this is an adventure

An interview with Doug Kass: “I agree with Bill Gross that the strongest economic headwind to growth over the next few years is the consumer. After decades of aspirational spending, the consumer is likely moving back towards the post Depression legacy of trying to maintain their status quo.”

Quoth Obama, who famously promised not to raise taxes on the “middle class” during the election: “George, the fact that you looked up Merriam’s Dictionary, the definition of tax increase, indicates to me that you’re stretching a little bit right now. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have gone to the dictionary to check on the definition.”

Happy days, but not for America’s allies. “For the Kremlin’s spin doctors, it is as if all their Christmases have come at once. In the coming days, weeks and months, ordinary Russians will be told that the policy reversal is definitive proof that Russia is once again a serious player on the world stage.”

Zachary Karabell says we’re wrong to doubt China: “China’s economy is showing no signs that it’s about to collapse or even contract. Growth figures have been accelerating, from perhaps 5 percent at the beginning of the year toward 10 percent now. While many question the recipe that China has followed, the results speak for themselves.”