Tag Archives: China

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

What Economic Recovery? As I warned, Cosmetic prices up, as are prices for personal care products. No more cow dung for toothpaste!

“Cosmetics were very expensive back then, and a single product could cost the equivalent of a month’s salary for many office ladies.”-Chen Linlin, L’Oréal China

Linlin is talking about the not so good economic decade of the 1930s, but it looks like history is repeating for people (in North America and Europe) who just have to have makeup.

Back on 4 July 2011, I posted how Estee Lauder Group was the first cosmetic company to jack up their prices, and that it would be a trend for the whole industry.

Recently a Forbes article showed that Estee Lauder and L’Oréal are making bank in the Chinese market.  China’s internet cosmetics market is now nine times bigger than that of the United States, a 200% increase since 2006!

Last year cosmetics makers claimed that labor costs, and the costs of resources were the reasons for price increases.  Now, with China draining the supply of cosmetics, demand will ensure that prices will continue to go up.

Don’t blame China only, blame South America!  According to a NASDAQ report, the biggest market place for Avon (AVP) products is not the home base of the United States, but South America!

But, the NASDAQ report inadvertently reveals a couple of hidden reasons for the increase in your makeup prices: “AVP has turned its toehold in Latin America into a $1 billion-a-quarter business by spending a fortune on marketing and retailer incentives — if not the outright ‘bribes’ it is accused of distributing in Asia.”

However, when it comes to cosmetics that’re supposed to stop aging, it’s vain women in the United States that still take first place when it comes to anti-aging skin care products.

According to the research company, Mintel, the anti-aging skin care market in the U.S. leads the world with $2.3 billion USD in 2011 sales!

But it doesn’t stop with makeup.  One of my daughters told me that the shampoo she uses is now $2.00 USD more than it was a couple of years ago.

According to reports, the booming economy in India is creating a huge demand for personal care products that most rural people in India didn’t have access to: “In the past we used to use sticks or cow dung ash to clean our teeth. But now, just like urban people, we use a toothbrush and toothpaste. We use shampoo and expensive oils and creams. We have everything in our village that people have in towns and cities.”-Arun Mondal, a rural villager

In Canada the demand for body soap that does not contain harsh fragrances, therefore more environmentally friendly, has a Canadian soap manufacture scrambling and expanding into the retail market.

Paul Gillepsie, owner of Island Essentials wholesale, has so much business that he’s opened a retail store in Victoria, and will expand into Alberta. In 2004 his soap products were carried in 150 Canadian stores, now they’re sold in more than 250 stores.

But can we blame rising prices on rising demand in countries like Canada, China, India, and the countries of South America, and our own United States?

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the cost to U.S. consumers of personal care products has been skyrocketing ever since the 1960s! In the 1960s, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for personal care products was just under 40.  Now, in 2012, it’s at 161 and climbing.

However, looking at the Producer Price Index (PPI), aka U.S. wholesale prices,  shows that costs of intermediate goods (which are necessary for production of finished goods) have gone down from January 2011 to January 2012!

Intermediate goods were at 6.2% in January 2011, and were at 4.2% by January 2012, a 2% drop.  The cost of finished goods were at 3.6% in January 2011, but 12 months later were at 4.1% in January 2012, a half percent increase.

What’s important in the January to January comparison is what happened in the middle of 2011.  The costs of intermediate goods pegged at 11.5% in July 2011!  For finished goods the costs hit 7.1% twice, once in May and once in July 2011.

The spikes in intermediate and finished goods mirrors the cost of raw materials (aka crude materials). Overall, raw materials began January 2011 at 10.9%, and ended the year down more than 6%, at 4.5% in January 2012.  Again, the real killer was the spike in costs in the middle of 2011, topping out at 26.1% in June!

We in the United States are still paying for those spikes in the production costs of making the personal care products we can’t be without (cow dung for toothpaste anyone?).  However, the overriding decider of retail costs is still demand for such products, which seems to increase year after year, exponentially.

 

 

International, U.S.

World War 3: Australia joins U.S. led Pacific Air Forces. Begins new trilateral war games with Japan.

“The purpose of the Cope North exercise, held two to three times per year, is to enhance U.S. and Japanese air operations.”-GlobalSecurity.org

Until the recent signing of the trilateral military pact, Cope North war games were conducted by U.S. and Japanese air forces.  Now Australia joins the U.S. led Pacific Air Forces.

“….because of our unique training advantages Andersen AFB is also the preferred location to host numerous Department of Defense joint and combined exercises, most recently COPE NORTH, Pacific Air Forces premier trilateral exercise with the Japanese Self Defense Air Force and the Royal Australian Air Force.”-Colonel Randy Kaufman, Commander of the USAF 36th Operations Group at Andersen Air Force Base 

Andersen AFB is located on the U.S. Empire territory of Guam.

