From the FINANCIAL TIMES: China will be the world’s largest economy by 2030 but the US will still remain “first among equals” in the international system, according to a new US government intelligence assessment of global trends.

Michael R. Bloomberg is weighing the wisdom of buying The Financial Times Group, which includes the paper and a half interest in The Economist, according to three people close to Mr. Bloomberg who spoke on the condition of anonymity to divulge private conversations.

HUFFINGTON POST Colulmn: …[A]ccording to longtime political observers Thomas Mann and Norman Ornstein, campaign coverage in 2012 was a particularly calamitous failure, almost entirely missing the single biggest story of the race: Namely, the radical right-wing, off-the-rails lurch of the Republican Party, both in terms of its agenda and its relationship to the truth.

WILKES-BARRE TIMES-LEADER Editorial: They may seem separate and unrelated, but there is a unifying force – and a cautionary lesson – in the fate of the state’s voter ID law and the Centax/Don Wilkinson tax collection debacle.

I have always been interested in the possibility of knowing the future. After all, if prediction is possible, it means that future is predetermined, it is written down somewhere prior to its occurrence.

New York Times columnist David Brooks warned Friday: “If President Obama is flexible and they don’t meet him part way, Republicans would contribute to a recession that would discredit them for a decade.”…

…Yet today a desperate shortage of cash cripples small firms’ ability to grow and increases their risk of failure. Why so? Unlike big firms, small firms mostly operate on borrowed money. They routinely borrow to meet payroll or buy materials, repaying the loans when they collect from customers.

Democrats believe Corbett is vulnerable because of cuts he made to education and welfare programs. Schwartz has a base in the southeast, has had success solidifying her hold on a competitive suburban House district, and has feminist credentials. Corbett also angered supporters of abortion rights by supporting a proposal to require women to undergo ultrasounds before having an abortion…

“We will comply with the Affordable Care Act, but only in the most efficient and cost effective way for New Jersey taxpayers. Such an important decision as how to best move forward for New Jerseyans can only be understood and reasonably made when fairly and fully compared to the overall value of the other options. Until the federal government gives us all the necessary information, any other action than this would be fiscally irresponsible,” said Christie.

“Most guys when they first come into the league is when they first start to realize they need protection,” Jones says. “Because money brings a lot of positive things. But most of the time, it brings more negative things. People don’t like you for what you have, for who you are. They don’t like you for what you represent.

New York Times Column: “If this evidence does become public — the N.C.A.A. has vowed to appeal — I think it will scandalize fans who have long been led to believe that N.C.A.A. investigators are the “good guys” trying to catch the “bad guys” in college sports.”

The poll also showed that voters overwhelmingly oppose cutting Medicaid spending, 70-25 percent. Voters surveyed also oppose gradually raising the Medicare eligibility age, 51-44 percent, and don’t support cuts to military spending by a margin of 55-41 percent. Those surveyed also said a “no-taxes” pledge isn’t a good idea, 85-10 percent…

HARRISBURG PATRIOT-NEWS: …The state’s financial adviser, Greenhill & Co., worked on the $576 million sale of the Camelot Group to its present owner, the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, in 2010….