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An official report after a 7 year survey finds 19.4% of arable land in China is polluted. The pollution comes for the most part from inorganic materials such as heavy metals cadmium, nickel which are byproducts of mining. Pollution is severe in the Pearl River Delta in the south, in Yangtze River Delta in the east, and in older industrial zones in the north east. Earlier efforts to get this data were stymied by some officials calling it a state secret about the time of the discovery of cadmium contaminated rice in Hunan province. China's 334 million acres of arable land, according to the most recent land survey at the end of 2012, is only 37 million acres above the minimum considered necessary to feed the large population, making this a major issue for China.

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Here are some ways to make for a better day at work.  1. Have what is called a "monk-mode" morning when you just keep out all phone calls and focus on "deep work," without distractions. Every little distraction in the form of a call or some other interruption has its costs in terms of having to refocus and not being able to concentrate on the task at hand as it deserves. 2. Have "meeting-free" days. These are days that you can focus, concentrate on tasks without distraction of meetings. Have walking meetings and meetings where you can walk out in the open for fresh air and some exercize. And no phones at meetings. 3. Replace reading with presenting powerpoint presentations. Have people write out their ideas for others to read so that discussion can be engaged and effective. Amazon CEO Bezos never believed in powerpoint presentations and required staff to write so that they could in the process improve on the clarity of their thinking. 4.  Have weekends free of email. This reduces the stress of workers under a manager who spend time writing and answering emails over weekends when they could replenish their energies and come back charged up on Monday morning for a fresh start on a new week. 55. Grab a coffee with a colleague and do some one on ones talking as one walks around the offices. This was done by Intel's Andy Grove as an effective way to get things done eliminating some of the need for formal meetings. This also provides an opportunity for casual conversation Also laugh and socialize in different ways.       ...

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This analysis by Gerald Seib in the WSJ shows the FBI chief Comey reopening the investigation into Clinton's email server just one week before election date November 8, as a move that does not enhance the democratic process because either way it will lead to questions why this was done at this late stage. The emails were found on a laptop used by Huma Abedin, an assistant to Hillary Clinton. Experts say the emails can be processed in a few days, and the FBI, the Justice Department are moving quickly to do this. 

Election experts say most of the decided voters for both parties will not be affected by this especially since most people will have made up their minds by now. Some voters who had questions about Trump might be moved to vote for him, and some undecided voters may be less enthused to come out to vote, though it is not clear at this stage. By mid week a clearer picture is likely to emerge. 

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Mr Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext, who will be the CEO of a combined NYSE-Deutsche Bourse, took pains to emphasize that it is a merger, a business combination arrangement, not an acquisiton. Because Deutsche Bourse current stock market value is $15 billion compared with about $10 billon for NYSE Euronext, Deutsche Bourse shareholders will get 60% of the combined company. The issues of ownership, the name of the new company and the headquarters and management team, are sensitive ones because the NYSE has traditionally been a symbol of America's role in the world of finance. American lawmakers want to see NYSE appear first in the new name to symbolize America's position in the world of finance. For this reason Deutsche Bourse will not appear first, and the headquarters will be dual headquarters in New York and Frankfurt.

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Monica Hesse gives this exceptional story of Gladys Ament, which is the story of American women as they voted in election after election after the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1920. In 2016 she is 96 years old and used an absentee ballot to vote for a first women president for the U.S.. Ament gives this touching and graceful account of a woman who lived through many presidents, and never failed to exercize her vote in every election held since the day she was born on Aug. 26, 1920. That day Tennessee became the 36th state to ratify the 19th Amendment giving it the majority needed to become the law of the land. This was the year Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, was in office. Her story starts in a two room schoolhouse in Lonaconing, Maryland, population 2054, when America was largely rural and rapidly urbanizing. The girls did the housework and the boys worked in the coal country, and women were not considered to be the ones in the home to go to a college or university. She dated a man who worked for the phone company, and later was drafted in the war. She joined Montgomery Ward filling catalogue orders. Her first vote was for FDR in 1944, in reality for Eleanor Roosevelt. And then she voted for Harry Truman, who she liked for his plain talk manner. Then Eisenhower, Nixon, Humphrey, McGovern, Carter, as she fulfilled the role of a mother and teachers aide at a school for special needs children. Her husband was not sure her daughter Mary needed to follow the two sons to college, but she made sure Mary did even though tution money was tight. She loved the self-respect which came with working, she was patient. The opportunities came and it was Mary who pursued her education and became an administrator who also supervised men. Things had changed, nobody thought of it twice, what Gladys had struggled with was now the accepted way of things. Then came a granddaughter and by this time young women had more opportunities, and there were as many women in universities as men. Gladys voted for the first black president and then for a first woman president at 96, 96 years after the ratification of the 19th Amendment giving women the vote in America. After that election in which she really voted for Eleanor Roosevelt- who was all over the country making speeches and talking to people to bring hope during the Depression years- she could see the potential in a next woman as president. She had seen some of the 18 presidents who had led the country as good leaders and some not so good, some who were seen as good in their years in office but later seen as having done poorly, she could see that women could do just as well or better after all these years of her voting and learning. ...

