Archive for December, 2007
China Helps Farmers Purchase Electrical Appliances
Monday, December 31st, 2007China’s central government announced that it will be helping rural folk by subsidizing the purchase price of electrical appliances. The move was said to be a boost to domestic consumption, but I can’t help think that this is about making the poor classes feel better about missing out on China’s great economic boom.
“Farmers will receive […]
Sister Cities International: The Oracle Of Municipal Matchmaking
Saturday, December 29th, 2007In case you haven’t heard the news, four new US-China air routes have been announced. Beginning in 2009, the routes will run between: (a) Philadelphia-Beijing; (b) Chicago-Beijing; (c) NY-Shanghai; and (d) Detroit-Shanghai. Great news, but the announcement made me wonder how much thought went into the choices here.
One organization pairs up municipalities as a part […]
China, Israel: Making Electric Cars?
Thursday, December 27th, 2007The definition of “global community”, according to Dave Barry, is any three nations that can build a decent car, plus, if he’s not off building houses somewhere, Jimmy Carter.
China’s political clout has never quite matched its car-making capabilities, that’s for sure. And another country that is lacking in the auto-producing capacity is Israel. Now, […]
Alcatel-Lucent Bribes Chinese, Realizes Solid “ROB”
Thursday, December 27th, 2007Alcatel-Lucent has settled its bribery case with the US Justice Department. The telecoms giant was busted for bribing Chinese officials, the graft having come in the form of lavish trips for their Chinese guests.
The cost of the trips was estimated at hundreds of millions of US dollars, and we can assume that the benefit to […]
Pew Research On Attitudes Towards China: It’s About Trade
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007The Pew Research Center has published a survey of global attitudes towards China. It’s a simple barometer that asks citizens of various countries whether they have a favorable or unfavorable view. The survey suggests that attitudes are connected to politics, but I see a more direct trade-related link.
Economies that have seen their export sectors devastated […]
Nanking (2007): The Movie Review
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007Just received glowing recommendation for a movie that recently earlier this year. Nanking is the title, and a friend is allowing me to reprint his comments on the title. I’ve placed a link to Internet Movie Database (IMDB.com), which is my #1 source for info on the movies. If you happen to be in Manhattan, […]
Japan Shoots Down Missile In Space
Wednesday, December 19th, 2007Japan shot down a ballistic missile in space, high over the Pacific Ocean. This was done in coordination with the United States, and the only thing we can wonder is what China makes of all this. The reaction from Beijing was said to be “muted”, though it added that it “hoped Tokyo’s actions would be […]
Li & Fung Expanding India Operations
Sunday, December 16th, 2007Li & Fung is looking to double operations in India over the next three years. Today, India accounts for 6% of the revenue. What I wonder is how much of this expansion has to do with rising prices in China.
Even more interesting is that the firm has claimed the expansion will allow the company to […]
Japan Gets China Treatment: Joint Communiqué Unilaterally Changed By Beijing
Thursday, December 13th, 2007Well, it looks as if business people working with China are not the only ones to suffer from contract manipulation by the Chinese.
Japan signed a joint communique with Beijing earlier this month only to discover that the Chinese quietly deleted two terms from the contract without notifying the other side that they had done […]
Shanghai Caucus: NY Sun On Bloomberg’s China Visit
Wednesday, December 12th, 2007There’s been quite a lot of commentary on Bloomberg’s visit to China, and an editorial in the NY Sun caught my attention this morning:
Mr. Bloomberg didn’t turn in a perfect performance — we’d have preferred he included Taiwan and democracy activists in Hong Kong on his itinerary. But it was a strong performance. With polls […]
Blame China: Wall Street Couple Found Guilty Of Insider Trading
Thursday, December 6th, 2007Earlier today, a Chinese couple that worked on Wall Street was found guilty of insider trading. They cleared a reported $600,000 gain through inside tips. I was sent the news item by someone who reads our website here, and I might not have posted this, except check out their courtroom defense.Their attorney claimed argued that […]