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Why is China—a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos) and a party-litigant (that chose to be legally in default but indirectly participated through official statements of its spokespersons) in the 2016 Arbitral Award—militarizing the South China Sea and why does it not recognize and obey the AA that invalidated China’s nine-dash line and upheld freedom of navigation in the SCS? And why does the United States—though not a signatory to Unclos and though not a party-litigant in the AA—enforce, together with its allies like Australia, France, Germany, and Great Britain, freedom of navigation in the SCS? So, I asked rhetorically in last Monday’s column (“The Maritime Zones Act, Asean, and China”). THE UNSAID SHORT AND SIMPLE ANSWER IS “NATIONAL INTEREST.” All states, including the Philippines, always act to protect and project what is beneficial to them and to their people. National interest is not constant. It shifts according to the present and future political, economic, security, and social aspirations of, and sometimes turmoil in, a country. For decades, China solemnly taught its people in its schools and in its media that the SCS and its fisheries and natural resources belong to them. While dormant in the past, this teaching has become prevalent in the country, such that any Chinese leader who refuses or neglects to protect and project this teaching would be deemed a traitor or a nincompoop to be ousted summarily. Moreover, China boasts of a robust civilization antedating many Western powers like Great Britain and Portugal that enslaved it and occupied portions of its territory under long-term leases like Hong Kong and Macau and that ignored its dormant but simmering desire to become a respected world power again. And indeed, it has meteorically risen from utter poverty and slavery to become the second biggest economy in the world that aspires to be on equal, if not better, footing with the West. And one way to achieve this ambition is to propel its military might to the Pacific Ocean through domination of the SCS. In the process, it has crossed the maritime entitlements of the states bordering the SCS—Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and the Philippines that among themselves have separate territorial and maritime disputes. THE UNITED STATES, TOO, HAS CHANGED ITS ASPIRATIONS from neutrality (though covertly assisting the European powers) in the military aggressions of Adolf Hitler that started on Sept. 1, 1939, with the German blitzkrieg on Poland only to be drawn fully into it by the sneak attack on Pearl Harbor by the Japanese Imperial Navy on Dec. 7, 1941. After the unconditional surrender of Germany and later of Japan on Sept. 2, 1945, the US, as the leader of the victorious allies, expanded its reach to all parts of the world thereby making Pax Americana and the institution of American-style democracy, libertarianism, capitalism, and free trade among both its allies and erstwhile enemies as its national interest. From then on, the US spent trillions of dollars—much of it borrowed domestically and, ironically, from China—and planted American boots on the battlegrounds of Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Election after election since then, the American foreign policy and its perception of its national interest had not materially changed. But during the elections last Nov. 5, the Americans got tired of being the peacekeepers of the world and of gradually losing economic dominance to the surging Chinese. Now, Donald Trump emerged and advocated to “Make America Great Again” as their national interest and demanded that their allies share the cost of peacekeeping. So, too, Trump vowed to undertake mass deportation of illegal migrants whom he accused of stealing American jobs and of waging criminality in American cities, hills, and plains. Verily, he loves being a disruptor. IN 2016, THE FILIPINOS, TOO, GOT TIRED OF THE DEMOCRATIC IDEALS of compromise and free elections that were controlled by dynasties and “imperial Manila.” They welcomed the feisty, even autocratic, rule of Rodrigo Duterte. He veered to China as the true ally and abandoned the friendship and military protection of the US. But, lo and behold, his grip on power was limited to six years and a new leader emerged, Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who reverted to America as our country’s ally in protecting and advancing our national interest especially in preserving our entitlements to the fisheries and natural resources in the West Philippine Sea. Clearly, our national interest shifted from America to China and back to America. This see-sawing shifts in our national interest seem to be backed up by the landslide victory of Duterte in 2016 only to be overcome by the even more lopsided win of Marcos Jr., who gathered, for the first time under our 1987 Constitution, an absolute majority (well over 50 percent) of the ballots cast in the 2022 election. With his overwhelming mandate, President Marcos can indeed lead in the protection and projection of our national interest vis-à-vis our Asean neighbors, China, the US, and the world. ————— Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. 