CRASH TALK

Progressive Review - Obama is planning to spend $10-20 billion to help small business. This is a step forward but still represents less than 5% of his previous bailout bill despite the fact that small business is the major job creator in the country. . . The amount is barely more than that being budgeted for high speed rail which will serve business class, not coach class passengers.

Wall Street Journal - Premier Wen Jiabao voiced confidence in China's economy, saying his government's finances give it room to spend even more to support growth if needed, but expressed concern about the outlook for the U.S. and the safety of its Treasury bonds. . .

The public airing of his concerns reflect how the relationship between China and the U.S. has been evolving under the pressure of the financial crisis. For years the U.S. has pressed China to change the way it runs its economy, such as by opening up its financial system. But in the last year China's government has been increasingly vocal about what it sees as U.S. economic mismanagement. And as the U.S. government's largest creditor, it has become more assertive in trying to ensure its interests receive a hearing.

"We have lent a huge amount of money to the U.S., so of course we are concerned about the safety of our assets. Frankly speaking, I do have some worries," Mr. Wen said in response to a question. He did not offer specific suggestions on economic policy to the U.S. government, but called on it to "maintain its credibility, honor its commitments and guarantee the security of Chinese assets."

Mr. Wen did indicate that China would not be rash in making changes to its $1.946 trillion stockpile of foreign reserves, much of which is in U.S. dollars. While China is naturally looking out for its own interests, it will "at the same time also take international financial stability into consideration, because the two are inter-related," he said.

Dean Baker, Prospect - The value of the dollar plunged by almost 50 percent against the euro in the years from 2002 to 2008 (it has since recovered part of these losses). China eagerly bought up U.S. government bonds during this period, even though it was consistently losing money on its investment.

This history makes its sudden expression of concern about losing money on its dollar holdings so peculiar. This public expression of concern presumably has a political motive rather than reflecting the actual views of Chinese leader, which would more typically be expressed privately to their counterparts in the United States.

The media should have pointed this history out to readers and noted how extraordinary it is that such a statement would be made in public. The public nature of the statement is the real news, not the supposed "worry" about the future value of their investments.

Channel 4, DC - Hundreds of people waited in line for the chance of grabbing a subsidized apartment in northwest Washington. Dozens of people began waiting Wednesday night and slept in lawn chairs on the sidewalk to ensure their spot on the waiting list. The Columbia Heights Village Apartments have several two-bedroom units opening up . . . The first 300 people in line will be put on a waiting list and go through a screening process. Applicants must meet maximum income requirements to qualify for an apartment.

Guardian, UK - Gordon Brown hailed the beginning of the end for tax havens, as Switzerland opened up its legendary system of bank secrecy and agreed to hand over information on wealthy clients suspected of tax evasion.

The move, described as historic by anti-poverty campaigners, came as international pressure, including action from Brown and Barack Obama, forced the world's tax havens to hand over previously undisclosed data on account holders.

In a remarkable week, Europe's secrecy jurisdictions – Liechtenstein, Andorra, Austria, Luxembourg, Jersey and ­Switzerland – all entered into international information sharing agreements. Swiss ministers said the government caved in after learning the country was going to be included this month on a blacklist of uncooperative tax havens drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Having agreed to sign up to the OECD protocol on tax, Switzerland will hand over information on account holders suspected of tax evasion by another country. Until now tax evasion was not illegal in Switzerland and secrecy has been the bedrock of its economy.

Financial Times - The recession has spread from Wall Street to Sesame Street. The home of Elmo and Oscar the Grouch announced on Wednesday that it would eliminate a fifth of its 355-strong workforce as market turmoil ate into its income and assets. . . A spokeswoman did not elaborate on the reasons for the move, but the workshop has relied heavily on donations from Wall Street firms, large corporations and private foundations, all of which have been cutting back on philanthropic activities.

Gordon Brown hailed the beginning of the end for tax havens, as Switzerland opened up its legendary system of bank secrecy and agreed to hand over information on wealthy clients suspected of tax evasion.

The move, described as historic by anti-poverty campaigners, came as international pressure, including action from Brown and Barack Obama, forced the world's tax havens to hand over previously undisclosed data on account holders.

In a remarkable week, Europe's secrecy jurisdictions – Liechtenstein, Andorra, Austria, Luxembourg, Jersey and ­Switzerland – all entered into international information sharing agreements. Swiss ministers said the government caved in after learning the country was going to be included this month on a blacklist of uncooperative tax havens drawn up by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Having agreed to sign up to the OECD protocol on tax, Switzerland will hand over information on account holders suspected of tax evasion by another country. Until now tax evasion was not illegal in Switzerland and secrecy has been the bedrock of its economy.

Independent, UK - Much of the new money the Bank of England has "printed" to stimulate the UK economy is ending up abroad where it will be of no benefit to UK households and businesses, according to an analysis of the Bank's "quantitative easing" program. . . City experts analyzing the scheme for The Independent say large quantities of money will simply end up abroad because so many of the gilts are held by foreign investors. They fear that they will hoard the cash, which will be of no benefit to the British economy, or dump it in favor of safer currencies, which could cause a run on sterling. More than a third of gilts are owned by foreign entities, official statistics reveal, and there are doubts about how effective the policy will be if that sort of proportion of the new money is diverted abroad.