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IDC reports that Samsung sold 72.4 million smartphones in the second quarter of 2014. The pace of growth is slowing as Samsung faces intense competition from Lenovo, HTC, ZTE in the low end of the smartphone market. High marketing costs are pressuring margins. Samsung second quarter net profit increased by 50% over the prior year quarter. Samsung expects weaker sales of the Galaxy S4 and has ramped up marketing promotion. Demand for expensive smartphones is declining. This has resulted in a 12% decline in Samsung's share price since late April when Samsung started selling the Galaxy S4. Apple faces a 22% decline in profits in the second quarter of 2013.

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WIth India's oil imports at four fifths of the country's oil needs, the depreciation of the Indian currency, the rupee, is especially painful. The rupee exchange rate has declined from 55 per dollar at the end of May 2013 to 64 per dollar in August 2013, a 14% decline. India provides full subsidies and this accounts for a large part of the current account deficit. Government cuts in fuel subsidies to reduce the current account deficit are diluted by the depreciation of the rupee, with a fall of one rupee in the exchange rate equal to 4 months of cuts in subsidies, according to Moody's analyst Vikas Halan.

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Exxon sells a 25% stake in the West Qurna-1 oil field near Basra, Iraq, to Sinopec. And a 10% stake to Pertamina. This field produces 510,000 barrels a day with potential for 3 million barrels a day. Exxon and Shell are heading the $50 billion project. The project is a service contract with the Iraqi government to develop the oil field. After the sale of the stake estimated at about $5 billion for a 10 year contract Exxon retains a 25% stake. Exxon is managing risk in the project after differences with the Iraqi government over its investments in the Kurdistan part of Iraq.

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2013 will be a crucial year for Windows mobile software, according to IDC. IDC analysts say developer support is critical and mobile platforms that fall below 50% in support from developers 'very interested' in developing apps for them are likely to see a gradual demise. IDC's quarterly surveys of more than 4800 mobile apps developers shows Windows 8 tablets having such support from 33% of developers and Windows phone 7 software having 21% support. Research in Motion (RIM) has a mere 9% support for Blackberry phones and 8% for the PlayBook tablet. The figures for Apple iPhone are 85% and iPad are 83%, followed by Android phone 76%, Android tablet 66%.

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Novartis bought form Nestle SA a 25% stake in Alcon for $11 billion with an option to buy Nestles's remaining 52% holding in 2010 and combine its eye care operations with Alcon's. But there is uncertainty about how this will work out and at what price Nestle will sell as share price of Alcon has dropped. This leaves Novartis in a bind when it comes to other acquisitions as it has to raise and set aside capital to complete the Alcon acquisition. Novartis raised $5.5 billion in debt in February 2009, and $2.2 billion in a bond sale in June, and will raise more capital.

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Porsche sales for the 9 month period August 2008 to April 2009, fell by 28%, to 53,635 vehicles, with revenue down 15% to 4.64 billion euros. The better revenue numbers are due to a larger sales proportion of the higher margin 911 model. Sales were down in all regions of the world. Porsche's net debt has tripled to 9 billion euros after an attempt to take over full control of VW. It owns 51% of VW shares. Porsche is looking for Quatar investment funds, and is trying to get a 1.75 billion euro loan from state controlled bank KfW to reduce its debt load.

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Ford gets $5.9 billion from the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program of the U.S. government. It will use hte money to rettol 11 factories in the midwest. It will help Ford make 13 of its models more fuel efficient. Ford plans to sell 4 models of electric vehicles by 2012. Lawmkers in Congress are pushing to increase the size of the program from $25 billion to $50 billion. The $5.9 billion will be loaned to Ford and given between now and 2011, with Ford beginning repayment in 2012. THe plants are in Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio, and employ about 35,000 engineering and factory level employees.

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Martin Peers of WSJ says he thinks the $250 million infusion from Carlos Slim may buy too little time for New York Times company, if it does not do more aggressive cost cutting and asset sales. The asset sales are going to be difficult for media business in this environment with declining ad spending. In the first 9 months of 2008 revenue fell 6.5% to $2.18 billion but production, selling general and administrative expenses fell only 1.9% to $1.99 billion, says Peers so its cost base is not shrinking fast enough. And the 14% interest for the Slim investment raises interest costs from $50 million to $74 million a year.