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Experts have said that training some drivers in growth of the nation’s livestock sector is key to improved productivity of livestock for food security in Nigeria. The co-task team leader of Livestock Productivity and Resilience Support Project (LPRES)/World Bank, Dr. Chidozie Anyiro, made the assertion at the closing ceremony of a weeklong capacity building programme by the Kwara state government and packaged by the Synergy Impact Consultant Limited for an additional 100 extension agents/farmers on small ruminant production and crop residue processing for improved utilisation by ruminants in Ilorin, Kwara. The LPRES team lead also said that consistent training of farmers is key to addressing broader objective of the food security agenda of the federal government. “You cannot improve productivity without addressing some key drivers in the growth of our livestock. For instance, you have to address pasture needs, water needs, among other issues. “So the training of these drivers such as the farmers, extension agents, etc is very key to addressing those constraints that have hindered productivity of our livestock”, he said. Dr. Anyiro, who said that objective of the LPRES project is to improve livestock productivity, resilience, and commercialisation of selected livestock chains, added that the capacity building of the selected farmers/extension agents, who he described as frontliners, is part of the efforts to achieve the broader objective of LPRES. Talking about the need to have adequate number of such people to achieve desired objective, the agricultural expert said that there is a need for consistent training. “Livestock productivity is a gradual process. It’s about consistency. Where we have missed it in the past is in doing a one-off activity and you think it would make significant impact. So, consistency means a lot, making sure that you are connected with people that you have trained and you keep training them because there are a lot of technologies that have come up on a daily basis and you have to keep updating the farmers on the new trend. “It has a lot to do with food security programme of the present government in the country. Yes of course. One focuses on availability, affordability, nutritious food. Before you can achieve the broader food security agenda of the country, there are other sub components that you need to address. So, this training is key to addressing the broader objective of the food security agenda of Mr. President”, he said. Also speaking, the Kwara State Commissioner for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs. Toyosi Thomas, who represented Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq, said that the state government decided to invest in the participants to ensure critical growth and development of agricultural production in the state. The governor charged the participants to take the training seriously and put it into practice, saying that they should not see it as one such ordinary training. He encouraged them to scale down the training among members of their various communities, adding that their performance would allow government to continue the training programme for more beneficiaries to enjoy. He expressed happiness that past participants had been training others to improve livelihood among the populace. “Governor Abdulrahman Abdulrazaq is prioritizing human capital development. Especially, the extension agents. We are determined to strengthen the number to over a thousand frontliners from the present number of 500 beneficiaries. “Our target is to have one extension agent in each ward of the state and to ensure mobility, by providing one motorcycle in each ward for effectiveness”. READ MORE FROM: NIGERIAN TRIBUNE Get real-time news updates from Tribune Online! Follow us on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive stories and interviews, and much more. Join our WhatsApp Channel nowNEW YORK , Dec. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Halper Sadeh LLC, an investor rights law firm, is investigating the following companies for potential violations of the federal securities laws and/or breaches of fiduciary duties to shareholders relating to: Altair Engineering Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTR)'s sale to Siemens for $113.00 per share in cash. If you are an Altair shareholder, click here to learn more about your legal rights and options . Sandy Spring Bancorp (NASDAQ: SASR)'s sale to Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation for 0.900 shares of Atlantic Union common stock for each share of Sandy Spring . If you are a Sandy Spring shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (NYSE: AUB)'s merger with Sandy Spring Bancorp. If you are an Atlantic shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Cyclo Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: CYTH)'s merger with Rafael Holdings, Inc. If you are a Cyclo shareholder, click here to learn more about your rights and options . Halper Sadeh LLC may seek increased consideration for shareholders, additional disclosures and information concerning the proposed transaction, or other relief and benefits on behalf of shareholders. We would handle the action on a contingent fee basis, whereby you would not be responsible for out-of-pocket payment of our legal fees or expenses. Shareholders are encouraged to contact the firm free of charge to discuss their legal rights and options. Please call Daniel Sadeh or Zachary Halper at (212) 763-0060 or email sadeh@halpersadeh.com or zhalper@halpersadeh.com . Halper Sadeh LLC represents investors all over the world who have fallen victim to securities fraud and corporate misconduct. Our attorneys have been instrumental in implementing corporate reforms and recovering millions of dollars on behalf of defrauded investors. Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome. Contact Information: Halper Sadeh LLC Daniel Sadeh, Esq. Zachary Halper, Esq. (212) 763-0060 sadeh@halpersadeh.com zhalper@halpersadeh.com https://www.halpersadeh.com View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/shareholder-investigation-halper-sadeh-llc-investigates-altr-sasr-aub-cyth-on-behalf-of-shareholders-302338489.html SOURCE Halper Sadeh LLPDear Lucas : Every year our extended family gets together for the holidays. The only issue is one member randomly starts listening to YouTube videos loudly during family time. Watching “White Christmas” or listening to Christmas music together has not been the same since. Any suggestions? Dear Reader : I know I put the word “nephew” in the headline, but, upon further inspection, I realize you didn’t specify who was doing this. I guess I just pictured a real-life Bart Simpson with an iPad blasting Cardi B or watching an ISIS recruitment video while the rest of the family is pretending to enjoy green bean casserole. If so, perhaps this is what we get for giving kids iPads instead of letting them smoke cigarettes and shoot pool or whatever kids used to do back in the day. There’s a part of me that thinks it is you who is playing the videos, and you’re looking for permission to indulge your anti-social behavior. If so, you’ve come to the right advice column. Don’t let them stop you from enjoying the holidays your way. After all, what is the point of those Black Friday sales if you can’t use these newfangled devices to torment everyone around you? Perhaps the desire to pull up an internet video stems from the fact that the family is forcing each other to watch a movie that came out when Eisenhower was in office. People nowadays need more audio/visual stimulation than Bing Crosby can provide. There are plenty of activities that can bring the family together while also meeting your need to be perpetually overstimulated. If a more modern Christmas movie won’t do the trick, you could always watch street fights on the internet or start a makeshift gambling ring while you wait for someone to volunteer to do the dishes. Previous questions Ask Lucas: How do I get my family to avoid politics at Thanksgiving dinner? Ask Lucas: How do I tell other drivers ‘sorry!’ if I make a mistake on the road? Ask Lucas: My wife and I can’t agree on a temperature for our house RECOMMENDED • cleveland .com Cleveland Ballet hosts ‘Nutcracker’ tea on Dec. 8 Nov. 20, 2024, 12:40 p.m. Democrat Marcy Kaptur extends tenure as longest-serving woman in U.S. House with election win Nov. 20, 2024, 1:19 p.m. Ask Lucas: My wife doesn’t want to help me with all the leaves Ask Lucas: Can women use men’s restrooms when the lines are too long? Look at this handsome fella. His name is Lucas and he will be writing more columns like this, despite common sense saying this should stop while he’s ahead. If you want to send hate mail or, for some reason, ask for his advice, please send an email to ldaprile@cleveland.com.
At climate talks, painstaking diplomacy and then angerELK RIVER — Political observers, reporters and curious onlookers filled the Maple Room of the Sherburne County Government Center in Elk River on Monday morning, Nov. 25. All eyes were on the front of the room, where the votes from three precincts of the Minnesota House 14B race between incumbent Rep. Dan Wolgamott, DFL-St. Cloud, and Republican challenger Sue Ek were recounted by hand. Each candidate could have observers watch the ballot counters and watch at a time. One woman, sitting in the second row of onlookers, brought a pair of binoculars so she could stand up and keep a better eye on the recount. Observers representing Ek — including the woman with the binoculars — kept track of the number of ballots in each precinct, writing the numbers down as they were reported by Loraine Rupp, the Sherburne County auditor-treasurer. They added up the numbers to make sure they all match the results from the Minnesota Secretary of State’s website. At the end, Sherburne County confirmed Wolgamott’s election night win over Ek during Monday’s nearly three-hour-long recount. "I’m satisfied that the results of this recount confirm what the voters decided on Nov. 5: once again, they’ve hired me to get things done for St. Cloud at the Capitol," Wolgamott said in a written statement. Wolgamott lost one vote during the recount, giving him a winning margin of 190 votes. The one-vote loss was a write-in vote where judges determined that the voter intent was not for Wolgamott, Rupp said. Following the recount, the incumbent gained one vote in St. Cloud Ward 2, Precinct 7, and lost two in St. Cloud Ward 2, Precinct 5, according to Rupp. Ek requested the recount. State statute for a publicly funded recount requires three precincts to be recounted. Ek chose to recount the votes from St. Cloud’s Ward 2, Precincts 5, 6 and 7, according to Rupp. Sherburne County has four 14B voting precincts. On election night, Nov. 5, results showed that Wolgamott won reelection by a slim 28-vote margin. Sherburne County staff later identified some absentee ballots that were not included in the unofficial totals posted to the Minnesota Secretary of State Office’s website that night, county officials said in a Nov. 7 news release. That updated count increased Wolgamott’s lead to 191 votes. “If we find a difference in the count, you need to be aware that this is not unusual, and that this is why we have the recount law,” Rupp told onlookers at 10 a.m. Monday, when the recount started. 