The Russian government is aggressively exploiting the current economic downturn to step up its grip over the economy and actually nationalize most of the lucrative industries. The past week saw new examples of this trend. President Dmitry Medvedev endorsed a new business bailout fund to provide direct financial assistance to industrial enterprises bypassing the existing banking system. In fact, the point at issue is establishing an alternative arrangement to finance select enterprises. It would be even less transparent than the present-day bailout mechanism through budget allocations and banks. Next, Vladimir …
Citing opposition to NAFTA from Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in the run-up to Ohio’s Democratic presidential primary, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) pleaded with Wall Street Journal readers yesterday not “to play bumper-sticker politics with trade” and instead engage in “a real debate.” If the rest of his op-ed represents all the arguments he has against current U.S. trade policy, then it’s going to be a short debate. Brown first raises concerns over rising trade deficits, specifically mentioning the growth of our trade deficit with Mexico since 1993. What Brown …
