Category Archives: International

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

March 11 Tsunami debris, including waterborne radioactive contamination, will reach U.S. in 4 months, EPA to begin monitoring

November8, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), will begin monitoring for at least three million tons of tsunami debris, due to hit Hawaii by March 2012.

Debris has already reached 900 kilometers (559 miles) west of the Midway Islands.  Scientists are warning that the debris (not to mention debris contaminated with radiation) will affect ecosystems, and tourism.

Japan’s National Institute for Environmental Studies made the official estimate of three million tons of debris, and we all know how the Japanese government underestimates things!  The flotsam will hit the west coast of North America by the end of 2012.

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

What Economic Recovery? Toyota to cut production by at least 30%, blaming floods

First the March 11 disasters in Japan, now the floods in Thailand.  Toyota says they can’t get enough parts to build their cars.

Toyota and Honda are suffering major parts supply problems (Honda already cut North American production by 50%).

Toyota is cutting back on worldwide production.  November 7, according to NHK, Toyota will be forced to cut production by at least 30%.

Toyota was trying to recover from the March 11 disasters, and had hoped to produce 330,000 vehicles in Indonesia, for the month of November.  Now they are hoping they can produce 230,000.

Blame it on the incompetent ‘just in time’ parts supply policy.

 

 

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

Occupy the World, Corporate Incompetence: Camera maker Olympus never reported losses, for at least a decade!

November 8, scandal for Japanese owned camera and industrial equipment maker Olympus: They deliberately kept losses off their finance books since the 1990s.

More proof that corporations can’t be trusted. The scandal wasn’t the result of Olympus officials confessing, it was the result of a third party investigation!

The losses come from securities investments.  Company officials tried to cover up the losses by blaming it on consulting fees, and the purchase of three smaller companies.

Olympus stock is now crashing on the Japanese stock market.  Olympus Vice President Hisashi Mori was fired for his involvement in the cover up.

 

International, Technology

Asteroid 2005 YU 55 will come close to Earth, closer than the Moon

NASA says on November 8, asteroid 2005 YU 55 will come very close to the Earth.

The asteroid is 400 meters (1,312 feet) in diameter, and at the closest point will be only 320,000 kilometers (198,000 miles) from Earth, that’s within the orbit of the Moon.

This isn’t a rare occasion; the last time such a close encounter happened was 35 years ago.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Occupy Wall Street, Class War: Latest study says Big Corporations do not pay their fare share of taxes

Not only are many of the biggest corporations reporting big profits, they’re paying small taxes.  The official tax rate for corporations is supposed to be 35%, but the latest study shows the average effective tax paid is about 18.5%.

Some corporations pay no taxes, and a handful actually have negative taxes!

280 companies in the Fortune 500, that were profitable for all three years between 2008 and 2010, were studied.

111 companies paid effective tax rates of less than 17.5% over the three-year period.  98 paid a rate between 17.5% and 30%.

The average rate is 18.5%.  But wait, there’s more.  Some companies paid zero taxes!  30 actually owed less than nothing over the three years!

Two of those corporations are Pepco Holdings and General Electric.  Over the 2008 to 2010 period Pepco made $882 million in profits, but had a tax rate of -57.6% (yes, put a negative sign in front of that)!   But here’s a bigger shocker: GE earned $10.5 billion, with a tax rate of –45.3%!   How do you make big corporate profits, and then effectively have the government owe you money?

Lobbyists hired by Corporate America convince your elected lawmakers to create more corporate tax breaks.

The study was done by Citizens for Tax Justice, and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy.

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

60% of Chinese millionaires want to leave China

A recent survey of Chinese millionaires found that 60% want to leave China.  14% have already left, or are in the bureaucratic process of leaving.

And where do Chinese millionaires want to go?  40% said they plan on moving to the United States.  Canada and Singapore are also top choices.

According to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), the number of Chinese applicants for ‘investment immigration’ has exceeded applications from any other country!

Investment immigration basically means you’re being allowed to immigrate into the U.S. because you’re investing your wealth into the U.S. (minimum $500,000 required).

What’s the main reason Chinese millionaires want to move to the United States?  They want better education for their children.  Hah, I hope they’re not disappointed, like so many U.S. parents.

The survey was conducted by Hurun Report and the Bank of China.

 

 

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Corporate Incompetence: WalMart refuses to pay rent in China, since 2002, gets shut down for selling bad meat. Think your U.S. WalMart stores are bad?

WalMart is in trouble in China, because it hasn’t paid rent since 2002, and it lies about what it sells.

According to Chinese media, in 2002 WalMart signed a 15 year lease contract with the Wanguo Shopping Plaza in the northeastern coastal city of Dalian.  Problems occurred with the timely development of the property, and WalMart decided to move across the street.  The problem is that they signed a 15 year contract.

Wanguo Shopping Plaza has sued WalMart for back due rent.  Chinese courts have ruled that the lease contract is still binding.

WalMart had claimed that Wanguo Shopping Plaza lost its business license, and that the contract was terminated in 2007.  WalMart also claimed they paid about two years worth of rent.  The courts found that Wanguo Shopping Plaza never lost its license, there is no evidence the contract was terminated, and that WalMart paid a little more than one year of rent.

This is just the latest in bad things happening to WalMart in China.  In October, 13 Wal-Mart stores were shut down for 15 days for selling incorrectly labelled pork products.  WalMart had previously been penalized 21 times since 2006 for false advertising and selling expired food!

International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: Israel develops ballistic missile, the target; Iran

November 3, Israel’s Defense Ministry said they had test fired a ballistic missile.  Observers say the latest test-firing is a warning against Iran’s nuclear program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned of a “direct and heavy threat” posed by Iran’s nuclear program.

The testing of the ballistic missile was not announced in advance.  Some Israeli media sources say this is part of the Israeli government’s plan to attack Iran.  However officials in Netanyahu’s administration say regarding the missile test and Iran “The two things are separate”.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? Federal Reserve Bank revises growth forcast downward, blames Europe

No surprise, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank revised its economic growth forecast downward.

Back in June the bank predicted U.S. growth at 2.9% (which is still bad, it needs to be above 3% to be good).  Now they revised it downward by one percent, to 1.9%.  Can you say stagnation?

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the expanding crisis in Europe has made the future of the U.S. economy increasingly unclear.

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

What Economic Recovery? Sony blames $2 billion loss on the United States & Europe, no more Sony TVs for you

On November 3, Sony announced that its television division is likely to post a record loss of about U.S.$2.2 billion for 2011.  That makes eight straight years of losses!

Sony is blaming poor sales in the United States and Europe.  This is more proof that the U.S. is no longer the market place for the World’s manufacturers.

Sony Executive Deputy President Kazuo Hirai says there is no sign of any economic recovery, and the company will revise downward its mid-term sales target by half.  Sony will also cut way back on TVs sold in Europe and the U.S.

Panasonic and Sharp say they will do the same.