Category Archives: Business/Economics

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Pale Green Horse & What Economic Recovery? USDA to close 259 offices, how safe will your food be now?

I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.  They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

On January 9, 2012, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced they will have to close 259 offices across the country.  Budget concerns overrule food safety concerns.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is trying to cut $150 million from the USDA budget. The closures will affect 46 states, and includes seven foreign offices.

“They wiped out the entire Midwest.”-Andrew Lorenz, deputy district manager for the Food Safety and Inspection Service in Minneapolis

Lorenz says the office closings in his area have effectively shut down federal food inspection in Minnesota, Montana, the Dakotas and Wyoming!

Lorenz also said this could only mean USDA employees losing their jobs (on top of the 7,000 who were forced to take early retirement last year).

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack expressed concern: “Our workload is at record highs, we have less money and fewer people and work to do and we tried to address how do you do that without interrupting service.”

However, USDA undersecretary for food safety, Elisabeth Hagen, contradicted her own boss’s statement: “There will be no reduction in inspection presence at slaughter and processing facilities and no risk for consumers. Not only do we have a statutory obligation to be in every facility, we have an unwavering commitment to food safety. We will still be on the job, in every facility, every day.”

Now how do you do that with thousands less employees?

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

World War 3: Finland allows Patriot missiles to sail to South Korea

After an investigation, Finnish officials decided to let a British registered ship sail to South Korea, with it’s cargo of 69 Patriot missiles.

On December 21, Finnish port authorities discovered improperly packed, and labeled, Patriot missiles and explosive acid on the ship M/S Thor Liberty.   The explosives were exposed to the elements, and the missiles were labeled “fireworks”.

It turns out the German government had sold some of its Patriot missiles to South Korea.  The Germans demanded the Finns let the cargo go.

The two top officers of the ship were charged with safety violations.  The cargo was repacked safely and the ship was allowed to sail with its crew (the Finns originally wanted to hold and try the crew in court, but something changed their minds).

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Media Incompetence or Complicity? Olympus not first Japanese company to lose billions, and then try to hide it. It happened before, in the 1990s, but the reporter who was about to blow the whistle was literally sent out of the country.

“If we had published the story, the result for Yamaichi shareholders and people connected with the company might have been very different.”– Shigeo Abe, investigative journalist

Right now the Olympus scandal is still making headlines in Japan.  Partly because many people find it hard to believe that a company could lose so much money on “investments” then try to cover it up with more bogus investments and company take overs.  Yet something similar happened in the mid 1990s, but then it was deliberately hushed up by the Japanese media!

In 1994 journalist Shigeo Abe, and a few other reporters, did some investigating and discovered that one of Japan’s biggest securities firms, Yamaichi, had hidden millions in losses by creating fake companies.  The deception started in 1992.

Shigeo Abe’s bosses at his newspaper didn’t jump for joy at the thought of having such a scandalous story, instead they ordered him to leave the country! (shimanagashi, the feudal practice of sending political troublemakers away)

“The Yamaichi president had called the Nikkei president and pressured him to not run it. He said: ‘If we go bankrupt it will cause chaos in the economy.’ And that was that.”– Shigeo Abe, investigative journalist

He was gone for three years.  It was at the end of that three years that Yamaichi Securities finally went bankrupt, despite the story not being published (there’s a lesson for you who believe in the “see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil” philosophy). Japanese taxpayers got stuck with a debt bill equal to several million U.S. dollars (not to mention the huge losses for stockholders).

Shigeo Abe says what is going on with Olympus is similar. He said the Japanese media knew Olympus was in trouble at least one year before it was reported (guess who reported it first?).  He says nothing in the mainstream media is reported without official consent from the government or corporations: “There are no real scoops in Japanese newspapers. They are almost always authorized leaks.”

As a former TV news producer (six years), I can say the same applies to the mainstream U.S. media.

What happened to Shigeo Abe? He decided that the mainstream media is totally ineffective so he create an independent magazine called FACTA (not to be confused with the so called Fair and Accurate Credit Reporting Act). It was his 100% subscriber supported magazine that revealed the Olympus scandal!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International

Black Horse: March 11, 2011 Japan disasters destroy more than 500 companies, car sales lowest in 3 decades, record unemployment

Private credit firm Teikoku Databank says Japan’s March 11 disasters forced 510 companies to fail by December 31, 2011.  All together the companies had more than $9 billion in debt.

The construction sector had the most bankruptcies.  But even though contracts for repairing disaster hit areas are finally increasing, the struggling economy is causing a decline in construction in other parts of Japan, basically canceling out the effect of increased construction contracts in disaster areas.

