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With so many brands and variations of brands Nestle it had got to the point that there were 130,0000 variations of brands. (Is that possible to have tht many variations but it illstrates the problems when there is variation proliferation and constant extensions for advertising and marketing in food type businesses.

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Experiences of individual homeowners the at a bankruptcy lawyer Neil Crane offices in Hamden, Conecticut. Nurses with home improvement projects and creditcard debt, truck driver, manager at a fast food place and so on. Economist, Mark Zandl sees the situation deteriorating because of a self reinforcing downward cycle for some time.

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Changes in Venzuela to address day to day problems of Venezuelans that were not addressed in the rhetoric of the last few years. Changes at cabinet and other levels to address housing, garbage collection, crime and to get food to poor neighborhoods. Decline in the value of the currency the Bolivar.

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The NYT editorial says the negative feedback loop of foreclosures begetting falling house prices, which beget more foreclosures, and further weaken banks, is well under way. One way to have broken this, was to enable good types of loan modifications, which reduce the principal for homeowners and reduce payments significantly. Sheila Bair at FDIC says 32% of prior payments is about the right amount. The bad types of loan modifications that lead to no reduction in principal, and put homeowners back in redefault because of large payments that homeowners "under water" or a lost job cannot afford, have so far been the dominant kind of loan modification. At present 14 million homeowners are "under water," in that their homes are worth less than what is owed on the mortgage. One of the crucial measures which would have enabled this, has not been pushed by the Obama administration through Congress. This was to pass an amendment that allowed bankruptcy judges to modify troubled mortgages. Banks which have taken billions of dollars in loans from the federal government were allowed to lobby aggressively to kill this amendment, and the Obama administration did little to push this amendment in Congress. 12 Senate Democrats joined 39 Senate Republicans to block a vote on the amendment. Says the NYT editorial "when the time came to stand up to the banking lobbies and cajole yes votes from reluctant senators-the White House did'nt. When the measure failed there wasn't even a statement of regret." This could turn out to be a major mistake, because as the NYT points out voluntary loan modifications have shown poor results. The administration's plan to provide incentives for loan modification is untried and tested, and may not produce significant results. With 14 million homeowners under water, and spiralling foreclosures, the situation may get out of control and seriously damage the economy. After the moratorium in home foreclosures ended there is expected to be a big surge in foreclosures, with estimates of 290,000 to 341,000 foreclosures in March, 2009. If this is allowed to continue it will undo all the good work in other areas, the stimulus spending, rebuilding the auto industry and other steps. It will also be more difficult to reverse as valuable time passes and the cost of the crisis escalates. A consensus among many experts was that stronger action in connection with the banks was required, and Martin Feldstein has warned about the danger posed by foreclosures since early 2008, see links....

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PM Modi says Indian Rail is an important part of the vision for Vikshit Bharat or Developed India 2047 as he opens the new Jammu division of Indian Railways. PM Modi described the infrastructure laid for the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail Link USBRL, the Anji Khad cable-stayed bridge, and the Chenab Rail Bridge in Jammu and Kashmir.

PM Modi says-

“I was watching a video of the new sleeper version of the Vande Bharat train running at the speed of 180 km per hour in trial. It makes me feel good. The introduction of high-speed Vande Bharat trains and the expansion of metro networks demonstrate India’s commitment to world class transport systems,” the PM said.

“This is just the beginning as the time is not far when the first bullet train will run in the country.” 

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The story of Zhang Yiming of TikTok. He founded the App in 2012 in Beijing. His first app was Jinri Toutiao, translates to Today's Headlines. And came up with the idea of feeding people more of what they have read. This is the beginning of how today's echo effects of the news people read and opinions that are shaped in the process being one sided without any dialogue or mixing with others. This is not good for demcoracy and the dumbing down in social media adds to the lack of literacy. In the case of this China based app it means 170 million Americans are spending time in ways that deplete not add to cultural literacy. Some of the same arguments operate for social media as X and other social media divide rather than bring people to exchange views and thinking for better understanding and education.

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This title is misleading. 40% of Americans are unable to make their goal of decent living in retirement.

On the positive side a look at Fidelity's 24 million 401 K accounts at 25,000 companies shows people are saving closer to the suggested 15% with the average at 14.3%. Older baby boomers saving at 17%. Generation X at 15% and millenials at 13%. Companies are also moving people into higher and higher savings rates which is a good thing. 70% of the private workforce has access, companies automaticall enroll employees increasing participation.

Yet the average savings account is still very low at $127,000 and down 3% from 2024. If this is the saving of the well to do with Fidelity accounts then even the well to do are still far behind. And only about 5 million of 24 million are in 401 K savings accounts for 5 years or more.