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Donald Trump is acquitted in the second impeachment trial with a vote in the Senate of 53 in favor to 47 against. A two thirds majority is required to impeach a president. Senators Burr of North Carolina and Cassidy of Louisiana were Republicans who joined the expected ones to vote for impeachment- the Republicans Mitt Romney of Utah, Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. The Republican defense lawyer insisted that Trump's speech to his supporters was not an intention to incite them on the day of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021 but an expression of his rights to free speech guaranteed under the U.S. Constitution First Amendment. He made the point that the prosecution lawyers had selectively focused attention on the words "fight like hell" and taken them out of the entire context in which they were made, ignoring key parts of Mr. Trump's speech. The defense argued that the president had already left office and this made an impeachment unconstitutional. Seventy five million voters voted for Mr. Trump and he cited this as the most number of votes won by a sitting president. President Biden is shifting his attention to the president's agenda and needs Republican support to pass key legislation including financial help to households, unemployed, and business to recover from the pandemic. The U.S. health effort behind the vaccination drive and seeing the struggle in Europe to access key medical supplies of vaccine is also leading to new efforts to move beyond the rhetoric to the hard work ahead with support of all parties. As part of this the trial once it reached the Senate was quickly resolved in about 5 days. The defense used only a small fraction of the time allotted with bipartisan effort to not let the trial drag on, bipartisan effort to putting some statements simply on the record and not calling witnesses.   ...

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For immigration bipartisan solutions such as the one Senator Lankford and president Biden and Senator Schumer worked out are the answer, intelligent solutions are the answer, as America will need to fill the vacant positions in its factories. As baby boomers retire Minnesota is short of workers as this story in WSJ shows. It is recruiting from Florida and Puerto Rico for people willing to relocate to the north and its severe winters. Marvin, $1.5 billion maker of windows and doors, founded in this town of Warroad near the Canadian border 112 years back can move but is attached to this town and its people. It has resisted trends of outshoring and keeps trying to get new workers replacing the ones retiring of the 700 workers at this factory.  About 2.1 million manufacturing jobs will remain unfilled by 2030 according to the Manufacturing Institute. This shows the other side of the immigration story where immigrants also add to meeting the needs of the Nation as they are absorbed over time. It is not immigration but the sudden surges that need to be handled carefully that is the problem as America will continue to need new workers to replace the workers who retire from its factories. ...

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A major British and Indian collaboration and scientific achievement of both countries is not given the recognition it should get because of mismanaged communication of the results of clinical trials. Tom Whipple science editor of The Times says do not make the mistake of thinking oh Pfizer vaccine scores a 9 out of 10 and Oxford's a 7 or 8 out of 10. Pfizer vaccine says it 94% effective. But this is only part of the story. It is the first exam paper in a long number of exam papers and the final score will require scoring them all. "Oxford vaccine is complex, and we are happy with the complexity," says Adrian Hill, Oxford researcher and head of the Jenner Institute. It is not highly unusual in this complex field for a half first dose to work better than a full first dose in a two dose vaccine treatment. This happened with the Oxford vaccine. As a result the study results were harder to communicate. This happened by accident. Much of medical research and much of medicine's biggest breakthroughs in the last 200 years happened by accident, as one researcher looked for something and accidentally discovered something else profoundly useful. Whipple's points are turning out to be true now that Britain's medicine regulator has asked that Pfizer vaccine not be given to people with history of allergic reactions after 2 NHS workers had strong allergic reactions. A lot of questions remain for all vaccines. How long will the protection last? WIll it prevent transmission of coronavirus? Are there any other complications? Which vaccines can work without ultralow refrigeration storage? Ahead lie the prospect of billions of doses. Two are in final stages in India including Bharat Biotech request for emergency authorization. Johnson & Johnson has a competing one to Pfizer's in the U.S. As many as 30 are being developed in India and 100 around the world. Countries like South Korea say they will wait to find out which one works best and where cost overall combined with benefit is attractive. Some of the vaccines are coming out only weeks apart. The early ones could stumble, if something was missed. ...

