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Geneal Motors Board and its top management hobble along without a vision or timely decisions at critical turning points.
06/28/2008
The lack of vigorous discussion at the Board and top management levels of Gneral Motors is the most striking thing about the company. Classic example how the larger and more successful an institution, there is no assurance that even the vital skills of vigorous discussion and openness to fresh thinking promoted by its founders like Alfred Sloan in this case in one of his meetings, that these skills will be available in the future.
Linked Articles
GM's Massive Quarterly Loss Adds to Turnaround Pressure
Wall Street Journal 08/02/2008
McCain Offers Aid, No 'Bailout' on AutosWall Street Journal 06/28/2008
Europeans protest of fuel taxes.
05/28/2008
Europeans protes fuel taxes but public opinion especially in Germany favorsreducing fuel consumption. It requires agreement by 27 EU member states to reduce fuel taxes so this is unlikely to happen.
Linked Articles
Europeans Protest Fuel Taxes But Accept High Prices
Wall Street Journal 05/28/2008
Irate Europeans Protest the Soaring Price of GasolineNew York Times 05/30/2008
How all carmakers and Detroit automakers in particular missed what was happening in the economy and the market with dire results.
05/20/2008
Even as late as May 22, 2008 Ford pared its outlook to 14-15 million cars as reported by Jeff Bennett in the WSJ. That puts the situation in October 2008, with a 30-40% drop in sales year over year only 5 months away.
Linked Articles
Car Makers' Boom Years Now Look Like a Bubble
Wall Street Journal 05/20/2008
Ford Motor Pares OutlookWall Street Journal 05/22/2008
ACA- Insuring the CDO's
04/03/2008
The insurance itself was not insurance but a chance to use different accounting rules to take the issuance of collateralized debt obligations to new heights. ACA was an outfit by the river issuing flood insurance. It had an A rating and was supposed to insure AAA securities.
Linked Articles
BusinessWeek 04/03/2008
Building WonderlandNew York Times 04/06/2008
How parttime workers are shaping the unemployment picture in the US.
03/08/2008
Just as happened in Japan and continues to this day parttime workers are shaping the USA unemployment picture as employers increasingly resort to parttime workers to cut costs. With underutilized workers the USA unemployment rate reached 12% in October 2008.
Linked Articles
Labor Data Show Pain Across Economy
Wall Street Journal 11/08/2008
More People Pushed Into Part-Time Work ForceWall Street Journal 03/08/2008
Renault's bold strategy with the lowcost Logan and Dacia models targeted at European markets
02/11/2008
The success of the Logan and Dacia in France and other European markets has helped Renault. Profit margins on the two low cost vehcles is about 6%, higher than Renault's 2-3% margins on other cars. This turns the accepted logic in the auto industry on its head about higher margins with larger more expensive cars.
Linked Articles
Frugal Dacia Stars in Renault's Overhaul
Wall Street Journal 02/11/2008
Renault Takes Low-Cost LeadWall Street Journal 04/16/2012
Transition in China's manufacturing
02/01/2008
Many factories in Guandong Province long a key area in the production of apparel and footwear for export are now closing hit by a number of factors at the same time, higher costs, stricter labor laws, no government incentives, stricter pollution laws. China is encouraging this shift to improve living standards and shift production to more sophisticated goods.
Linked Articles
China’s Inflation Hits American Price Tags
New York Times 02/01/2008
Many Factories in China's South Sound Last WhistleWall Street Journal 02/22/2008
Daimler's solution to overheating in lithium ion car batteries and GM and Toyota's own efforts to solve this
01/11/2008
The overheating of lithium ion batteries is why it has taken so long to come up with mass market electric cars or hybrids using lithium ion batteries. Daimler's Zetsche says his company is the first to put a car on the market with litium ion battery in its S400 in late 2008 and it has developed a sophisticated cooling system in the car for this.
