Government officials in London, Paris and Berlin blamed each other for not backing the €36bn tie-up between BAE Systems, the UK’s defence champion, and EADS, Europe’s biggest civil aerospace group, while investors accused BAE of having a muddled strategy that threatened shareholder value.An opinion piece in the Economist blames it on Germany (EADS ownership is complex; a large portion is controlled by Daimler). And, the BBC has a very nice summary of the whole deal.
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Colombia is emerging as an attractive destination for investors. Improved security measures have led to a 90% decline in kidnappings and a 46% drop in the murder rate over the past decade...
"Closing stores is always a difficult decision," said chairman & CEO, The Home Depot. "We are thankful for the dedicated service of our store associates in China, and we wish them all the best during this transition."My favorite part is the last paragraph. "Our new approach leverages that experience..." Where I come from, they call that "learning from your mistakes." But, I do loathe and despise business buzzwords.
While it is closing its big box stores, The Home Depot is maintaining a new formats team to continue research and development activities. In addition, the Company is maintaining two recently-opened specialty stores - a paint and flooring store and a Home Decorators Collection store, both located in - and is in the beginning stages of developing relationships with several of China's leading e-commerce websites, a combination which the Company believes is more tailored to Chinese customers' needs and shopping preferences.
"We've learned a great deal over the last six years in China, and our new approach leverages that experience and reflects our continuing interest in providing value to Chinese customers, as well as our shareholders," said Blake.
Both companies are aiming to reach an agreement by October 10, according to two people familiar with the deal talks. BAE and EADS executives wanted to decide “whether this thing will fly or not” by that date, although the deadline could be pushed back if necessary, one of these people said.
Avon Products Inc reported weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter results as sales slid in every market except Latin America and the company saw a 3 percent drop in the number of representatives who sell its cosmetics directly to consumers.
Opinion polls place her some distance behind the current frontrunner, Enrique Pena Nieto, the candidate of the party which ruled Mexico for more than 70 years, the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party).And, it is most likely that the next president will be Enrique Peña Nieto from the PRI (Institutional Revolutionary Party).
The Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI), which ruled Mexico for 71 years until 2000, leads the pack and looks set to return under the slick candidacy of Enrique Peña Nieto, a former governor of Mexico’s most populous state.However, there’s been some corruption corruption associated with Mr. Peña Nieto:
It was a mere $1.8 million, stuffed as brand new bills into two suitcases on a small jet travelling from the drug-raddled state of Veracruz to the home town of the man likely to be Mexico's next president. Suspicious? Officers from Mexico's Attorney-General's office confiscated the money last weekend during a search of the plane, which landed in Toluca, capital of the state of Mexico. They arrested the two men transporting the cash, who said they were Veracruz officials but could not present any paperwork on where the money came from. As rumours and speculation swirled, officials in the government of Veracruz acknowledged the money (25 million pesos) was theirs. They said they'd sent it to a publicity agency to pay for promotions for a carnival.
AND because Elections ought to be free, the King commandeth upon great Forfeiture, that [no Man] by Force of Arms, nor by Malice, or menacing, shall disturb any to make free Election.
A deal could be announced as early as next week, according to people familiar with the situation, though a host of regulatory challenges await on both sides of the Atlantic, according to competition experts.Well, the deal isn't going to go through. The European Commission announced yesterday that the merger would violate EU antitrust provisions.
The day after blocking the merger of NYSE Euronext (NYX) and Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1), the European Union’s antitrust chief vowed to veto other deals that hamper competition. The EU will continue to block deals “whenever necessary,”So, what does this all mean? There will most likely be additional consolidations in the world's markets; the London Metal Exchange is looking to be bought out soon. It does mean that, as a company looking to raise money in the equities market, that there'll be less choice as to where to list one's stock. Does that matter? In reading through the EU's press release on the NYSE Euronext / Deutsche Börse merger, they keep saying "competition is good," but it's not clear just why competition among financial marketplaces is a good thing.
Joaquin Almunia said in prepared remarks for a speech in Brussels today.
The presence of many exchanges in reality is not incompatible with this view, as exchanges were not competing with one another, at least in Europe, until a decade ago, due to different regulations and currencies that let them be monopolist in their relevant markets. In fact, in each country, either only one exchange existed or only one was dominant and absorbed the small regional ones (as in France, Italy, Spain, and Germany).Today's story has been widely reported, but the more I think about it, the impact on businesses in general will most likely be a limited one. It's still an interesting story, especially when you look at the history behind it.
