Even those who don't expect to pay aren't buying

Through the end of October, 1.2 million have signed up through the exchanges, both federal and state. Of these, 800,000 are in Medicaid (or CHIPS), the free overage for those with incomes of up to 133% of the poverty level. (Income is your own earned income, not including rent subsidies, food stamps, and other welfare payments.) Understandably, people who don't have to pay are more enthusiastic than those who do, but even the non-payers are lukewarm. Bottom line: this service has been rejected by paying customers, at least so far.

There is something fundamentally wrong with our US health system, both pre- and post-Obamacare. I don't understand why health care costs so much here. I have lived in England, France and Singapore. In England and France the care is good and costs society half what it costs here, as a percent of GDP. In Singapore,where the health care is the best I have experienced, the cost is one-fifth the US costs. It's puzzling.

Here is the story in the New York Times:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/16/opinion/medicaid-outpaces-private-plans.html?smid=pl-share

Welcome respite from global warming

Yesterday the Boston Globe had an article on the snowy owl problem. These arctic birds have come further south and in greater numbers than in any previous December in living memory due to extreme cold in the arctic. They are posing a problem for planes at airports and the NY airports have started shooting them, to the consternation of naturalists. (Trapping solutions are now being tried.)

While the plight of these birds is a cause for concern, it is reassuring that we seem to be having a break in global warming. Antarctica has just recorded the coldest temperatures on record as well as record ice growth. (see below) Likewise, in the arctic ice growth has reversed its declining trend and the extent of sea ice in the north is now at normal historical levels.

Mexico responds to crime wave

Today's FT Mexico City Notebook reports on an interesting private sector solution to Mexico's crime wave: funeral parlors in Ciudad Juarez are now open 24-hours a day.

Happy at school? Not so much, in the USA

You can't expect them to notice everything

The Mexican authorities have just uncovered an illegal activity that seems to have been going on for years. A Mexican crime syndicate called the Knights Templar has managed to slip illegal iron ore mining operations, giant truck convoys, ship loading facilities and large bulk carriers right under the noses of the authorities and to smuggle the ore to the Chinese. The shipments go through Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico's second largest port.

By a fortunate twist of events, the authorities were able to stumble upon this operation. Firm action is contemplated.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/11/29/mexican-drug-cartels-diversify-now-make-money-mining-and-selling-ore-to-the-chinese/

Chinese Yuan Replaces Euro as Second Most Used Trade Transaction Currency

Swift reports that the renmimbi has passed the euro as a currency used in world trade. In January 2012, the renmimbi accounted for 1.89% of world trade. It was up to 8.66% in October 2013. The euro was 7.87%. This is a very dynamic rate of change.

I make bold to suggest that the abuse of the dollar by the Fed is producing unwanted consequences, which may possibly snowball.

The Bloomberg article is linked: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-03/yuan-passes-euro-to-be-second-most-used-trade-finance-currency.html
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Housing bubbles proliferate, except for the US and southern Europe

Neil Irwin of the Washington Post has blogged the following report on Nouriel Roubini's recent warning on where the excess liquidity is producing bubbles:

"Roubini doesn't see bubbles in the places where they were most severe in the pre-2008 period. He doesn't mention the United States or Spain or Ireland. Rather, Roubini sees housing prices getting out of whack in quite a few small and mid-sized nations that are well-governed and managed to avoid the worst economic effects of the financial crisis: Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Finland, France, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the London metropolitan area in the U.K. He adds some key emerging markets that show the same dynamic: Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Israel, and major urban centers in Turkey, Indonesia, India and Brazil.

"In this view of the world, a better question might be where in the world is there NOT a housing bubble (the answers, apparently, are the United States, southern Europe, Russia and all of Africa).

"Roubini's argument boils down to this: The major economies have been growing only slowly. Yet with low interest rates and aggressive central bank action across the globe, there is a giant pool of money that has to go somewhere. That somewhere has not been productive new investments, like companies building new factories. Rather, it has come in the form of people taking advantage of cheap credit to bid up the price of existing real estate in cities from Stockholm to Sydney."