Category Archives: Business/Economics

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Idaho’s Hoku Materials loses $28 million, blames Idaho Power. Takes on 19 new loans to continue operation, beggars China for more money!

On March 5, 2012, Hoku International released its Quarterly 10-Q Report, ending December 2011.

Specifically their Pocatello, Idaho, Hoku Materials polysilicon operations (which has yet to actually begin operations) lost $28.4 million in the nine months ending on December 31, 2011.

Their 10-Q report blames part of the loss on Idaho Power’s electricity bills.  Idaho Power has reported that Hoku has consistently failed to pay their electric bill on time (actually in advance, under Idaho Power’s rules for large businesses)!

Hoku’s March 5, 2012, 10-Q report also revealed that they’ve had to “…obtained an aggregate of $315.5 million of debt financing through 19 bank credit agreements to support our operations.”  

That was as of December 31, 2011.  Hoku has also revealed that they’ve had to beg China for more money: “In January 2012, we entered into a credit agreement with Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Limited, New York Branch to provide for one or more term loans in an aggregate principal amount not to exceed $10.0 million. And in February 2012, we entered into a credit agreement with China Merchants Bank Co., Ltd., New York Branch to provide for a loan in an aggregate principal amount of $10 million.”

AS I WARNED: IDAHO HOKU SILICON FACTORY GOING UNDER, ANNOUNCING LAYOFFS, VIOLATED STOCK MARKET TRADING RULES

Business/Economics, Idaho, International, Technology, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? As I warned; Idaho Hoku silicon factory going under, announcing layoffs, violated stock market trading rules

March 6, 2012, Hoku International announced they will layoff about 20 employees at their Pocatello, polysilicon plant.

This comes after many delays in finishing the factory, and threats by Idaho Power to cut off electricity because Hoku hasn’t been paying its utility bill.  Also, Hoku lost big money in 2011.

Officials with Hoku said the layoffs are necessary to keep the company going.

On February 23, 2012, Hoku International was notified that trading of its stocks were suspended, for violating NASDAQ’s Listing Rule 5250(c)(1).  On March 5 (the day before the layoff announcement) Hoku claimed they were now in compliance with NASDAQ’s rules.

CORPORATE INCOMPETENCE: HOKU MATERIALS BEGS FOR MONEY TO PAY ITS OVERDUE IDAHO POWER BILL

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

World War 3: French Ambassador sneaks out of Syria, Syrian Ambassador tells U.K. bye bye, Canada closes Embassy

Lebanese media reporting that the French Ambassador to Syria has quietly driven into Lebanon. The ambassador and his diplomatic staff are in a convoy heading back to Pairs.

In the United Kingdom, the Syrian Ambassador made it clear to the British government that he will be leaving, after being called back by the Syrian government.

Canada has closed down their embassy in Syria: “All of our Canadian diplomats have left Damascus. The safety and security of Canadian personnel is our top priority and that is not a decision we took lightly.”-John Baird, Foreign Affairs Minister of Canada

After a meeting with officials from the United Arab Emirates, Canadian officials also imposed new sanctions. The new sanctions include a complete ban on financial services, as well as sanctions on the Syrian central bank.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Who’s the official “Best Friend of the American Worker”? China. Mitt Romney has short memory, makes hypocrite of himself.

Former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romney, has blasted China’s trade policies with the U.S., but China has just won a Massachusetts award for being the Best Friend of the American Worker!

On March 2, 2012, Chinese Premier, Wen Jiabao, was given the award in Boston by the International Longshoreman’s Association.  For what? For appreciation of China’s strong support of job growth for U.S. workers!

Here’s the thing, while Mitt Romney was governor of Massachusetts he actually wooed the Chinese to invest in that state.  In fact, at the end of 2003 Romney gave Wen a tour of Boston!

Another thing. Romney has also made a fool of himself.  He has repeatedly stated that China is costing the U.S. millions of jobs every year.  But here’s a sobering fact: U.S. exports to China increase year after year.  That means more jobs created in the U.S. to meet those export demands from China.

How much have exports to China grown?  According to the U.S.-China Business Council, U.S. exports to China skyrocketed 468% between 2000 and 2010!!!   Now you know why China is officially “Best Friend of the American Worker”.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Oil & Gas Prices to go up: Oil pipeline blown up in Syria, gas pipeline blown up in Egypt, oil pipeline explodes in Illinois, pipeline fire in Alaska, pipeline fire in Texas

March 5, 2012, pro-U.S. rebels blew up a major oil pipeline in Syria.  It happened in Deir al-Zor.

Deir al-Zor is an oil producing province bordering Iraq.  It has been under attack by rebels who are part of the loosely organized U.S./Israeli supported Free Syrian Army.

Also, a gas pipeline from Egypt to Jordan and Israel was blown up, for the 13th time since the January 2011 Egyptian Revolution.

Over the weekend, an oil pipeline was shut down after two cars crashed into the pipeline, causing an explosion.  The pipeline runs from Canada to Illinois. Two people were killed, three injured. Local Illinois police say it was a terrible car accident.

On March 1, British Petroleum (BP) reported a fire at one of its Alaskan operations. They said employees noticed a flame, then a loud bang at the Prudhoe Bay Gathering Center 2.   They don’t know what caused it.

In Texas, on March 2, three workers were injured by a fire on a Texas pipeline.  It’s being called a flash fire, caused when the workers were trying to repair an out of use pipeline.

On February 24, 2012, a Louisiana gas plant was closed indefinitely.  One employee was injured during a fire at the Basile plant.  The plant will re-open after an investigation.