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The US Federal Reserve Report on Economic Wellbeing of US Households 2024-May 2025 gives some insights into the well being of American households. It shows food insufficiency households the same in 2023-2025 at 7%. The situation for cost of living remains a concern in 2024 as well as 2025. Retirement savings have improved for many middle class Americans, as confirmed by reports from Fidelity and Vanguard. The people earning less than 25,000 are 19% and about the same in 2024 under Biden as under DJT in 2025. 39% make $100,000 or more and 26% make $50,000 -$100,000. Combining the 19% making less than $25,000 and the 16% making between $25,000 and $50,000 shows about one third of the population under $50,000 living paycheck to paycheck. It would appear that $2000 DJT rebate putting $160 billion out of $550 billion of tariff revenues for 2025-2026  in the hands of 79 million households that make less than $100,000 would go a long way to keep the situation stable with optimism and hope arising from the restructuring of world trade that would bring trillions of dollars of investment into the US from Europe and Asia. A this investment plus domestic investment should bring back jobs and higher incomes to US manufacturing in small towns across America. The rest of $550 billion tariff revenue of $390 billion would go to reducing the deficit which would improve prospects for the economy in 2027 and produce a more resilient economy in 2027-2028. As shown on this page the popular Democratic Governor of Michigan in her op-ed in Washington Post supports strategic tariffs, and supports using the revenue for a check to American workers of $2000 per worker or per worker household and offers to work with the opposite party to get a WIN-WIN for the American People.  In the whole process of trade tariffs it must be remembered when seeing the inconsistent cases of tariff use by this Republican administration that these were special reason situations not aberrations or whimsical. First, it should be borne in mind that behind the appearance of DJT making tariff decisions is a carefully thought out process that took ten years to form under Reagan era Trade Representative Lighthizer who negotiated with Japan, and his deputy Jamieson for 2016-2024, and the economic and capital markets experience of Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary. The two cases of inconsistent application of tariffs relate to the 50% tariff on India and the reduction of tariffs on China agreement on rare earths, and the imposition of a large tarif on Japan and the EU. In the first instance with India it was intended to give Ukraine breathing room from Russian attacks as Germany steps up its military preparedness and assistance to Ukraine. With both countries it was about saving face important in Asian or any societies and it has achieved it's purpose. Reports show both Indian and Chinese refiners have quietly cut purchases of oil from Russia leading to Russian oil selling at about $20 discount to Brent crude oil. In the case of Japan the quick action to raise tariffs was intended not to get into long drawn negotiations and show serious intent- Japan is known for dragging out negotiations for years if not decades. The same is true for the European Union. With the Swiss it was about a certain disrespect of the US coming from attitudes that Swiss products were somehow superior. Not just in the long run, in 2026-2028 history will show that the effort done right - and it takes effort to get this right- to restructure world trade so that other nations are not siphoning off the benefits and leaving the US to lose its manufacturing and factories is the right one. And taken with courage and sincere desire to create a fair distribution of the benefits of world trade for too long distorted by egregious practices of competitors. It has nothing to do with 2 senators from the 1930's who were from places like the Mountain West in the US, having no concept of world trade, Smoot and Hawley, who under a irresponsible president Hoover got everything wrong. This is a carefully set out plan to evenly balance the benefits of world trade to all nations.   ...

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European stock markets outperformed the DJIA and the S&P 500 in the U.S. in 2015. Stoxx Europe 600 went up by 7.3%, France's CAC 40 up 9.5%, Germany's DAX up 6.9% excluding dividends. In the early part of the year the DAX went up 20% before being affected by the worries over China and the VW emissions scandal. Italy's FTSE MIB up 13%. Britain's FTSE down 4.45% in 2015 being affected by declines in commodity producers. Experts still see 2016 as a good year for European stock markets, as conditions remain much the same as in 2015 with support from the European Central Bank and eurozone economic recovery in southern Europe.

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Donald Trump's Style book would include things like, using a little hyperbole, exaggeration, like setting up a wall to stop immigration. It also includes attacks on opponents, the better with some publicity, good or bad, as his attacks on Carly Fiorina for looks, Jeb Bush for energy, and Megyn Kelly of Fox News show. Trump writes about this in his book written three decades ago- "The Art of the Deal." In the book he says that putting down the competition can help. And what about the deal itself? Its all for the joy of doing it, not much about what its about, or how it will all end up in helping people in their daily lives.

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Calls for accountability of the regulators. A week later Judge Rakoff raised the same question in calling the SEC $33 million fine to Bank of America for Merrill bonuses something that lets the SEC look good and the Bof America protest overzealous regulation. Quoting Oscar Wilde he said acynic was one who understands the cost of everything and the value of nothing. Experts on the side of the public interest say that the people will have to kick and scream to make sure regulators do their job. Prof. Kane at Boston College calls for inspectors general for each agency charged with regularly auditing the performance of regulators, and checking for corrupting influence on regulators.

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The Economist describes the fraud in the election and the odious group of warlords and crooks that Karzai has pulled together to get support for this election. If they get as reward positions in the ministries then "the war is over" according to one diplomat. And without acredible government the chances are poor for any"good outcomes." Eide, the UN diplomat in the country says ultimately this will be decided not by governments but by people sitting at thier kitchen tables making up their mind as the follow the information in the media. And the President has only 37% of Democrats with him who want to see more troops in Afghanistan in a recent poll.

