LyrArc Article Gist
China chooses periodic blockades or air-sea coordinated exercizes around Taiwan's 12 mile waters as a strategy to respond to US Indo-Pacific strategy of keeping lanes of sea traffic and navigation on oceans open to all nations. This is seen as less risky than an outright invasion. Military exercises in August 2022 are seen as preparing for such a strategy.  The US is the destination for $541 billion and Europe $521 billion in products Made in China in 2021, which make China the manufacturing powerhouse in the world. Without the export of $1 trillion in Chinese products thousands of factories and millions of Chinese workers would remain idle. It is unbelievable that China is risking so much with its Taiwan policy with no idea of what the consequences would be years from now. It took China three decades after the gradual opening by 1990 and a willingness on the part of American and European governments and business to give up much of their own manufacturing leading to loss of jobs in communities across both America and Europe and much pain from this loss, for China to get to $1 trillion in exports. This situation may never come back as the supply chains shift and jobs return home and to countries that are becoming competitive in infrastructure and capabilities in Asia. Such competition between nations is not unknown as it was with Imperial Japan in the Pacific just 100 years back. The US maintains its position as keeping navigation on the oceans of the world open and rule of law, and it is on these foundations that China was able to get the strong manufacturing and exporting position it has now that no nation has enjoyed in history to this extent. Only the British come close in the nineteenth century. So much of China's progress in the twentieth century was a result of cooperation and support from America, from the first university Tsinghua in Beiijing, to the war against imperialist forces of Japan, to the rebuilding of China's manufacturing and technological competitiveness with American business cooperation. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Read the full speech of president Biden at an important time in the Nation's history, 76 days before a national election to decide the future of the Nation and the World. Excerpts from the speech selected by Lyrarc- "Look. Folks, how can we have the strongest economy in the world without the best infrastructure in the world? Donald Trump promised Infrastructure Week, every week for four years, and he never built a damn thing.  And now because of what Kamala and I have done—remember, we were told we couldn’t get it done? Remember, when we came into office, we couldn’t get anything passed?—but right now, we’re giving America an infrastructure decade not week. We’re modernizing our roads, our bridges, our ports, our airports, our trains, our buses, removing every lead pipe from schools and homes so every child could drink clean water. We’re providing affordable high speed internet for every American no matter where they live, unlike, not unlike what Roosevelt did with electricity. And so much more. We are uniting the country, we’re growing our economy, we’re improving our quality of life, and we’re building a better America. Because that’s who we are. How can we be the strongest nation in the world without leading the world in science and technology? After years of importing 90% of our semiconductor chips from abroad, which America invented those chips, our CHIPS and Science Act meant that private companies from around the world are now investing literally tens of billions of dollars to build new chip factories right here in America. And over that period, they’ll create tens of thousands of jobs. And many of those jobs in the so-called Fabs, the buildings that make the chips that are being constructed now. And guess what? The average salary in those fabs, size of a football field, will be over $100,000 a year, and you don’t need a college degree.  ...

LyrArc Article Gist
David Carr writes about the movie "The Company Men," and how it should be a must see for American business. He says the movie uses the plot of a couple of rich guys losing their jobs, to ask one of the big questions for today: How is it that corporate profits and unemployment can be so high at the same time. And companies have a large amount of cash raised in capital markets at the same time that only a fraction of that is being invested to create new jobs.

LyrArc Article Gist
With 80% of its exports going to the U.S. the growth rate and jobs in Mexico are seeing the impact Finance Minister Carstens expects no growth in 2009. As Mexico's finances are in better shape than in past recessions there is room for some stimulus projects by Petroleos Mexicanos, the government oil company, by auctioning 2 highway projects, for expanding unemployment benefits, and giving $150 million in aid to industries hit by the credit crisis. About 250,000 manufacturing jobs were lost in the last few months of 2008.

LyrArc Article Gist
The European Commission predicts a long and deep recession. In 2009 even with government spending that would add about 0.75% to GDP growth the economies of the EU would shrink by 1.8%, and the 16 countries that use the euro shrink by 1.9%. A jobs loss of 3.5 million jobs is expected. Falling exports mean Germany would see GDP shrink by 2.3%, Britain by 2.8% and France by 1.8%. The downswing will be protracted in Spain and worse in countries like Britain and Ireland where there is a high degree of consumer indebtedness.

LyrArc Article Gist
UAL's stock has gone down 93% in the past year more than its other U.S. rivals and the entire company has an equity value of $433 million smaller than the retail price of two jumbo jets. It will take second quarter noncash charges of $2.7 billion to writedown to zero the value of its intangible assets or goodwill. United will pare its 460 plane fleet by 100 planes by 2009, cut capacity by 15% in the 4th quarter 2008, cut 20% of salaried jobs or 1500 jobs, and furlough 950 of its 6000 pilots.