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In "Dead Aid," a book by a native of Zambia and World Bank consultant, Dambisa Moyo, she says about $ 1 trillion in aid has gone to Africa since independence began around 1960, and there is so little to show for it. IT has helped sustain corrupt regimes in Africa, and much of the last 50 years have been wasted, and in many areas it has been a humanitarian disaster. Her personal experience helps her write about this. Her mother is chairwoman of aZambian bank, and her father runs an anticorruption organization. She believes that economic growth is aprerequisite for democracy, and that democracy lasts longer as per capita income increases.

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Th iQ gives 54 mpg, and is Toyota's smallest car yet, showcasing its new space saving design concepts. To squeeze in 4 seats the fuel tank is flattened and placed below the floor. Seats are thinner, a/C system is smaller, dashboard is shaped to give more legroom, the jack and spare tires are taken out. The car has airbags, and the world's first rearwindow curtain air bag, atoal of 9 airbags. It will go into sale in Japan for $13,420 on November 20, 2008. There is the Smart, the iQ and the Nano, different ways to get at the smallest car, and in different price segments.

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German exports to Russia are growing at a rate of 25% for the first quarter of 2008, according to Mangold of the Ost-Ausschuss, a group promoting trade with Russia, even though it is only 3% of all German exports. Russia- Germany trade has reached 57 billion euros for 2007. German exports to Russia are vital to the continued growth of the small and middle sized companies in Germany. About 4600 of these companies operate in Russia today. These companies produce chemicals, autos and machine tools. The promotion of this trade was the focus ofa conference in Dresden last month with top level officials from both countries.

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US Congress cuts to Corporation for Public Broadcasting (NPR and PBS) of $1.1 billion for 2 years. It passes Senate 51-48. $7.9 billion in cuts to foreign aid programs were passed in the Senate bill. Native American and tribal radio stations in 9 states are protected.

Note that no cuts to HIV $400 million which is protected, and also for maternal care and malaria, and tuberculosis. These programs will be protected with new language. Also protected, by Senator Moran of Kansas, are food aid programs used by farmers- Food for Peace, Food for Education and child nutrition.

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Bayer AG's acquisition of vitamin maker Schiff Nutrition for $1.12 billion to bolster U.S. consumer product operations.

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The Conservatives get a big boost from the 2021 budget. This budget increased the corporate tax to 25% by 2023 from 20% under previous Conservative governments of Cameron, and 19% under May. A survey by YouGov shows 55% of the British public thinks this budget is "fair," only 16% saying it is "unfair." This is the highest rating for any British budget since 2009. For Boris Johnson's Conservatives this means a 4% increase in popularity just in the last week up to 45% and Labour under Keith Starmer dropping 4% to 32%. This has opened a 13 point lead for the Conservatives likely to show up in the local elections coming up. This Conservative lead is higher than the 44% vote share for Boris Johnson's Conservatives in the general election.

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The issues China faces as it plans the next phase of massive urbanization. Urbanization is a major priority of prime minister Li Keqiang, which was also the focus of his postgraduate work in his student days. In the early 1980's about 20% of China was urbanized, this has changed over three decades to where the figure is 47%, plus 17% for workers working in the cities but classified as rural, a total of 64%. China's plan is to fully integrate 70% of the population or 900 millon into cities by 2025. In 2013 only 35% of the population has a urban residency permit, or hukou. The permit is needed for residents to register their children in local schools or qualify for medical programs in urban locations. One of the problems is the huge cost of doing this which it is feared could lead to inflation and higher debt levels. Currently local governments bear these costs using land sales, and central government transfer payments, but without added financing and unable to issue their own bonds, the local governments strictly limit the use of local school and health services to their own residents keeping out rural newcomers. Local government taking over farmer plots, often without enough compensation is highly unpopular in China. Other problems are- providing a steady stream of earnings for new urban residents from farms, if no employment can be found. So they can sustain themselves- especially as they get past 40 years of age when factory employment is harder to find. The government planners see the larger urban population as a way to shift from a largely export based economy and slowing growth, to a consumption based economy. But critics say the risk is that for this to happen new residents from the farming villages have to find jobs, something the government will have difficulty accomplishing. A permanent underclass of unemployed and other financially strapped citydwellers living around major cities, as has happened with the progress of urbanization in Brazil and Mexico, is something the government would want to avoid. ...

