Chen Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) — The dollar’s role as a good store of value is “questionable” and the currency has a high degree of risk, said Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz . “There is a need for a global reserve system,” Stiglitz, a Columbia University economics professor, said at a conference in Bangkok today. Support from countries like China should ensure orderly discussions on a new reserve system, he added. Policy makers in the U.S. and Europe have flooded the global economy with liquidity, which could lead to speculative bubbles due to limited opportunities for investment, he said. Stiglitz said he was not confident of the Fed’s claim that it would withdraw liquidity when needed. The global financial crisis signals the failure of American-style capitalism, Stiglitz told the conference. The worldwide financial system only worked because of repeated government bailouts and markets have been saved from their failures to allocate risk, he said. Stiglitz said more collective action was needed on a global level to address the crisis and that the Group of 20 has been slow in addressing fundamental problems such as weak aggregate demand. Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 are due to meet in London on Sept. 4-5. The global financial crisis, which began with the collapse of the U.S. subprime-lending market in 2007, has led to almost $1.6 trillion of writedowns and credit losses at banks and other financial institutions, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Stiglitz shared the Nobel Prize in 2001 for work on problems that may arise in markets when parties don’t have equal access to information. He was formerly chief economist at the World Bank and chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers under Bill Clinton. To contact the reporter on this story: Shiyin Chen in Singapore at schen37@bloomberg.net .

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Gore to Give Greenbuild Keynote Address

August 18, 2009

Former Vice President Al Gore will keynote the 2009 Greenbuild green building conference, the event’s organizer, the U.S. Green Building Council, said Wednesday. Gore, who won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 for his activism in raising awareness of global…

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Kim Dae Jung, Former South Korea President, Nobel Laureate, Dies at Age 85

