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The European union follows the U.S. with its actions on Hong Kong, suspending an extradition treaty and imposing sanctions, offering new visa arrangements and opportunities.

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Acer faces large inventories and a competitive market with declining prices in the PC market. Acer's CEO J.T. Wang expects a loss in 2011, as a result of inventory adjustments, lower demand for notebook PC's, and a slower economy. Second quarter revenues were down 32%, and Acer shows a loss of 6.8 billion New Taiwan dollars ($US 234 million) for the second quarter. Acer has lost sales and market share to competitors. It now comes in fourth after H-P, Dell, Lenovo. The inventory reductions by competitors has created turmoil in PC markets. Another problem Acer faces is on its Ultrabook, a new ultrathin notebook. The Ultrabook to be introduced in September 2011 is to be priced at US$799 to US$1,199. HSBC analyst Jenny Lai is skeptical about the price, and sees a price closer to $700 for the product to make a dent in the market. This will put more pressure on Acer's margins. The Apple iPad and iPhone have reduced the demand for notebooks and created a new dynamic in the market. H-P CEO Apotheker made the decision for H-P to exit the PC and tablet business this week because of the required investment for a continuous stream of new products and low margins....

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Wal-Mart's Massmarket Holdings plans to open 90 new stores in Africa in 2013-2016. New store openings planned in Nigeria and Angola. Massmarket operates in 12 sub-Saharan countries of Africa and has 359 stores.

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China's BYD started in electric batteries and expanded into electric cars. It has emerged as the dominant electric car company in the world as China now has half of the electric cars on the road in the world. 35% of exports of electric cars are from China. Keith Bradsher of NYT reports from Shenzen that its first car was made in 2007 of poor quality, similar to Toyota in the 1930's as it tried car manufacturing for the first time. It has surpassed Tesla in making electric cars. In each of the last 2 years it has increased electric car sales by one million to reach electric car sales on 3 million. EV sales in China were up in 2023 to 9.49 million cars giving BYD the largest share of 31%., by comparison US electric car sales were 1.2 million. New assembly lines are being built in Brazil, Hungary and Thailand. And new lines are planned for Mexico and Indonesia. This kind of growth was seen only by General Motors in 1946 after the end of the war. It also shows the progress China is making. In solar panels something like the addition of 900 million solar panels meeting the entire increase in electricity demand for each year, so that emissions targets can be met earlier than planned to tackle climate change.  The same changes are happening in electric cars. China now has 40% of electric cars or gasoline/electric plug in cars going up to 50%. For export China is building large carrier ships, the first that will take 5000 cars for export to the Netherlands. The lowest priced electric car model the Seagull was priced at $11,000. BYD's lowering of manufacturing costs have given it the ability to price the cars to attract new car buyers.  Wang Chuanfu who studied at Central Southern University in Changsha known for its battery research, was an engineer who started the company in the 1990's to make batteris for Motorola. Between 2003-2006 he experimented with making cars in the hope of making electric cars. Stalled efforts in 2009 and 2011 were met with arenewed effort in 2016 trying a new approach to cut costs by developing a battery where supplies of lithium or cobalt would not be a constraint. He developed a new battery using iron and phospate to replace lithium cobalt batteries. A big break came in 2020 with the Blade battery that increased range to the level of cobalt lithium batteries at a much smaller cost. BYD hired German Audi designers for new model design. This time BYD was in the right position to build a car company matching all others with costs lower by about 35% than VW for some models. This comes from- lower costs to make in China, making its own parts inside the company for 75% of parts compared to VW only about 35%, and by the savings from its battery research.  BYD has shown ability to shift with market needs and opportunities. In 2022 assisted driving was facing hurdles, BYD had second thoughts about the new technology, by 2023 as it was increasing in use BYD committed $14 billion in autonomous driving technology. Driving range is a problem for people in urban areas going back to their villages in China. BYD has an advantage here compared to Tesla- it makes hybrid plug ins that account for half its sales. Toyota has also had emphasis on hybrid plug ins where it missed the opportunity was that it moved very slowly on all electric cars not realizing how fast things were moving outside it's world. This is the situation America also faces in 2024 and beyond who can deliver on the infrastructure capabilities, new research ,and tap American potential to compete in this new world where one innovation will follow another. ...

