Carlos Tavares and the contrast with Fiat Sergio Marchionne, Tesla Elon Musk- the need today for new role models for health and worklife balance, respect for dignity of workern

02/05/2024

Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis that brings together Fiat, Chrysler and Peugeot, as shown in a WSJ report, respects workers right to have a weekend free of email requests to recharge their batteries for the new week starting Mondays. Tavares sees great value in worklife balance, respect for dignity and health of workers. He believes this delivers productive work better than alternatives such as that under Sergio Marchionne the Fiat leader running Chrysler who worked constantly, with excessively long hours, unending travel and smoking incessantly say reports, that took its toll on health- setting a poor role model for managing business and for the younger generation. A similar situation is presented by Mr. Musk compared to Mr. Tavares. Striking is the respect for the dignity of workers that comes with respecting worklife balance. This was a major issue in this years UAW negotiations. Leaders from Scholz in Germany and Biden in US, Modi in India, have called for respect for dignity of work and workers as the kind of society we want to build and we want to live in. The founder of Silicon Valley Andy Grove who founded Intel that powers the chips on every laptop always reminded his readers this is the kind of society he wanted to live in.

Linked Articles

Elon Musk Says Donald Trump Should ‘Sail Into the Sunset’ in Latest Spat

WSJ 07/12/2022

Gareth Vipers

WSJ 02/04/2024

Kirsten Grind, Emily Glazer, Rebecca Elliott, Coulter Jones

Years of hyper growth followed by slight or shrinking growth in China

07/31/2022

For years China pushed hyper growth without correctly understanding the sources of that hyper growth and its consequences in the long run. Communities in the US and the EU simply could not cope with the hyper shift of factories from local regions to China that created the hyper growth in China. Local governments in China and self interested investment banks in the US and Eu pushed for this growth and the central government failed to act with restraining action. The result is alienated public in the US and EU, intense trade and competitive frictions and permanent damage to friendly US China, US EU relations. The domestic side of this hyper growth was the overdependence on the property sector which was asked to carry a bigger burden for development leading to the crisis today with local governments strained for financing by $900 billion as reported in WSJ today July 31. 2022. This did not need to happen. China entered this experiment with capitalism without restraining action with very little knowledge of the market economy and how it operates correctly only with restraining and corrective action in the interests of the whole people of the country. Too much has gone wrong for peoples on either side, the unintended effects and consequences in the simple unbridled pursuit of self-interest alone.

Linked Articles

China’s Economy Tested by Strained City Finances

WSJ 07/31/2022

Wall Street Journal Staff

WSJ 07/31/2022

Ashwini Bhide and the Mumbai Metro- getting infrastructure done in India on time

10/05/2019

The desperate need for good infrastructure and millions of people in Mumbai who have put up for too long with creaky infrastructure. The Mumbai Metro led by Ashwini Bhide is a path breaking effort to speed things up, as the WSJ points out. As before petitions and other methods are used to stall projects. This time the courts not only dismissed the petition about cutting trees in Aarey Colony, north Mumbai, but also fined the petitioners Rs 50,000 for filing a frivolous petition. Trees are important, as few trees as possible are being cut for the new Metro, and new trees are being planted to replace them.

Linked Articles

‘You Have to Actually Cut Open Mumbai’s Belly’—Inside One of the World’s Most Audacious Transit Projects

WSJ 05/08/2023

Corinne Abrams | Photographs By Vivek Singh For The Wall Street Journal

Hindustan Times 10/05/2019

Norway parliament's decision to divest holdings in companies 30% dependent on coal opens up debate on coal- (3) Coal India and the 1 billion ton target for 2020

05/14/2015

With about 300 million people without electricity, and India lagging behind Brazil and Indonesia in the percentage of population lacking electricity, the goal is to modernize the coal industry and increase production. This shows the different tradeoffs in less developed countries such as India, which face a completely different set of tradeoffs, and are moving in the opposite direction out of necessity. China is just entering a period after rapid modernization where the discussion about the tradeoffs is shifting, whereas India remains in a very different phase.

Linked Articles

Norway Will Divest From Coal in Push Against Climate Change

New York Times 06/05/2015

John Schwartz, John, Schwartz

Wall Street Journal 05/14/2015

Raymond Zhong And Niharika Mandhana, Raymond, Zhong, And, Niharika, Mandhana

Christine Lagarde and John Lipsky on the need to move forward with the IMF reforms giving greater representation to emerging market countries in G-20

03/25/2014

Lagarde and Lipsky point out that this does not change the U.S. voting rights of 16%. They emphasize the stabilizing role the IMF has played for the global economy in crises and the more open thinking at the IMF on economic programs.

Linked Articles

The U.S. Should Ratify Its Agreement to IMF Reform

Wall Street Journal 04/02/2014

John Lipsky, John, Lipsky

Wall Street Journal 03/25/2014

Christine Lagarde, Christine, Lagarde

Faces the U.S. Federal Reserve's Janet Yellen will have in mind as she shapes Fed policies

01/23/2014

The long term unemployed will shape Yellen's thinking on Fed policy in 2014-2015, especially men of working age.