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Only a 50-50 chance of a job for U.S. law school graduates in 2012.

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10% tariff on Canada's exports to the US after Ontario Reagan ad misrepresenting trade facts is aired on television. The ad seeks to show US tariffs in the light of the Smoot Hawley tariffs of the 1930's, when the tariffs today date back to Reagan's use of tariffs when Asian partners (at that time Japan in the 1980's) followed unfair trade practices to the detriment of American workers and industry. The US Trade Representative who acted for Reagan was Lighthizer, the same USTR who worked for DJT in the first term to fight the unfair trading practices of China, and whose deputy USTR Jamieson is now the USTR in DJT second term negotiating with Asian partners. Tariffs ae being used as an additional tookl in the toolbox by DJT and Lighthizer/Jamieson to counter the unfair trading practices of other nations, which includes partners of the US such as Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and EU. It also includes nations such as Switzerland who ignored US interests in trade whie having open access to the US market. Most of these nations know that these practices harmful to world trade exist, only Canada, China and some other countries have pretended they do not exist and they are the so called "champions of free trade." These nations attempt to make DJT appear to be doing this on whim when this is an issue in trade relations between the US and Asian partners, the EU, and Canada/Mexico for the last 50 years. DJT pointed this out- “The sole purpose of this FRAUD was Canada’s hope that the United States Supreme Court will come to their “rescue” on Tariffs that they have used for years to hurt the United States,” Mr. Trump said in a social media post Saturday afternoon. “Because of their serious misrepresentation of the facts, and hostile act, I am increasing the Tariff on Canada by 10% over and above what they are paying now. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” ...

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Deteriorating China Iran relations as the oil imports from Iran for China face US tariffs of 25% on China's exports to US, and US economic relations far more significant for the Chinese economy. China gets somwhere between 1.4 to 1.6 million barrels aday from Iran (80% of Iran's oil exports) into Shandong refiners at $10 below Brent crude prices. Another 400 mbd comes from Venezuela to China. This means $30 billion comes to Iran from oil sales to China at $59 a barrel, and $8 billion for Venezuela from oil sales to China. This has financed much of the bellicose policies towards the US in the western hemisphere and in the Gulf region. Iran's bellicose policies in the Middle East, its nuclear policy, are now seen by China as a distraction and  detract from good economic relations with the US. China $400 billion oil deal 25 year cooperation agreement signed in 2021 was signed under the Biden administration and China today faces a completely different situation in 2026. Even China's relations with Russia are not the same as the US builds better relations with Russia. A wind down of the Ukraine war would change the situation completely and ensure peace in Europe including Russia, as the US works with the EU to meet future challenges having learned from this experience in Europe (Ukraine dividing Europe) and in the Western hemisphere (drug/ migrant. trafficking). When historians write this chapter of the inflows of capital from advanced West to Arab countries and the Gulf region they will write about the huge contrast between China/India's efforts to modernize and these nations where much of that capital was wasted in wars and conflicts and in grandiose projects that made no material difference to the standard of living and quality of life of the vast number of ordinary people. Once the oil dividend is gone with fossil fuels replaced with renewable energy by 2035-2040 this opportunity to advance is lost for the Arab and Gulf region. ...