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Horowitz provides a rare portrait of Donald Trump's father, Fred Trump. This is  useful in understanding Donald Trump because as Trump says frequently many of the traits- self-promotion, aggressive business promotion, taking advantage of political connections to advance the family business, penny pinching for construction sites- are all traits he inherited from his father. His father did not want to go to Manhattan as business was already nice and easy in Brooklyn and other places. The son went into Manhattan and put his name on Towers he built in the city. Fred Trump benefitted from the FHA and depression era programs setup under the New Deal by FDR, and the flow of immigrants and returning veterans, the zoning allowances given by politicians. Without this the business would be nowhere as successful as it was. Making it self-made only upto a point, in the intensity and the individualism displayed. Fred Trump was born in 1905 to German immigrants who spoke mostly German at home. His brother John was into books, and went on to teach at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, so the family was certainly aspirational immigrant. Fred was the doer and started his business with his mother at the age of 21, and by 28 had won the mortgage services business of a failing German bank, by 1938 at 33 he had setup property developments in Brooklyn. Federal Housing programs were the key- homeownership was emphasized in the New Deal with F.H.A. 25 year mortgage loans- as affordability was an issue in the Depression era period. Fred Trump keenly used these loan subsidies with price tags so it would be a stretch to say the business simply went up on the intensity and the business skills.  ...

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Senators Booker, New Jersey, Klobuchar Minnesota, and Cortez- Masto, Nevada argue vociferously in the Senate. Booker opposing bipartisan policing legislation and Kobuchar, Cortez-Masto supporting it.  The need for a bipartisan approach and the partisan nature of party politics in 2025.

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The restructuring underway at Pfizer. Experts view the cut in R&D budgets, when more new drugs are needed, with skepticism. Pfizer and other drug manufacturers believe they can make up for this by working closer with universities. Pfizer is reducing the size of its Groton, Connecticut R&D facility and is moving research operations closer to universities in Boston and Cambridge, England. R&D budgets will be cut 30%, from $9.4 billon to $6.5- $7 billion. The emphasis now is to develop a new model for drug development by focussing on a few promising areas, collaborate closely with universities, and fill gaps with acquisitions, as a more efficient way to develop new drugs. In this new approach the infant nutrition business, even with its high growth rates, did not fit in. Cash from the operations sold to Nestle will be used to make share buybacks and be returned to shareholders. Other drug companies from Novartis to Bristol Myers are trying this approach.

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After a period when Democrats let the narrative be shaped by "the entitlements crisis" and questioning the legacy of president Roosevelt- who many including Mr. Trump believe setup the groundwork for the prosperity of the early postwar years in America- the vision of the New Deal and FDR is back, says Glickman in the Washington Post. He says the New Deal order lasted from 1932 to 1980 when president Reagan was elected. Conservatives were skeptical about the New Deal, and Democrats such as Al Gore joined the Conservatives with their faith in limited government and unregulated or less regulated markets. To this was added the faith Democrats such as Mr. Clinton put in a new policy of openness in trade with China that ultimately led to todays $ 1 billion a day deficit with China. There is a new sense says Glickman that the tide is reversing and that FDR is now seen as the new ideal for a fairer and better America, and better investment in the people of America. ...

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India records over 141,000 cases of Covid-19 with a positivity rate of 9.28% on January 8, 2022, according to the Union Health Ministry.

