FT's Outlook for 2011

What can failure teach?

FAILURE SEEMS TO BE NATURES’S PLAN FOR PREPARING US FOR GREAT RESPONSIBILITIES.

If everything we attempted in life were achieved with a minimum of effort and came out exactly as planned, how little we would learn-and how boring life would be! And how arrogant we would become if we succeeded at everything we attempted. Failure allows us to develop the essential quality of humility. It is not easy-when you are the person experiencing failure-to accept it philosophically, serene in the knowledge that this is one of life’s great learning experiences. But it is. Nature’s ways are not always easily understood, but they are repetitive and therefore predictable. You can be absolutely certain that when you feel you are being most unfairly tested, you are being prepared for great achievement.

Napoleon Hill's thought of the day Dec 7, 2010

Osteoporosis Exercises for Hips

Silent Meditation

A MOST BENEFICIAL USE OF TIME IS SILENT MEDITATION, WHILE SEARCHING FOR GUIDANCE FROM WITHIN.


We all experience rare moments when a blinding revelation comes to us, when we suddenly see things differently than ever before. Usually, however, we learn the truth about ourselves gradually, over long periods of time, from quiet introspection. We are all spiritual, but some of us have learned to tap more effectively into the great strength that resides in the spiritual portion of ourselves. The spirit is not boisterous and noisy. Getting in touch with your spiritual self demands tranquillity and solitude. Make sure you dedicate a portion of every day to thought and study, to think and reflect upon your life. Choose a time and place that best allow you to relax your mind and devote your thoughts to reflection.

Thought for the day- 30 May 2010 by the Napoleon Hill Foundation. http://www.naphill.org.

Shoes: A treatment for osteoarthritis in the knees?

Flip-flops and sneakers with flexible soles are easier on the knees than clogs or even special walking shoes, a study by Rush University Medical Center has found. And that's important, because loading on the knee joints is a key factor in the development of osteoarthritis.

The study has been published online in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

"Traditionally, footwear has been engineered to provide maximum support and comfort for the foot, with little attention paid to the biomechanical effects on the rest of the leg," said Dr. Najia Shakoor, a rheumatologist at Rush and the primary author of the study. "But the shoes we wear have a substantial impact on the load on the knee joints, particularly when we walk."

"Our study demonstrated that flat, flexible footwear significantly reduces the load on the knee joints compared with supportive, stable shoes with less flexible soles."

Osteoarthritis is the most common form of arthritis and a significant source of disability and impaired quality of life. A higher-than-normal load on the knees during walking is a hallmark of the disease, associated with both the severity of osteoarthritis and its progression.

More on the ScienceBlog

Thatcher's Think Tank Calls for Total Financial Overhaul

The UK politics has risen up to fever pitch, after Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced Wednesday that he is calling the election on May 06.

While politicians contesting for the parliament are promising hope and change, former conservative prime minister Mrs. Thatcher's think tank, Institue for Economic Affairs(IEA) says a total financial overhaul is required and that the deficit can be slashed without raising tax burden.

Keynesian economists in UK want to return to the principles of John Maynard Keynes, the guru of government intervention. They are urging the UK government to spend its way out of the recession. A commentary on Business Week by Mattew Lyn "Deathbed of Keynesian Economics Will Be in U.K" gives both sides of the economic argument.

"So who is right, and who is wrong? It’s a debate that matters to the rest of the world. After all, if demand management doesn’t work here, it won’t work anywhere.

The U.K. has some experience of mass letter writing from Keynes’s devotees. In 1981, a group of 364 economists wrote an open letter ripping into the policies of then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. They turned out to be totally wrong, of course. With hindsight, no one can now dispute that her policies led to a long and durable economic revival."

The End of the Free Market: Who Wins the War Between States and Corporations?

Amazon.com's editorial of this book by Ian Bremmer, President of Eurasia Group reads:

"Understanding the rise of state capitalism and its threat to global free markets

The End of the Free Market details the growing phenomenon of state capitalism, a system in which governments drive local economies through ownership of market-dominant companies and large pools of excess capital, using them for political gain. This trend threatens America's competitive edge and the conduct of free markets everywhere.

An expert on the intersection of economics and politics, Ian Bremmer has followed the rise of state-owned firms in China, Russia, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Iran, Venezuela, and elsewhere. He demonstrates the growing challenge that state capitalism will pose for the entire global economy.

Among the questions addressed: Are we on the brink of a new kind of Cold War, one that pits competing economic systems in a battle for dominance? Can free market countries compete with state capitalist powerhouses over relations with countries that have elements of both systems-like India, Brazil, and Mexico? Does state capitalism have staying power?

This guide to the next big global economic trend includes useful insights for investors, business leaders, policymakers, and anyone who wants to understand important emerging changes in international politics and the global economy. "

Another global meltdown!

The unfolding debt drama of Greece could be the script for another Greek tragedy. As written in the Wall Street Journal, it begins, "The Greek Tragedy That Changed Europe"- Plutus, the Greek god of wealth, did not have an easy life. As the myth goes, Plutus wanted to grant riches only to the "the just, the wise, the men of ordered life." Zeus blinded him out of jealousy of mankind (and envy of the good), leaving Plutus to indiscriminately distribute his favors.

Modern-day Greece may be just and wise, but it certainly has not had an ordered life. As a result, the great opportunity and wealth bestowed by European integration has been largely squandered. And lower interest rates over the past decade—brought down to German levels through Greece being allowed, rather generously, into the euro zone—led to little more than further deficits and a dangerous buildup of government debt.

Now Plutus wants his money back. Europe is entering unprepared into a serious economic crisis—and the nascent global recovery could easily collapse due to the unsustainable and Ponzi-like buildup of government debt in weaker countries."

Now Greece is teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. The European Union has formally announced that a bailout for Greece will be available if needed. EU economic leaders Germany and France and the European Central Bank have backed the bailout plan. Portugal, Spain and Italy have their problems of national debt and the Greece bailout could give the template they need to queue at EU headquarters in Brussels. Herman Van Rompuy, the EU's new president, has already called for the creation of an "economic government" that shifts responsibility for economic planning from national authorities to the "EU level".

In a parallel move, European Commission chief Jose Barroso said Brussels has treaty powers allowing it to take the reins of economic management. "This is a time for boldness. I believe that our economic and social situation demands a radical shift from the status quo. And the new Lisbon Treaty allows this," he said. "Economic policy isn't a national, but a European matter. No modern economy is an island. When a member state doesn't make reforms, others suffer because of that."

The headline of an article in the British paper The Telegraph reads, "Failure to save East Europe will lead to worldwide meltdown- The unfolding debt drama in Russia, Ukraine, and the EU states of Eastern Europe has reached acute danger point."

Greece is one of 16 countries that have so far adopted the 10-year-old euro currency, and these are nervous times for the EU Commission and the financial markets.