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Peter Navarro's thinking is genuinely felt and genuinely thought out after 20 years  at Harvard, UC Irvine and other universities, as an economist who abhors sitting in the office with textbook theory that has no relevance to life of working families in the heartland of America. He says of these textbook theory economists and the American companies that have recklessly shifted America's industrial base to China year after year and decade after decade- “The same damn fools who supported NAFTA, China’s entry into the W.T.O., and every other trade deal that was supposed to benefit America but only benefited Wall Street and the foreign nations screwing us. Those mainstream economists need to get out more often — maybe to Ohio or North Carolina or Pennsylvania or Wisconsin or Michigan.”  He says the 70 nations including the big ones Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, India, Britain and the European Union are already neogtiating with the Trump administration. What more proof does one want. The Nation will get a better deal as it is about fairness in world trade, and an even playing field. Navarro calls it "a beautiful thing." The three dimensional unique approach taken by Navarro, Bessent and Lutnick and by Trump is working, says Navarro. Fifteen decades ago A. Lincoln stated- "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise to the occasion.As our case is new we must think anew, and act anew. We must disenthrall ourselves, and we shall save our country."   ...

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Changes in the venture capital industry in 2013 to smaller funds with fewer partners, and focussed on fewer areas. Investors are turning down request for funds from venture capital firms because of poor returns. Other than a couple of brand name firms the venture capital firms have not produced high returns. Ignition Partners is reducing the size of its fund to $150 million from the $400 million raised in 2007. When compared with the return on the stock market the returns produced by the venture capital industry do not look attractive. U.S. venture capital funds produced returns of 6.1% for the last ten years ending September 2012, according to Cambridge Associates LLC. Compare this with Nasdaq Composite Index 10.3% increase and the Dow Jones Indusrial Average 8.6% increase during this period, and one sees why investors are becoming more discerning, moving away from the venture capital firms. The old approach of venture capital firms was based on hit and miss by putting many companies in a basket and hoping for a big hit. Over time the value added to the startup companies by venture firms has declined. There are fewer companies which have the potential for big hits and much of the technological landscape for the internet and software revolution has been filled, leading to one or two big hits such as Facebook and LinkedIn. Large developments for new technological innovation are coming from established companies such as Google and Apple, because of the huge software developments compressed into shorter periods and the investments required....

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France's rail strike goes into its second day with large stations such as the Gare de Lyon deserted, stations empty, platforms deserted and millions of travelers unable to get to work. French unions are testing the French government's effort to change the generous benefits granted in a different era for rail and other workers. Workers at SNCF France's rail system can retire in their fifties even as workers now live longer lives, as early as at age 52.  Workers are hired for life. Pensions are given at the highest salaries and housing is subsidized. SNCF is $68 billion in debt. Costs are much higher to run the system than in Germany. The unions are intent on preserving these benefits from a different period.  This issue came up in the election debates about how the pension system can be put on a good basis with proper funding. Macron has taken a firm stand and the centrist parties in parliament see this as a symbolic fight to changing the future of French society and the economy. The reforms will raise age for pensions, and affects only future hires not the current ones. Yet the unions have chosen to fight this.  Everything depends on how the public and commuters see this. One sign of the changes this time compared to successful strikes by unions in the nineties is that the percentage of employees of SNCF declined on the second day from 33 percent to 29 percent. Polls show a small majority of the French sees the strike as unjustified and Macron's popularity ratings going up slightly. The prestige of the labor union CGT and its strategy is also at risk. Macron's view is that overprotected entities in the French system- the "Statutory Society" referring to the Statute of Railway Workers from a different era- block changes in social and economic life that would increase social mobility. This and France's future is being put to the test.   ...