For the Japanese automotive sector, sales of Japanese cars are at the lowest point in 34 years!  It’s all because of the quakes and tsunamis, and the ongoing nuclear disaster, directly affecting parts production for Japan’s car makers (add to that the recent flooding in Thailand which is having the same effect).

The result is that many of Japan’s major companies are moving production to other countries like China.  Of course that means unemployment is skyrocketing.

In August the Japanese Labor Ministry reported a record 38 year high in unemployment percentage. In November the official number of unemployed Japanese hit 2.88 million!

…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!”

Business/Economics, U.S.

Black Horse & Government Crime: Officials for Governor Scott Walker steal $21,000 from war veterans, enticing children

I looked, and 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!”

Tim Russell, former aide to Wisconsin Christian Elitist Governor Scott Walker, was arrested for embezzlement, after a secret investigation.

Also arrested, Brian Pierick and Kevin Kavanaugh, both have ties to Scott Walker.

Brian Pierick, an aid to Russell, was charged with enticing a child!  Kevin Kavanaugh, Walker’s appointee to the Milwaukee County Veterans Service Commission, was charged with theft and fraud.

Tim Russell served as Walker’s deputy chief of staff and housing director of Milwaukee County’s department of health and human services.  He’s accused of stealing at least $21,000 meant to go to Iraq and Afghan war veterans.  The complaint says he spent the money on vacations!

In the past year Wisconsin Christian Elitist Scott Walker has ended collective bargaining rights for government workers, among other things.  He’s facing a recall, and raised more than $5 million to fight the recall, but at least half of that money came from outside Wisconsin.

 

 

 

 

 

Business/Economics, Idaho, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Idaho’s Coldwater Creek still struggling, $124 million in losses, former employee leaves to start her own company. Forget Coldwater Creek keep your eye on Meesh & Mia

According to some reports, Idaho based Coldwater Creek finished 2011 with a net loss of at least $124 million!  They also saw a 20% drop in sales in their last quarter of 2011, after a 28% drop in sales the quarter before that!

The problem seems to be that Coldwater Creek’s prices, and quality of goods, are targeted to mid range consumers.

One big factor with this bad economy is that the middle class is shrinking, with some lucky to make it to the upper classes, but most ended up in the lower classes.  As a result consumer spending is matching that trend.  Only low end and high end retailers seem to be doing better.  Those retailers still catering to mid level consumers are suffering.

On January 3, the Coeur d’Alene Press wrote about Elizabeth Turley, a former Coldwater Creek and Chico’s employee, who started her own clothing business in Sandpoint, Idaho.

The company is called Meesh & Mia, and is targeting consumers that Coldwater Creek probably should have; young college women.  Meesh & Mia focuses on providing fashionable women’s clothing with university logos, and with the bad economy pushing a lot of women into college, business is booming.

Up ’till Meesh & Mia, most college clothing was targeted towards men and athletes.  But Turley also credits exposure in the national media with her company’s success, and blames the national media for troubles at Chico’s and Coldwater Creek: “It was kind of funny, because I had tried without any success when I was at Chico’s and again at Coldwater Creek to get placement on the Today Show.  And then here we were, little Meesh & Mia, making a debut. Kathy Lee and Hoda touched our product and the guest, a Southern Living editor, ever so briefly said, “great companies like Meesh & Mia.'”

Some stock analysts tried to end 2011 by sounding upbeat about Coldwater Creek, but it looks like Meesh & Mia is where to invest your money.  Turley expects to double her employees in 2012, as well as expand her customer base by adding 135 colleges and universities to her client list.

“It’s remarkable that no one has done this before! We’re certain that others will follow our lead, but it’s a $10 billion market, so there’s room for competition.”-Elizabeth Turley, Meesh & Mia founder

 

 

 

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

White Horse, Black Horse, Red Horse & Political Hypocrisy: Obama signs record military spending bill, then says spending needs to be cut. What he means is to cut spending on troops, increase spending on weapons. 80,000 soldiers will lose their jobs. More Wars to follow

I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

I looked, and 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!”

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.

On January 1, U.S. President Barack Obama signs the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012.  That means at least $662 billion taxpayer dollars will be spent on the Department of Defense.

On January 5, Obama hypocritically states that defense spending must be cut! He blames it on “…the Budget Control Act passed by Congress last year.”

But here’s the thing, Obama is not really talking about overall defense spending cuts, he’s talking about shifting defense spending, and targeted cuts.  U.S. troops could lose out on pay and benefits, in order to increase spending on high tech weapons systems.  They’re already losing their jobs.

“As we reduce the overall defense budget, we will protect and in some cases increase our investments in special operation forces in new technologies, like…. unmanned systems, in space and in particular in cyberspace.”-Leon Panetta, Defense Secretary

Obama and company said the cuts would not affect pay and benefits for troops and veterans, but that’s already happened.  There are many cases across the country where veterans have been cut off because of budget problems.

