Sell-offs hurting emrgency markets

Washington Post, Oct.18, 2008 on page D1:

SHANGHAI - Investors who helped build the financial boomtowns of developing countries are now fleeing them, threatening to destabilize burgeoning economies and drag the world into a deep recession. More than $1.3 trillion in value has been wiped off emerging market stocks this year in cities such as Sao Paulo and Osaka. I visited Sao Paulo in 1997 and Osaka in 1984 for on-the-spot research in economics.

Page A8: Despite the federal government's pledge of more than $1 trillion to aid the US economy and financial system, both political parties would like to spend more. That means US in a deeper hole but such is the nature of political economy. You bet!

Vincent Reinhart, the former chief monetary economist at the FED said that in principle a targeted timely stimulus package that could be put in place quickly with the bailout plan. We have a new watermark as to how mch the government should do. Reinhart said. My comment: Who knows the answers? I believe that Prof.Galbraith is right in saying that there are two kinds of forecasters: Those who don't know and whose who don't know they don't know. That is truly amusing but I bet that nobody would impugn such profound wisdom from a seasoned economist.

Page A11: Olympic Media rules preserved in China: Liberalization applies to Foreigners. Journalism has impact to economics! We have seen the impact of media on economics.


Francis Shieh a.k.a. Xie Shihao, an octogenarian wishing to learn the statements from economists to see the nature of economics and Sino-American Economics. Oct.18, 2008 at 10.22 a.m.