President Barack Obama speaking close to midnight Sunday, from the White House, after the House of Representatives passed a landmark health reform bill. “In the end what this day represents is another stone firmly laid in the foundation of the American dream,” the president said. “Tonight, we answered the call of history as so many generations of Americans have before us. When faced with crisis, we did not shrink from our challenges. We overcame them. We did not avoid our responsibilities, we embraced it. We did not fear our future, we shaped it.” Vice President Joe Biden is on the left of the picture.

The appreciation of a country's currency is of "limited help" to solve global trade imbalance, as China is witnessing narrowing trade surplus with a stable yuan, China's Minister of Commerce Chen Deming said in Beijing on Sunday. 

Speaking at the China Development Forum 2010, Chen said the yuan exchange rate is not undervalued, while pressure on yuan appreciation is "irrational" and will bring no good to both sides. Chen noted that despite that yuan had appreciated by more than 20% from 2005 to 2008, China's trade surplus increased in the three-year period.

By contrast, as China has kept its currency stable since 2009, the country's total trade surplus fell more than 30% in 2009 from 2008, and it continued to decline another 50% year on year in the first two months this year, he said. "Personally I think China is likely to see trade deficit in March," Chen said.

China's trade surplus contracted 50.4% from a year earlier in the first two months this year to $21.76 billion, customs data showed. Chen said the exchange rate issue is something entirely within China's sovereign rights instead of matters that can be discussed between two nations.

"The United States should not politicize economic issues," he added.

Besides, China will not sit back and "turn a blind eye" if there is any sanction after the United States names China as a currency manipulator, he said.

The US Treasury Department may label China a currency manipulator in a semiannual report to the Congress next month.

State news agency Xinhua said the debate over China's currency policy is heating up among economists with Morgan Stanley Asia Chairman Stephen Roach saying that a sharp upward revaluation of the yuan would lead to a disastrous outcome for the United States and it would end up as a "lose-lose situation" for both Washington and Beijing.

"I believe the currency adjustment that is being suggested by the West is the wrong way to go," Roach said in Beijing.

If China were to adjust its currency sharply higher, the Chinese share of the US multilateral trade deficits would shift to another country, a higher cost producer, which would have the effect of imposing a tax on American workers that the politicians are in theory trying to protect, according to Roach.

"This is a disastrous outcome for the United States and would certainly be a very bad outcome for Chinese exporters as well," he said.

Chinese Vice Premier Li Keqiang addresses the opening ceremony of the China Development Forum 2010, in Beijing, Sunday March 21, 2010. Photo: Xinhua

China would step up efforts to accelerate the transformation of its economic development pattern to achieve sound and fast growth, Vice Premier Li Keqiang said Sunday at the Development Forum. The two-day forum started on Sunday with a theme of "China and the World Economy: Growth, Restructuring and Cooperation."

Li said China has achieved remarkable results in combating the global economic downturn and the trend of recovery has been consolidated.

Expanding domestic demand would be the prime and long-term strategy for transforming the economic development mode, Li said, adding that continuous efforts to optimise the investment structure and adjust income distribution would help fuel the demand.

Li said industrial restructuring is a very crucial part of the economic transformation, which could be achieved through promoting technology innovations, the green economy and service industry.

Latest comments from Merkel point to continued lack of harmony over Greece: Davy chief economist, Rossa White, comments  - -"Greece's problems remain bubbling in the background, even if risk markets have discounted the issue somewhat in recent weeks. The main concern is lack of European cohesion. That was in evidence from comments by the German chancellor over the weekend. The IMF has resurfaced as a possible provider of financial help either alongside or without the EU itself.

It has become increasingly clear in recent weeks that Germany is much less committed than France to providing financial support to Greece. Meanwhile, the European Commission is caught somewhere in the crossfire. Last week's comments by President Barroso left the way open for IMF involvement, while stressing the need for the euro area to come up with something more concrete and quick. Now Angela Merkel has attempted to step up the pressure on Greece, while being careful to leave the door open to IMF intervention.

Politically, it may make sense for Germany to keep the IMF option open. Even if it is potentially embarrassing for the euro area, the reality is that German taxpayers would be less likely to have to write a cheque. But the upshot for the bond market is that we are no closer to a long-term solution to the euro area's difficulties. On Friday, spreads of the weaker countries nudged out again. European equities continue to underperform year-to-date: that situation will probably persist until agreement on a solution to the euro area public finance crisis is found."

Economic View; Wednesday’s UK Budget unlikely to be the only one in 2010:Goodbody chief economist, Dermot O'Leary, comments  - -"Ireland and the UK have reacted in vastly different ways to the reality of a double-digit budget deficit. While Ireland has had two emergency budgets and another budget which contained fairly draconian measures to reduce the budget deficit over the past eighteen months, the UK has arguably made its fiscal situation worse by some of the measures it has taken.

One can argue that the downturn in the UK economy would have been even more severe were it not for this fiscal stimulus, but only modest growth has resulted thus far. Wednesday’s Budget in the UK is likely to be more of the same, with little in the way of plans to make real inroads into cutting the deficit this year. While there are many differences between the UK and Ireland, including being a member of a monetary union and pressure from the European Commission in the case of Ireland, a major factor this time is the timing of the election cycle. It is no surprise that the most recent surges in government spending in Ireland have come prior to general elections.

With the UK election taking place in May, Chancellor Darling will attempt to strike a balance between fiscal prudence and political savvy on Wednesday. The Budget deficit is likely to remain close to 12% of GDP (similar to Ireland’s), so one can expect Wednesday’s Budget not to be the last this year, for whatever Chancellor is in charge after May’s Election.

Elsewhere, watch out for the employment (Wednesday) and GDP/GNP (Thursday) data in Ireland later this week."

Discussing the health care cost vs. coverage debate, with Tony Fratto, former Bush deputy press secretary and CNBC's John Harwood, Carl Quintanilla, Tyler Mathisen, Hampton Pearson & Michelle Caruso-Cabrera:

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