Linked Articles
At Daimler, Sales Follow the World’s Oil Riches
New York Times 05/10/2008
Race to Make Electric Cars Stalled by Battery ProblemsWall Street Journal 01/11/2008
Rapid expansion of Starbucks 2000-2008
01/07/2008
Starbucks with 10,000 store locations in the USA and 1600 planned new stores for 2008 finally realizes that this breakneck expansion was destroying the original starbucks experience and vision as its reduced to becoming more like a fast food place.
Linked Articles
Schultz Takes Over to Try to Perk Up Starbucks
Wall Street Journal 01/08/2008
McDonald's Takes On A Weakened StarbucksWall Street Journal 01/07/2008
Pakistan, Jinnah and the dominant role of the military in the state
01/06/2008
It takes a deep knowledge of a place to know why things are turning out the way they are. Part knowledge of history, sidelining of Muslims after the British drove out the Mughals, knowledge of choices, choice of a separate state on religious lines, the creation of Pakistan, and knowledge of the cast of characters, Mohammed Ali Jinnah of the Muslim League whose picture here and his manners show a person aloof and more fitted to the British era,and the generals Ayub,Yahya, Zia and Musharraf.
Linked Articles
New York Times 01/06/2008
In Musharraf’s Shadow, a New Hope for Pakistan RisesNew York Times 01/07/2008
India's Tata family and vision of industry and progress over the last 100 years
01/03/2008
The Tata family's vision and the particular vision of Ratan Tata in restructuring the Tata businesses and his vision for a $2500 car. How this will work out, what is Ratan Tata's thinking that makes this a idea and product that will help put Tata in cars in a big way and help India develop its manufacturing industry.
Linked Articles
BusinessWeek 01/03/2008
Four Wheels for the Masses: The $2,500 CarNew York Times 01/08/2008
Saudi Arabia's $600 billion investment plan in aluminum, chemicals, and new cities.
12/12/2007
What does the investment binge in Saudi Arabia mean in terms of how well its been thought through, the productive use of the money, will it create enough jobs, what it means for oil prices.
Linked Articles
The Construction Site Called Saudi Arabia
New York Times 01/20/2008
Saudi Industrial Drive Strains Oil-Export RoleWall Street Journal 12/12/2007
Russia's sovereign wealth fund modeled on the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund
11/16/2007
Russia is trying to model its wealth fund on the Norwegian example with no more than a 5% stake in a company allowed.
Linked Articles
Russia Government Fund Will Tread Carefully
Wall Street Journal 01/25/2008
Sovereign Funds Look to NorwayWall Street Journal 11/16/2007
The Honda Civic paradox- sales over 600,000 worldwide, and a mere 9000 in Japan in 2009
06/20/2008
Honda plans to discontinue production of the Civic in Japan as buyers are showing more interest in cars like the Honda Fit.
Linked Articles
Honda to End Civic Sales in Japan
Wall Street Journal 11/16/2010
The Smaller the Better, Automakers Are FindingNew York Times 06/20/2008
IHS Energy Associates's Yergin sees shale technologies changing the energy business by 2020, and IEA misses this completely
05/22/2008
Long term forecasting is a difficult business. IEA's 2015 forecast missed the situation in 2015 completely. Yergin was right but did not see how fast this would happen with oil prices down to $50 per barrel in 2015 and prices at the pump below $2.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 12/12/2011
Energy Watchdog Warns Of Oil-Production CrunchWall Street Journal 05/22/2008
Greenspan and his philosophy that let him take such an ambitious experiment in unrestrained markets.
04/08/2008
Grennspan took huge risks in his ambitious experiment with the American economy of a philosophy that simply said allow markets to operate unrestrained and trust in humans benevolent intentions and enlightened self interest. Goodman and Ip document the details. Did he believe that there was something miraculous that would prevent things from imploding, something inherently sacred about an idea of markets, when plain common sense like Buffets said that the arithmetic did not add up and in the end thats all that counts common sense.
