During the early years of Levenger, the company that my wife, Lori, and I founded in 1987, I would hear business executives speak at charity events about the importance of "giving back" to their communities. I chafed at this. It implied that business was taking and that we business people, like criminals, had a debt to repay.

Levenger creates high-quality products designed for reading, thinking, and creative expression.

Yet, I watched our own business employ people, help them grow in their careers, make our suppliers happy, keep our accountants busy, and give our customers something that—judging by the many heartfelt letters we received—they had been yearning for.

Draconian capital controls have restored a sense of calm to a disorderly situation in Cyprus. At best, this is a short reprieve. If not followed by more fundamental (and inevitably controversial) decisions, it will just be a matter of weeks before the controls go from being a temporary solution to becoming part of an even deeper problem.

On Friday, Toys "R" Us Inc. pulled its IPO offering, facing year-over-year quarterly declines in revenues, profits and comparable store sales. However, these are only symptoms of a larger issue facing the chain: a business model in desperate need of an overhaul.

(Read More: Did Toys 'R Us Deliver a Big Warning for Retail?)

As our political leaders take stock of where we stand in 2013—both as individual states and as a nation—we are hearing a consistent message: jobs, our economy and education are inextricably linked.

We heard the President make this case in his State of the Union Address and we've heard it echoed by both Democratic and Republican governors. If we want to see some meaningful improvements in our education system, business leaders must step up and lead as well.

Education is akin to a computer's operating system. It drives other crucial functions in a country: workforce preparedness, business growth and economic strength to name just a few. Unfortunately, our system of education and workforce training has become outdated. If we are going to prepare students as well as we should, we must upgrade.

Cloud computing is a technology megatrend that increasingly affects all industries, from technology companies such as cloud service and infrastructure providers, to brick-and-mortar companies using the cloud to reduce information technology (IT) and infrastructure costs.

However, many CEOs have not grasped the full impact of this trend on their organizations. One important area of oversight is the potential impact on the global tax position of the company.

The U.S. equity market had a great finish to a wonderful first three months of 2013. In logging its best first-quarter performance since 1987 (11 percent), the Dow set yet another all-time high. For its part, the S&P surged 10 percent, ending above its previous (2007) record close.

The rally reflects slowly-improving economic conditions, relatively robust corporate profitability and anticipation of stronger domestic and foreign inflows into the equity market. Yet this is far from the whole story.

Investors need only look at where some other benchmarks ended the quarter to get a feel for the unprecedented and artificial nature of today's capital markets.

(Read More: Rally Like a Broken Record as S&P Scores New High)

Singapore's economy is undergoing a clear soft patch. Consider the following:

Industrial production (excluding volatile biomedical goods) has been down by 6 percent year on year or more in recent months; Non-oil domestic exports have been down, on average, by 15 percent year on year since December; Data on the productivity front is also poor and inflation remains high by historical standards - over 4 percent in recent months despite a tight monetary policy stance for over 2 years.

Business sentiment is weak, with the Purchasing Manager's Index exceeding 50 just once since June 2012 (a reading above 50 indicates expansion and below that contraction).

Although gross domestic product (GDP) growth is expected to pick up this year on the back of rising demand in the U.S. and China, the data seen so far this year suggest Singapore will lag the Southeast Asian region in the pace and magnitude of recovery.

But does slow growth really matter? Against the apparently weak data reported above, we need to consider the following context.

(Read More: After the Dire Data, Singapore Risks Another Contraction)

The economy is operating at full employment. The rate of unemployment has been around 2 percent for the last couple of years, at the very low end of reported figures since the 1997 Asian crisis.

Wages have been rising steadily, reflecting both a tight labor market and public sector initiatives to raise the standard of living.

While the year-on-year percentage change in real GDP may appear small (1.5 percent in October-December), Singapore's real GDP recovered its lost output from the 2008-09 global crisis rapidly and the present level of real GDP is 29 percent higher than the bottom reached in early 2009. The economy is operating fairly close to its potential level of output.

Asset markets are buoyant, with stock prices up about 11 percent year on year and property prices about 20 percent higher than the previous cycle's peak in mid-2008.

(Read More: Singapore 2013 Growth Tipped at 2.8%: Central Bank Survey)

Monetary and financial conditions remain exceptionally easy. Interest rates are at an all-time low, capital inflows are ample, and the appreciating currency has increased the purchasing power of Singaporeans considerably.

It is not difficult to reconcile the first group of negative figures with the second group of positive ones. Singapore's growth depends largely on external demand, which has been weak for a while, affecting exports and production, but the economy's fundamentals remain strong, thanks to low interest rates supporting thriving domestic demand. If anything, some slowdown in growth is desirable as that could relieve some cost pressure on the economy.

(Read More: Singapore February Exports Fall Sharply on Rigs, Pharmaceuticals)

Policy Dilemma

With this backdrop I don't expect the authorities to have much desire to support the economy.

Interestingly, the thrust of policy measures lately has been in the opposite direction, with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) steepening the slope on the nominal effective exchange rate (NEER) appreciation last year and a series of macro prudential measures being put in place since 2010 to cool the property market.

As long as interest rates remain at their floor and global liquidity abundant, there will be only limited traction from steps to cool the property market. As cost of financing remains cheap, money will find its way to the property market and associated activities.

The curious characteristic of the Singaporean economy is that it is compelled to maintain a policy of exchange rate appreciation to fight tradable price inflation, which in turn brings in flows and keeps rates low, and consequently fuels non-tradable inflation (e.g.rent and transportation).

(Read More: Singapore February Inflation Up 4.9% From Year Earlier)

The authorities have taken an array of measures to stem the latter, but the impact has been limited so far. The MAS will likely maintain an unchanged policy stance during its policy review later this month, and more property cooling measures could well be in the pipeline, but I am not convinced if this policy mix will bring about the desired result. Like it or not, Singapore's fortunes will continue to remain tied to the vagaries of global macro-economy and developed country monetary policy for years to come.

Taimur Baig is the Chief Economist for India, and ASEAN, Global Markets Research at Deutsche Bank AG. He is a regular guest on CNBC TV.

Last week in Wuxi, I noticed a newspaper headline about the bankruptcy of Suntech, one of China's largest solar panel manufacturers. Below the fold was a story about the success of several local car companies and the dramatic rise in their stock values. Was there something that these stories had in common - and something from them that could help the U.S. economic recovery?

Suntech defaulted on over half a billion dollars in government loans, a figure similar to the Solyndra losses for American taxpayers. There are numerous reasons for both of these failures, but chief among them was the fact that risk-free money resulted in both firms over-building their capacity ahead of market demand, driving down margins and ending any chance to make profits and repay loans.

Cyprus did not manufacture its banking crisis. The European Central Bank and European Union bear that responsibility, yet Cypriots will pay the price for their dysfunctions.

Until recently, Cyprus was a prosperous island economy with robust tourism, shipping and a significant international banking sector. Its big banks, like others in Europe, attracted large overseas deposits and invested heavily in sovereign debt. In Cyprus, much of the money came from Russia and was invested in Greek bonds.

In the long history of gold, dating back at least 6,000 years to the first trinkets in the Transylvanian Alps, owning gold meant actually having it in hand. Gold adorned a beloved's neck or was stored in a strongbox. The point being – the owner could get at it – behold its luminous glow, and hold the weight of the gold.

That has changed. More than ever before, there are new ways to own gold.

(Read More: Gold Is Trendless, Don't Expect A Lot From It: Bob Doll )