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Comey sends another letter to Congressional committees on Nov. 6, just 2 days before the election, saying that "based on our review we have not changed our conclusions that we expressed in July with respect to Secretary Clinton." Just 9 days prior to the election Comey had written to Congress that the FBI was looking into emails found on the computer of Mr Weiner, estranged husband of Clinton aide Abedin. By doing this Comey had inserted himself and the FBI into the election in a way that was not proper said leaders of both parties. The heavy criticism continued with Vice presidential candidate Kaine, president Obama and Secretary Clinton, seeing this as a blatant political move by Comey, who is a Republican. It is likely to remain a subject of criticism long after the election, say experts.

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What actions can one expect from Murdoch's buying of Dow Jones? Murdoch is likely to focus on increasing general news coverage in the journal so as to compete better for advertising dollars with the New York Times. He will invest in the European edition of the Journal to compete headon with the Financial Times of London. And he will try to get leadership on the web for the digital version of the Journal as a source for financial news for a larger audience.

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Working part-time during retirement years is important for health- staying active, using ones mind and brain, social engagement, and getting satisfaction in the workplace. A Study in 2017 by the Rand Corporation finds about 40% of workers over 65 who had previously retired back to the workplace. People are lengthening careers, and returning to work not just for financial reasons. Many of these people are looking for ways to remain active after realizing that staying active was important and if this could be combined with having extra time off in part time jobs for other hobbies and interests- this would better fit today's lifestyle and choices with people living longer and having more productive lives than ever before. A recent Pew Research analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the proportion of people over age 65 who are employed part time or full time has gone up in 2016 from about 13% to 19% with about half these people working full time. This trend to work following retirement has a word for it- people call it "unretirement." Where work is less taxing as for graduates and people with higher education this is happening more.  From a health perspective this can be important, as people can become more reclusive and more internal looking, less socially engaged as they retire without even realizing it. Some level of social engagement is planned by people retiring, and many retirees do volunteer work, yet this may not be enough. For those people who retired early because of burnout in the workplace, strains with other workers, poor culture in the workplace, the retirement for a few years after 60 can serve as a way to replenish one's resources, recover and resume working again in a place that is better suited for them. The restorative break can then serve as a way to get back to the workplace in a positive way. Work that is meaningful, offering opportunities for contributing one's skills, adds a new dimension to people's lives, and is also a contributor to living healthy lives, at a time when people live longer. Retirement at 65 may not make sense in this new environment, opportunities for part-time work bring the knowledge and skills of experienced people to the workplace and offer a win-win solution for both. More needs to be done to create these opportunities in a planned and organized way in business and government, in all workplaces. ...

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It came down to the price of eggs, bread, basic items on a grocery list. And Democratic politicians including Harris were not seen as sensitive to the pain, being the incumbent meant they were the ones who were responsible for letting prices get out of hand. This isn't just the WSJ analysis in its conversations with ordinary Americans. About 50 percent of Trump voters said higher prices were the largest factor in their decision, according to AP (Associated Press) VoteCast.  The Labor Department’s measure of consumer prices was up 20% higher in September 2024 than January 2021—the largest increase in the last 45 years for one presidential term. Average Year-Over-Year Inflation Rate by President Carter 1977 - 1981.    9.9% Ford 1974 - 1977.       8% Biden 2021 -  2024      5.2% Nixon 1969 - 1974.       5.7% Reagan 1981 - 1989     4.6% H.W. Bush 1989 - 1993. 4.3% W. Bush 2001 - 2009.     2.8% LBJ 1963 - 1969.             2.6% Clinton 1993 - 2001.        2.6% Trump 2017 - 2021          1.9% Obama 2009 - 2017.        1.4% Eisenhower 1953 - 1961.  1.4% JFK 1961 - 1963.               1.1% Overall Inflation Rate Data seasonally-adjusted Consumer Price Index for all items, current as of Aug. 2024. Chart: Adrian Nesta  Source:  BLS Consumer Price Index This also places a special burden of responsibility on the new DJT administration to take action on prices of everyday goods and groceries. ...

