Ford Motor CEO Alan Mulally predicts a comeback for the U.S. economy, but the booming demand in emerging markets overseas is why he's hiring thousands of U.S. workers to ramp up production. Mulally calls manufacturing the foundation of the economy and job growth, and says tax reform and new trade policies would encourage other U.S. companies to build factories here to meet the demand abroad. Below is my conversation with the man who left the cockpit at one American manufacturing icon (Boeing) for the driver's seat at another: Ford. The interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Washington is the only town where the circus never leaves. Elephants, donkeys, clowns and a ringmaster residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue — our nation's capital has it all. And what a show they're putting on for the American people over raising the debt ceiling for the umpteenth time in recent years.On one side we have a president whose surrogates warn of economic Armageddon if the debt ceiling isn't raised, despite the fact that he himself voted against raising the limit in 2006 as the junior senator from Illinois. On the other side are congressional Republicans, tasked with negotiating spending cuts in exchange for raising the debt ceiling — the same guys who happily voted for big-spending legislation when it was their guy in the White House.In short, the two sides have a credibility gap on debt reduction that makes the Grand Canyon look like a pothole. That begs the question: What sort of deal will they ultimately agree to?

On July 13th, the president of the United States angrily walked out of ongoing negotiations over the raising of the debt ceiling from its legislated maximum of $14.294 trillion dollars. This prompted a new round of speculation over whether the United States might default on its financial obligations. In these circumstances, it is useful to recall the previous instances in which this has occurred and the effects of those defaults. By studying the defaults of the past, we can gain insights into what future defaults might portend.The Continental Currency Default of 1779The first default of the United States was on its first issuance of debt: the currency emitted by the Continental Congress of 1775. In June of 1775 the Continental Congress of the United States of America, located in Philadelphia, representing the 13 states of the union, issued bills of credit amounting to 2 million Spanish milled dollars to be paid four years hence in four annual installments. The next month an additional 1 million was issued. A third issue of 3 million followed. The next year they issued an additional 13 million dollars of notes. These were the first of the "Continental dollars," which were used to fund the war of revolution against Great Britain. The issues continued until an estimated 241 million dollars were outstanding, not including British forgeries.

South Korea’s announcement that it will ban all school paper textbooks and replace them with electronic tablets by 2014 should ring alarm bells in the United States, Europe and Latin America — many of our children run the risk of being left even farther behind their digital-savvy Asian counterparts.Already, according to a new study by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), South Korea is the top country in the world where 15-year-old students make the best use of Internet-connected computers in schools. Perhaps not by coincidence, South Korea is also one of the world’s leading countries in student test scores. In the latest worldwide PISA test of 15-year-old students, it ranked No. 2 in students’ reading comprehension, after Shanghai, China. The United States ranked 17th, Spain 33rd and the highest-ranking Latin American country, Chile, 44th. Now, the learning gap between South Korean students and those of most Western countries may widen further.The South Korean government said it will invest $2 billion over the next two years to provide all elementary school children with free electronic tablets connected to the Internet, and  — most importantly —  with customized e-learning programs. The plan is scheduled to be extended to all high school students by 2015.

U.S. President Barack Obama has met with Peruvian President-elect Ollanta Humala, who takes office later this month. The White House said Obama dropped by Wednesday while the incoming Peruvian leader was meeting with U.S. National Security Advisor Tom Donilon. A statement said President Obama emphasized U.S. commitment to supporting Peru's efforts to implement market-based economic policies while also increasing "economic and social inclusion." The statement said the two leaders also discussed cooperation on environmental issues and in the fight against drug trafficking. President-elect Humala also met Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Wednesday at the State Department.  Clinton told reporters after the meeting the U.S. stands ready to be Humala's partner as he tackles the big agenda in front of him.