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Profits hard to come by at Amazon as it focusses on growth as the overriding goal
07/27/2012
Linked Articles
Amazon Profit Margins Evaporate
Wall Street Journal 07/27/2012
Amazon's Growth Story Keeps SellingWall Street Journal 01/31/2014
Torrelodones, Castilla La Mancha and the effort to clean up accounts in local government in Spain
06/25/2012
Wasteful spending, cronyism, corruption and lack of transparency in local government marked the years of the construction and real estate boom in Spain. Now grassroots efforts are taking place across Spain to clean up accounts, ensure transparency, and divert wasted resources to meet vital needs. Similiar efforts are taking place from Thessaloniki, Greece, to Sicily, Italy, as Europ faced with high unemployment and austerity cuts comes up with its own efforts for renewal from the bottom up setting the political elites aside.
Linked Articles
Europe's Recession Sparks Grass-Roots Political Push
Wall Street Journal 05/21/2013
A Spanish Leader Emerges as a Crusader for AusterityWall Street Journal 06/25/2012
Stress tests of Spain's banks by consulting firms in June-July 2012
06/20/2012
Linked Articles
Spanish Aid Plan Is Flawed, Says IMF
Wall Street Journal 06/22/2012
For Spain, Accusations of Lagging on ReformsNew York Times 06/20/2012
The focus on reviving the economy of Mohammed Morsi, new president of Egypt
05/25/2012
Egypt faces an economic crisis as it runs out of foreign reserves to finance basic imports. Morsi's election comes at a time when the dominant issues for years in Egypt will shift from the political to the economic as it tries to catch up with other countries in the developing world in Asia and Latin America that have made significant progress.
Linked Articles
Egypt’s president is U.S. critic, but could be an ally - The Washington Post
Washington Post 06/26/2012
Muslim Brotherhood claims lead for its candidate in Egypt’s presidential election - The Washington PostWashington Post 05/25/2012
Nokia's future rests on the Lumia line of smartphones in 2012-2013
04/19/2012
Linked Articles
Inside Nokia's Struggle Against Apple's iPhone
Wall Street Journal 05/31/2012
Nokia Posts $1.2 Billion Loss as Sales Drop 29%New York Times 04/19/2012
Toyota's strategy with the International Multipurpose Vehicle (IMV) and Renault's with the Logan and Dacia models
04/07/2012
Toyota goes after the lower price points in emerging markets with the IMV series. Renault goes for a lower price point for buyers in its home markets in France and the rest of Europe with its Dacia and Logan models. Both are expected to cross the 1 million mark sales point in 2012. Renault achieves a 6% operating margin on the low price point vehicles priced at around $10,000, breaking the myth that lower price points cannot generate profits.
Linked Articles
Toyota Pushes Emerging-Markets Production
Wall Street Journal 04/07/2012
Renault Takes Low-Cost LeadWall Street Journal 04/16/2012
Research In Motion's Blackberry 10 and the effort to put together a patchwork of technologies
03/30/2012
Research in Motion failed to come up with a smartphone in time to match the iPhone and Android based smartphones. The Blackberry 10 was put together in crisis mode by June 2012. This is a classic example of the chaos created for established players by new entrants and new technologies.
Linked Articles
RIM's New BlackBerry 10: The Patchwork Smartphone
Wall Street Journal 06/07/2012
BlackBerry Maker in TurmoilWall Street Journal 03/30/2012
The March 2012 U.S. Federal Reserve U.S. bank stress tests and the continuing problem of highly leveraged banks
03/14/2012
Linked Articles
Stressing the Bank 'Stress Tests'
Wall Street Journal 03/14/2012
Stress Tests Buoy U.S. BanksWall Street Journal 03/14/2012
Ford to double its manufacturing capacity in Chongqing, China by 2014, making it the largest outside of Michigan
02/27/2012
Ford plans to invest $600 million to more than double manufacturing capacity in Chongqing to 770,000 by 2014. This comes at a time of major slowdown in the market in China after years of hyper growth. Ford lags behing GM and VW in China and missed some of the spurt in growth.
Linked Articles
Ford Plans to Boost Production in China
Wall Street Journal 04/06/2012
Ford Faces China HurdlesWall Street Journal 02/27/2012
Failure to tackle tax evasion in Greece estimated at one third of the deficit for 2009
02/19/2012
The implementation of austerity measures in Greece including cuts to the minimum wage hit people with lower wages the hardest. This takes place even as Greece fails to tackle tax evasion by higher income groups such as doctors and engineers. This is estimated by a group of economists who looked at Greek bank records at 11.2 billion euros in 2009.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 07/09/2012
Greek leaders’ priorities questioned - The Washington PostWashington Post 02/19/2012
The IMF's view on austerity measures, the "German hypothesis," and the British economy
02/17/2012
The IMF's view is that it could take 5 years before the breakeven point on the effects of austerity measures is reached and it turns positive. The "German hypothesis" based on German experience as an exporting nation is that the benefits come sooner in the short term. For Britain, which is not an exporting nation like Germany, the benefits from exports are likely to be limited when the rest of Europe is'seeing declining or stagnant growth. The IMF view means Britain may be faced with the costs of the Cameron-Osborne austerity measures till 2016.