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Steven Rattner points to the decline in U.S. median household income as a result of globalization. At $7 an hour GM's Mexican auto workers are just as efficient as workers in the U.S. The result is a shift in jobs to Mexico and the two tier wage system in the U.S. auto industry, now formalized in new UAW contracts with Ford, GM and Chrysler. The UAW agrees to hire entry workers at $14 and hour. A new VW Chattanooga plant pays $14.50 an hour. Rattner points to the need to create new jobs with high intellectual content in service industries such as education, digital media, entertainment, and financial services. This requires a greater committment to education.

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An exhibition at the Museum of the City of New York in January 2012 which offers clues for future development of the city - "The Greatest Grid: The Master Plan of Manhattan 1811-2011." It shows how Simeon De Wittt, Governor Morris and John Rutherford laid out the plan for the city of New York in 1811. Because of the growth at the port New York City's population had grown quickly to 96,373. By 1870 the population had grown eight fold to 800,000. The grid plan used by the planners gave a sense of order to the city and it stretched north to 155th street. Upto that time most of New York was below Canal Street.

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Boeing brings back engineering experts from its past to help bring the Dreamliner project back to shape. The head of the Boeing Commercial Airplane Business, has brought back 8 retired executives back into the fold by forming a Senior Advisory Group. Joe Sutter, 89 years old, is one of the engineeers from Boeing's past that criticized the outsourcing of key parts for the Dreamliner- one of the problems that put Boeing behind schedule by 2 years. Sutter led the design team for the 747 jumbo jet, so he has a legendary reputation. His point- there better be a lot of Boeing people looking at the suppliers to make sure things are done right.

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Angie's List provides information on home improvement contractors and on health care companies. It was started by Angie Hicks after she graduated from Depauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. It has 400 employees and is based in Indianapolis. Sales reached $60 million in 2010, with revenues from membership fees and select advertising by highly rated service providers. It started with Mr Oesterle, a former boss of Angie's in a college internship, and his moving to Columbus, Ohio. Oestlerle had difficulty finding good contractors to renovate a 1920's home, and suggested they work together on this idea of a list of reliable contractors based on personal interviews. The company still relies only on personally obtained information.

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It may come as a bit of a shock to learn, that the entire country of Nigeria produces about as much electricity at electricity generating facilities, as the electricity used around Japan's Narita airport. Most people in this country of 150 million people, get electricity only for a few hours a day. As a result two thirds of all electricity consumed in Nigeria is produced using small scale generators. President Jonathan's plan to raise $3.5 billion to increase electricity supply 13 fold. Since the 1990's the capacity increased by half, but distribution is extremely poor, so that the actual supply has remained flat. One result is a very small manufacturing sector, of about 4% of GDP.

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The 64 mile highway known as the Gardez-Khost Highway has cost $121 million upto this point. The final cost is expected to reach $176 million. At $2.8 million a mile the cost overruns on this projects are over 100%. Parts of the road run through Taliban territory and may never be completed. Security for the project has cost $43.5 million, according to USAID officials. This involves among other things payments to a local figure named Arafat. The road connects two provinces, Paktia and Khost, and runs through rugged mountain terrain at 9000 feet. At the original estimate of $69 million it was considered a good investment for linking these areas to Kabul.

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OECD studies and views of experts show India's current inflexible labor laws hurt manufacturing workers by denying workers the benefits that would come from larger enterprises in a formal economy, and reducing job growth. Labor laws currently in place provide inducement to keep companies small, with less than 100 workers, the threshold at which labor laws on hiring and letting go of employees are enforced. The Modi government is implementing reforms as pilot programs in states where it is running the state government. Rajasthan is being used for this pilot overhaul of labor laws to attract manufacturing investment.The idea is to create competition between states to attract investment as one state gains in employment growth and good jobs.

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Mr. Zuchowski succeeds John Krafcik as CEO of Hyundai U.S. operations. Krafcik joined Hyundai from Ford Motor in product planning and became the CEO in 2008. Under him sales doubled. Hyundai was seen as delivering better value with a lot of features packed in its base models -a restyled Sonata in 2010 and the Elantra in 2011. From 2008 to 2011 Hyundai U.S. market share increased from 3% to 5.1%. Market share declined to 4.6% through Nov. 2012 partly due to capacity limitiations. In 2012 the EPA said fuel mileage claims were misstated for Hyundai models and testing was done improperly. Zuchowski joined Hyundai from Mazda Motors in 2007 as president of sales.

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The revival of the Mid-Market part of the downtown area in San Francisco after Twitter sets up headquarters here in April 2011. Twitter signed a lease till 2021 with Shorenstein Properties for a 11 story building built in 1937, for 295,000 square feet. Other developers are moving into San Francisco. Tishman Speyer is constructing two office buildings in the area called South of Market in San Francisco. Rents are now at $53.84 per square foot in San Francisco in the fourth quarter 2013 compared to $46.12 in the third quarter, according to C.B.R.E. Vacancy levels have dropped from 9.7% in 2012 to 8.2% in October 2013, and down from 15% in 2010.