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One reason why outside of the midwest there is not as much concern for Ford, and GM, is the entry of foreign automanufacturers. Good jobs are being created in the south by foreign auto companies, even as Ford and GM close plants there. And the appreciating won makes it more attractive for South Korean companies to build plants in the U.S. Kia Motors Corp. said it has chosen West Point, Ga., as the site for its first U.S. factory. The investment provides good news for a state that has heard both Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Corp. say they will close plants there as they restructure to cut costs. Also note the forecast of sales at 800,000 in 2010 for Kia, up from 275,00 in 2005, moving market share from 1.6% in 2005 to almost triple that. Where will it come from?

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England goal keeper Mary Earps was third choice of coaches at the 2019 World Cup. After the Sweden game win 4-0 when Earps made some amazing saves including one from Sweden's Stina Blackstenius from an unstoppable angle she now looks back. Earps looks back at these years in the wilderness struggling to make it to the national team and working part time at business jobs. She was with Manchester United, and with Wolfsburg teams mostly in reserve roles.

She says she remembers many times thinking "this is the end of the international road game for me," when coaches passed her over for other players. She was top choice for Euro 22 only after another goal keeper had an injury. She says she is proud to be part of this England team. Her teammates have said some amazing things about her and she feels "I want to be the best I can be for them."

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As the push for biodiversity increases the idea of passive rewilding or letting nature and its chaotic way take its course is getting increased acceptance. It allows natural processes to restore themselves and do the work. A certain amount of chaos is accepted as forests reclaim territory, different species come back and fires, floods return. This is seen in the Peneda-Geres National Park in the northern mountains of Portugal. Here Mr. Pereira at the University of Leipzig Center for Biodiversity Research says it is about letting wildlife return, letting fires, floods return and most importantly letting plants and animals move around.

The issues of biodiversity and restoring landscapes to the ways of nature are the topic of discussion at the UN COP 15 summit this week in Kunming, China. Pereira's idea is that if you love something, just set it free, for a biodiversity setting to take shape.

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BP reached an agreement to sell its Carson refinery in southern California and related assets to Tesoro Corp. for $2.5 billion. This is part of a $38 billion asset sales plan to repay costs arising from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Total divestments have reached $26.5 billion since the beginning of 2010.

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CEO Shigetaka Komori of Fujifilm Holdings Corp. describes how Fuji responded to the technological changes that made photographic film obsolete. Kodak recently filed for bankruptcy protection. Fuji made the transition to other products to cope with the change. Komori became president in 2000. He says one of the responses was to reduce costs. In 2005 and 2006 Fujifilm reduced costs by $2.5 billion mostly in photographic film. Fuji's management asked the question what technologies the company possessed and how they could be applied in new business areas. This led to new businesses in making the films used for making LCD panels used on PC's, televisions and other devices. These materials generate 10% of sales. The other areas are in medical equipment, drugs and cosmetics. Fujifilm acquired health care companies Toyama Chemical for $1.4 billion in 2008 and agreed to buy SonoSite for $995 in Jan. 2012. Health care now makes up 12% of sales.

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CTS Corp of Elkhart, Indiana supplies accelerator asemblies to Toyota. It is now designing a new pedal to stringent specifications from Toyota. These pedals are manufactured at aplant near Toronto. CTS also supplies parts to Honda Motor Company and Nissan Motor Company, and says only 3% of its business is from Toyota. It mainly builds auto sensors and components.

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Research on the human genes by Novartis researcher Dr. Rappouli has helped develop a vaccine for Meningitis B. In a unique collaboration with Craig Venter, the scientist who decoded the human genome, Dr Rappouli, an Italian scientist working for Novartis unit, Chiron Corp., describes his research effort and results to Jeanne Whalen of the WSJ in 2007.

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Chile's new constitution was drafted after a vote on a constitutional convention in which many people not involved before and on the fringes of society including indigenous groups were elected. More than half are independents and from different groups of society not well represented before. As a result of this the lack of experience has led to enshrining every single right that one could think of instead of focusing on what the protests were about about - the pension system, unfairness in access to health housing and education in the way funds are allocated from the budget, and promoting fairness in government.  At this time there is no certainty that it will be passed. A 36 year old student protest leader Gabriel Boric is the president elected after two years of protests about the unfairness of the system that took shape under a constitution written by a military dictator Pinochet who ran the country from 1973 to 1990. Pinochet came to power in a coup that is common in the history of South American Republics such as Brazil, Argentina, Chile and other countries. During the period of the government of Marxist president Salvador Allende the country was polarized resulting in the military taking over.  If the constitution is rejected a new convention will be formed to write a new constitution. In following the Structure of the US, Canadian, or British constitution, or the Indian it is important to look at the document so that it will stand the test of time rather than simply enumerating the rights of man. It is also important to focus on how to make the basic rights such as food, housing and education be well funded and society to be run along lines of basic fairness in incomes, while protecting enterprise and industry that can create new wealth for the country. The large South American economies are mainly dependent on commodities for export and there is a need to fund new business sectors which are not in commodity products- copper in the case of Chile- so that the economy can develop in a way that funds progress in incomes. ...

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Under new coach Montse Tome the Spanish women's soccer team plays France for a spot in the Olympics in Seville. France as host nation has already qualified. European teams get two spots at the Olympics. The other spot is to be filled by the winner of the Netherlands vs Germany womens teams in Heerenveen. Germany lost 2-1 to France in Lyon. 

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The "negative Tier 1 capital" at Deutsche Bank's U.S. bank holding company Taunus Corp. of negative 7.58% cited by FDIC chairman Sheila Bair. Parent Deutsche Bank has total equity lower than U.S. banks Citicorp, Chase and Bank of America, with total equity equivalent to 4.4% of assets using a U.S. style approach says Eavis, making the Bair criticism relevant and timely in 2010.

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How Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal was able to reduce his heart rate to 100 bpm as he prepared to take the first shot in a penalty shootout in Euro Cup soccer against Slovenia.  It was 170 bpm at the end of extra time. This was after he missed a penalty shot during the game. Ronaldo uses breathing in and breathing out as a way to control his heart rate. Visualization is another technique he uses to be in the best state of mind. Along with hydration, healthy diet and good sleep patterns breathing exercise is a way to reduce the heart rate in moments of stress. Why is it effective? Ronaldo says "It's because it makes you calm." The tracking was recorded by a fitness device called WHOOPS. This breathing in and breathing out is part of the Buddhist practice and an ancient way of maintaining the four forms of mindfulness involving contemplation of the body, of feeling, of mind, and of mind object.

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Us efforts led by Piedmont Lithium in North Carolina to build supplies for the lithium needed in electric vehicle batteries. The effort to get the first US big new lithium mine into operation is part of a broader effort to  build a US supply chain for the ultra light lithium metal that is highly conductive. In fact the modern lithium mining industry started in the rolling hills of the Piedmont region in North Carolina. At that time in the 1950's it was needed for nuclear bombs. Today China mines 10% of world's supplies. Abermarle Corp of the US based in Charlotte extracts lithium from mines in Australia and Chile which have large deposits of lithium. President Biden has signed an executive order calling for a review of supply chains for critical materials, including lithium as the US looks to build its own supply chains and become independent of supplies of metals from China. The lack of such supplies has become a strategic vulnerability for the US.  The growth of the electric vehicle industry and the efforts to reduce climate change emissions means higher demand for lithium. ...

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Benjamin Lawsky, a former federal prosecutor, is the new head of the New York State Department of Financial Regulation. He worked as an advisor to then Attorney General Cuomo in the New York Attorney General's office. He played a key role in the ongoing lawsuit against Bank of America Corp CEO Kenneth Lewis, and helped obtain $60 billion in repayments to investors for their cash frozen in auction-rate securities.