International, U.S.

World War 3: Signs Japan is preparing to join the U.S. in war with China! Military leaders say current Global situation similar to just prior to World War 2!

“In the latest sign of Japan’s military breaking out of its long-time self-imposed shell, about 20 uniformed, rifle-carrying soldiers, faces smeared with camouflage paint, marched through Tokyo’s western neighborhoods of Nerima and Itabashi Tuesday morning as part of a training mission….It was the first time in 42 years that Japanese troops openly marched through the capital…”-Wall Street Journal Japan, 12 June 2012

“Japan slipped to 5th position in the 2012 GPI [Global Peace Index], as a result of an increase in the number of heavy weapons and a slight rise in military spending as a proportion of GDP. There was also a rise in the Political Terror
Scale for the first time since 2004 from a very low level—the result of concerns raised in Amnesty International’s 2010 annual report. Despite the ban on maintaining war potential that was enshrined in Japan’s 1946 constitution, the country’s Self-Defense Forces (SDF) are sophisticated and capable and in
late 2010 the government unveiled plans to boost its southern forces over the next decade to counter China’s military rise.”-Global Peace Index 2012

“Satoshi Morimoto, a prominent national security analyst and government adviser who served in both the Japan Self-Defense Forces and the Foreign Ministry, was named to the defense post on Monday. He becomes Japan’s third defense minister since September; his predecessors, career politicians, were fired for incompetence.”-Time.com

“Japan is swinging its ground forces south to face China, and debating fundamental changes in the roles, missions and operations of its self-defense forces.“-Time.com

“Morimoto….is the first defense minister since the Second World War who is not a member of the Diet. That’s a big deal in a country that still nurses a deep distrust of the military and where renunciation of war is written – right there in black and white — into Japan’s constitution.”-Time.com

“He [Morimoto] is also a strong supporter of the U.S.-Japan alliance and of keeping Marines on Okinawa, despite the noise, crime and danger that have sparked decades of protest.”-Time.com

“A recent image posted on the top page of the official website for the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force (JGSDF) High Technical School conspicuously features the Zaku mobile suit from the Gundam [Anime/cartoon] series, with two students looking at a toy of the suit while imagining themselves as one…..The JGSDF High Technical School is a three-year high school that offers specialized technical training as well as officer training to its students……”-Animenewsnetwork.com

“The two big challenges Japan faces today are social security and national security. The latter is related to the SDF [Self Defense Forces] and the Defense Academy….The role to be played by the SDF will grow greater in the future.”-Ryosei Kokubun, current president of the National Defense Academy of Japan, interview with The Daily Yomiuri

“The situation in Japan today is similar to that of Britain and France after World War I. As the cruel war killed so many young people, the public’s prevailing opinion during the postwar period was that they should never go to war again.  As a result, Britain and France tended toward appeasement against the rise of Germany, only to allow another cruel war to break out.   Similarly, after the end of World War II, Japan came to believe it should be committed to pacifism.  It has managed to maintain its security by taking full advantage of the Japan-U.S. alliance in combination with its own limited arms.  Today, however, the surrounding region has become one of the most dangerous in the world. Since the 1991 Gulf War, China has realized the necessity of modernizing its forces, and as a result it continues to build up its military…”-Makoto Iokibe, former president of the National Defense Academy of Japan, interview with The Daily Yomiuri

International, Technology, U.S.

World War 3: Venezuela & Iran build drone. Target; U.S.?

On 13 June 2012, Venezuelan TV revealed a drone (UAV) they say was built by Iranian and Venezuelan technicians.  It’s called Arpia-001 (Harpy-001).

President Hugo Chavez insisted that the drone, which will be mass produced, is not meant to target a specific country, but to increase Venezuelan defenses.  The UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) has military and civilian (police?) uses.

The Arpia-001 has a limited radius of operation of 100 kilometers (60 miles).  So far the South American country has built three of the home built drones.

Chavez said it is part of his country’s plans to increase military ties with Russia, China and Iran.

 

 

 

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

What Economic Recovery? Solar company Hoku Corporation stock value less than 20 cents! Do Not Trade warning issued!

On 8 June 2012, the value of Hoku Corporation stock settled at 15 cents per share, after hitting 20 cents that morning.  Some stock trading media outlets issued a Do Not Trade warning for Hoku (NASDAQ: HOKU).

Hoku Corp owns failed Hoku Materials in Pocatello, Idaho.  Hoku Corp is a subsidiary of Tianwei New Energy Holdings, which is an affiliate of China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC).