Linked Articles
Taking Hard New Look at a Greenspan Legacy
New York Times 10/09/2008
His Legacy Tarnished, Greenspan Goes on DefensiveWall Street Journal 04/08/2008
Ford Motor Company and the shift in message to "Quality, Green, Safe and Smart," from "American" and being "powerful"
03/18/2008
Ford is showing originality and focussing on safety and innovation as one of its advertising themes in a "Ford, Drive One" campaign which will be done with dealers and after listening to dealers.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 03/18/2008
Ford Displays a Wreck to Score Safety PointsNew York Times 03/18/2008
China makes a shift in industry as older polluting, low wage low margin factories shut down
02/22/2008
Policymakers and economic change cause China's industry to shift from the low wage low margin model to more innovation, worker protection , environmental protection model.
Linked Articles
China's Export Machine Threatened by Rising Costs
Wall Street Journal 06/30/2008
Many Factories in China's South Sound Last WhistleWall Street Journal 02/22/2008
As environmental concerns grow and the price of crude oil drops to $49 a barrel projects for tar sands in Alberta are being cut.
02/05/2008
Production from Alberta tar sands is running into problems from the environmental concerns to the falling price of crude oil.
Linked Articles
The Costly Compromises of Oil From Sand
New York Times 01/07/2009
Oil Sands Are Shifting in AlbertaWall Street Journal 02/05/2008
Default_Link_Name
01/28/2008
Shifting investment from China as Taiwanese firms face higher wages and fewer tax rebates and more difficult cost environment.
Linked Articles
Taiwan Firms Look Beyond China
Wall Street Journal 01/28/2008
China’s Inflation Hits American Price TagsNew York Times 02/01/2008
Sharp and precipitious decline in auto sales in Japan and Germany in the global financial crisis of 2008
01/08/2008
Auto sales in Japan go back to the sales level of 1972, and auto sales in Germany decline to the level in 1990. Shows the maturing western markets and how this is affecting automakers strategy, and the shift to focus more on developing countries where the market is growing rapidly but which present challenges like the need to develop lower priced cars.
Linked Articles
German Car Demand Hits New Low as Fuel Costs Rise
Wall Street Journal 01/08/2008
Auto Sales in Japan Drop to a 35-Year LowWall Street Journal 01/08/2008
A tolerant Islamic world- the world of Hamza
01/06/2008
A more tolerant world has existed in Islamic Central Asia, South Asia and Iran, over long perids that were also punctuated by periods of conflict. Europe has experienced this also as the ebb and flow of religious strife and of tolerance prevailed in different periods.
Linked Articles
New York Times 01/06/2008
Eat Your Heart Out, HomerNew York Times 01/06/2008
Ford Motor Company and the shift in message to "Quality, Green, Safe and Smart" from "American" or being "powerful" (1)
01/06/2008
Farley brings fresh thinking to marketing and advertising at Ford to get themes like safety and green into buyers minds.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 03/18/2008
Ford's EcoBoost Engine Excites MarketerNew York Times 01/06/2008
Reform at Pemex and opening up Mexico's oil industry to foreign investment held up for a decade and the cost to the Mexican economy
12/19/2007
Reforms at Pemex and opening up the oil industry to foreign investment were held up in the Calderon administration after repeated efforts by the PAN party government to get the PRI and PRD's support. The final changes to the bill to make it more attractive for foreign oil companies to compete with Pemex were pushed by PAN in alliance with the PRI Nieto administration in 2013. The cost to Mexico is a lost decade in oil exploration in deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and a steep decline in oil revenues as Mexico turned into a net energy importer in March 2013, according to the WSJ.
Linked Articles
Economist 12/19/2007
How Shale Helped Frack Mexico's Energy ImpasseWall Street Journal 12/12/2013
Cherry Automobile and BYD, 2 unlikely pioneers for the car industry in China.
12/04/2007
How Cherry and BYD, with small beginnings but the vision and perseverance moved to take leadership positions in the car industry in China. They are also moving into export markets in western countries. BYD has the lead and the low cost technical manpower to sell electric cars at an attractive enough price to make a dent in the market, even with gasoline prices coming down.
Linked Articles
Technology Levels Playing Field in Race to Market Electric Car
Wall Street Journal 01/12/2009
In China, Chery Automobile Drives an Industry ShiftWall Street Journal 12/04/2007
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