Image, left: Due to a lapse in EXIM Bank’s authority, as of July 1, 2015, the Bank is unable to process applications or engage in new business or other prohibited activities. For more information, please click here.  To Customers and Stakeholders of the Export-Import Bank of the United States: Due to a lapse in our authority, as of midnight on June 30th the Export-Import Bank of the United States ceased processing new applications or engaging in newbusiness. Last week, Congress adjourned for their August recess without reauthorizing EXIM. Both the Senate and the House of Representatives return to Washington on September 8th. This means that EXIM will focus on the management of our $107 billion portfolio of outstanding obligations until such time as Congress acts to reauthorize the Bank. . . . 
JOHN BATCHELOR SHOW
Co-host: Larry Kudlow, CNBC senior advisor and Cumulus Media Networks
 
Hour One
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 1, Block A: Sudeep Reddy, economics editor, Wall Street Journal Washington; in re: T-bills with negative rates - Fed sees a shaky global economy, a lot of overseas risks bldg up for many years.  US economy is relatively resilient.   China hasn't yet bottomed.  Electricity usage. . . . Broad measure  of domestic profits have Corp tax burdens are 'way too high; people wd rather keep their money parked overseas.  Yellin: In the bond market, expectations are falling like a stone. Also: credit risk spreads -  BAA vs  10-year Treasurys.     A mild deflation is fine; a sustained deflation is [dangerous].  Less than zero: Are negative rates next for Fed?
Treasury Yields at Zero Highlight Concerns over Risk The sale of one-month Treasury bills highlights the depth of uncertainty about global economic conditions and investors’ desire to park cash where they know it will be readily available.
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 1, Block B: Sudeep Reddy, economics editor, Wall Street Journal Washington; in re: The typical male worker in the U.S. earned less in 2014 than in 1973 (adjusted for inflation).  Adjusted for inflation, we've flatlined for 42 years – the median, the middle of the middle.  Weaker productivity now.  You'd think both Parties wd focus on this, but we hear almost naught. With all respect, I'm a tad sceptical of these numbers. James Pethokoukis argues that over three decades income has gone up 50%.  Also, market investments are not included in these numbers.  Since 1980, mkt's gone up 8-plus % per year. Meanwhile, living standards have improved for a large swath of workers. 
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 1, Block C: Robert Costa, Washington Post, in re: Scott Walker's exit: He ended as the favorite of neither. “In a race increasingly defined by which lane you're running in, at least in Iowa, he never picked one," said Matt Strawn, a former chairman of the Iowa Republican Party. Walker’s departure also demonstrated that a cash-rich superPAC is no substitute for a well-funded official campaign: He dropped out with millions in his superPAC’s treasury, just weeks after former Texas Gov. Rick Perry did the same.  – His advisors served him poorly – no fast-moving, quick-turnaround alert. Very badly managed campaign with too many consultants's spending too much money.  Walker considered himself to be chief strategist, which put a chokehold on things.  /  Gossip that the president wants Joe Biden for president with Duval Patrick for VP – probably mostly fuelled by Patrick camp.  The managing partner of UTA supports Joe Biden, and George Clooney may be looking at Biden.  In 2008, Hollywood drifted away from Clinton. Happening drip by drip with Berne Sanders.  Screenwriters enthusiastic for Biden.  GOP frontrunner: an outsider – Fiorina, Trump, et al. Trump sees Bush as his main threat.   . . . Only Bush has a plan for growth – 4%.  Whom is Trump speaking to?  Forbes?  Who's his second act?  "I don't need one."  / Marco Rubio was successful at both debates; is beneficiary of Walker departure.  Rubio sees Bush and Kasich as main competitors. Donors and Fiorina?  the lingering question.  So far, she's relied on a superPAC, doesn't yet have much of a ground game.   A top Dem: Biden will either enter before the first Dem debate, and have a surge; otherwise, maybe wait till early next year, wait to see how the email scandal unfolds. http://www.politico.com/story/2015/09/scott-walker-quits-2016-213912#ixzz3mVkVqGkh ; http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/09/21/scott-wal... ; http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2015/09/21/scott-wal...  . . . and Biden hinting, and now this:   Hillary Clinton Opposes Keystone XL Pipeline  The Democratic candidate for president broke her long-standing silence on the project, saying she doesn’t believe it is in the best interest of what needs to be done to fight climate change.