Analysts say there’s no way to keep spending on high tech weapons without affecting troop pay/benefits, or even without reducing the number of military personnel (already in 2011 the U.S. Army laid off 50,000 personnel).

According to a report by Military.com Leon Panetta has asked the U.S. Army to cut another 80,000 troops in 2012!

That’s fine if your not going to fight wars anymore, but Obama and company flat lied about that.  Obama said “Yes, the tide of war is receding…”   Well, if the tide of war is receding then why spend more money on more weapons?  Because the tide of war is not receding, at least in the eyes of our leaders.  Obama even says so: “As I made clear in Australia, we will be strengthening our presence in the Asia Pacific, and budget reductions will not come at the expense of that critical region.  We’re going to continue investing in our critical partnerships and alliances, including NATO, which has demonstrated time and again, most recently in Libya, that it’s a force multiplier.  We will stay vigilant, especially in the Middle East.”

What Obama is saying is that the he expects more war in the Middle East, and a new front to open in Asia!  Defense Secretary Panetta backs that up: “…as we move towards this new joint force, we are also rebalancing our global posture and presence, emphasizing the Pacific and the Middle East — these are the areas where we see the greatest challenges for the future. The U.S. military will increase its institutional weight and focus on enhanced presence, power projection, and deterrence in Asia-Pacific. This region is growing in importance to the future of the United States economy and our national security. ”

Business/Economics, U.S.

Black Horse & Political Incompetence: “Conservative Christian” Rick Perry spends $1.4 million in taxpayer money running for President, while Texas burns and people starve in Texas Prisons

I looked, and 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!”

Texas Governor Rick Perry has spent at least $1.4 million of Texas taxpayer’s money on his campaign for President of the United States.  What’s the money being spent on? Security, travel, lodging and food!

“…what are they eating? How many people are there? $4,400 in one meal? Jesus, lord, mercy, how much food can you eat?”– Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks

Between just September and December of 2011, $400,000 of taxpayer funds went towards security.

Other expenses include $32,000 worth of lodging while in San Francisco, $4,400 dinner tab in Simi Valley and $6,400 for a flight out of San Diego!

To add insult to taxpayer injury, ‘christian’ Rick Perry and his cohorts cut funding for Texas firefighters, right at a time when almost the whole state of Texas was burning (then he tried to blame Obama for not helping Texas fight the fires!).  Also, he cut funding for Texas prisons so drastically that they now get the equivalent of only two meals per day (welcome to the United Police States of America)!

Perry tried to justify the charging of his campaign expenses to the Texas taxpayers: “I’m going to be promoting Texas. I’m going to be traveling to places where the Texas story needs to be told, and we will tell it.”-Rick Perry

 

Business/Economics, Technology, U.S.

Government & Corporate Incompetence: Ohio suffering mass earthquakes, officials blame Fracking. Not the first time; Arkansas blamed Fracking on increased quakes back in July

“The earthquakes will trickle on as a kind of a cascading process once you’ve caused them to occur. This one year of pumping is a pulse that has been pushed into the ground, and it’s going to be spreading out for at least a year.”-John Armbruster, Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory

On New Year’s Eve, Ohio had a 4.0 quake.  It’s part of many quakes the state has suffered since March 2011.  Now state lawmakers are banning the energy industry’s practice of Fracking.

Energy companies inject chemically heavy water, under extreme pressures, deep into the ground.  It releases natural gas from shale. The gas is used mainly for the oil industry’s hydrogen cracking process, which makes fuels cleaner burning.

For a long time it’s been claimed that fracking pollutes underground water sources, but the industry has successfully fought off such claims.  Another claim is that it could cause earthquakes.

Now, seismologists with the U.S. Geological Survey have testified to Ohio officials that the state’s unusual quake activity is directly related to fracking wastewater injection.

In July, the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission banned  fracking wastewater injection, because of increased earthquake activity.

Energy companies doing the fracking are taking their wastewater and injecting it deep into underground sand deposits, to get rid of it.  Scientists say the problem is that the companies have overshot the underground sand beds, and are basically pressurizing fault lines.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: China’s strong economy can not exist without outside supplies, like oil from Iran

Chinese officials reporting that their country is the biggest consumer of natural resources in the world, and most of those resources come from outside China.

Zhang Ping, director of the National Development and Reform Commission, said China uses double the world average in energy (based on GDP).  Also, more than 50% of China’s petroleum and iron ore comes from other countries (like Libya and Iran in the case of oil).

Still, the amount of energy usage is far behind China’s incredible economic growth: Domestic economic growth averaging an annual rate of 11.2%, while energy consumption remains at 6.6%.