Linked Articles
Britain's Economy Contracts More Than Predicted
New York Times 03/28/2012
Austerity Debate a Matter of DegreeWall Street Journal 02/17/2012
The Indian government's plan to bring the deficit down over 5 years to 3% in 2017
02/14/2012
In response to the policy of the Reseve Bank of India (RBI), India's central bank, to hold off on interest rate changes till the government takes action in reducing the deficit, the Indian government lays out a plan to bring the deficit down to 3% by 2017, and 5.3% in the fiscal year ending March 2013. The government is under pressure to come up with an economic strategy to deal with the slowing economy with growth forecasts lowered to 5-6.5% for 2012. The risk of India's credit rating being being lowered to junk status and drastic slowdown in foreign investment is creating a crisis atmosphere after a period of indecison.
Linked Articles
India Lays Out Deficit Targets
Wall Street Journal 10/30/2012
Indian Central Banker Hits His Government's SpendingWall Street Journal 02/14/2012
Obama's 2012 presidential campaign and weak support from financially struggling white voters
01/13/2012
By a 26% margin financially strapped white voters affected by high unemployment favor Romney over Obama. This is wider than the 18% margin by which Obama, Kerry and Gore lost this group in prior elections. It will be crucial in states such as Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan which were hard hit by the economic downturn.
Linked Articles
Romney holds key advantages among financially struggling white voters - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/25/2012
White Blue-Collar Vote May Be Crucial in ElectionNew York Times 01/13/2012
The slow response of Spain compared to the more aggressive aproach of France
07/18/2012
The contrast between Spain's lack of strong and quick action for its banking problems and France's aggressive approach to its debt problem. Spain's problems come from the housing bubble and bad loans in parts of the banking sector especially the cajas savings banks. The lack of strong and early action by bank supervisors at the central bank and the government to cleanup the banks created conditions requiring a bailout. The problems in France which did not experience a housing bubble were the result of slow growth, rising debt and deficits. France took an aggressive approach to tackle these problems, with shared sacrifices, and setting a goal of bringing the deficit down to 3% in 2013 with its 2013 budget.
Linked Articles
France's New Budget Focuses on Cutting Deficit
New York Times 09/28/2012
Spanish Official: Slow Reaction to CrisisWall Street Journal 07/18/2012
Why Mario Monti is the Euro's best hope
06/24/2012
The leadership exercized by Mario Monti in Italy and supported by all Italians offers one of the best hopes for the Euro. The efforts of the mild mannered professor of political economy from Bocconi University in Milan.
Linked Articles
Italy's Leader Calls Economic Efforts "a Very Tough War"
New York Times 07/11/2012
Why Monti, despite Merkel, could prove the euro’s best hope - The Washington PostWashington Post 06/24/2012
Obama and election advisor Plouffe- responsible governance, Simpson-Bowles and an election imprint on "everything"
05/26/2012
A White House aide says election advisor David Plouffe's influence affected "everything" in the Obama White House. Tom Friedman points to the influence of campaign consultants on the White House as overreaching and pervasive, going so far a to describe the campaign being developed in test tube fashion. Karl Rove pointed to president Obama keeping an eye on reelection 18 months before Nov. 6, 2012, as not a positive development. Friedman specifically mentions president Obama's failure to endorse the Simpson-Bowles commssion on deficit reductions as part of the imprint of election advisors because reducing tax expenditures or deductions might prove politically unpopular. Yet this was part of responsible governance to take on unpopular positions- something other presidents, including Democratic president Truman, did not fail to do choosing instead to educate pubic opiion on difficult steps needing to be taken. Truman took the decisions head on such as confronting the soviets in Greece and other parts of Europe and in Korea after the fall of the Iron Curtain, so soon after a major war when the public was weary of conflict.
Linked Articles
Obama Adviser's Strategy Is High Risk, High Reward
Wall Street Journal 10/31/2012
President Obama Should Seize the High GroundNew York Times 05/26/2012
Huawei's investment in penetrating the smartphone market is hurting Nokia's profit margins
04/19/2012
Nokia hit by Huawei at the lowend and Samsung in all price segments in the smartphone market leading to an unraveling of the company's market position.