Ever since the end of May, Hoku stock has been struggling to get above 20 cents. Wikinvest says Hoku’s 52 week average is only 7 cents per share!  At last check, 13 June 2012, Hoku Corp was trading between 16 and 17 cents per share.

IDAHO’S HOKU MATERIALS ABOUT TO BE FINISHED OFF BY LAWSUITS, LAYS OFF 100 MORE EMPLOYEES IN BANNOCK COUNTY!

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

What Economic Recovery? Idaho’s Hoku Materials about to be finished off by lawsuits from unpaid contractors! Lays off 100 more employees in Bannock County!

“The proceeds of the loan are insufficient to pay down current liabilities, resume construction or start commercial operations. The loan proceeds will be used to fund working capital requirements while we plan for a restructuring of our liabilities, and the liabilities of our subsidiary Hoku Materials Inc.”– Scott Paul, CEO of Hoku Corporation

At the end of May, 2012, the CEO of Hoku Corporation basically said that Hoku Materials, in Pocatello, Idaho, has ceased operations, even before it began operations!

I speculated that the 17 May decision to jack up U.S. tariffs on Chinese made solar products would be the final nail in the coffin for Hoku Materials, and it looks like I was right.

This is because Hoku turned to Chinese companies to bail them out of their financial woes.  They became a subsidiary of Tianwei New Energy Holdings, which is an affiliate of China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC).  All their contracts are with Chinese solar product companies hoping to increase their business in the United States.

On top of that, JH Kelly, primary contractor working on the Hoku Materials project, is finally fed up with not being paid and has sued Hoku.

At the beginning of 2012 Hoku Materials laid off 20 employees (according to an Idaho State Journal report, that left around 150 employees).

In April, remaining construction work was stopped all together (due to the lawsuits).

At the end of May 2012, a local Pocatello TV station started getting phone calls from unnamed sources within the Hoku Materials factory.  The callers were reporting massive layoffs.

Hoku Materials admitted to the local TV station that they laid off another 100 employees, because of massive debts, the increased U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar products, and civil suits by JH Kelly and other contractors!  Hoku is now going through “restructuring”, which usually includes selling off assets to pay debts.

I’ve been warning since 2010 of the impending doom of Hoku Materials.  The sad thing is that officials with the city of Pocatello, as well as Bannock County officials, bent over backwards to get Hoku to build their polysilicon plant in Pocatello (that included essentially giving the land to Hoku, by allowing a tax credit equal to the value of the land). This is because truly good paying jobs have become hard to find locally (no thanks to previous city and county leaders chasing off major employers for personal/religious reasons, such as refusing to allow Union Pacific to make Pocatello their Pacific Northwest Depot!).

Now there’s an unfinished polysilicon factory, taking up space equal to 50 football fields!  To top that, the factory butts up to a residential area, a once dead end residential street is now the entry road to the defunct factory!

NEW Obama imposed U.S. TARIFFS ON CHINESE SOLAR PANELS COULD BE THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN FOR IDAHO’S HOKU MATERIALS

International, U.S.

World War 3: Proof the coming global war will be against China, U.S. sending 60% of naval fleet to Asia-Pacific region! Blame South China Sea oil fields!

“…make no mistake, in a steady, deliberate and sustainable way, the United States military is re-balancing and brings enhanced capabilities to this vital region.”-Leon Panetta, U.S. Secretary of Defense

2 June 2012, U.S. Defense Secretary, Leon Panetta, announced that the United States is now sending most of its Navy to the Asia-Pacific region, with the goal of having 60% of U.S. naval forces in place by 2020!

Panetta made the announcement at the annual Shangri-La Dialogue conference, in Singapore.  He stressed that the bad economy, and U.S. government budget cuts will not affect the buildup of U.S. military forces near the South China Sea.

The coming full blown global war could be between China and the West, not between Christians and Muslims. It will be centered on controlling the immense oil fields at the bottom of the South China Sea.

The U.S. has been there before, it was called (unofficially) the Vietnam War.

Decades ago, while doing research in a community college library in California, I came a cross a little black book, published only once.  It was a chronicle of U.S. and European oil companies who were attempting to explore the South China Sea.  They concluded that there was massive oil reserves there, but the technology needed to get at it was not worth what oil was selling for. Believe it or not the average price per barrel of oil, from 1958 to 1970, was only $3.00 USD!!!

According to the book (of which I forget the title), the oil industry’s decision not to spend anymore money on South China Sea exploration was a key factor in U.S. President Richard Nixon’s decision to get out of Vietnam (the peaceful anti-war demonstrations had nothing to do with it).

Since the end of the Vietnam War, China has laid claim to the entire South China Sea.  In the past few years several other countries have as well, such as; Taiwan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines and Japan.  Why? Because the current price per barrel of oil makes drilling in the South China Sea worth it!