14B was one of two House races that faced a recount, placing the party balance of the House in question. As of now, the 134-seat Minnesota House remains deadlocked at 67-67. Rep. Brad Tabke, DFL-Shakopee, won reelection in District 54A after Scott County election officials recounted votes by hand on Thursday, Nov. 21. His win increased by a one-vote margin, going from 14 to 15 votes. The results are unofficial because four ballots are still in dispute. Sherburne County results by precinct 14B has four voting precincts in Sherburne County — three in St. Cloud and one in Haven Township, which is about a 10-minute drive southeast of St. Cloud, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office. Ek chose to recount the votes from St. Cloud’s Ward 2, precincts 5, 6 and 7. The district has 20 precincts total spread across Stearns, Sherburne and Benton counties. Result challenges In addition to the 14B recount in Sherburne County, St. Cloud area election results have been under scrutiny by Minnesota Republicans. Senate District 14 Republicans — the St. Cloud-area GOP group — has filed data requests to initiate a vote audit, according to the group’s attorney, Matt Benda from Peterson, Kolker, Haedt & Benda Ltd. “There are too many questions about what happened in house race 14b between Dan Wolgamott and Sue Ek,” Helena Halverson, chair of the Senate District 14 Republicans, said in a media release from the law firm. “We felt that we needed to act to provide parallel support for the scrutiny of the election process in this district.” The Albert Lea-based law firm also filed complaints on Nov. 7 alleging that official election ballots were improperly posted for public use on the official website of the Minnesota Secretary of State. Voters were able to print real ballots, instead of sample ones, from home, the complaints said. “This is not a trust-but-verify-type scenario, but instead, we will be questioning the entire process until fully verified,” Benda told St. Cloud LIVE. The complaints were filed against Stearns County Auditor-Treasurer Randy Schreifels and Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, Benda said. Additionally, Minnesota GOP members of Congress have sent Simon a letter calling for the Minnesota Secretary of State’s Office to pay attention to the 54A and 14B recounts and to be transparent about election processes. Reps. Tom Emmer, Brad Finstad, Michelle Fischbach and Pete Stauber signed the Nov. 20 letter to Simon.
In 2021, doctors all over the world started noticing an unusual phenomenon. Young people, particularly teenage girls, were suddenly developing tics. They were displaying full-body flailing movements as well as coprolalia—an unconscious tendency to shout obscene and socially unacceptable words. Neurologists who studied the phenomenon concluded that many of these cases were actually social media-induced. Dubbed “TikTok tics,” young people were watching viral TikTok videos of influencers with Tourette’s Syndrome who proudly showed their tics online. The prolonged exposure to these posts and the psychological pressures from the pandemic-induced lockdown triggered vulnerable individuals to mirror the twitches they watched. This issue highlights social media’s profound influence on shaping young minds and behaviors. Various research has consistently linked high levels of social media use with various negative outcomes among users aged 14 to 24, including heightened feelings of anxiety, depression, poor body image, and loneliness. Many experts also believe that the constant overstimulation from social media use puts the nervous system into fight-or-flight mode, exacerbating disorders such as ADHD, anxiety, depression, and oppositional defiant disorder. Last week, Australia introduced a bill to ban social media for children under 16, with proposed fines of up to 49.5 million Australian dollars for platforms that fail to comply or experience any systemic breach. For context, most platforms currently require users to be at least 13 years old. The legislation would require social networking sites to use age-verification systems that may include biometrics or government identification. The bill, which has bipartisan support and is being lauded by parents and other pro-ban groups, is set to take effect after a year if passed. Proponents argue that this would put the “onus on social media platforms” rather than parents or children to ensure protections are in place. While I agree with having better age verification measures for these sites, I am doubtful, however, about the efficacy of the ban. Adolescents often possess greater proficiency in navigating digital spaces than the regulators attempting to restrict them. A blanket ban on social media platforms may just inadvertently drive young users to seek alternative means of access, potentially exposing them to less regulated and more harmful areas of the internet. It is also worth noting that overly restrictive legislation overlooks entirely the range of positive contributions these platforms can also make to young people’s social, intellectual, and emotional development. Research indicates that social media communities serve as valuable spaces for adolescents to receive support, engage in creative self-expression, explore diverse perspectives, and learn about