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Yousaf Humza comes from a family that immigrated from the Punjab state in Pakistan in the 1960's to Scotland. His grandfather worked at a Singer sewing machine factory in Clydesbank, and his father worked as an accountant. He studied for a Masters degree in Arts at Glasgow University and entered politics as a parliamentary assistant to Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon during the early days of the SNP. He held several ministerial positions before becoming First Minister. He is a Sturgeon loyalist who defeated challenger Elizabeth Forbes 52% to 48% in a close election for leadership of the SNP party.  His election is seen as a transitional period in the same way as Rishi Sunak's winning the leadership of the Conservative party after Boris Johnson like Nicola Sturgeon lost support. This is because of divisions within the SNP and in the Conservative party, and the rising popularity of Labour during a cost of living crisis after the ravages of the pandemic had affected working families in many ways. Both are from Punjab province of the British and the two provinces of Punjab in independent India and Pakistan. In fact the election of Humza as SNP leader and First Minister, the defeat of Elizabeth Forbes, provides Labour with an opportunity to win as many as 20 seats in Scotland for Keir Starmer of Labour to make it to No. 10 Downing Street, according to reports in The Times. ...

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The emergence of the Greens Party in Germany as a party that could govern at the federal level. In Baden-Wurttemburg, a western state with many large companies, the Greens emphasized foresight and pragmatism to win the election. Analysis by ARD broadcster suggests 145,000 voters from CDU migrated to the Greens after corruption scandals led to resignation of CDU members in the Bundestag. One of the problems The Greens face is the relative youth of leaders at the federal level. Robert Habeck is 51 years and Annalena Baerbock is 40 years.  For Angela Merkel who retires in the autumn, and the CDU with its new leader Armin Laschet, the results are a bit of a shock. The CDU gained about 24 to 28% of the vote in 2 state elections. The SPD socialist party was at about 16%. So that the 2 parties that governed Germany since 1950 are combined now at about 40%-42% of the vote.  New coalitions will be formed in the future that include The Greens as a major political party. SDP's Scolz clearly welcomed this idea saying that it is now possible to form a government without the CDU. For Germany the coronavirus years 2020-2021 mark the beginning of a new period that may no longer include the CDU or Merkel in government. Popular fatigue with the Christian Democrats and search for new alternatives for Germany now make a new Greens led coalition a distinct possibility. ...

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Some local governments in China are making vaccination mandatory. China is setting a goal of getting 64%  of the population fully vaccinated by the end of 2021. In European Union countries mandatory vaccination by country or region is now being put in place to fight new coronavirus variants that spread faster in the population. The reopening of economy, business and tourism is increasing the risk from variants in summer 2021. The mandatory vaccination is a way to increase the percentage of the population that is vaccinated. Getting younger people who lag behind to get vaccinated is important to protect the percentage of the elderly population that is still not vaccinated. There are risks also to the younger population as seen in previous waves of the pandemic. The initial hesitation to make health pass showing a person is vaccinated mandatory was because only a small fraction of the population was vaccinated in Europe. Now that over 50% are vaccinated in most EU countries and UK, that hesitation thinking that it is discriminatory to those people who did not have access to vaccines no longer exists. Ample vaccine supplies and the misinformation spread about vaccines are making action on health pass necessary to protect the overall population. National governments in France, Denmark, Austria, Greece, and local governments in Germany, Portugal and other EU countries such as Ireland, Italy, see the danger from coronavirus variants that spread quickly as too big to take any risks a second time. ...

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By dropping most coronavirus restrictions including masks, social distancing and size of gatherings, and opening night clubs, England is risking the same sudden rise in new cases from variants that hit the Netherlands last week. Analysis of what happened in the Netherlands shows nightclubs and bars as the origins of 40% of the new cases in the Netherlands. Prime minister Rutte of the Netherlands apologized for this kind of reopening after a big jump in cases in Netherlands.Seven day average in the UK is at 46,000 for the last week. With 40% of the UK population not fully vaccinated, the new variants can spread faster and mutate in the unvaccinated population.  There is a basic difference in priority- getting to work and doing essential shopping compared to going to nightclubs. The Dutch government shut its nightclubs after reopening them in June. At this point England is split in how to reopen. The Mayor of London says masks will be compulsory in all public transit in London. And 55% of the UK public in a recent survey from YouGov think reopening in this way is the wrong thing to do. Another poll by Ipsos shows 70% of people surveyed saying they wanted mask wearing to be compulsory indoors for another month. One bar club owner says that he thinks what they are doing is wrong. Some students think that this is a recipe for transmission to happen quickly. ...