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 04/23/2012
China at Heart of Nokia's TroublesWall Street Journal 04/19/2012
The IMF's signal of caution for austerity measures in Spain in April 2012, saying a gradual approach to deficits is best considering the risks
04/18/2012
The IMF's words of caution also apply to austerity measures being undertaken in Great Britain.
Linked Articles
IMF Says Recovery Remains Fragile
Wall Street Journal 04/18/2012
Spain Dips Back Into Recession, Banker CautionsWall Street Journal 04/18/2012
Best Buy's response to 'showrooming'
03/30/2012
Linked Articles
Can Retailers Halt 'Showrooming'?
Wall Street Journal 04/11/2012
Best Buy Forced to Rethink Big BoxWall Street Journal 03/30/2012
Deutsche Bank's hit to its image in Germany with legal settlements and ongoing investigations 2009-2013
03/21/2012
The criminal investigation into alleged tax fraud in trading of carbon emissions certificates, the raid at Deutsche Bank's Frankfurt headquarters in Dec. 2012, and arrest of some senior executives, continues problems with the bank's image in Germany since the 2008 financial crisis. Deutsche Bank's was highly leveraged during the 2008 financial crisis and is perceived as contributing to the crisis. Changing the culture at the bank is likely to take more than the introduction of the new co-CEO arrangement in mid 2012 with Anshu Jain and Jurgen Fitschen, say experts. Germany's judiciary was critical of Fitschen for not respecting the independence of the judiciary and understanding the separation of powers for a call he made protesting the raid in the investigation.
Linked Articles
Image Remake Suffers Hit at Deutsche Bank
Wall Street Journal 12/20/2012
Deutsche Bank Lists Litany of Legal RisksWall Street Journal 03/21/2012
The U.S. Federal Reserve's March 2012 U.S. bank stress tests and the questions about overoptimistic assumptions
03/14/2012
Experts question the the overoptimistic assumptions for losses on home equity lines of credit, second lien mortgages and legal settlements. The capital ratios for the banks shown under the stress tests of 3-4% indicate high levels of leveraging, one of the principal causes for the banking crisis of 2008-2009.
Linked Articles
Stressing the Bank 'Stress Tests'
Wall Street Journal 03/14/2012
Questions as Banks Increase DividendsNew York Times 03/14/2012
Exit from the Eurozone and return to the drachma as the most likely and best outcome for Greece after April 2012 elections
02/22/2012
John Taylor and the Ifo Institue's Sinn say the recapitalization of Greece's banks and the lower interest rates negotiated after the March 2012 bailout make exiting the euro and achieving economic growth doable. The Papdemos government's need for time till 2015 to complete the program of changes, and the elections in April 2012 in which opposition parties outpolled Pasok and New Democrachy lays the political groundwork for the exit.
Linked Articles
Greece at new risk of being pushed off euro - The Washington Post
Washington Post 05/08/2012
A Better Grecian BailoutWall Street Journal 02/22/2012
Greece and EU in 2015- (4) How are the structural issues such as tax evasion in Greece being tackled, after Monti's effort to tackle this in Italy in 2012?
02/18/2012
Surprisingly the Syriza government in 6 months in office did not come up with a plan to implement for tax evasion. This was a major issue for the IMF and in Greece's interest, even though it was going contrary to long standing practice in Greece as it was in Italy. Estimates of lost revenue are about $11 billion each year for tax evasion. By comparison the IMF payment due was less than $2 billion on June 30, 2015. Sustainable long term finances make this a major issue in Greece's own interest. Greece has an aging population and the number of retirees are growing in relation to young working people making this an important issue for stable finances under any administration, and regardless of the euro.
Linked Articles
How Greek tax evasion sunk the global economy
Washington Post 07/10/2012
A Hollow Target for Greek DebtWall Street Journal 02/18/2012
John Taylor and Ifo Institute's Sinn say the best option for Greece to make economic recovery is to exit the eurozone
02/17/2012
Linked Articles
Wall Street Journal 02/22/2012
INTERVIEW: Ifo's Sinn: In Greece's Interest To Leave Euro ZoneWall Street Journal 02/17/2012
Increasing foreign investment in Indonesia
02/07/2012
Foreign investment in Indonesia increased by 20% to $20 billion in 2011, and continues to grow in 2012. Investment comes from Singapore, Japan and S. Korea and other countries, with investments in the countries plantations, coal mines and in factories producing consumer products for the rapidly growing middle class in a country of 240 million people.
Linked Articles
Indonesian Economy Grows at Top Clip Since '90s
Wall Street Journal 02/07/2012
Foreign Investment Jumps in IndonesiaWall Street Journal 04/23/2012
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