global issues. These benefits are particularly significant for young individuals seeking to better connect with peers who share similar interests and experiences. Effective regulation demands a nuanced approach integrating education, parental involvement, and platform accountability. Instead of responding to negative research findings with outright bans, these insights should inform more constructive strategies. For example, one study found that teens who used social media for more than seven hours daily were over twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression compared to those who limited their use to one hour. This data could guide parents in collaborating with their children to establish appropriate and balanced screen time habits. Schools should no longer treat digital literacy programs as an optional add-on or a high school elective. Given the significant portion of students’ waking hours now spent online, these skills must be embedded into the curriculum as early as kindergarten. Research-based digital literacy courses emphasize critical thinking and teaching students to recognize how the content they consume shapes both their external viewpoints and their own self-perception. This approach encourages understanding and self-regulation, empowering them to develop healthy habits toward social media use. By 2023, doctors reported that the majority of their patients had started recovering, as well as a significant decline in new cases of TikTok tics. Once the world reopened and face-to-face interactions resumed, the teenagers had less online exposure and broader access to peer support. Experts note two key insights from this phenomenon: One is that young people will absorb influences from their environment like a “sponge”; second, they exhibit remarkable resilience, with the online tics possibly serving as a coping mechanism during an unprecedentedly stressful time. Perhaps if we focus on deeply understanding the unique kind of pressure that young people today are facing, we can also better guide them and strengthen their personal agency to navigate these complexities. Rather than isolating them in a bubble, solutions should aim to foster adaptive, empowered individuals capable of thriving in an increasingly digital landscape. —————- [email protected] Subscribe to our daily newsletter By providing an email address. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy .
Romania PM fends off far-right challenge in presidential first roundDORTMUND, Germany (AP) — Borussia Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck was carried off on a stretcher with what seemed to be a severe ankle injury near the end of his team's loss to Barcelona in the Champions League on Wednesday. It leaves last season's Champions League runner-up without any fit central defenders. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings. Get updates and player profiles ahead of Friday's high school games, plus a recap Saturday with stories, photos, video Frequency: Seasonal Twice a week
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Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn More OpenAI demonstrated its new iPhone integration on Wednesday as iOS 18.2 rolled out to users, bringing ChatGPT directly into Siri, writing tools and camera features. The feature update, shown off on day five of OpenAI’s “ 12 Days of Shipmas ” product launches, marks a rare opening of Apple’s core iPhone features to outside software. ChatGPT can now process commands through Siri and handle tasks across the operating system. “When Siri thinks that it would be helped by giving a task over to ChatGPT, it can just hand it off,” Dave Cummings, engineering manager for ChatGPT at OpenAI, explained during Wednesday’s demonstration. The system works through three main paths: Siri voice commands, Writing Tools for text editing and Visual Intelligence through the Camera Control button. Users can access basic ChatGPT features without an account, although premium capabilities require a subscription. Inside Apple’s AI strategy: Why the iPhone maker chose OpenAI instead of building its own The partnership addresses critical challenges for both companies. Apple, despite its $3 trillion market capitalization, has struggled to match competitors in AI development. Google’s Gemini and Anthropic’s Claude have demonstrated capabilities that surpass anything in Apple’s current AI portfolio. “We really want to make ChatGPT as frictionless and easy to use everywhere,” Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said during Wednesday’s press conference. “We love Apple devices, and so this integration is one that we’re very, very proud of.” The timing of this release could boost Apple’s high-end device sales at a crucial moment. While the company doesn’t break out AI-specific revenue, limiting these features to iPhone 15 Pro models and newer devices creates a compelling reason for consumers to upgrade. This strategy mirrors Apple’s previous pattern of using advanced features — like ProRAW photography or ProRes video — to drive adoption of its premium devices, which carry margins estimated at over 60%. The move also positions Apple differently in the AI race. Rather than competing head-on with Google and Microsoft in building foundational AI models, Apple is leveraging partnerships to bring AI to its ecosystem while maintaining its focus on hardware and user experience. This approach could prove more profitable in the short term, as AI model