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Airbus CEO Fabrice Bregier, says Airbus is set to double its profit margin by 2015 through improvements in efficiency and management. In 2012 EADS Airbus unit showed an operating profit margin of about 4% on sales of 39 billon euros, compared to Boeing commercial airplane division operating margin of 9.6% on sales of $49 billion. Under the 51 year old French engineer Airbus is redoing the way it makes planes, giving factory managers more freedom to make decisions, and bringing an "entrepreneurial spirit" to the company. Each plant is treated as a small business, and Bregier says the fact that the planes are complex does not mean that one needs to be complex in doing things. Airbus parent company EADS stock has risen by 50% in the past year with shares at 42.84 euros on June 14, 2013. The reduced stakes of the French government and Daimler AG in EADS has increased the amount of freely traded shares to 72% from 54%, increasing pressure from investors for better performance. Airbus has 150,000 employees and subcontractors and changing the culture in the organization is a difficult task. Bregier was chief operating officer for 5 years before assuming the CEO position in June 2012. ...

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A 2007 video of Obama speaking at Hampton University in Virginia on race relations, on the slow relief sent to Hurricane Katrina affected residents of New Orleans because they were black, praising pastor Wright, and presenting a different view on race relations than President Obama has made in public appearances. The video has surfaced again in the final weeks of the 2012 presidential campaign, especially as polarization has increased in the last four years.

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How Mulally almost turned down the job. The prevailing defeatist culture at Ford (yellow highlights). The working style which takes the edges off of direct facing up to reality in people dealings across Ford's many areas. The zeroing in on marketing by working at a dealership (hands on style also shows here) and assessing Ford's need for someone new to run this area. Also assessing what Ford needs to lead and run the different areas compared to what he has now- may need to make changes after he gets a clear sense of things at Ford. A building up of good rapport in media which helps build credibility on Wall Street considering how shattered its been in some areas of the media and with the public.

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Fed chairman Bernanke estimates the impact of "Operation Twist," will be to bring down long term rates by about 20 basis points, or one fifth of a percentage point. This he said is equivalent to reducing the Fed's benchmark short term rates by half a point. The Fed chairman said he is not ruling out expanding the Fed's portfolio by buying securities, but has no immediate plans for this action.

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A former vice president of the ECB, Lucas Papademos, heads a new Unity government in Greece in November 2011.

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On the surface Turkey's implementation of an IMF program to reduce its deficit in 2001 has lessons for Greece, but looked at closely the situation has some serious differences. Turkish tax collection was weak and this was corrected by the incoming Erdogan administration, salaries were capped and spending was reduced, taxes raised and state assets sold to improve the deficit. But as Tim Ash an economist at RBS bank points out, achieving GDP growth will be very difficult for Greece. For one thing Turkey's lira fell 54% against the dollar in 2001, spurring exports and increasing growth. Greece is part of the euro currency system and this won't be part of the solution. Also Turkey's debt approached 80% of GDP in 2001 (down to 46% of GDP now), compared to 115% for Greece in 2010, so Greece is in a much worse position than Turkey in 2001. Ash sees a restructuring of debt as the best way to restore growth in Greece.

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A bipartisan proposal of Tim Johnson and Mike Crapo of the Senate Banking Committee to replace Fannie and Freddie with a new system that removes the implicit government guarantee, has the support of the Obama administration. A proposal by Republicans in the House removes the government backstop entirely. Fannie and Freddie stock lost about a third of their value in March 2014 falling to $4.03 and $4.04, erasing sharp gains made in 2013. Under the proposal supported by most members of the Banking Committee, including Bob Corker, it is likely that private shareholders will not be treated favorably.

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Frank Rich on the lobbyists influence on Congress and the Obama administration at top levels. And the efforts by lobbyists to kill any efforts at reform. He details the activities of lobbyists working with the Obama adminsitraion. President Obama risks losing his opportunity for change and with it his credibility as a change advocate. A series of Washington Post articles have detailed the activities of lobbyists in high places that threaten to gut most of the President's reform proposals. Rich points out that it is not clear whether the ostentatious daily activities at a meeting place the Ristorante Tosca is abad omen for the lobbyists or also for the Obama adminsitration or for both. This opinion piece was listed No 1 in the Most popular articles on October 4, 2009, which says the public is listening and watching.

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Krugman talks about the misunderstandings and the whole lot of misinformation that comes from advertising and political commentary. With one man telling a Congressman at a town hall meeting: "keep your government hands off my Medicare." In apolitically charged atmosphere this makes rational decisions in acalm thoughful environment difficult or impossible- when the influence of lobbying by the health care industry and the influence of interests on behalf of patients and other interests have already created a difficult situation.

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U.S. auto sales in May 2012 increased by 26% over the prior year. Toyota sales were up 87% to 203,000 bringing its market share up by 5 percentage points to 15.2%. Honda's sales were up 48% to 134,000, according to Autodata. Overall seasonally adjusted sales were up from the 11.7 million vehicles in 2011 to 13.8 million vehicles in May 2012. Ford's sales were up to 216,000, with a 30% increase in sales of F-series pickup trucks. A cause for concern for Ford would be the 35% of sales in May to rental companies and fleet buyers.