China’s property and infrastructure bubbles, nurtured by limitless borrowed money, are still swelling up beautifully. Service industries are also growing. But hot air has been hissing out of manufacturing. Now Zhang Ruimin, CEO of China’s largest appliance maker Haier Group, put his finger on the problem. And it doesn’t look good for manufacturing in China.
The Dark Side Of The Guys Who Run Japan Oozes To The Surface
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Dark Side Of The Guys Who Run Japan Oozes To The Surface
Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe skillfully used his miraculous economic salvation plan, a religion lovingly dubbed Abenomics, as a platform to catapult his party, the LDP, into power. With the LDP controlling both houses of parliament, real changes, after years of dickering, might now finally be possible.
Wall Street Engineers Newest Frankenstein’s Monster For Housing
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Wall Street Engineers Newest Frankenstein’s Monster For Housing
Wall Street engineering is back in the housing market. Its newest product is one heck of a contraption, a synthetic structured security of the type that helped blow up the financial system back in 2008. It’s like those triple-A rated mortgage-backed securities that became toxic waste in your “money-market-equivalent” bond fund – only worse.
The Jobs Curse At Amazon (And Obama Stepped Into It)
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Jobs Curse At Amazon (And Obama Stepped Into It)
Amazon’s promotion machine shifted into high gear to tout President Obama’s visit to one of its warehouses where he unveiled his “better bargain” for “middle class jobs.” The visit was artfully synced with Amazon’s announcement that it would create 7,000 jobs. Out of nothing. One of the ongoing lies in America’s jobs crisis – and Obama stepped right into it.
NSA Spying in Germany: Turning “A Parliamentary Democracy Into A Banana Republic”
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on NSA Spying in Germany: Turning “A Parliamentary Democracy Into A Banana Republic”
“The largest espionage scandal in the 21st century is shaking Germany,” wrote Peer Steinbrück, the man who’s desperately trying to unseat one of the most popular German politicians, Chancellor Merkel. Massive anti-NSA protests spread across the country. Well, 1,000 demonstrators straggled through Frankfurt. It’s going to be tough for him.
The Exquisite Art Of Marketing To Pauperized Consumers
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Exquisite Art Of Marketing To Pauperized Consumers
People in the upper income categories, those who don’t have to worry about the price of toilet paper, have seen their incomes rise over the years. The rest are in a downward spiral: median household income, adjusted for inflation, has dropped 7.8% since 2000. The lower end got hit the hardest. For these folks, tissue makers have a special strategy: desheeting.
The Worldwide Surveillance And Privacy War (Which You Already Lost)
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Worldwide Surveillance And Privacy War (Which You Already Lost)
From tiny app makers to giants like AT&T, they’re all part of Big Data. They chase after billions by collecting, storing, and mining personal data. Data is money. Much more than money, if governments get it. Which led documentary filmmaker Cullen Hoback to lament: “The craziest thing is that I didn’t realize I was making a horror film.”
The Systematic, Unrelenting Deterioration Of Japan’s Trade
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Systematic, Unrelenting Deterioration Of Japan’s Trade
The all-out effort by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to print money, stir up inflation, devalue the yen, blow asset bubbles, and pile on even more government debt – a newfangled religion called Abenomics – is bearing fruit. But the primary objective, creating a trade surplus to crank up the real economy, is failing miserably.
Japan Inc. Wins Big, Gloating Ensues
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Japan Inc. Wins Big, Gloating Ensues
“We welcome the ruling party’s victory,” announced Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of Sumitomo Chemical, and chairman of the Japan Business Federation, the country’s largest business lobby. He is one of the faces of Japan Inc. He’d been handed a gift: the ruling coalition controls both houses of parliament and will push Abenomics deep into the system.
Germany’s Government-Sponsored Export Machine Takes Aim At Greece, Argument Breaks Out
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Germany’s Government-Sponsored Export Machine Takes Aim At Greece, Argument Breaks Out
When going overseas, Chancellor Merkel doesn’t leave home without planeloads full of executives from Germany’s most coddled companies – exports being the core of foreign policy. And if these deals get snagged on the rusty nails of payment risks, it’s up to the government to help out with guarantees, even if they’re infested with conflicts.