August 18, 2009

By Bill Austin and Ian King Aug. 18 (Bloomberg) — Kim Dae Jung , the democracy activist who survived assassination attempts and a death sentence to become South Korea’s president and sole winner of the Nobel Peace Prize , has died. He was 85. Kim was admitted to the Severance Hospital in Seoul on July 13, 2009, suffering from pneumonia. He died today, according to Choi Kingdegar, a spokesman at the hospital. Kim won the presidency in 1997 at the height of the Asian financial crisis in South Korea’s first civilian transfer of power. Three years later he traveled to Pyongyang for a landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il , part of his so- called Sunshine Policy that attempted to defuse tension on the divided peninsula, where 1.7 million troops square off every day. Engagement with North Korea, a policy extended by Kim Dae Jung’s successor Roh Moo Hyun , failed to prevent a nuclear test by the communist regime in 2006. Tensions flared most recently in April as the North first tested a ballistic missile, then a month later detonated a second nuclear device, triggering United Nations sanctions. “Kim Dae Jung had good intentions when he initiated the Sunshine Policy, but it’s far from having been a success,” said Park Joon Young , a professor of political science and international relations at Ewha Womans University in Seoul. “What we’ve learned from the past 10 years is that Kim Jong Il’s regime never compromises on anything. It turned out to be ineffective in prompting any changes in North Korea.” Failures, Comebacks Kim Dae Jung’s political life was a series of setbacks and comebacks. In 1954 he failed in his first bid for a seat in the National Assembly as an independent. Two attempts later in 1961 he won a by-election, only to see parliament shut down by a military coup before he was sworn in. Kim won the presidency on his fourth attempt, in December 1997. His first year in office was plagued by corporate and banking failures as well as surging unemployment in a nation that had enjoyed almost 20 years of unrestrained growth. A $57 billion bailout by the International Monetary Fund aimed at preventing a debt default, the subsequent economic turnaround and the olive branch he offered North Korea helped bolster Kim’s support with the majority of Koreans. His popularity peaked in June 2000 when Kim became the first South Korean leader to visit the North. During his stay in Pyongyang he met North Korea’s Kim in a series of televised meetings that raised expectations that the peninsula might be reunited after almost 50 years of division. ‘Responsibilities’ “In the summit, I told my counterpart the two of us have responsibilities to the nation and the world,” he said on his return to Seoul. “I have returned with the conviction that, sooner or later, we will become reconciled with each other, cooperate, and finally get reunified.” Kim was born on Jan. 6, 1924, on the island of Haui off the southern coast, the second son of a sharecropper for a Japanese landowner, according to the Kim Dae Jung Presidential Library and Museum. His date of birth has sometimes been erroneously reported as Dec. 3, 1925. He loved his village so much he took its name, Hugwang, as a pseudonym for life, the library said. After finishing fourth grade, Kim moved to the mainland city of Mokpo in southern Jeolla, a poor region that had lagged behind the rest of the nation’s economic growth, and which became the symbol of his fight for increased democracy. Kim graduated from high school in 1943 and joined a shipping company, working his way up to become its president as well as the owner of a local newspaper. Political ambitions awakened during Japanese colonial rule blossomed after the 1950-53 Korean War and with the increasingly authoritarian rule adopted by South Korea’s first president, Rhee Syngman . Eloquent Speaker After his initial political failures, Kim finally entered parliament in 1963 and served as spokesman for the main opposition party until he was appointed its top policy maker in 1968. He gained a reputation as a gifted speaker, setting a record for the longest speech in parliament, according to his presidential library. In 1971 he was the opposition candidate for president, almost defeating military ruler Park Chung Hee , whom Kim accused of rigging the vote. That year, Kim was hit by a car in what he said was an attempt on his life by Park’s supporters. He walked with a limp for the remainder of his life. In August 1973, with South Korea under martial law, Kim was abducted by Korean intelligence agents while living in exile in Tokyo. During the trip back across the sea between Korea and Japan in a small boat, agents held him over the side and threatened to drown him. Condemned, Exiled Back home, Kim alternated between jail and house arrest until Park was assassinated in October 1979 by the head of the Korean intelligence agency. After a coup, another general- turned-president, Chun Doo Hwan , rearrested Kim and sentenced him to death on charges of attempting to foment an uprising. Kim was released after 2 1/2 years and allowed to go into exile in the U.S. Returning home in 1985, he joined with Kim Young Sam in staging nationwide pro-democracy protests that climaxed in 1987 when the government agreed to adopt democratic reforms and allow direct presidential elections. Both Kims ran for the highest office in 1987, splitting the vote and allowing rival Roh Tae Woo to win. In 1992, Kim Young Sam threw in his lot with Roh and won the presidency for himself. Five years later, Kim profited from a split within the ruling party to squeak into office by little more than 1 percent. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2000 for his attempts to bring peace and reunification to the Peninsula divided by the 1950-3 Korean War. “Kim Dae Jung has attempted to overcome more than 50 years of war and hostility between North and South Korea,” the Nobel committee said in its statement. “There may now be hope that the Cold War will also come to an end in Korea.” Still, tensions between North and South Korea climbed to the highest in more than a decade in 2009 as they exchanged military threats after North Korea’s second nuclear detonation in May and missiles tests. Right until his death, Kim Dae Jung urged President Lee Myung Bak , who took office in 2008, to pursue a policy of engagement with North Korea. To contact the reporter on this story: Bill Austin in Tokyo at billaustin@@bloomberg.net

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Suu Kyi House Arrest in Myanmar Extended; U.S. Man Gets 7 Years Hard Labor

August 11, 2009

By Ed Johnson Aug. 11 (Bloomberg) — Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was placed under house arrest for 18 months today after being found guilty of breaching a detention order, her U.S.- based attorney said. A court in the former capital, Yangon, sentenced the Nobel Peace Prize winner to 3 years in jail and hard labor and the military regime commuted the sentence, Jared Genser said by telephone after today’s verdict. “This was a pre-ordained conclusion,” Genser said from the U.S. “It is clearly arbitrary and in breach of international law.” Suu Kyi was accused of breaking her house arrest order by allowing American John Yettaw to stay for two days after he swam to her lakeside home in Yangon in May. Today’s ruling ensures she won’t be able to take part in elections scheduled for 2010. The verdict may invite a fresh wave of criticism against the country formerly known as Burma, which has been ruled by the military since 1962. Suu Kyi denied the charges and blamed the security breach on the regime. Yettaw was sentenced to 7 years hard labor and imprisonment, Agence France-Presse reported. Suu Kyi has spent more than 13 years in detention since her National League for Democracy won Myanmar’s last elections in 1990, a result rejected by the military. She has been under house arrest since 2003. The United Nations and leaders from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations , the U.S. and Europe have called for the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s release. To contact the reporter on this story: Ed Johnson in Sydney at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net .

