Economist Anotole Kaletsky has not joined the Greek chorus bemoaning the recent deal between Athens and the EU.  He is instead refreshingly optimistic that it was a good deal for both sides, and is sustainable.

...the main conditions now seem to be in place for a sustainable recovery in Greece. Conventional wisdom among economists and investors has a long record of failing to spot major turning points; so the near-universal belief today that Greece faces permanent depression is no reason to despair.

“Foreign Affairs” ran a commentary by me on TPP, whose main message is that getting TPP right is better than getting it fast, for both economic and geopolitical reasons. But that will be very hard to do with the Obama administration’s current negotiating stance. Here is the URL: https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/asia/2015-05-12/trade-trials. 

A truly dismal report card on international cooperation in a variety of spheres, ranging from health care to nuclear proliferation. Based on a survey of global think tanks in 23 countries, it is evident that the world’s thought leaders are pessimistic about the progress being made.  Click here http://www.cfr.org/councilofcouncils/reportcard/#!/grades/2014 to view the report card by country and by issue.

An article written by Graham Allison from the Atlantic that assesses the impact of the accord that the United States and its partners reached with Iran last Thursday. For the full article please click here.

The number of children receiving food stamps remains higher than it was before the start of the Great Recession in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual Families and Living Arrangements table package released on January 28, 2015.

What should be at the top of the agenda for the global economy in the year ahead?

It seems to me that a falling price of oil has two conflicting impacts on Japan: