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Efforts to achieve cost reduction on the Boeing Dreamliner and improve profitability. If Boeing used unit cost accounting or the difference between current sales and costs for each product delivered, the commercial jet division would show a loss of $69 million for the first 9 months of 2013.

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How the discount drug programs at the big drug store retail chains like CVS. Walgreens and Walmart are leading to increasing competition and lower prices in generic drugs that are now sold for one month supplies for hundreds of unbranded drugs. Mass mechandisers like Target have their own programs selling drugs in the same manner as the Walmart which started this with its $4 generic prescriptions for one month supplies in 2006. Its changing the landscape for drug pricing gradually and will become part of a larger trend as health care costs are challenged in different ways by customers, merchandisers, and others in a low inflation cost conscious economic environment, with an overstretched indebted consumer looking for ways to cut costs on everything from groceries, shopping needs and prescription drugs.

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A young socialist leader in the Sanders campaign effort asks what it is about aging socialist leaders Jeremy Corbyn, 68 years, in the UK, and Bernie Sanders, 75 years, that makes them popular with young people. She says both leaders stood up consistently for decades on issues important to ordinary working class people, when Labor under Blair and Democrats under Clinton abandoned their base to a point when one political expert could say Democrats  were the "second most enthusiastic capitalist party" in the U.S. She says under Blair Clause IV was rewritten. That clause committed the Labor party in Britain to "common ownership of the means of production, distribution and exchange." Under Corbyn, with support from young people, Labor received 40% of the vote. The party was reenergized on issues important to students such as making higher education accessible to all. A similar situation happened with Sanders in the U.S., who received more of the young people's vote in 2016 primaries than Trump and Clinton combined. ...

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Robert Reilly, an assistant to President Reagan, former director of Voice of America, says don't underestimate the importance of what the younger Bush as president called "the vision thing." Efficiency experts like Hoover, and Republican candidates who had business and other professional experience but could not grasp the moral imperative in politics such as Alf Landon (1936), Wendell Wilkie (1940), Thomas Dewey (1944 and 1948) failed to convince voters. Democrats presented ideas like the Fair Deal, New Deal (FDR), New Frontier (Kennedy), Great Society (Johnson) and captured this "vision thing" to win. This is why he is skeptical about Romney as business and management consultant coming in and bringing change with a number of management consultants. Reagan also presented the choice in moral terms which were then translated into how the government would function to fulfill the moral imperative, says Reilly.

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Mr. Rodrigo Maia, the 49 year old son of the former Mayor of Rio De Janeiro, Cesar Maia, is uniting Congressmen from all parties in Brazil's parliament to get things done and restore lost confidence, such as the recently passed pension reform. Brazil's pension system sucks up most of the money in the budget with overly generous benefits, leaving little to pay for essential public services such as sanitation and transportation. Shockingly sanitation has suffered as only 50% of the sewage is treated in Brazil.  Polls show confidence in parliament after corruption scandals and lack of work to help the people of Brazil with essential public services has fallen to an abysmal low of 7%. Only 50% of Brazil's sanitation is treated and the rest flows as untreated sewage and rubbish into the rivers. To bring some sanity to pensions the Brazilian parliament, with the organizing skills of Mr. Maia to bring parties together around the reform, has cut $240 billion over 10 years from pensions and introduced 65 years for men and 62 years for women as minimum retirement age.  Brazil has 33 parties and Mr. Maia's is with the centre right DEM party. How did this happen. This WSJ story says Rodrigo Maia, 49 years, was born in Santiago, Chile in 1970 during the days of Brazilian military dictatorship. His father was in exile in Chile. The election of a  far right figure Jair Bolsonaro who supported the military dictatorships record as president in the recent election was a warning sign for the different parties in Brazil on the centre right and the centre left that corruption scandals and a do-little spirit was wiping out their influence and destoroying their credibility with ordinary Brazilians. The pension cut reform was their response to gain some of the lost goodwill from the Brazilian people. In the past Brazil's members of the Chambers of Deputies were people of power and influence who held positions for long periods and passed on these positions to people in their families or in their close circle. The elections and democratic governments following years of dictatorship brought in a new class from centre right and centre left that mismanaged public finances and excluded new ideas. The Car Wash scandal and scandals at the state petroleum company under Da Silva's Workers Party led to loss of confidence not only in the centre left party government of Da Silva and the Workers Party, but also in a do-little parliament. The large state spending from the government was possible during the commodities boom from China with Brazilian iron ore and other products getting high prices. WIth the collapse of the commodities boom and lower prices the entire system of state spending has unraveled revealing how much generous pension system is damaging the financing of  basic public services.  Corruption is prevalent in many countries in Asia including India but nowhere has the spending on essential public services such as sanitation suffered as in Brazil. And nowhere was parliament and the government able to get away with staging Olympics, World Cup and building many stadiums, handing out generous benefits to gain public support as in Brazil when basic sanitation and health services were neglected in a shocking way. The health system was weakened to a great extent when it lacked the resources to tackle an outbreak of yellow fever in 2018 as it moved south from the Amazon region towards Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Protests against the lack of investment in public services such as transportation and bus systems resulted in the public protests in big cities that led to the rise of Jair Bolsonaro in an effort to bring new administration to tackle the problem of financing for infrastructure, public services, health and education.    ...