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 1, Block D: Veronique de Rugy, Mercatus Center, @veroderugy, in re: Ex-Im bank exit and Boeing.  Boeing threatens to move jobs out of US amid 'Ex-Im Bank' impasse ... are blaming the expired charter of the so-called Export-Import Bank. Radley Balko, Veronique de Rugy Named to 'The Politico 50' List of ...
for their influential work declaiming the Export-Import Bank. Being sponsors a list, Politico puts it up – is Veronique on Boeing's negative list? ExIm Bank was designed to allocate capital by politics, not the market, leading to bullying.  We're subsidizing foreign competitors – hurting American jobs.  Cheap loans to foreign companies to buy US planes – Emirates, Ryan Air, are competitors to US airlines.  Cronyism. The Delta CEO: "You're helping my competitors, taking away US jobs."  Air India got subsidy that cost US airline 7,500 jobs! Small businesses can't get this help. GOP: Make a stand! Show that the GOP isn’t always in bed with big business. Unheatlhy marriage between big corporations and the US govt.  A true Republican needs to be pro-market. Huge companies have access to credit. Kevin McCarthy: when Eric Cantor lost the election, McCarthy's first move as Majority Leader was to say, "We have to get rid of ExIm."
Fifty Years Is Enough  .   How Much Gold Bullion Does the IMF Really Have?     .   http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/09/21/boeing-threatens-to-move-jobs...

 
Hour Two
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 2, Block A: Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; The Nation.com; author: Soviet Fates and Lost Alternatives: From Stalinism to the New Cold War, & The Victims Return: Survivors of the Gulag after Stalin; in re: Ukraine crisis becomes NATO crisis becomes Syria crisis.  Yatseniuk in Ukr: Ukraine has stopped Russia's army and are guarding the border [against Russian advance]. Jens Stoltenberg: "NATO encourages Moscow to fight against ISIS and end support for the Assad regime . . . "  Trash-talking.  West welcomes help vs ISIS but demands Russia stop supporting Assad; "whenever the US does regime change, the result is something much worse." Qaddafy in Libya; failed states, civil wars, extremist Islamic movements because of the regime change, who pays? Not the US but the countries, themselves.  Russia has been in Syria for decades.  Because of the pol-ec-mil relations, there are at least 30,000 marriages between Russians and Syrians.  If the US overthrows Assad, ISIS will be in Damascus – millions of refugees desperately looking for a sanctuary.  Also, many Chechens will return to the North Caucasus to fight Russia. http://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_122690.htm ;  http://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-to-allow-israeli-strikes-on-syrian-arms-transfers-pm-says/
Netanyahu said that he told Putin in “no uncertain terms” that Israel will not tolerate Tehran’s efforts to arm Israel’s enemies in the region, and that Jerusalem has taken and will continue to take action against any such attempts. “This is our right and also our duty. There were no objections to our rights and to what I said. On the contrary: there was readiness to make sure that whatever Russia’s intentions for Syria, Russia will not be a partner in extreme actions by Iran against us.”