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Boeing is working out pricing on its new 777X jet to include the fuel efficiency savings made by airlines using the new aircraft. The new plane would save 20% more fuel per seat than the current 777 jets. Airlines spent $210 billion on fuel in 2012. About half the cost of a long range flight is on fuel.The Dreamliner price is at about $290 million. The 777X could be priced around $400 million, with discounts bringing this down to above $200 million for the 400 seat aircraft. Earlier pricing efforts by Boeing on the 787 Dreamliner were based on manufacturing costs going down with a significant portion of work done by suppliers. After problems in manufacturing, supplier issues and the learning curve, Boeing will take a more conservative approach to pricing this time without the steep discounts in earlier periods. In pricing the A320neo EADS passed on half of the fuel efficiency savings to buyers, and only half added to the price.

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DJT White House Cabinet Meetings: Susie Wiles in tight cursive, Bessent writes "parallel prosperity" and "blue collar boom," on notepad, Lutnick says "why not copper tariff," DJT talks about why he is not fond of windmills. All the time a picture of Abraham Lincoln in a small four person meeting around a round table watches everyone. You have to have some humor in cabinet meetings. DJT brings humor to the White House, lightening up the mood, while he says new letters will go out to Japan, South Korea and EU, recalcitrant nations when it comes to negotiations for agreements, and Putin is voicing meaningless platitudes on his desire for peace.

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Going to a public bathroom facility doesn't have to be dreaded. And the huge costs for a city to have setting up its own don't have to be the option. 

New private companies have developed the technologies to keep the places clean and efficient so that the experience is a good one. Throne Labs makes self contained sytems that do not connect to the city sewer system or the water supply of the city. Costs about $90,000 a unit in the Los Angeles Metro vicinity includes all maintenance and operational costs. As US prepares for the World Cup Soccer inflow of travelers this is something the city needs to get right.

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California extends its moratorium on retail rent payments for businesses to February 2021. New York's moratorium was extended by 1 month to September.

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This report in WSJ looks at how Toulouse, the aviation capital of Europe, is coping with the aviation crisis after the drop in flying and planes idle from the coronavirus. Toulouse has the expertise for both aviation and fast trains. New designs and technology are being developed in all forms of transportation as Toulouse uses this time to develop new technological advances.

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The legislation in the U.S. Congress includes $425 billion for U.S. Treasury Department Exchange Stabilization Fund. Treasury has used this fund to cover losses on new lending facilities launched by the Federal Reserve. The new lending facilities include $300 billion in financing for corporate credit markets, and consumer and business credit markets, with Treasury covering losses of $30 billion from the Exchange Stabilization Fund.

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US president DJT sees CNN television network as "basically an arm of the Democratic party." He says "it is imperative that it be sold." Paramount run by Ellison has turned the CBS News station television network over to new management under Weiss. Paramount is now bidding for ownership of CNN. 

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US Senate lawmakers agreed to increase the FDIC deposit insurance limits to $250,000 from $100,000. These limits have not been permanently increased since 1980- the increase in late 2008 was a temporary measure to support the banking system. Credit rating agencies pushed hard to avoid the setting up of a credit ratings watchdog agency and succeeded. Under Senator Al Franken's provision a government overseen credit ratings agency board would be setup and it would assign new financial products to ratings agencies for rating. 63 Senators had supported this provision in a Senate debate. Intense lobbying from ratings agencies to avoid this government oversight resulted in shelving of this provision. The change is to ask the SEC to study the conflict of interests issue and how an independent agency might function, and give the SEC authority to setup such a system.

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Adidas took a one time charge of 125 million euros for irregularities in its Reebok India Company, and expects an additional charge of 70 million euros. Adidas expects net profit to increase by 12-17% in 2012. Net profit for the first quarter of 2012 increased by 38% to 289 million euros, mainly on higher sales in China and Japan and its TaylorMade-Adidas Golf sales. Revenue increased by 14% to 3.8 billion euros on a constant currency basis. Profit results reflected lower financial expenses and a lower tax rate. The 2012 Olympics and Euro 2012 soccer will offer additional marketing opportunities for Adidas. Adidas is increasing its distribution in China and plans to have 2500 stores in 1400 cities by 2015. It will use its NEO brand at lower price points for entry customers in the smaller cities of China.

