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Andy Grove of Intel and a reminder about Silicon Valley's role now missing role as a serious innovator and job creator at home
07/01/2010
Andy Grove reminded Silicon Valley about the dangers of forgetting manufacturing's important role in the U.S. in 2010. This is even more true today with the working class lagging behind in this recovery. He asked at the time what kind of society are we creating with professionally employed workers and lots of unemployed. It reminded him of 1932 with troops holding bayonets facing unemployed people outside the White House, and of his days in Hungary in the 1956 uprising. Grove also called for serious innovation which he did not see happening at the time in Silicon Valley.
Linked Articles
Andy Grove’s Warning to Silicon Valley
New York Times 03/25/2016
Andy Grove: How America Can Create JobsBusinessWeek 07/01/2010
Tan Guocheng and Yuan Yandong- migrant workers on production lines in China and change in 2010-2013
06/13/2010
David Barboza's exceptional journalism talking to production workers on assembly lines in China. Here he tells the story of Tan Guocheng and Yuan Yandong, young migrant workers on assembly lines at Honda and Foxconn in the middle of major changes in China after the first wave of urbanization.
Linked Articles
In China, Unlikely Labor Leader Just Wanted a Middle-Class Life
New York Times 06/13/2010
A Night at the Electronics FactoryNew York Times 06/18/2010
Italy's borrowing in capital markets - 2011-2012
06/03/2010
Linked Articles
Italy Seeks to Spur Growth, Narrowing Gap With Peers
Wall Street Journal 07/18/2011
Italy's Shot of Southern DiscomfortWall Street Journal 06/03/2010
Apple products at manufacturing plants in China and at retail stores in the U.S.- low worker pay and lack of future prospects
05/29/2010
The high margins for Apple achieved through a combination of keeping costs low- even at the risk of providing poor wage and working conditions for the majority of employees employed in the retail stores in the U.S. and in supplier Foxconn plants in China- and by a grasp for innovation and technology. The paradox of a well deserved image for pioneering in technological innovation and the indifference to working conditions and prospects for employees who add value in manufacturing and customer interface. This model of growth is a recent development, put in place after 1997. In 1995-1997 Apple was nearing collapse under Michael Spindler and Gil Amelio, as documented by WSJ technology reporter Jim Carlton in his book- "Apple- The Inside Story of Intrigue, Egomania, and Business Blunders." Steve Jobs returned as CEO in 1997 and set the future course and this model in place emphasizing design, his ability to grasp technologies that would appeal to customers, and hired Tim Cook to set up the manufacturing which had high rate of defects and higher costs. The model was as full of paradoxes, of genius combined with mediocre behavioursas the man Steve Jobs. Tim Cook has responded to criticism in 2012 by having the Fair Labor association audit Foxconn plants in China. Foxconn increased wages in 2012, shifted plants to the interior of China, and increased use of robotics.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 05/29/2010
Apple Stores Army, Long on Loyalty but Short on PayNew York Times 06/23/2012
Failures at BP and a White House approach too dependent on BP for controlling the Oil Spill.
05/01/2010
A long history of failures at BP and the slow indecisive action of the Obama administration.
Linked Articles
In Gulf, It Was Unclear Who Was in Charge of Rig
New York Times 06/05/2010
Drilling Down: A Troubled Legacy in OilWall Street Journal 05/01/2010
S. Korea's Ministry of Knowlege Economy and the Samsung effort to leapfrog development of the Android smartphone in 2010-2011
02/17/2010
Linked Articles
Korean Tech Is Losing Its Cool
BusinessWeek 02/17/2010
Samsung Moves in Smartphone RaceWall Street Journal 01/07/2011
Skepticism about the Federal Reserve's ability to catch financial bubbles and to take action.
01/04/2010
The Fed's credibility for acting against bubbles in the housing and stock markets has been hurt by recent experience.
Linked Articles
If the Fed Missed This Bubble, Will It See a New One?
