A system that lets Koenigsegg of Sweden (employs 45) buy GM’s Saab unit (employs 3400) surely needs overhauling. However, Obama’s financial sector proposals include no fundamental restructuring, such as an upper bound on size of individual banks/FIs (no too-big-to-fail kind wanted in future), or reintroducing segregation of banking and … hmmm … investment banking. What that ‘enemy of capitalism’ (Roosevelt) had done in 1933 was undone by Clinton in 1999 in a move so silent that it took a decade for the noise to be heard.

Obama compromised but did rattle the St by raucously suggesting control over most trillion dollar plus outfits and demanding responsible behavior even from credit rating agencies. Whether he would indeed start counting the supply of dollars (the US stopped tracking M3 in March 2006) remains to be seen.

The young man in a hurry wants to provide healthcare to all and is even preparing Americans to take climate issues seriously by coming out with frightening projections of how lower Manhattan may go underwater. But it seems either there is something terribly wrong with the US figures, or it is about as egalitarian a society as Nigeria or Ghana. The 2 tn + it says it spends on healthcare translates into nearly 15% of GDP whereas share of medicare in CPI is only 6.4%. Similarly, the per capita income of $48,000 is difficult to smell even in a Wall St secretary, unless hubby draws six figure.

Much that is irrational happens more often than we like to believe. Obama killed one single fly during a TV interview and PETA cried foul. A Chinese town, tired of dogs biting its citizens, killed 36,000 stray dogs in one swoop. The normal flu kills about a quarter million every year but the world is focussed on Swine Flu, which has so far killed less than 200. Commercial pilots and teachers are supposed to retire at the same age of 65.

Notwithstanding all the talk about China and Russia cutting their exposure to the dollar, the share of dollar in global forex reserves rose from 62.8 to 64% in 2008. Some in media say China, Russia and probably Japan are desperately looking for ways of creating an alternate to the dollar but getting a currency accepted by markets takes a lot longer than printing bills. After a full decade of euro launch, still there is no such thing as a euro-yen rate. It is dollar-euro and dollar-yen that determine euro-yen.

Germany has successfully boosted sales of Czech made Skoda cars by offering $3500 cash to those scrapping cars older than 9 years and now the US wants to help a Hyundai or a Toyota the same way. India can perhaps offer new small cars in exchange for used big cars + half the value of the voucher, making it a cash generating transaction for car owners.

Skylines are changing in hitherto unthinkable locations like Sudan where real estate is still bursting at the seams, inflation in India turned negative after three decades, Hong Kong expects its economy to contract 6% in 2009, and the Hurun report says 82% of the 825,000 millionaires in China haven’t changed their lifestyles because of the financial meltdown, notwithstanding the 20% decline in FDI in Jan-May. OECD says CLI (Composite Leading Indicators) index for its members rose in April but that is, of course, plain gibberish for the nearly 50 mn unemployed in EU and US taken together. Over 100,000 students in Germany protested against overcrowded classrooms and mediocre education last week.

Citigroup says it would look for growth outside the US, which means it would pressure US govt to let foreign banks open more branches, British retailer Tesco seems to be performing well, though analysts are growing skeptical about its growing debt, and Fedex results presented a grim picture of the logistics industry last week.

PetroChina, the world’s largest company by market value, which bought Singapore Petroleum last month for $2.2 bn, is now buying a stake in European oil refiner Grangemouth, Lukoil of Russia has bought a $725 mn stake in TRN From Total of France, and Boeing wants to push drones (unmanned aircraft) output from about $500 mn to a billion, to match market leader Northrop, where Marilyn Monroe worked before her assets were noticed by Hollywood.

Apple CEO Jobs is to return hesitantly after having been on medical leave since Jan as the company’s shares have risen 59% during his absence, Holcim of Switzerland has bought equity held by Cemex of Mexico in an Australian cement company, MySpace (Rupert Murdoch) is losing ground to FaceBook, and ExxonMobil has managed to get the damages for an oil spillage cut from $5 bn to $480 mn.

Reports of cocaine being packed in frozen fish and stone statues came in last week but nothing beats financial crimes in sheer scale and profitability. While the Madoff saga is yet to unfold fully, another US billionaire has been accused of fraudulent sales of certificates of deposits! A Singaporean says Citigroup forced him to liquidate his open positions by feeding him false reports of margin requirements. Two years ago 62,000 paid £400 mn against taxes evaded under a UK amnesty scheme. US banks continue to illegally seize pensions and doles of defaulters because money first comes to them. A small money lender can be arrested for demanding 24% interest while credit card issuers merrily charge 35-50%.

Equities, currencies, commodities and interest rates are all moving in relatively narrow ranges and a semblance of stability appears to have arrived, at least for the time being. Whether the world economy is due for more turbulence, only time will tell, but remember that nothing ever changes, even as everything keeps changing. Humanity refuses to learn from history and is, therefore, condemned to repeat it. In the maddening cacophony of opinions, one sentence of Fareed Zakaria (CNN) stands out: “Consumers will save more before they start spending again.”

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