Free Republic

More Than $1 billion In Private-Sector Weapons Exports Approved For Mexico Since 2004 Mainstream media and Beltway pundits and politicians in recent months have unleashed a wave of panic in the nation linking the escalading violence in Mexico, and its projected spread into the U.S., to illegal weapons smuggling. The smokescreen being spread by these official mouthpieces of manufactured consensus is that a host of criminal operators are engaging in straw (or fraudulent) gun purchases, making clandestine purchases at U.S. gun shows or otherwise assembling small caches of weapons here in the states in order to smuggle them south of...

Korean Launch Could Spur Arms Sales By EVAN RAMSTAD SEOUL -- The long-range missile North Korea is expected to test as soon as Saturday could reach as far as the U.S. and parts of Western Europe. But U.S. military officials and other analysts say the development is most dangerous not because North Korea is likely to use such missiles, but because it will probably sell them to other countries, such as Iran. A successful launch of a long-range missile, after two failures, would validate three decades of investment and work by North Korea. It could also boost one of the...

Japan’s exports nearly halve By Michiyo Nakamoto in Tokyo Published: March 25 2009 03:15 | Last updated: March 25 2009 06:02 Japan suffered another record drop in exports last month while imports also fell much more than expected, highlighting the damaging impact of the global downturn on the world’s second largest economy. Exports nearly halved in February, falling 49.4 per cent from a year earlier, as demand for Japanese goods plunged in key markets. The decline in exports was the steepest since 1957 and worse than most economists had anticipated. However, imports also fell much more than expected, dropping 43...

Chinese Exports Sharply Lower in February By TERENCE POON and J.R. WU BEIJING -- China's exports and imports fell for the fourth straight month in February, with the drop in exports sharper than expected, leading to a dramatic narrowing in China's much-watched trade surplus. February's exports fell 25.7% from a year earlier to $64.9 billion and imports dropped 24.1% to $60.1 billion, data from the General Administration of Customs showed. In January, exports fell 17.5%, while imports fell 43.1%. China's trade surplus in February totaled $4.84 billion, the lowest monthly surplus in three years and a sharp drop from US$39.1...

Japan’s January exports down 45% year on year TOKYO, Feb 25 - Japan’s exports nearly halved in January from a year earlier, pushing its trade deficit to the biggest on record, in further evidence that the global financial crisis is paralysing the world’s second-largest economy. Exports to Asia slumped at a record pace as manufacturing within Asia, which had thrived on robust global growth until last year, slumped as Western consumers curtail their spending. ”Exports to Asia, particularly to China, are tumbling at about the same pace as shipments to the United States, signalling that even China’s economy may be...

The Obama administration backed off Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s statement last week that China is “manipulating” its currency. In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Vice President Joe Biden said the administration has made “no judgment” on whether the Chinese have manipulated their currency, an accusation that would have international legal ramifications. “The policy of this administration is going to be to say to China, which occasionally the last administration was reluctant to do. `You're a major player on the world scene economically, and you've got to play by the rules that

Japan Caught in the Pop of Its Manufacturing, Export Bubble By YUKA HAYASHI TOKYO -- Japan has largely escaped the housing bubble and huge credit losses that are weighing on the U.S. and Europe. Then why is Japan's economy shrinking faster? Economists and corporate executives are realizing that the nation suffers from the bursting of another type of bubble -- one in manufacturing. Between 2002 and 2007, Japan's manufacturing sector boomed, driven by soaring demand for Japanese automobiles and electronic gadgets by consumers globally, including Americans feeling flush amid rising home prices. Fueling the gains was a weak yen that...

This really doesn’t look good

Will Asia’s downturn be worse than America’s? Posted by Edward Harrison on 21 December 2008 Published in economy Below is an article that has been syndicated on a number of sites in the Indian press (hat tip Ravin) which challenges the common wisdom that Asia, and particularly China, will weather the downturn better than the U.S. While the articles conclusions are contentious, its analysis bears noting, making those conclusions an outcome to not dismiss. Yves Smith of naked capitalism recently coined the phrase Alpha Creditor to denote the country with the highest net exports and largest current account surplus. In...

China’s economy hits the wall By Gideon Rachman Published: December 15 2008 18:50 | Last updated: December 15 2008 18:50 There was a distinct whiff of triumphalism in Beijing in the weeks after the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Chinese officials speculated aloud about whether it would be wise to lend the Americans the money they needed to bail out their sinking banks. There was tut-tutting about American profligacy. The famous prediction by Goldman Sachs that the Chinese economy would be larger than that of the US by 2027 was revisited – perhaps it would happen even sooner than that? But...