New York Times 01/06/2010
Fed chief Bernanke urges better financial regulation to prevent crisesWashington Post 01/04/2010
Volcker, the Volcker Rule, and the risks of the concentration of assets in a few banks in the U.S. financial system
12/17/2009
Linked Articles
Charlie Rose Talks to Paul Volcker
BusinessWeek 10/27/2011
A Crisis Is a Terrible Thing to WasteBusinessWeek 12/17/2009
David Rieff provides insights on why all developing countries, Mexico, Brazil, India, Indonesia and China need to take child malnutrition seriously
10/11/2009
The Indian lower house of parliament passed a Food Security bill in August 2013. Rieff says China made serious progress to reduce malnutrition from over 21% for children under 5 years to around 7% today after 1990. In India malnutrition for children under 5 years is above 40%. There is a lot that developing coutnries can learn from each other in this area including the Bolsa Familia program in Brazil which uses the concept of improving vaccination for children and school attendance as requirements for subsidy payments to the poor. Mexico and Indonesia have different versions of programs to help the poorer sections of society. The problem is acute in India because of indifference induced by caste and other considerations and the high level of malnutrition for children. Rief says how good is ademographic dividend when many of these children are permanently and silently impaired by malnutrition by the age of three. India's Congress party leader, Sonia Gandhi, put it differently in parliament: "What is our responsibility to these people?"
Linked Articles
New York Times 10/11/2009
India's Lower House Passes Food Bill to Help PoorWall Street Journal 08/26/2013
Merkel's shaky hold on public opinion in Germany.
09/28/2009
Merkel's Christian Democrats and the Free Democrats now have only 34% support, compared to 47% for the Social Democrats and Greens, according to a poll for Stern magazine by polling institute Forsa.
Linked Articles
Merkel Looks to Recharge Her Ratings
New York Times 07/21/2010
Victory Brings Risk of Conflict With Merkel’s AlliesNew York Times 09/28/2009
U.S. president Obama, lobbyists and the 2010 Obama health care law
07/24/2009
The political process and the influence of lobbyists on Congress and the White House constrains the development of laws that control healthcare costs. Higher health care costs means less money for infrastructure development, education, research and development funding, and other priorities which build a future for Americans.
Linked Articles
E-Mails Highlight Extent of Obama's Deal With Industry on Health Care
New York Times 06/08/2012
Obama's Health Expert Gets PoliticalWall Street Journal 07/24/2009
The President's regulatory reform proposal in a 85 page white paper and his remarks at the White House
06/17/2009
Obama explains the reasons for the reforms and the decision to work within present structures.
Linked Articles
Obama’s Financial Reform Plan: The Condensed Version
Wall Street Journal 06/17/2009
Steven Pearlstein - Regulatory Reform That Falls Far Short of ItWashington Post 06/19/2009
A drastic overhaul, a sweeping restructuring is needed of the "fee-for-service" system to fix healthcare, the Obama health "reforms" risk becoming cosmetic.
06/14/2009
Cowen and Samuelson point out that without this big restructuring, taking in the uninsured into the system will only magnify the costs further. It would simply continue a unaffordable system of healthcare, that also delivers poor overall quality of healthcare for a steep price tag.
Linked Articles
Something’s Got to Give in Medicare Spending
New York Times 06/14/2009
Robert J. Samuelson - Wrong Way on Health 'Reform'Washington Post 06/15/2009
The Volcker Rule and the report of the Squam Lake group of 15 prominent American economists
06/15/2010
Linked Articles
15 Economists Issue Crisis-Prevention Manual
New York Times 06/15/2010
Volcker to Push Back on Banks' TradingWall Street Journal 02/13/2012
Crisis Prevention Insights from the 2008 financial crisis to the BP oil spill and Fukushima- the role of "human failure"
06/11/2010
Linked Articles
The Oil Disaster Is About Human, Not System, Failure
Wall Street Journal 06/11/2010
Report blasts Japan’s preparation for, response to Fukushima disaster - The Washington PostWashington Post 07/06/2012
The rise in wages in China in 2011-2013
05/29/2010
Linked Articles
China's Wage Hikes Ripple Across Asia
Wall Street Journal 03/14/2012
Hon Hai to Raise Workers' PayWall Street Journal 05/29/2010
The plausible threat of deflation in 2011.
05/27/2010
Experts see deflation as a very real possibility in 2011 and beyond. This creates poor prospects for growth.
Linked Articles
New York Times 07/11/2010
The Recovery: Why Deflation Remains a ThreatBusinessWeek 05/27/2010
Hope and reality in Nigeria (2)- President Goodluck Jonathan 2011-2015, and President Muhammadu Buhari 2015-2019
02/20/2010
The hope of so many young Nigerians rest on Buhari getting things right and restoring confidence in government and the management of the economy after four years of the Jonathan adminsitration.