Already China has secretly built natural gas rigs in the Sea.  They were discovered by Japanese recon planes sent to investigate the sighting of huge fire balls shooting into the sky.

To enforce how important the South China Sea is to the Whore of Babylon oil industry of the United States, in November 2011 a U.S. Asian political analyst said: “If we are going to move out of this recession, Asia is going to be part of that equation. Asia is where we are going to grow.”-Ernest Bower, Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies

This newly announced U.S. naval buildup in the Asian Pacific is on top of the U.S. military buildup in Australia.

Influenza

H5N1 Update, 27 May 2012: Only one vaccine? U.S. changing rules. Global Food Crisis as Egypt’s food supply hit hard, blame the U.S.

H5N1 is not only making people in Egypt sick, it’s also destroying their food supply.  Bird flu, along with foot & mouth disease, is taking down precious livestock.  It’s becoming not only a health issue, but an economic one as well.

According to a 14 May report in the Atlantic, H5N1 is also threatening livestock in “…Sudan, Israel, the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and Jordan.” But the article says everyone should blame the U.S./NATO backed war in Libya!

The Atlantic says that the U.S./European created war in Libya is responsible for more than 10% of livestock deaths, as a result of disease, making Libya “ground zero” of a public health emergency.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization is “…warning that the epidemic in Egypt was threatening human food supplies for all of the Middle East and North Africa.”

The Atlantic also explains that six years of efforts to control H5N1 in Egypt are not working. That’s because the current vaccine is no longer valid against the new strain of H5N1.  It’s estimated that millions of chickens (a main protein source in Egypt) have died, or been culled because of H5N1 infection.

Now ducks are showing up with a new version of H5N1.  The UN World Health Organization says Egypt is number two for human cases of H5N1, Indonesia is number one!

On 7 May 2012, another dead wild bird in Hong Kong tested positive for H5N1.

At the beginning of May the controversial H5N1 study was made public. This was the study that shows how to make H5N1 transmissible between humans. As a result the U.S. National Institutes for Health (NIH) wants new rules regarding dual-use research of concern (DURC).

DURC refers to studies which look at the possibility of current diseases becoming more deadly, so that the medical community could be better prepared.  The problem is that those studies could also serve as instructions for making biological warfare agents.

The NIH is considering advise from local health organizations before coming up with the new DURC rules.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Sinovac Biotech, a Chinese company, is the “…only supplier of the H5N1 pandemic influenza vaccine to the [Chinese] government-stockpiling program.”

The vaccine is called Panflu, and they are working on a new version called Panflu 1.

 

Business/Economics, International, U.S.

Global Economic War: Japan & China drop the U.S. dollar, will use their own money for international transactions! Britain wants in on the deal!

26 May 2012, Japan and China could begin using their own money for international transactions as early as June.

The two countries have been working on a plan to conduct business with each other using the yen and the yuan, and avoiding international banks requiring the U.S. dollar.

Japan’s Kyodo News said Japan and China need to use their own money in order to reduce risks associated with exchange rate fluctuations in the U.S. dollar.

Japan’s NHK is also reporting that United Kingdom and Singapore want similar deals with China. This is an acceleration of the Chinese yuan as the new international currency, replacing the U.S. dollar!

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

What Economic Recovery? New U.S. tariffs on Chinese solar panels could be the final nail in the coffin for Idaho’s Hoku Materials

Troubled Hoku Materials polysilicon factory in Pocatello, Idaho, could be finally done in by the latest U.S. tariffs against Chinese solar panel companies.

Hoku Materials is a division of Hoku Corporation, which in turn is a subsidiary of Tianwei New Energy Holdings, which is an affiliate of China South Industries Group Corporation (CSGC).  Hoku Corp turned to China for financial help a few years ago, which is how it became a a subsidiary of Tianwei New Energy Holdings.

The Chinese companies were hoping to get around any possible future U.S. tariffs by taking over Hoku, but it’s now clear that was a wasted investment for them.

On May 17, 2012, the U.S. Commerce Department announced new tariffs on Chinese solar product makers, claiming that China dumped (sold for far less than what it cost to make them) their products on the U.S. market.

The new action, approved by President Obama, imposes tariffs of 31% or more on solar products coming from China. So far, Hoku Materials’ contracts for polysilicon are with Chinese companies only.  Despite several official start-up announcements, their polysilicon factory in Idaho has yet to actually start up!

Prior to the new U.S. tariff announcement, stock in Hoku Corp was trading at less than 30 cents per share.

GOOD AND BAD NEWS FOR IDAHO’S HOKU MATERIALS