China cuts interest rates again as growth cools The People's Bank of China cut its main interest rate again today without any warning or explanation. By Malcolm Moore in Shanghai Last Updated: 12:54PM GMT 29 Oct 2008 It was the third time that the Chinese central bank has cut rates in the past two months. It informed banks that the key one-year lending rate will fall to 6.66pc from 6.93pc, effective from Thursday. The country's policy makers were the first to act after the collapse of Lehman Brothers helped deepen the worst financial crisis since the 1930s. China slashed its...

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 22 CFR Parts 122 and 129 [Public Notice 6246] RIN 1400-AC50 Amendment to the International Traffic in Arms Regulations: Registration Fee Change AGENCY: Department of State. ACTION: Proposed rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: The Department of State is proposing to amend the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) by increasing the registration fees, changing the registration renewal period, and making other minor administrative changes. DATES: Effective Date: The Department of State will accept comments on this proposed rule until August 27, 2008. ADDRESSES: Interested parties may submit comments within 30 days of the date of publication by any of...

China's Export Machine Threatened by Rising Costs Orders Drop, Shops Idle in Sweater City; Losing Wal-Mart By JAMES T. AREDDY June 30, 2008; Page A1 HONGHE, China -- As a sign over its main boulevard proclaims, Honghe is "China's Famous Town for Sweaters." But the economy of sweater town is unraveling, providing an early sign that China's manufacturing sector may be entering middle age. WSJ's James Areddy details the decline of a sweater-making town in China that's suffering due to falling demand from a key market: the U.S. (June 30) Over the past two decades, this city about 90 minutes'...

This is one of the most frightening things I've learned in a long time. Over in the US, a bill has passed the House of Representatives and is heading to Congress – with a huge amount of support. The PRO-IP bill, H.R.4279, significantly increases the state's power to detect and prosecute IP infringement, carrying with it a whole host of new law enforcement positions and capabilities. It establishes an IP Czar, someone with the job of overseeing zealous action on behalf of copyright and trademark owners, and includes such powers as the ability to seize equipment if it contains just...

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Mar 21, 2008 WASHINGTON (AFP) - The United States slapped sanctions on British and Armenian firms Friday for unauthorized re-exports of aircraft to Iran, officials said. The US Commerce Department suspended export privileges of British-based Balli Group PLC and related companies, Armenian-based Blue Airways, and Iran-based Mahan Airways for 180 days. A statement said US officials learned that the companies "knowingly re-exported three US origin aircraft to Iran in violation of the Export Administration Regulations and are preparing to re-export three additional US origin aircraft to Iran in further violation of the (rules)." In addition, the agency said "false statements...

THE COMEBACK OF THE GERMAN DINOSAURS Industry Returns as Economic Engine By Christian Reiermann The comeback of German manufacturing contradicts the notion that the future belongs to the service industry. Manufacturing firms are currently the engines of growth in the German economy, even for the service sector. These days Michael Walter, 43, often finds himself committing what would normally be considered sacrilege in the business world: He's turning customers away before they can even place an order with him. "I simply have to tell them that I won't be able to help them until later, says Walter, the CEO of...

After years of harsh talk and escalating rounds of sanctions against Syria for supporting terror and seeking weapons of mass destruction, the United States is quietly supporting a United Nations program to supply the Syrian regime with sophisticated surveillance equipment and computers to monitor its borders. That surreptitious support emerged in the course of a FOX News investigation that began after a surprise Israeli air strike on September 6 destroyed a mysterious Syrian facility that many experts believe was a North Korean-style nuclear reactor. The gap between the Bush Administration’s anti-Syrian rhetoric and reality emerges in the book-keeping of the...

Space advocates are cheering reports that the federal government is planning to revise the International Traffic in Arms Regulations, rules they say have unintentionally hampered business while trying to prevent critical technologies from falling into the wrong hands. Joseph Rouge, associate director of the National Space Security Office, told a recent gathering of space industry officials that the federal government is in the process of adjusting the rules, referred to as ITAR, and that reforms could come as early as this spring. Rouge made the remarks before the annual Transforming Space Conference in Los Angeles. "The military critical technology list...

NANJING, China -(Dow Jones)- Ford Motor Co. (F) President and Chief Executive Alan Mulally said Monday the company may export China-made small cars to other countries, but will do so only after strong local demand for its cars is met. Such a step would be in line with similar moves by other U.S. auto makers such as Chrysler LLC, which signed a deal earlier this year to export Dodge brand cars around the world made by China's Chery Automobile Co. Mulally also said Ford aims to turn around its unprofitable North American operations by 2009 through more restructuring and by...