The solar-panel price war waged by state-subsidized Chinese companies killed a slew of manufacturers worldwide. Now, much of solar-panel manufacturing takes place in China. To stay alive, they cut costs – and corners. Defects are ballooning. And “cheap” solar panels suddenly get very expensive. A cruel twist for an already threatened industry.
China
Germany Fires Shot In China-EU Trade War … At Brussels
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Germany Fires Shot In China-EU Trade War … At Brussels
The solar-panel industry, once fattened by taxpayer subsidies and false hopes, has been in a death spiral around the world. In the US, a slew of photovoltaic standouts like Solyndra went under, taking billions of subsidies and investor capital with them. In Germany, it has been just as brutal. Even large companies are licking their wounds.
The Hollowing Out Of Chinese Manufacturing
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Hollowing Out Of Chinese Manufacturing
When Flight Safety Gets Outsourced To China
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on When Flight Safety Gets Outsourced To China
Aircraft maintenance was a highly paid blue-collar job that required education, training, manual skills, and brains. It was one of the perfect American middle-class jobs with generous healthcare, retirement, and vacation benefits; and free flights! They were working for icons like Delta, American Airlines, Continental, TWA, or Pan Am. Icons indeed!
“But The Rising Star Is The USA”
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on “But The Rising Star Is The USA”
“During The Last Crisis, We Had China,” Now We Have No One
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on “During The Last Crisis, We Had China,” Now We Have No One
There could not possibly be any clouds on the horizon with the Dow and the S&P 500 setting all-time highs, while the German DAX is marching relentlessly towards 8,000 and the Japanese Nikkei is soaring. But just then, a deeply connected representative of the world’s real economy spoils the rosy scenario.
A CEO Explains Why He Sold A German Soul To the Chinese
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on A CEO Explains Why He Sold A German Soul To the Chinese
Putzmeister was a paragon of the German Mittelstand—family-owned firms with innovative technologies and high-quality manufacturing that dominate their niches worldwide. But in 2012, it was acquired by a Chinese giant. Now its German CEO reveals just how impossible integration is and how dire not only Europe but the world look to him, particularly China.
Top American CEOs About Job Creation: Not Happening Here
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on Top American CEOs About Job Creation: Not Happening Here
CEOs of the largest US corporations, without aiming at it, shot barn-door-size holes through the rosy jobs picture. Rosy on the surface: unemployment down to 7.7% with 236,000 new jobs created last month. A picture the White House held up as proof of its success. But these CEOs didn’t see it. Not in the US. Though prospects were rosy in cheap countries.
The Rise Of Coal In China: “Blackest Day” Still In The Future
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on The Rise Of Coal In China: “Blackest Day” Still In The Future
China has tried over the years to come to grips with its pandemic pollution, yet in Beijing, through a combination of factors, it reached catastrophic levels in mid-January and set another record. Result of the white-hot pace of economic growth. And of coal consumption: this year, China is set to burn more coal than the rest of the world combined!
What the Japanese Trade Deficit Says About the Fraying Fabric In China And Europe
by Wolf Richter • • Comments Off on What the Japanese Trade Deficit Says About the Fraying Fabric In China And Europe
European talking heads are reassuring us on an hourly basis, lest we forget, that the worst of the debt crisis is over. The Japanese trade deficit, a measure of reality, not words, tells a different story about the crisis in Europe. And about troubles coming to a boil in China. But neither can be cured by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to decapitate the yen.