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Krugman: World Avoided Second Great Depression

August 10, 2009

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Aggressive stimulus spending by governments helped the world avoid a second Great Depression but full economic recovery will take two years or more, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman said Monday. Krugman said the worst of the global crisis was over with economic and exports growth showing signs of stabilization. Still, recovery was likely to be “disappointing” as government spending wasn’t sustainable in the long-run and unemployment rate still lagging behind, he told a two-day world capital markets conference here. There isn’t likely to be any “Phoenix-like” recovery such as in the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis, where the economies expanded dramatically, led by a sharp rebound in exports, he said. “We have managed to avoid a second Great Depression … but full recovery is at least two years and probably more,” Krugman said. Asia is likely to see a faster rebound, than the U.S. and Europe, partly driven by the recovery in manufacturing exports, he said. In the clearest sign yet that the recession may be ending, the U.S. Labor Department last Friday showed the jobless rate in the world’s largest economy dipped for the first time in 15 months while workers’ hours and pay edged upward. It said a net total of 247,000 jobs were lost last month, the fewest in a year and a drastic improvement from the 443,000 that vanished in June. Still, the job market remains shaky. A quarter-million lost jobs are a far cry from the employment growth needed to put the national economy on solid footing. President Barack Obama has urged Americans to be patient and give time for his $787 billion stimulus package of tax cuts and increased government spending to take hold. Most of the money will flow in 2010. Krugman said there was still room for the U.S. government to increase spending to boost growth, despite concerns over its swollen budget deficit. Krugman, who teaches at Princeton University, won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences last year for his analysis of how economies of scale can affect international trade patterns. He also writes columns for The New York Times. He said there was a need to restructure the global financial system and impose tighter regulations to avoid a repeat of the economic crisis, but expressed concern that the momentum for reforms appeared to be easing. “We do not have the political will to do that just yet … I suspect clever people can still make a lot of money from the financial system in the next few years,” he warned. Earlier, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak urged regulators worldwide to jointly create a compatible, sustainable and effective surveillance system to prevent future market crashes. These include keeping a close eye on risk-taking activities and having a common procedure for intervention if there are signs of irrational excess, he said. “Over-reliance on self-regulation is a mistake,” he said. “Global regulators should err on the side of investor protection and financial stability rather than rely on a ‘buyer beware’ regulatory regime.” Singapore’s Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam and Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury K.C. Chan warned against being too hasty, saying greater regulation of financial institutions mustn’t be at the expense of stifling innovation and growth.

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Krugman: Bernanke Should Be Appointed to a Second Term

August 9, 2009

Aug. 10 (Bloomberg) — Ben S. Bernanke deserves another term as Federal Reserve Chairman on the basis of his success in battling the financial crisis, said Princeton University Economist Paul Krugman, a winner of the Nobel Prize. “He’s earned the right to a second term,” Krugman, 56, said yesterday in an interview in Kuala Lumpur. “He turned the Fed into the financial intermediary of last resort. When the banking system failed to deliver capital where it was needed, he put the Fed into the markets.”

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Household Incomes in U.S. Weaken, Threatening Consumer Spending Recovery

August 4, 2009

By Shobhana Chandra Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) — Household income in the U.S. is weakening as the influence of the government’s stimulus plan fades, prompting economists, Federal Reserve officials and a Nobel laureate to warn that consumer spending may stumble. “Consumers have started to change their behavior and they are going to save more,” said Richard Berner , co-head of global economics at Morgan Stanley in New York and a former researcher at the Fed.

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