training remains enormously expensive with uncertain returns. The $5 billion question: How OpenAI plans to monetize its million-user iPhone base For OpenAI, the partnership provides immediate access to Apple’s installed base of more than one billion iPhone users . This comes at a crucial time for the AI company, which is under pressure to generate revenue while managing massive computing costs. Recent reports indicate OpenAI’s computing expenses could reach $5 billion annually by 2025. The partnership also arrives amid OpenAI’s broader monetization push. The company recently announced a partnership with defense contractor Anduril and launched a $200-per-month ChatGPT Pro tier. OpenAI’s CFO Sarah Friar has indicated the company is exploring advertising revenue streams . Corporate AI spending could shift as ChatGPT comes to enterprise iPhones For enterprise users, this integration represents more than just a new iPhone feature. Many companies have invested heavily in standalone AI solutions, often paying for multiple services like Jasper , Claude or corporate ChatGPT licenses . Native iPhone AI integration could consolidate these tools, potentially reshaping how businesses approach mobile productivity. Companies might shift their enterprise software budgets from specialized AI applications to platforms that integrate seamlessly with Apple’s ecosystem. The integration could also reshape the competitive landscape. Google, which pays Apple billions annually to remain the iPhone’s default search engine, may need to reassess its mobile strategy. The search giant has already accelerated its AI efforts, recently launching Gemini across its products. Apple’s privacy-first reputation influenced the integration’s design. The system requires explicit user permission before sharing data with ChatGPT, and anonymous usage options preserve user privacy. All processing occurs on-device for basic features, with more advanced capabilities requiring cloud computation. The future of mobile AI: A new platform war begins The partnership highlights a broader shift in computing, where AI capabilities become as fundamental as operating systems themselves. We’re seeing the emergence of a new platform war, but unlike the mobile OS battles of the 2000s, this one centers on AI integration. The stakes are much higher: Whoever controls the AI interface likely controls the primary way users will interact with technology for years to come. Apple’s choice to partner rather than compete suggests they’ve learned from history — sometimes being the platform that hosts the best services is more valuable than trying to build everything in-house. OpenAI has more announcements planned as part of its “ 12 Days of Shipmas ” campaign. But the Apple partnership may prove the most consequential, reshaping how a billion users interact with AI technology daily. Neither company is exchanging cash payments in the initial partnership, with Apple viewing the massive distribution potential of its devices as compensation enough for OpenAI. However, future revenue-sharing agreements are being explored, particularly around ChatGPT’s premium subscriptions. For OpenAI, the deal offers something potentially priceless: Seamless access to hundreds of millions of Apple devices. For Apple, it’s a strategic play that keeps the company competitive in AI while maintaining flexibility to partner with other providers like Google and Anthropic — suggesting that in the emerging AI platform wars, Apple is positioning itself not as a combatant, but as the battlefield itself. Stay in the know! Get the latest news in your inbox daily By subscribing, you agree to VentureBeat's Terms of Service. Thanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here . An error occured.Qatar tribune Matthew A Winkler Now that pollsters are declaring President Joe Biden a “failure,” historians will reckon with too many economic signals rendering the prevailing narrative little more than media noise. From the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that ushered in the longest period of unemployment below 4% since the 1960s to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 that paved the way for road and bridge building, and from the Chips and Science Act of 2022 that sparked the biggest manufacturing construction boom the country has ever seen to 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act that has led to many tens of billions of investment in new technologies that are already leading to new sources of climate-friendly energy, history will show that the 46th president laid the groundwork for US exceptionalism lasting many years, perhaps even decades, after his administration has long ended. This is why the US economy is growing faster than any developed country as measured by the International Monetary Fund. It’s why America has been able to avoid a recession that so many pundits said would be inevitable by now. It’s why the US stock market is the envy of the world, soaring 58% percent under Biden’s watch, compared with just 2.5% for everyone else as measured by the MSCI indexes. Were he still around, economist John Maynard Keynes would surely call the performance of equities a psychological referendum on Biden’s policies. No US president in the last half century comes close to replicating Biden’s superior score among most of the 15 measures of relative prosperity weighted equally, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The 2.9% annual increase in non-farm payrolls, 