Washington may finally take up mortgage reform
By Daniel Indiviglio
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
America’s lawmakers may finally take reforming housing finance seriously in 2013. Assuming Congress settles the deficit debate, sorting out the government’s role in funding home loans should be its next stop. And a number of obstacles are dissolving.
Modi’s Gujarat win doesn’t mean he will rule India
By Andy Mukherjee
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Narendra Modi’s resounding election victory in the western Indian state of Gujarat has made Indian businessmen optimistic. Many see his win, the third in a row, as a sign that the centre-right leader with a reputation for effective administration could be ruling the nation in 2014. But a chequered past, an autocratic personality and the peculiarities of India’s coalition politics make Modi less than a shoo-in.
Personality Cult?? The Congress Party has named airports, dams, bridges, hospitals, highways, universities and countless foundations after their precious Nehru-Gandhi artificial monarchy, and you have the gall to label Narendra Modi a “personality cult”? The Congress Party is built on Personality Cult politics. That this would escape your notice or mention strains credulity and your credibility past all limits.
South Korea’s next leader will face a currency war
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
By Andy Mukherjee
Every new South Korean president has to contend with sabre-rattling by Pyongyang. It won’t be any different this time. North Korea’s recent rocket launch shows just what kind of reception the next occupant of Seoul’s Blue House can expect from across the demilitarized zone.
Market signals turning point in U.S. gun debate
By Robert Cyran
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
Private equity isn’t known for squeamishness – or for dumping promising investments. So it’s significant that Cerberus Capital Management is selling its stake in Freedom Group, the largest U.S. firearms maker, following the Newtown school atrocity last week. Gunmakers’ shares are plunging, too: big money is betting on tougher restrictions.
Merkel set for uncomfortable electoral victory
By Olaf Storbeck
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The parliamentary election Germany will hold next year will be both boring and exciting. Chances are high that Angela Merkel will win a third term. But voters won’t give her conservative CDU party a clear majority, and they still haven’t made up their mind about her coalition partner. The result’s implications for Germany’s stance in the euro crisis will be limited, no matter which party is in government.
Congress should push for mandatory gun insurance
By Robert Cyran and Reynolds Holding
The authors are Reuters Breakingviews columnists. The opinions expressed are their own.
Congress should push for mandatory gun insurance. Firearm ownership is a U.S. constitutional right. But as last week’s massacre again demonstrated, it comes at a cost. Requiring liability coverage could be one way to keep the most dangerous weapons from unstable hands without infringing the law.
I totally agree with guns requiring liability insurance, even in case of a stolen weapon, the owner / insurance should liable if it was due to his negligence.
For all you gun nuts flashing the 2nd amendment. Realize that the 2nd amendment was not written by God, it was written by men & at a time when the world was a much different place with very different weapons.
You want to own a weapon, you should also own the responsibility & liability.
Abe era will herald a three-digit yen
By Andy Mukherjee
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
The Shinzo Abe era will herald a spectacular decline in the yen. The promise by Japan’s newly elected prime minister to end the country’s chronic deflation spells curtains for the half-hearted quantitative easing that has been the Bank of Japan’s hallmark for more than a decade. At some point in 2013, one U.S. dollar will buy 100 yen or more.
Qatar gives SocGen an honourable exit from Egypt
By Una Galani
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are her own.
Qatar has given Societe Generale an honorable exit from Egypt. State-backed Qatar National Bank will buy the French bank’s 77 percent stake in its Egyptian unit, National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB), through a mandatory tender offer valuing the whole at $2.6 billion. The valuation of 2 times book value is lower than pre-revolution multiples, and SocGen will have to carry some currency risk. But with few-sizeable buyers willing to live with Arab spring volatility, it makes sense for SocGen to shrink while it can.
Japan’s elections: A guide for the perplexed
By Andy Mukherjee
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.
For once, the outcome of a Japanese election may actually matter. The country’s politicians have proved largely powerless to reverse two decades of economic stagnation. Now voters, dismayed by the centre-left, may hand power back to the conservative Liberal Democratic Party. But patience with cosmetic change is running thin.
Boris Johnson intervention reduces Brexit chances
By Hugo Dixon
The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own
Boris Johnson’s intervention in the European debate reduces the chance of a British exit from the European Union – or Brexit. The Mayor of London, a popular Conservative politician, says he will campaign to keep Britain in the EU provided it can negotiate a pared-down relationship based on the single market.
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Predictions 2013: Exploring the year ahead.
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Bridging the Divide: The economic and fiscal challenges facing the next U.S. president
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? Besides the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau action hoped for in January ,the author has given no evidence that ‘things are changing’ and we will have this kind of mortgage reform.
How many congressman support this? There are no quotes of anyone with insight about who would sponsor or support this reform.