Now realize that these kinds of things happen on a weekly bases, all around the World.  This proves the petroleum industry is not environmentally safe, is run by incompetents, is a main target of war, and it is the real reason oil and natural gas prices stay high.

 

Business/Economics, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Sears Kmart Store Closings update; Illinois hit hardest

On February 23, 2012, Sears Holdings released the latest list of Sears and Kmart store closings.

15 stores have been added to the 79 previously announced. The latest announcement has one Kmart closing in Maryland, one closing in New Jersey and one in South Carolina.

Also, a combination of Sears/Kmarts will be closed in the following states: Two in Ohio, two in Minnesota, three in Florida and five in Illinois.

Sears Holdings lost $3.1 billion in 2011.

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Sears to sell off stores to GGP. GGP owns most of the malls in Idaho. Sears loses $3 billion in 2011

On February 23, 2012, Sears Holdings announced that they will sell off eleven stores to major mall owner General Growth Properties (GGP).

sears chubbuck

Sears at the struggling Pine Ridge Mall in Chubbuck, Idaho

GGP owns most of the malls in Idaho (Idaho Falls, Boise, Chubbuck and Coeur D’Alene), and they have Sears stores, but, none of the eleven to be sold off are in Idaho.  This means that it’s possible they might make the next round of closings.

The eleven stores to be sold to GGP (for a total of $270 million, to be finalized in April 2012) include one in Hawaii, two in Utah, two in Iowa, one in Washington, one in Texas, one in Illinois, one in Oklahoma, one in Florida and one in Michigan.

Also on February 23, Sears Holdings reported a net loss of $3.1 billion for the year 2011!

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Congo explosion takes out Chinese workers, Catholic Cathedral

The Chinese government reports that 140 Chinese construction workers were hit by the large explosions in the south western African country of Congo-Brazzaville.  Six have died, one is missing.

Officials in Congo-Brazzaville expect to death toll to climb higher than 206.

The Catholic Cathedral called Saint Louis was flattened: “Many of the faithful are trapped in the debris of the church. Several of the dead have been taken out and I confirm there are more deaths inside.”-Didier Boutsindi, presidential spokesman

St Louis is the Diocese of the area, and it is not located in Brazzaville, where the explosions took place.  It is located in Nkayi, just west of Brazzaville.  If the report is true it gives you an idea how powerful the explosions were.

Congo-Brazzaville (Republic of Congo) has been racked by civil war for decades. In 2003 former French oil company executives testified in court that the oil industry is behind causing civil wars, because they can get access to the oil more cheaply.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Black Horse & What Economic Recovery? Brazil says the U.S. Elites are cannibalizing their own people

“Instead of using fiscal policies to invest in their own economies in order to avert the crisis, the rich nations have spilled U.S. $4.7 trillion in the world to make problems worse, thus putting emerging markets in jeopardy.”-Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, and is also an economist

“We have a currency war that is based on an expansionary monetary policy that creates unequal conditions for competition. We will continue to develop (our) country by defending its industry and ensuring that the strategy used by the developed countries to exit the crisis does not cannibalize emerging markets.”

When you realize that the overwhelming number of people living in the United States are now lower income, and that it has come as a result of the Elitist policies within the United states, then you can see that they are cannibalizing their own people as well.

“…there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!'”-New American Standard Bible, Revelation 6:5-6

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Red Horse & World War 3: Congo hit with huge explosions, at lest 200 people killed, 1,500 wounded. U.S. security contactor involved? Oil involved?

“According to sources at the central hospital we’re talking of around 200 dead and many injured. Some people are still (trapped) in their houses… They’re saying the entire neighborhood of Mpila has been destroyed.”-Betu Bangana, head of protocol in the Congo president’s office

March 4, 2012, Congo (aka Republic of Congo or Congo-Brazzaville, and not to be confused with the Democratic Republic of Congo [DRC]) has been hit with as many as six huge explosions.  Pictures show the smoke from one explosion is bigger than nearby skyscrapers.

“I saw someone being carried to hospital with their intestines hanging out. They had been hit by a shell.”-witness

One report says military ammo depots were targeted by rebels. The Defense Minister of Congo denied such claims, and said it was a fire that caused the massive explosions.

The explosions hit the capitol city Brazzaville.  They were so large that across the river in the DRC, the government there had to calm down the residents because the blasts took out windows in homes and businesses!

Back in the capitol of Congo, at a Catholic church where mass was being preformed, church goers were overwhelmed and of course the mass was canceled.

One thing that makes this suspicious is that a U.S. security contractor just happened to be in the city when it happened, and he’s the one who said there were six explosions: “I heard at least five or six good sized explosions, which blew out the windows and brought down half the ceiling in our hotel.”-Patrick Mair, Control Risks

Another suspicious thing is that Congo has been used by French oil companies, Total and Elf Aquitaine, in an effort to remain independent of U.S. and British oil companies (and therefore their respective governments’ policies).

In 2003 former executives of Elf Aquitaine admitted in court that they intentionally fueled civil wars, as a way to maintain cheap access to the oil.  How this worked was the oil companies traded cheaply acquired weapons/ammo, to various waring factions, in exchange for raw petroleum oil. GlobalWitness reported in 2009 that the incredible corruption between the Congo-Brazzaville government and the oil industries, was still ongoing!

To make things worse, Congo-Brazzaville, and the DRC, are areas of south western Africa that have seen many new oil discoveries in the past decade.

Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make men slay each other.