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Adam Nagourney who has covered Governor Jerry Brown of California, describes the Bernie Sanders supporters and the California delegation with many Bernie supporters feeling the loss of their candidate. Jerry Brown says he expects "a convergence around the core issues of this campaign," as the effort to rally people behind Clinton continues.

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Mike Pence on DJT and the Republican Party in 2025. Mike Pence puts a score on the First 100 Days of the DJT administration. The WINS- The Border- Mike Pence says border crossings are down. Crossings were 140,000 in March 2024 under Biden, a year later they were 4000 or 3% of the previous crossings. A video of gangs was shown at the DJT rally in Warren, Michigan, the Linken Riley Act and other efforts to put spotlight on victims of crime- this is doing what even legislation would take time to produce results, putting into effect a democratic mandate and the rule of law, this is not arbitrary or by force. US military capabilities- Mike Pence points to the attention to defense, yet makes no mention of the US Navy. How can the US build when it has stopped building ships to the point that it takes 6-7 years to build simple frigates in the US by European companies, when 55% of shipbuilding is done in China with ships built in 1-2 years. How is the US without restoring its industrial base going to build its Navy? This is a question Mike Pence, the Conservatives in the Republican Party have to answer. Or if they do not take on this question are they using a playbook that is obsolete, was obsolete for a decade, and is now dangerous as if this opportunity to rebuild is not taken USA may lose its leadership in the world. Foreign Investment coupled with US and US Government investment- Mike Pence and Conservatives in the Republican Party, Wall Street interests say the US is losing foreign investment through its tariffs program, and faults it for targeting Europe, Canada, India, America's allies. DJT includes these countries because it makes it easier to come to an agreement with China that offers to abide by the original rules of fair trade when it is not singled out. It is to convey beyond a doubt to China that the US intends to play fair and expects the same from China as one of China's friends throughout its struggle with British and Japanese imperialism and colonialism. In this Wall Street fails to understand what happened to China, the history of Gen. Joe Stilwell in China in fighting the Japanese in China 1920-1945 A fact check shows Mike Pence and Wall Street are not right, foreign investment as shown on the White House site is about $5 trillion in commitments, it includes a commitment by Korean, Japanese and European, America's own companies to invest in American manpower and jobs, in American communities across 51 states.   ...

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This analysis in the BBC News says the Trump acquittal is likely now in the impeachment trial in the U.S. Senate. It says as the votes were nearly party line, and the situation in terms of people's views is much the same as before, not much has changed. The president's ratings hover around low 40's to mid 40's much the same as during his entire term in office. What has changed is that this may have energized Mr. Trump's base. Ms. Pam Bondi, the BBC says, reflected the Republican view in her opening statement for the defense that with Ukraine policy handled by Mr. Biden, his son Hunter Biden's role on the Board of a Ukrainian energy company Burisma raised all sorts of questions which may have resulted in Mr. Trump's decision to ask the Ukrainian government to look into the Bidens. BBC cites an October poll showing some Democrats and majorities of Republicans and independents think Hunter Biden's Ukraine dealings are a valid issue. This BBC report says Republicans are likely to focus on this issue in coming days as they respond to the impeachment trial. ...

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Banks have only taken about $1.1 trillion of expected $2.2 trillion losses, so more losses should be expected, says the Economist. Keefe, Bruyette and Woods, says Wells Fargo may need another $25 billion infusion of capital from the government. Few banks hold their commercial property portfolios close to 50-6-cents on the dollar valuation that Goldman does. Chris Whalen of Institutional Risk Analytics says this first quarter reprieve may turn out to be a"head fake."

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Koch describes Trump's statement about Muslims with the notion that 'We'll have them all register' as "monstrous" and "reminiscent of Nazi Germany," in an interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC News weekly program. Trump is reported to have been open to a database tracking Muslims in the U.S. before backing off, according to WP, which is what Koch referrred to. About Cruz's statement about "carpet bombing" the ISIS group, Koch says he finds it "frightening." He calls both candidates "terrible role models" and agrees with George Stephanopoulos that Hillary could be a better presidential candidate than the two Republicans.

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Toyota sees a sharp drop in sales after street protests against Japan in Chinese cities. Japanese media reports show Toyota sales in China for September 2012 dropped to half the sales of 75,300 cars in August 2012. Feelings are strong on both sides and for the first time it appears to be affecting economic relations.

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Panasonic announced a third quarter loss of over $8.8 billion. New CEO Kazuhiro Tsuga says Panasonic will reduce manufacturing in Japan, cease selling mobile phones overseas and reduce investments in solar panels and rechargeable batteries. Tsuga told a news conference: "Unless we take this step, whatever we say will be an empty promise. That's how damaged our current situation is." Panasonic faces severe competition from Samsung which has larger investments in manufacturing, research and marketing of televisions and mobile phones. Panasonic share prices fell 19%.