According to an article in yesterday's Washington Post, Japan is undergoing a demographic crisis:
Japan’s population of 128 million will shrink by one-third and seniors will account for 40 percent of people by 2060, placing a greater burden on a smaller working-age population to support the social security and tax systems.
The article goes on to say that, by 2060, the retired (that is, not working) proportion of the population will reach 40%. The Japanese government is proposing tax increases to fund these looming pension liabilities, but faces parlimentary opposition in doing so. And, the standard retirement age is 60.
It isn't just an issue of money, though. The number of nursing homes and the avialability of caretakers are an issue as well. It's to the point where the Japanese are developing robots that can move patients, help the elderly dress, and, most frighteningly of all, provide companionship:
Scientists have invented therapeutic robotic babies that are intended to make life easier for nursing home residents. These Babyloids are being tested in facilities across Japan. During the tests, residents interact with the robots in eight-minute intervals for a total of 90 minutes each day. Designed to resemble infants, these robots simulate human emotions such as crying. This in turn tends to trigger a response among actual people. So far, the Babyloids are showing early promise at reducing depression and despair among residents.
And, this is in a retiree population that, having lost the personal ties from work, is already lonely.
There is, though an argument that the falling birthrate in Japan is an unintended consequence of a deliberate and rational decision on the part of the Japanese. To quote at length from the New York Times:
Take, for instance, how Western observers have viewed Japan’s demographics. The population is getting older because of a low birthrate, a characteristic Japan shares with many of the world’s richest nations. Yet this is presented not only as a critical problem but as a policy failure. It never seems to occur to Western commentators that the Japanese both individually and collectively have chosen their demographic fate — and have good reasons for doing so.
The story begins in the terrible winter of 1945-6, when, newly bereft of their empire, the Japanese nearly starved to death. With overseas expansion no longer an option, Japanese leaders determined as a top priority to cut the birthrate. Thereafter a culture of small families set in that has continued to the present day.
Japan’s motivation is clear: food security. With only about one-third as much arable land per capita as China, Japan has long been the world’s largest net food importer. While the birth control policy is the primary cause of Japan’s aging demographics, the phenomenon also reflects improved health care and an increase of more than 20 years in life expectancy since 1950.
The demographic trends in the EU and the US are not dissimilar. However, the participation of women in the paid labor force in the EU has room to increase, and in both the US and the EU, immigration (documented or otherwise) is another safety valve.
Despite the problems of issues in Japan, I'd rather be old in Japan than in China, where for all but the very rich, "nursing home" translates as "snake pit" or "hellhole."
As for Medvedev — who at one point was branded with the tag "pitiful" on Twitter — analysts said his political future is anything but certain. "President Dmitry Medvedev is worse than a lame duck, he's a dead duck," said Nikolai Petrov, an analyst with the Carnegie Moscow Center.
“Tell Putin to fulfill all of his promises, not just half of them,” said Sergei V. Verkhososov, 34, a mechanic from the nearby industrial town of Nizhny Tagil, who was bused in for the afternoon by his employer. “He needs to think about the future, and those people who fought for him. Take these words to him.”
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“In Moscow they insulted me, they insulted everyone who works honestly for the sake of the motherland,” Igor Kholmansky, a worker at a plant that makes train cars and tanks, said from the stage. “We came here today to say that the workers of the Urals are for stability, for Putin and for Russia.”
His December 15 response to charges of corruption displays his chutzpah. The Russian people do not need democracy, he assured viewers. He (purportedly among the world’s richest men) personally will ferret out and punish those who are corrupt. As an example, he accused a former cabinet member – now a lonely member of the opposition — of corruption.
In a remarkable display of double-talk, Putin dismissed bloggers and demonstrators: “If the people show their trust in me with the highest office of president, I will conditionally work in their interests. Whether I have this trust or not is not revealed on internet sites or demonstrations. In a democratic society, trust is shown only in voting. If I see that there is not such support I would not stay one day longer in office (polite applause).”
Noting that “more than a quarter of Russia’s GDP is a result of the sale of gas, oil, metals, timber and other natural resources or primary commodities,” Putin admitted that “Russia depends on the world economy…more than most other countries do.”
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“Having an economy that does not guarantee stability, sovereignty, or decent prosperity is unacceptable for Russia,” Putin wrote. “We need a new economy with a competitive industrial sector and infrastructure, with a developed service industry and with an effective agricultural sector – an economy, operating on a modern technological base.”
