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Greg Ip of the WSj points out that Britain is in a weaker position to tackle Brexit than it was when Boris Johnson called for supporting the Yes vote to Leave the EU three years ago in the referendum. Business investment is lower than France, Germany and even Italy. And today protectionism, nationalism, hostility to globalization mean that its not so easy to increase exports by signing free trade agreements with other nations. Even a treaty with a friendly Trump administration  is not certain as Mr. Trump favors looking at how he can get the best deal and reverse any advantages of other trading nations, Britain being no exception. A trade agreement with the U.S. could mean the U.S. barring Britain from signing one with China as a condition of Mr. Trump. Greg Ip also points out that it was precisely joining the EU that helped Britain catch up with German and French standards of living after a period of low growth, inflation, and balance of payments crises in the 1970's. Joining the European Economic Community was as prime minister Heath stated would " enable us to be more efficient and more competitive in gaining more markets not only in Europe but in the rest of the world."   ...

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Who are the biggest recipients of food stamps and Medicaid in 2023? Not black people in inner cities, says Krugman, they are white people in towns and rural areas that provide much of the support for the Republican party. There the effects of deindustrialization are still felt with the export of manufacturing jobs and the effects of neglect of rural areas under both parties. The rapid recovery from the Covid pandemic and the Biden recovery efforts have helped Black Americans recover from the pandemic and also from the bad effects of the 2009 crisis, that banks operating in a deregulatory environment caused. This is shown in graphs by Krugman on how even the 7-8 percentage points difference between white and black unemployment of the Reagan era is down to 1-2%. The economic effects of the moves to suburbs that left inner cities and black people poorer and the effects of deindustrialization are now fading and this is good for Black America.  

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How in the end the Bancrroft family with its many divisions just folded up and settled for Dow Jones assuming their lawyer and investment bankers advisory fees.

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Details of technical history of the 34 Dreamliners in Air India fleet and action taken by Indian authorites after the Dreamliner crash. Air India has 20 Dreamliners on order and 24 options to buy additional aircraft.

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Sanofi-Aventis and liver risks of its drug Ketek. And the questionable practices of Sanofi in the study assessing the liver risk that the FDA draws attention to in its letter to Sanofi-Aventis.

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Merz popularity dips slightly as he brings up tough issues such as 4 days work weeks in Germany, Many working part time and CDU calling for restricting part time to workers giving care to elderly, childcare, and for education. The German welfare payments close to minimum wage was an issue in Germany but is declining in significance. Most significant today at 35% is the issue of social inequality. Taxes unfairly distributed at 13%, and the asylum seekers issue at 9% lower today by 2%. On the economy Merz pointed out that- "Prosperity cannot be maintained with a four-day work week and an exaggerated work-life balance." He also criticized the high number of sick leave days at 14.5 average days sick leave per employee per year. Polls in February 2026 show CDU at 26%, SPD at 15%, Greens at 12%, Left at 10%, AfD at 24%, FDP 3% BSW 3%. Popularity in Germany is highest for defense minister Pistorius and next comes foreign minister Wadephul. Merz is less popular but he is raising the tough issues and taking strong action compared to Merkel who was more interested in her personal popularity than what was good for Germany. Also not given credit for action is Merz removing constitutional brake on spending for investing in Germany's infrastructure and defense, and fixing problems left behind by Merkel who neglected infrastructure, digital economy, and defense. ...

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Net income will reach an astounding $16.2 billion for Maersk in 2021. This is more than the combined profit for the last 9 years. It is a result of shipping bottlenecks that have resulted in shipping prices sky rocketing.

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Estimates including one by Fimat, of $80 per barrel when the security premium for oil goes even higher after the Iran backed Hezbollah war with Israel in Lebanon. oil markets jittery.

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DJT says Iran does not want to talk to the Europeans, it wants to talk to the Americans. He says it is hard to stop the war when one side is winning. Russia and the US have better relations than under the Biden administration which is proving to be an important factor in this war. As it is about nuclear proliferation, not regional powers- the Israelis, the Saudis and the Iranians. Both Russia and the US are technologically sophisticated powers with different interests, they are world powers because they have first and foremost important responsibilities in nuclear non proliferation and the health of the planet. By allowing regional conflict in Eastern Europe to cloud this fact and not engage with Russia as a world power the US under Obama and Biden had failed to grasp a key principle of peaceful relations since World War II. We argue that "western powers" is a concept of colonial powers France and Britain, and western civilization is the reliable concept that includes Russia, and includes China and India that have embraced the creation of the modern world by western civilization. ...

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Interesting contrast between Apple stores and Sony stores. Why one has so many customers and the other has so few customers. What is the magic behind Apple's successful retail experience. What does it do for customers?

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Because of the credit squeeze Tata may be be able to buy access to production knowhow and distribution networks of Jaguar and Land Rover for about $1 billion, both cost Ford over $5 billion whenFord originally purchased these assets.

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Amgen is seeing slower growth. Worldwide sales of anemia drug Aranesp declined 10% after FDA required stronger warning labels. Aranesp was its best selling drug for 2006 at $4.12 billion sales.