Linked Articles

More Men in Prime Working Ages Don't Have Jobs

Wall Street Journal 02/06/2014

Mark Peters, Mark, Peters, David Wessel, David, Wessel

New York Times 01/23/2014

Floyd Norris, Floyd, Norris

Declan Walsh on why the firing of live ammunition on protesters in Cairo may end up as a watershed event for the Muslim world going forward

08/16/2013

Declan Walsh sees this in the context of the Muslim world. Janvoo sees this in the context of the world beyond, of Aisa and Latin America which have moved beyond the divisive politics of the past and away from military regimes- S. Korea, Thailand, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and one party PRI Mexico. The return of Gen. Park's daughter as president of S. Korea was a different one when she apologized for the behaviour of her father, even saying she coud not spit on the image of her father. Nieto's PRI is apologetic about its past and says its different, working with the opposition PRD and PAN parties on constitutional changes for reforming the econoy. Egypt and the Arab world is no exception. The Saudis and Emirates are able to deliver in economic terms as long as oil supplies and prices are high. Egypt has to find its own path and learn from the past to build the future.

Linked Articles

Other Nations Offer a Lesson to Egypt’s Military Leaders

New York Times 08/24/2013

Declan Walsh, Declan, Walsh

New York Times 08/16/2013

Charles A. Kupchan, Charles, A., Kupchan

Getting economic policy right- A second look at Japan, the European Union and the U.S. in 2014-2015

06/09/2013

In taking a second look, economists Stiglitz and Krugman ask if much derided Japan has avoided the worst effects of unemployment that have affected Spain, Italy, Greece, and France in the eurozone, and for the the long term unemployed in the U.S. And in doing so also avoided the widening income and wealth gaps opened up in the other industrialized countries.

Linked Articles

Apologizing to Japan

New York Times 10/30/2014

Paul Krugman, Paul, Krugman

New York Times 06/09/2013

Joseph E. Stiglitz, Joseph, E., Stiglitz

The LNG ship Prelude and the oil drilling rig Noble Bully 1- New technology changing the prospects and look of deep water oil drilling making it safer, cost effective and increasing production

01/03/2013

Shell's experience and technological improvements are changing the way oil drilling in deep waters is done. Chevron and other companies are also developing their expertise as this is critical in reaching the more difficult to access reserves deep in the ocean floor.

Linked Articles

A Novel Ship Extends Shell's Reach

Wall Street Journal 01/03/2013

Steven Rosenbush, Steven, Rosenbush

Wall Street Journal 01/29/2014

Justin Scheck, Justin, Scheck

Canada's DBRS, a little known credit ratings firm that made a large difference for the credit ratings of Italy and Spain

08/09/2012

Canada's DBRS put less weight on the political shifts in Italy and more on the low growth rate. It rated Italy A (low) in November 2013, much higher than the ratings given by Moody's and S&P. This was important in the eurozone crisis because the European Central Bank uses the highest rating on a sovereign country's bonds to decide discounts on collateral pledged by banks to the ECB. DBRS has more faith in the lasting value of the euro and sees through the ups and downs of the crisis. It takes a similiar upbeat long term view of Spain. DBRS has credibility because it did not move ratings up as much before the 2008 financial crisis, and did not move the ratings down as much during the crisis, as the large credit ratings firms.

Linked Articles

Excessive Power of Ratings

Wall Street Journal 08/09/2012

Richard Barley, Richard, Barley

Wall Street Journal 11/02/2013

Richard Barley, Richard, Barley

Production problems, outsourcing issues, delivery delays, and its impact on the Boeing Dreamliner and Airbus A-350 programs

07/11/2012

Changes in orders and cancellations by Quantas, China Eastern and other airlines as a result of long delays in the Dreamliner 787 program.

Linked Articles

Boeing 787 Profit Plan Strained by Order Cut

Wall Street Journal 08/24/2012

Jon Ostrower, Jon, Ostrower

Wall Street Journal 07/11/2012

Daniel Michaels, Daniel, Michaels

Greece's long delayed bond swap with European banks of March 9, 2012

03/09/2012

The bond swap of new bonds with long maturities reflecting a writedown of 53.5% for the old bonds with short maturities was finally achieved on March 9, 2012. By this time Greece's economy was shrinking badly and the new bonds were trading at levels that reflected the need for further writedowns only days after the deal. Prof. Cochrane at the University of Chicago and Prof. John Taylor at Stanford say French and German banks exaggerated the effects of contagion from the beginning to delay writedowns for as long as possible. The effects on the eurozone of the delays in tackling the problem early and decisively are negative or slowing growth and is likely to hurt the banks operating in that environment, raising questions about the wisdom of that strategy.

Linked Articles

Greece Passes Key Debt Test

Wall Street Journal 03/09/2012

Charles Forelle, Charles, Forelle, Alkman Granitsas, Alkman, Granitsas

Wall Street Journal 03/09/2012

Charles Forelle, Charles, Forelle, Alkman Granitsas, Alkman, Granitsas

Greece and EU in 2015- (4) How are the structural issues such as tax evasion in Greece being tackled, after Monti's effort to tackle this in Italy in 2012?

02/18/2012

Surprisingly the Syriza government in 6 months in office did not come up with a plan to implement for tax evasion. This was a major issue for the IMF and in Greece's interest, even though it was going contrary to long standing practice in Greece as it was in Italy. Estimates of lost revenue are about $11 billion each year for tax evasion. By comparison the IMF payment due was less than $2 billion on June 30, 2015. Sustainable long term finances make this a major issue in Greece's own interest. Greece has an aging population and the number of retirees are growing in relation to young working people making this an important issue for stable finances under any administration, and regardless of the euro.

Linked Articles

How Greek tax evasion sunk the global economy

Washington Post 07/10/2012

Brad Plummer, Brad, Plummer

Wall Street Journal 02/18/2012

Carl Bialik, Carl, Bialik