Linked Articles
Muhammadu Buhari Defeats Goodluck Jonathan in Nigeria Election
Wall Street Journal 04/01/2015
An Accidental Leader Stirs Hopes in NigeriaNew York Times 02/20/2010
Resignation of Japan's Hatoyama on the Okinawa issue and the Obama administration.
01/07/2010
Senior foreign policy expert Joseph Nye, Jr. called for patient approach to Japanese Premier Hatoyama on the Oknawa issue. This did not happen as Obama kept Hatoyama at arms-length and no compromise was reached. The implications of all this as the Democratic party is still only 8 months in office.
Linked Articles
Ties to U.S. Played Role in Downfall of Japanese Leader
New York Times 06/02/2010
An Alliance Larger Than One IssueNew York Times 01/07/2010
John Taylor's reply to U.S. Fed chairman Bernanke's defence of his role in setting low interest rates in 2003-2006 leading to the 2008 global financial crisis
01/04/2010
Linked Articles
The Fed and the Crisis: A Reply to Ben Bernanke
Wall Street Journal 01/10/2010
Fed chief Bernanke urges better financial regulation to prevent crisesWashington Post 01/04/2010
Shrinking news coverage and fewer journalists in the newspaper shift to digital online
11/25/2009
It says a lot about the changes underway in the newspaper industry when a paper like the Washington Post closes its bureaus in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and covers the news there with travelling reporters. As local newspapers such as the New Orleans Times- Picayune move to three editions a week and an online edition, the number of journalists overing the area around New Orleans will shrink by a third in 2012. Advance Publications which runs the New Orleans paper will do the same for its papers in Huntsville and Birmingham i in Alabama.
Linked Articles
New Orleans Times-Picayune to limit printing to three days per week - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/25/2012
Washington Post shutters last U.S. bureausWashington Post 11/25/2009
The legacy of the two Clintons- putting behind old conflicts from the Balkans, to Russia and Turkey
10/10/2009
The role of Hillary in the entry of Russia to the World Trade Organization, in the Armenia-Turkey accords, follows the work of Bill Clinton in settling the Balkan conflict through special envoy Holbrooke. Bill Clinton had a special ability to select talented individuals and work with them in humility to promote peace- in the UK-Ireland conflict, and in the former Yugoslavia. Hillary Clinton did this with sheer tenacity of effort and working with humility with public servants who worked for Bill Clinton.
Linked Articles
Hillary Clinton: Trade With Russia Is a Win-Win
Wall Street Journal 06/19/2012
Armenia, Turkey Reach AccordWashington Post 10/10/2009
Shift to Social Democrats as German chancellor loses public support in Germany.
09/28/2009
The main reason the Social Democrats did poorly in the 2009 elections in Germany says an expert is because they driftd aay from their working class base with their economic reforms. Now there is a shift back to the Social Democrats and Greens under the Christian Democratic government of chancellor Merkel.
Linked Articles
Merkel Looks to Recharge Her Ratings
New York Times 07/21/2010
Germany's Long Road to ReformWall Street Journal 09/28/2009
Iran, N. Korea and President Obama's approach to nuclear weapons proliferation
07/05/2009
The views of Nunn, Perry, Shultz and Kissinger after meetings at the Hoover Institution on developing a new approach to nuclear proliferation after decades of relying on "mutually assured destruction", and the approach of President Obama. During the Cold War the U.S. and the Soviet Union faced each other, the situation in 2012 is very different with Iran, N. Korea, Pakistan, and the risks of terrorism.
Linked Articles
Youthful Ideals Shaped Obama Goal of Nuclear Disarmament
New York Times 07/05/2009
Deterrence in the Age of Nuclear ProliferationWall Street Journal 03/07/2011
Aspects of the Reform proposal that were influenced by the work of Prof Sunstein and Prof Thaler at the University of Chicago.
06/17/2009
Sunstein and Thaler's book "Nudge" talks about the role psychology plays, and behavoural aspects play in human behaviour. The President is a friend of Sunstein from their days at the University of Chicago law school. The onsumer Financial Protection Agency and its role, says Zweig, takes some ideas from Prof. Sunstein's work to protect consumers.
Linked Articles
Obama’s Financial Reform Plan: The Condensed Version
Wall Street Journal 06/17/2009
About Time: Regulation Based On Human NatureWall Street Journal 06/20/2009
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