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Security for women working in software companies in India is an important issue considering that the number of women in software companies will approach 50% according to Nasscom by 2010, and the poorly paid and sketchy background of many hired drivers in India. Because the women work at odd hours of the night to keep in touch with westen countries clients in different time zones this is a very real issue. The cases of a Wipro and a HP employee in India being raped and killed and drivers charged bring to light an important issue for women employees at software companies and companies in general in India. It is important to attract talented employees for companies to have the best arrangements for safe transportation at additional cost. Parents of these young women and the women should feel that its just as safe as for men for them to work or travel at night. In this case the Supreme Court decision was to let stand a lower court ruling that Mittal CEO of HP Global Soft was liable for prosecution in the case of a rape and killing by a driver of a HP employee, because the company had hired the driver and made the transportation arrangements that led to this death....

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Ewen Macaskill of the Guardian travels on the bus with Jeremy Corbyn through the east Midlands region of the UK. He describes how Corbyn is handling the negative media coverage from the Daily Telegraph and the tabloids. Corbyn's response to the demonization by the tabloids underway for the last two years is that he does not let it get to him. He does not respond to personal attacks, including ones made by Theresa May, because he says it means he would have to descend to that level. "It actually devalues yourself and the process," says Corbyn. He is not stressed, says Corbyn because it would do him no good, and no good to the people around him who are putting in their best to support Labor in this election. Calm, composed, is how this reporter sees Corbyn on the trail. This means not following the latest polls but staying focussed on the goal and the day ahead. As a result the people who had only seen him through the negative image projected in the media are now becoming endeared to him. Little things count, whether the campaign workers are getting their tea and coffee, and looking for a knife to cut a chocolate brownie cake given at a prior event. Calm, composed, not letting comments or the pessimism affect him, as he is in his words "there for the long haul." This is true for the way he is careful not to allow intrusions into his family life, that would affect his wife Laura Alvarez and three sons. This is the way he has come across during his first day as Leader of the Opposition in parliament, and during the event where he launched the Labor manifesto. Preferring simplicity and ordinary life he prefers public transport, simple layout in the campaign bus, and if elected he says he would prefer to remain where he is instead of the house at 10 Downing Street. Corbyn is 68, but after the way he has tackled the challenge facing Labor, the graceful attitude and dignity needed especially today, he is likely to be around for much longer. ...

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Efforts to bring the two sides together for ceasefire succeed for Black Sea but hit snags along the way. Russia wanting to get sanctions lifted on it's Agricultural Bank to lift grain and fertilizer exports. A separate deal on not attacking energy infrastructure was negotiated.  Fundamentally NATO needed to be reconstituted at the end of the Cold War. Russia's apparent weakness was temporary as it converted to a market economy from the Soviet model. It's GDP is not a correct representation of it's capabilities and need for respect as an advanced European economy. With US-Russian cooperation nothing like Syria and Venezuelan disasters would have happened disrupting the fabric of American and European democratic systems. Russian conditions include ones that were clear from the early days of the war. Ukraine joining NATO threatens Russian security. That this was not to be allowed. And Ukraine to relinquish territory now controlled by Russia in Crimea and in Ukraine's east. DJT in the US has ruled out joining NATO for Ukraine. These territories have been integrated into Russia and it is unlikely that this would change so that continuation of the war after so many lives are lost doesn't make sense. Europeans particular Baltic Republics and Poland are concerned about Russian intentions- this too is not going to change by continuation of the war. It can be addressed by putting in concrete safeguards. ...

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Kenneth Lewis got Bank of America out of the business of subprime lending in 2001. He is the CEO of Bank of America. What is his insight into what is going on today. He sees default risks not depending on credit scores but on other factors such as how much equity homeowners have in their homes. Eveni if its an expensive home over $500,000 there are home owners who have refinanced it and obtained mortgages for much larger amounts in one case upto $800,000, and with hardly any equity in the home. For such a homeowner its easy to walk away from the property and let the lender take the home. Such homeowners would first payoff and be current on credit cards and auto loans and still default and walk away from the home in the current situation. This is what Bank of America is observing. There is a change in social attitudes where its OK to walk away from a home when you don't have much equity in it, and financially it may make sense to get ones finances back in shape. So the old idea about home ownership don't hold good anymore even for people with better credit scores. With this happening banks are likely to tighen credit standards for credit worthy borrowers. ...