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The competing visions of Li Shufu of Geely, Volvo's new Chinese owner, and that of Stefan Jaccoby, CEO of Volvo. Volvo is known for a family friendly car with fuel efficiency and safety. Geely's vision for Volvo is a luxury car that will compete with Mercedes S class and the BMW 7 Series, and Lexus in the Chinese upscale market. The problem is that China is less than 10% of Volvo's worldwide market and Jaccoby wants to keep these customers who buy the Volvo as an understated family friendly car that emphasizes safety and fuel efficiency. Geely executives are moving in another direction and are focussing on the fast growing market for luxury cars in China. This segment is dominated by Mercedes, BMW and Lexus, who sell 90% of the cars in this segment. Such a strategy would depend on gaining acceptance in this segment, which is highly uncertain. It also risks alienating customers around the world who look at Volvo in a certain way, just as Subaru owners in the U.S. look at Subaru in a certain way. The culture clash is also reflected in the backgrounds of the two executives. Jaccoby, is quiet in manner, studied at the University of Cologne, and worked at VW before joining Volvo. Li Shufu is a son of former farmers who built Geely from humble beginnings in a rural area of China. Li wanted to move aggressively and build three plants in China. Jaccoby persuaded Li to make plans for one plant and make agradual expansion. The design of a new Volvo shown recently in Shanghai also represents a compromise. The design is called Concept Universe and gives a larger and different look for the Volvo....

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South Africa's currency drops to 16.78 against the dollar by Jan 11, 2016. The currency is affected by the slowdown in China since June 2015. In the 6 months from June 2015 to the beginning of 2016 the currency lost 26% of its value.

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New information shows a crisis is developing in higher education as student debt passes $1 trillion with the unrelenting rise in the cost of college. Higher debt levels is leading to higher droput rates. According to think tank Education Sector, 30 percent of college students taking out loans dropped out of school, compared to 25% ten years ago. And work can be a large factor as students take parttime jobs to lower the loan burden- half of college dropouts attributed dropping out to work, according to a 2009 study by Public Agenda. It also adds another burden to the productive potential of the U.S. economy. The director of the Center on Education and the Workforce at Georgetown University, Anthony Carnevale, estimates the cost to the U.S. economy at half a trillion dollars in terms of skills not available for increasing economic output and income lost for dropouts.

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Thomas Friedman of the NYT sees a climate change as an area in which Trump has ignored the information of eminent scientists. He sees a weakness of the Trump administration in Trump's putting no importance to briefings by experts from climate change to national security briefings. Friedman sees Russia and hacking as a major issue facing the new Trump administration, including the new hearings in Congress from leading Republicans on the cyberattacks.

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With the effects of the government tax credit fading, Commerce Department numbers show a 33% drop in sales of new single-family homes from 446,000 units in April to 300,000 annual rate in May 2010. The supply of homes for sale went up by 47% to 8.5 months in May from 5.8 months supply in Aprill 2010.

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Bank of Spain Governor Luis Maria Linde told a parliamentary committee "the loss of confidence in our banking system cannot be blamed exclusively on the global economc downturn, on problems in the eurozone, or on our own recession." He was critical of the previous Bank of Spain Governor Fernandez Ordonez, an appointee of the previous Socialist government, for "acting with little determination, or insufficiently or inadequately." He said the central bank's permitting of virtual mergers of troubled savings banks in place of real mergers with restructuring decisions, were part of the problem. Linde is a member of the ECB's governing council. Spain's central bank had for years championed macroprudential supervision, where banks set aside funds in good times for contingencies in bad times. Linde described those efforts as having failed because the Bank of Spain was "too timid" with the provisions set and failed to curb the credit and property bubble.

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Friedman on the opportunity for president Morsi to move the Middle East towards a peace settlement between Israel and Palestine and acceptance of Israel in the broader Muslim community. For the U.S. it also means continuing support for the democracy movement in Egypt and the Middle East. For this to happen Israelis have to take the extra step away from the current position of being insecure in their borders and morally secure to a unknown but right direction of moving towards a lasting settlement of problems. This is looking beyond the conflicts with Syria and Iran- which are likely to be resolved by the people of Syria finally asserting themselves and the Iranian people choosing economic improvement over a weapons program.

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Friedman describes the achievements under two Obama initiatives- Race to the Top education initiative and the fuel efficiency for automobiles initiative.

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U.S. GDP growth was a seasonally adjusted annual -1% in the 1st quarter of 2014, according to the Commerce Department.

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IMF's differences with Greece and Germany on relative weight of tax hikes and cuts to pensions for the Third Bailout Program accepted by Greece in July 2015. The IMF wants to see further cuts in pensions, the Tsipras centre- left government in Greece is committed to protecting pensioners and the poor, and has agreed to tax hikes that do not put a disproportionate burden on the poor and working class. The IMF fears the relative weight on tax hikes for generating a surplus to pay down debt could hurt prospects for economic growth.

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The management of the sovereign debt of different countries. The use of auctions to get lower rates. Shift of a larger proportion of financing to longer term bonds, to reduce rollover risk. The U..as reduced its dependence on short term debt maturing in 12 months, from 45% to 30%.

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The poor and moral arguments for cutting off food stamp assistance and unemployment benefits. Egan looks at the U.S. Congress and opinions on this subject.

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Treasury yields went down as demand for treasurys went back up mostly from money market funds with nervous investors. Still it will be a few days befor the full effect of the Fed's action can be seen.

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Unemployed mortgage brokers now working at mortgage counseling. Those who got you into this mess now at work getting you out of it! About $180 million of federal fuding for mortgage counseling will be available this year.

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The U.S. trade agreement with Mexico is for 16 years, to provide business with a stable rules environment to operate in. It includes a clause for review after 6 years. The content made in the U.S. is increased to 70% from 62.5%. This has to be made by workers earning at least $16  an hour. Aluminium and steel going into the cars has to come from the U.S. helping push U.S. steel plant capacity utilization to 80%. Labor collective bargaining is strengthened in Mexico through new provisions, a provision supported by new Mexican socialist president Obrador. Free trade in agricultural products is maintained. $4.7 billion was added in help to U.S. farmers as aid for the effects of China's tariff retaliation. New rules are set for textiles, chemicals, and steel intensive products that set requirements to qualify for tariff free import into the U.S. This is intended to help bring more jobs and investment in these industries in the U.S.     ...