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 2, Block B: Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; The Nation.com; author; in re: http://www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-russian-armies-plan-syrian-coordina...   Israeli, Russian armies plan Syrian coordination talks. Military chiefs agree to set up work group on preventing conflict in volatile region, with first meeting to take place in two weeks.   Top-line GOP debate thinking on Russia: deride Obama for fair . . .  / Rubio: Obama 'can't seem to understand' Putin     http://t.co/OC3rw7g7U1 http://t.co/AxEjvisHSP ;  Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/thehill/status/645958425348673536 ; http://www.wsj.com/articles/putins-syria-tour-de-force-1442790081
Sure, as in Ukraine. Along with Iran, Russia is the Bashar Assad regime’s principal sponsor, providing weapons, diplomatic protection at the United Nations, and now direct military support. Mr. Putin sees an opportunity to rescue his client in Damascus, strengthen ties with Iran, establish a large military footprint along the eastern Mediterranean, further reduce U.S. influence, and create diplomatic leverage that he can use to ease Western sanctions imposed in response to his invasion of Ukraine. On present course he’ll accomplish all of the above.
   Meantime, Mr. Putin must be amazed at his luck in having Mr. Obama as president. Look for Russian negotiators to link talks over Syria to U.S. support for the government in Kiev, or military deployments in the Baltics, or enforcement of the nuclear agreement with Iran. Mr. Putin will keep stealing Mr. Obama’s lunch money as long as this president lets him.
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 2, Block C: Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; The Nation.com; author: in re: WaPo beating up Kerry and Putin...  https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/more-waffling-on-syria/2015/09/1... ; By now, Mr. Kerry should know better than to suppose that Mr. Putin can be induced to support an acceptable political outcome in Damascus, or that Russia will contribute constructively to the fight against the Islamic State. The United States should respond to Russia’s Syria deployment not by accommodating it, but by countering it. The way to do so is to proceed with the creation of protected zones along Syria’s borders, defended by rebel forces and U.S. airpower. Refugees could gather in those areas, along with moderate anti-Assad forces.
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 2, Block D: Stephen F. Cohen, NYU & Princeton professor Emeritus; The Nation.com; author: in re:  http://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/russia-seen-building-up-two-more-military-fa... ; Ukraine is rated Ca, two steps above default, at Moody’s Investors Service, and has an equivalent grade at Standard & Poor’s, while Fitch Ratings ranks it one step lower. S&P said on Aug. 28 that a default on the government’s foreign-currency debt is a "virtual certainty" since it classifies both a bond exchange and payment suspension as a default.  ;  http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-21/payday-for-ukraine-def...
 
Hour Three
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 3, Block A:  Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Dr Lara M Brown, George Washington University, in re:  http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/23/world/americas/pope-francis-cuba-us.html
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 3, Block B: Salena Zito, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, and Dr Lara M Brown, George Washington University, in re: Scott Walker drops out of 2016 presidential race  Scott Walker announced Monday he is dropping out of the GOP presidential race.
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 3, Block C:  Bill McGurn, WSJ Editorial, in re: MAIN STREET  Pope Francis, Unfettered
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 3, Block D: Robert Zimmerman, behindtheblack, in re: Long March 6 launch a success   The competition heats up: The first launch of China’s smallsat rocket Long March 6 was a success on Saturday, putting 20 satellites into orbit. This rocket is part of a new family of Chinese rockets [technology extracted, so to speak, from NASA], modularly designed so that can be reconfigured depending on payload or mission. The big launch however will be next year – the Long March 7 - when they attempt the first test flight of the largest member of this family.
 
Hour Four
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 4, Block A: Richard Pérez-Peña, NYT, in re: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/18/us/californa-wildfires-explainer-valley-and-butte-fires.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=sectionfront.   The California Wildfires: What’s Making This Season So Wild?  The blazes continue to consume thousands of acres and homes, fueled by a convergence of intense drought, oppressive heat and the influence of climate change.
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 4, Block B:  Henry I Miller, Hoover, in re:  My most recent Forbes column (coauthored with John Cohrssen and Drew Kershen): "Supreme Court Free-Speech Decision Clobbers GMO Food-Labeling Activists."
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 4, Block C: Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy, by John Julius Norwich (1 of 2)
Tuesday 22 September 2015 / Hour 4, Block D: Absolute Monarchs: A History of the Papacy, by John Julius Norwich (2 of 2)
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