7.9% nominal rate of annualized GDP growth, 14.1% increase in homeowners equity, 5.1% surge in average hourly earnings and the dollar’s 19% appreciation against a basket of major currencies are just some of the metrics that make Biden the uncontested economic leader. What makes this performance all the more remarkable is that Biden inherited the once-in-a-century COVID-19 pandemic that led to a catastrophic 1.12 million deaths in the US alone from his predecessor, President-elect Donald Trump. Remember that at the time of the 2020 election, a recovery from both the pandemic and the worst recession since the Great Depression presided over by Trump was still in doubt. Biden then delivered what had been largely missing for the previous two decades: fiscal stimulus. “If you look at the economy” before the pandemic “it was very low growth for 20 years,” JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon told the Economic Club of New York in April. “But if you look at the economy since then, it’s been booming.” (It was the first time in his career as the CEO of the No. 1 bank that Dimon used the word “booming” to describe the US) “The American consumer, even if we go into a recession, is much wealthier than before,” he added. “Debt service ratios are very low...their home prices are up; their stock prices are up.” Dimon should know because JPMorgan is one of 16-based US companies that make up the 20 most valuable in the world by stock market value, with most of their superior valuations occurring during the past three years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Investors are gladly paying a record 28% average premium to own American stocks, more than twice what they paid under Trump. Contrary to popular opinion, the Biden economy benefitted a wider swath of Americans. The poverty rate fell to 11.1%, the second lowest in data going back to 1973, according to the US Census Bureau. Also, the Gini Index of Income Inequality declined for two straight years, the first time that has happened since the early 1970s. Under Biden, household net worth has surged by an unprecedented $32.1 trillion through mid-2024. Americans are spending less than 10% of their incomes servicing debt, a record low in data going back to 1980 and excluding the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 when many payments were put on hold. The problem for Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris was that all of these accomplishments were overshadowed by the sudden scourge of inflation due mostly, according to researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and elsewhere, to the pandemic-era disruption to the global supply chain under Trump, and a housing market that effectively “trapped” millions of Americans in place. Inflation is the more complicated story because although the rate of increase in the cost of goods and services has been tamed, as seen in the collapse in the Consumer Price Index from 9.1% in mid-2022 to the recent 2.7%, which is where it was under Trump, overall prices are higher. While wages have been rising faster than inflation since mid-2023, helping to explain why consumer spending has exceeded forecasts, it’s clear that the two years prior when earnings growth lagged behind inflation still weighs on the minds of voters. Never mind that inflation rates in the US have come down much faster and farther than just about anywhere else in the developed world. It’s also clear that Americans feel like the housing market is somehow “broken” despite the rising home prices referenced by Dimon and big gains in homeowners equity. The problem here is that in order to help get inflation under control, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark interest rate from near zero in early 2022 to as high as 5.5% last year. This led to a rise in 30-year mortgages from 3.25% to more than 7%. Existing home sales fell to levels last seen during the financial crisis as housing affordability measured by the National Association of Realtors collapsed. In effect, those who want to buy a home largely can’t and those who already own a home don’t want to sell and give up their low mortgage rates. There is light at the end of the housing tunnel. With inflation subsiding, the Fed has started to lower its target for the federal funds rate, and the cost of financing a home is starting to drop as well. A Mortgage Bankers Association index tracking loan applications to purchase a home just posted its biggest two-week increase since January 2023. Unfortunately for Biden and Harris, little of this context was shared with readers, listeners or viewers by corporate or social media. On the contrary, many disingenuous media overwhelmed the favorable outlook with misinformation that continues unabated from domestic and foreign perpetrators. It may not have mattered anyway. In many ways, Biden and Harris are victims of circumstances. Incumbents around the world are being ousted in elections by voters still scarred by the pandemic and looking to assign blame. Like Biden, Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson were former vice presidents who also shared much greater disapproval than approval from voters during their waning days in the White House. Only much later did Truman and Johnson garner a much greater appreciation for their handling of the economy. It’s likely to be the same with Biden. Matthew A. Winkler, editor in chief emeritus of Bloomberg News, writes about markets. Copy 24/12/2024 10