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Boeing $50 billion new fighter jet program with profit guaranteed in the development stage. Boeing beat Lockheed to get the defense contract from the US government. In earlier defense contracts cost overruns led to Boeing losing money. Defense makes up a third of Boeing revenues. Boeing has reported six straight annual losses after problems with 737, a strike over wages, and safety problems on its planes, problems on the assembly line in quality control. The private equity type of management from finance executives has not worked well for Boeing as these executives lacked knowledge of what is happening on the manufacturing assembly lines. Boeing, a American icon for most of the twentieth century needs to get back to the basics of making good planes.

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Boeing deals with supplier delays as suppliers around the world have themselves outsourced some of their work to other suppliers which Boeing had not expected or in some cases decided to let the suppliers handle the way they best saw fit. Global outsourcing was supposed to be an improved and faster method of putting together a new airplane and Boeing still thinks that when the problems are worked out this will hold true. Meantime Boeing is throwing money and engineers almost $2 billion to help suppliers iron out these problems. Airbus also faces production problems from Europe wide outsourcing and coordinating between the German and French parts of Airbus who had difficult working together with differnet styles approaches and methods which was resolved by having the French group help the German group to come upto speed as documented earlier this year in the Wall Street Journal. See link.

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Maria Corina Machado's  attempts to return to Venezuela following the earthquake in June 2026. Marco Rubio is sympathetic to her wish to return but thinks this may not be the right time and delay elections even further. US has raised the question with Venezuelan government leader Delcy Rodriguez about Machado's return. The intent is to make a transition, but before this can be done the conditions have to be created for a stable government in the interests of the Venezuelan people after many years of Chavismo and the structures he has left behind that could create risks if not covered properly. In that sense Delcy Rodriguez is part of the transition. Rubio told the US Senate at a hearing in Congress that people forget it is only 6 months since the arrest of Maduro and transfer to the US on Jan 1, 2026, and that in that time the US has ensured that all Venezuelan oil sales are made to benefit the Venezuelan people's needs by being deposited into aVenezuelan bank Account at Treasury without the siphoning off of funds that happened before. This is not an insignificant point, it is basic to Venezuela's economic recovery after its disastrous experience with Chavismo and mismanagement of the economy. For the first time Venezuela can export without sanctions which means higher oil sales, and for the first time American oil companies are encouraged and taking interest in investing in modernizing the oil industry in Venezuela. Chavismo itself shows that democracy is not always the instant answer to all questions, that the conditions for democracy need to be established or it will be destroyed and conditions can get worse. This is true today because Venezuela's democratic parties and institutions were destroyed by Hugo Chavez and the country could descend into chaos because of the militias he has created- it will take time to create the right conditions. Rubio and DJT understand this. What people forget is that the US can leave the Middle East but it cannot leave the Western hemisphere and the conditions in the Western hemisphere in the American continent have to be secured so that the US and Latin America can ensure the prosperity of the continent learning from past mistakes. Mistakes under previous administrations that allowed a drift into chaotic environments which led to migration of one third of the Venezuelan people about 7 million to the US and Colombia, other countries, and in Mexico a problem with growth of drug cartels affecting good governance destroying US borders. The Monroe Doctrine served a purpose by keeping out colonial powers from the Americas in the 1820's to the 1950's to benefit the Americas, letting it fade led to today's problems that are much worse than some of the smaller errors in US policy that can be corrected keeping the US overall benevolent disposition towards all of the Latin American nations for economic progress and shared prosperity. ...

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Comac and China's refusal to take Boeing orders April 2025.