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President Obama is acutely aware of Republican concerns of waste as the government increases spending to support the economy. He told the US Conference of Mayors, that "if there are wasteful projects" he would "call them out on it." He also said the preceding administration had paid too little attention to urban problems. His years as a community organizer in the urban environment of Chicago gives him aunique perspective of waht is happening on the ground level in cities across the country. Mayors spoke with Cabinet secretaries during their visit to the White House, and had avariety of projects in mind from new community health centers, new water towers, sewage treatment plants. Republican Mayors are also responding positively to the stimulus, now that the money is there, Mayors like Patrick McCrory of Charlotte, N.C., support finding the best way to use the money.

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Steve Lee Myers reporting from Moscow and St. Petersburg, Jo Becker from Washington and London, and Jim Yardley from Nicosia, Cyprus, provide this extraordinary and exceptional report on the rise of a small group of friends, mostly from Mr. Putin's time in St. Petersburg, into a new sort of oligarchy replacing the old one under Mr. Yeltsin. This includes more familiar names such as Sechin at Rosneft, but also less familiar names such as Mr. Kovalchuk, chairman of Bank Rossiya, which owns major television and radio stations and newspapers in Russia. M. Kovalchuk is described as having acquired many of these media properties at a fraction of their real value. Bank Rossiya assumed management of assets of Gazprombank, and Gazprom bank purchased Gazprom Media with five television and a number of radio stations for $166 million, when Medvedev, a Putin associate put the value at $7.5 billion 2 years following the acquisition, according to this report. Other assets acquired in this manner include Channel 5 and Ren TV, giving Putin's inner circle control of the media and reducing any critical or different views on issues facing Russia. Many of Gazprom's assets were transferred to Bank Rossiya, say critics, including insurer Sogaz which was acquired for $100 million, later valued at $2 billion, says the report. Names on the this inner circle also include Yakunin, head of Russian Railways, also include names like Fursenko and Timchenko. Most of the people in this inner circle are now targets of western sanctions. Missing in this report is mention that that this inner circle of the second term as president replaces the larger circle of the first terms as president and prime minister, with Putin benefitting from experts and advisors in the first terms. That circle included Finance minister Kudrin known for his successful management of the economy, and others who left the administration after flawed parliamentary elections. Even prime minister Medvedev is not mentioned as part of this inner circle, suggesting a degree of isolation which could be perilous for the Russian economy as it deprives the Russian president of different opinion and useful advice. This is a pattern seen in many emerging market countries which experience corruption during the period of industrial development. A pattern seen also in China under the Communist Party. And in Venezuela where a new Bolivarist class was created. In emerging market democracies such as India and Turkey the problem is also present, except that in India the recent open election led to the ouster of the Congress led government with many cases of corruption in its second term. A similiar election led to a new government in Indonesia, showing that there is another way beyond the Putin Way. Behind the protests in Hong Kong and in Russia, as well as in India, were the huge gaps in wealth and the growing inequality, corruption, lack of responsiveness of ruling governments. In Russia this takes another dimension with efforts to control the internet and media, and efforts to spread this style of democracy. This has created problems in the Putin government's relations with western nations having open societies and free media, and unwilling to accept a distorted model of democracy. Another less noticed aspect of the evolution of these emerging markets is that upto a point development proceeds even accelerates even in the presence of corruption, and then reaches a point where development and growth slows with problems of corruption, mismanagement of resources, declining productivity, economic and political errors, or unfavorable external environment. India faced this problem in 2012-2013, Russia is likely to face this in 2015, and China faces the prospect of growth slowdown by 2016. This feature of emerging markets also reminds one of the frequently quoted old English saying by Lord Acton- "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." An idea also attributed to William Pitt the Elder who said- "unlimited power tends to corrupt the minds of those who possess it." ...