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The escalating tariffs by the EU. China and the U.S. affects global supply chains after years companies spent in building the optimal chain and locations. Tpo avoid duties companies are looking at them again and relocating to avoid the duties.

 

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Former Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on what it means to spend $17 billion less on defense when defense budgets for 2024 are continued for 2025 year without defense appropriations. To meet the additional 10% pay increase for junior defense personnel and payroll for 2 million members of the defense service members it means using some of the money allocated for defense equipment upgrades says McConnell. 

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Gujarat's Tec-City near Ahmedabad was designed to act as a new business district for the state, under then chief minister and now prime minister Modi. The project is in its first phase.

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Ms. Ursula von Der Leyden, who was a strong advocate for women on social issues, is the new defense minister in the Merkel cabinet for 2014. Frank-Walter Steinmeier of the Social Democrats is the new foreign minister, a position he held in the coalition of 2005-2009. SDP leader Sigmar Gabriel- who worked hard to get the approval for a coalition in a vote of the rank and file of the SDP- is the new Economics and Energy minister, with responsibility for shifting Germany away from nuclear power. Wolfgang Schauble continues as Finance minister. The new term for Merkel is likely to focus on domestic issues such as building infrastructure, education, the shift from nuclear energy, and immigration.

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Mark Carney's program for Canada is based on 5 Actions-

1. Double the rate of home building to get 500,000 additional homes a year.

2. Ease Cost of living pressures. Reduce the lowest tax bracket rate to 14% from 15%. Scrap the sales tax on buying the first home for homes less than C$ 1 million about $720,000. Make dental care available for low income Canadians adding 4.5 million Canadioans to the national insurance program.

3. Build a national electricity grid east to west, reducing dependence on the US.  Invest in both clean energy and fossil energy.

4. Increase defense spending to 2% of the budget with $18 billion in additional spending over 4 years.

5. Invest $5 billion in ports, rail, and infrastructure to create new trade corridors.

 

 

 

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How GM would benefir from VEBA and possibility that GM would look to discount its obligations for as much as 25% in exchan ge for guaranteeing these obligations with its contribution to VEBA from the $15 billion it has set aside for this purpose. GM's stock would benefit significantly from this. GM would also not be responsible for inflation in the health care costs after a VEBA is organized.

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Last week investors in mortgage securities, including the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, sent a letter to the Bank of America, demanding that it buy back billions of dollars of mortgages that were bundled into securities and sold by Countrywide. (Bank of America took over Countrywide in 2008). Investors contention is that the documentation supporting the loan is faulty, and that Bank of America did not correct the deficiencies in the loan files and lien records when these deficiencies were found. Investors can try to force a bank to buy back its securities, if the strict rules governing the issue of such securities were not followed. As the market for mortgage securities is about $1.4 trillion dollars, even if a small fraction of the securities is affected, it would pose serious problems for the banks. This is a problem that can't be papered over.

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Wallsten describes the tense and now frayed relationship between Obama and immigration groups and the way this has evolved from idealism to frustration to mere coexistence amid loss of faith. Obama's frustration expressed in words such as "I am not a king." And the immigration groups voicing their concerns about Obama's loss of credibility, as minorities especially Hispanics have fared poorly during his adminsitration, hit by rising deportations, foreclosures and the impact of high unemployment in construction and other sectors.

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Jannik Sinner grew up in South Tyrol in northern Italy near Austrian Alps. His first love was skiing and he was skiing since the age of 4 years. By 12 he had won an Italian championship. He shifted to tennis because he says in skkiing you make one mistake and you are gone, everything happens very quickly in a minute and a half a race is won. Tennis appealed to Sinner because it gave him more time, you did not have to be the best all the time, and mental fitness counted a lot over a longer period. He says giving it his all through good days and bad days is important in practice and this is true also in winning a game. Sinner says- "I always go on a practice court with a purpose, and I believe that the mindset you start to build in practice sessions, when you struggle, when you have pain, when you at times don’t want to practice, but you still go and you still do everything possible to make it a good day." “If you cannot do it in practice sessions, then you cannot do it in the real matches. So, I think this is one of the biggest parts.” ...

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Where did the government's$123 billion in bailout funds go is the question as AIG quickly runs through that amount.Suggesting that AIG's accounting concealed losses on derivative contracts and other losses which when the bailout funds became available were quickly absorved by these losses on the books. Months before the bailout there were conflicts and disagreements betwen the company and its auditors about the accounting.

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Poor performance by UK Tories leader Kemi Badenoch at PMQ Prime Ministers Questions in the British parliament, broadcast on C-SPAN every Sunday at 9.00 pm US EST, is leading to speculation among Tories that she may not be around after local elections. Robert Jenrick who contested the leadership election is around says skeptics. Tories have changed leaders from  Cameron to May, May to Johnson, to Truss, to Sunak, to Badenoch, and now Jenrick? That would be the seventh new Tory leader since David Cameron assumed office in 2010. Then followed Brexit and Covid pandemic, and Labour taking office with the British now favoring being part of the European Union, all coming in full circle through 7 prime ministers in 15 years. 

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Spain has under prime minister Pedro built its economy around close relations with China. Here Spanish newspaper El Pais describes the new role of China's chief economic representative He Lifeng sent to negotiate with the US and his success in getting a 90 day reprieve where US brings tariffs to 30% and China to 10%. He replaces Liu He who was educated at US Universities and was fluent in English. Yet because he is only now representing China overseas what is overlooked is Lifeng's extraordinary connections to the economic emergence of China in Asia. He was just graduating as a civil servant in China when president Xi was vice minister of Xiamen, Fujian province. He studied at Xiamen University getting a Ph.D in economics in 1979. He shares the struggles of going through the Great Proleterian Cultural Revolution experienced by Xi in rural areas.  Lifeng has driven development of China's state driven economy, as deputy director of the National Developement and Reform Commission in 2014, and driector in 2017, as Xi emerged as leader of China. ...