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The WSJ's Jon Ostrower's intervew with Ray Conner, head of the commercial airplanes division of Boeing. Conner says the era of moon shot type projects is over at Boeing. The Dreamliner project cost $50 billion and ran into repeated delays, with a supply system not ready for the complexity of the project, manufacturing issues, cost overruns, labor issues, and battery failure leading to emergency landing of a ANA Dreamliner in Jan. 2013 leading to grounding of many ANA and JAL aircraft. Boeing's CEO McInerney and Conner see the experience as a lesson for Boeing on the risks of such large projects when airlines are not willing to spend more for revolutionary improvements. Conner cites the example of the incremental improvements in the iPhone since its introduction, with the cost to the consumer not changing much with each new model, as one Boeing would like to follow. Manufacturing improvements are critical to the new model with design needing to include manufacturing process at the outset, reducing complexity, increasing simplicity and improving reliability, as critical goals. As part of this effort Boeing has hired Toyota managers to bring better manufacturing practices, and the focus is now on incremental change and improvement throughout the Boeing organization....

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WSJ Editorial Board on Andy Burnham "wish him well,"  yet  this editorial says "he has wrong instincts." Calls Burnham as being "cipher on immigration," "want government to take lead on housing construction" and "wants greater state control of utilities," are unfounded criticism as shown below- "Cipher on immigration" - Burnham has supported Shabana Mahmood, as Home Secretary, on new action for strict immigration rules, tight control over migration, similar to Denmark.  He "wants greater control over utilities."  WSJ says nothing about how utilities were privatized under the Conservatives for basic services that are necessities for a basic quality of life- water, energy and transportation. It is widely accepted across Britain that the private entities have dismally failed the British people in ways not thought possible. Handing basic services to for profit companies was a fundamental error in Britain as it deteriorated the quality of life of the British people. As Burnham pointed out yesterday in speech to Labour and the British people if one cannot get something as basic as a bus service right how on earth can one fix the larger problems facing Britain? He "wants government to take the lead on housing construction."  When there are shortage of housing affecting the standard of living and quality of life as in the US and Britain the government can make a difference, and its stepping in and doing things correctly can improve the quality of life of the British people. He has "the wrong instincts on economy" with suffocating net zero policies. It is reported in The Guardian that Burnham will support drilling for oil to help bring down cost of energy. The focus now is not net zero goals but making life better, improving the quality of life, achieving some balance which now is leaning towards cost of living affecting the people. In fact on July 19 DJT said people will be dancing in the streets of Aberdeen as Burnham is supporting drilling for oil in the North Sea. Much of the criticism of the Sky News and WSJ continues to follow a pattern of failed coverage of the past with no faith in Britain's future and potential. Every new effort is met with "it can't be done." He has the wrong instincts for business. In modern economies business is part of and the main driver of the economy. In Burnham's work in Manchester business was part of his plan for the economy, and successfully implemented. For far too long in Britain there has not been an honest reckoning on how policies that were reckless with the quality of basic services that affect the quality of life of the British people, would let Britain down, would fail to deliver for the people of Britain. The country that led the Industrial Revolution deserves something better and should get it in this one bold effort by Burnham. ...

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As the first military plane with 100 deportees from the US lands in Amritsar in the Punjab state, there is this reflection in India on why migrants decide to come mostly from Gujarat and Punjab two of India's prosperous states, and Gujarat a centre for industrial development under Vikshit Bharat 2047. Modi visits Washington Feb 12 for meetings with DJT.  Times of India says agencies that track illegal migrants report 90,415 migrants illegally entered the US from Mexico or Canada between October 2023 to Sept 2024. Half of the 90,415 migrants were from Gujarat. The two leading states for migrants are Punjab, Gujarat followed by Haryana, UP and Maharashtra.  In the Punjab this report shows business communities and urban professionals as part of the illegal migrant flow looking for better life- for reasons of governance, and social security, including people from well to do families. And not for reasons of job scarcity. And this is changing demographis with decline in population in Punjab with it being made up by migration from Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Bihar states into Punjab.     ...

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After China returns 2 Boeing planes, Boeing CEO says the company will find other buyers and will not send planes to China.

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Boeing's alliance with Commercial Aircraft Corp. of China (Comac).