TEc - Morning in America? - Is the US on the way up?

America's economy has a built-in resilience that is finally showing however feebly so far.
Will the recovery accelerate in the coming months?

From the article it would seem jobs are being created across most sectors including weaker ones except government which on balance is still shedding workers.

In any case the drop in the unemployment rate is tangible confirmation, if proof were ever needed, that economic growth alone can make a dent in such critical statistics.
Contrary to worsening fortunes in most of Europe - not just the Eurozone - the USA is powering ahead at half-steam but powering ahead nevertheless.
A 2.5-3% growth rate in a large mature economy is quite an impressive performance by any reckoning.

The world economy is now unevenly split into a 1-3-6-type pattern. There is no escaping the fact that Europe continues to struggle to barely get by while North America has decoupled and emerging Asia settles down to a cooler yet substantial pace.
Employment and unemployment in each region a clear reflection of economic growth rates as would be expected.

Should America's unemployment rate continue to decline the incumbent President will strengthen his chances of winning in November on the back of improved economic environment into the dying months of his first term.
A well-deserved reward for the road chosen and distance travelled from the day BO took office amid general doom and gloom.
Is there a better example than the turnaround at GM delivered in just over two years?

TEc - Mario, put on your toga - Mario Monti is making a difference

I felt particularly enthralled by this article and learning that one big country in the EU is pulling itself together while pushing forward the European ideal too.
A remarkable turnaround achieved in minimum time.

Italy never was, never will be just another nation in the 27-member bloc. Besides being one of the founding-6 it could and should in many ways be a moderating voice for Southern European nations and their character shaped by culture, history and geography.
To that end Italy must first strengthen itself from within, a fact only too well-known to Mario Monti.

At long last I can say that I am frankly pleased with reading a positive piece of news coming from ITALIA.

TEc - The uncertainty society - Portugal

A generally well captured overview of Portugal and its woes.
There are more than a few less-than-accurate remarks I will not care to pick and correct.
The gist of The Economist's analysis, more importantly Portugal's true predicament, is best summed up in both title and subtitle.

Some countries have it rougher than others or are, to an extent, unreformable. This is mainly by choice of major interest groups seen over many years ever ready to jostle and jockey for position at the State's doormat.
The coming years will reveal whether or not some of the country's longstanding tangles and bottlenecks are resolutely addressed.
Not least because there never was such a favourable context for long overdue reform. With a push from abroad the current administration seems eager and able to use. Rightly so.
None of it is simple maths nor rocket science.
It is about adoption of no-nonsense targeted policies with clear goals preferably set against a timeline.

Politicians have long taken the easy path, most of the time giving in to the stronger lobbies in the land with scant regard for the interest of the majority and the country as a whole.
Contradictory as it may seem this 'modus operandi' fits in nicely or is a byproduct of Portuguese society whose organization rests on so-called corporations - professional or otherwise - each fighting for increased State largesse and favour towards their own membership.

Allocating blame is now hardly relevant but I would wish to see change wisely set forth from within some of the major stakeholders in Portugal.
Will the government of the day carry the country along the road to reform at a time of increased economic hardship?

Uncertainty is the only right word finding meaningful place in many different lines and paragraphs.

TEc - Too many cars, too few buyers - Europe's beleaguered car industry

Newsy article that fills one in on what is going on with European carmaking.

Overcapacity in the midst of impending further contraction of markets is seemingly the problem of the day. Yet, there are many more variables that should be considered in order to make decisions wise enough to look into the future.

While German makers are clearly one of a kind and are not affected even by the drop in volume sales across many big and small markets near home - GM Europe excluded, others on the continent are facing tough choices as they seek to adjust supply to demand.
From a weakened home-base coupled with a strengthened world one.

But, if it is €1,300 cheaper to produce a unit in Turkey than it is in France does it follow that all production should shift there?
Is that the only logic the market economy system offers that justifies company decisions with consequences reaching far and wide?
In a nutshell, should that be case - or just about - than most industrial production across Europe is doomed to shutdown.
Examples aplenty that that has already occurred.
Thousands of companies everywhere, large and small, have moved out in the sole pursuit of lower costs and higher profits.
Germany seems successful at managing both, keeping its home industrial base largely intact while producing elsewhere too.

Shouldn't business leaders and politicians look straight into it to find what's best for their business as well as their communities/country from a longer-term perspective?

Production costs in lower cost regions today will likely go up in the future. As a matter of fact they already have in more than a few countries.
What then?
Will production be clawed back and old facilities revived once more?

There is much, much more to this than meets the eye and lines the pockets of a few big winners in the short run...
A vision is needed if Europe - Germany, The Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Russia aside for the time being - is to remain a force to reckon with in carmaking as indeed across many other industrial sectors.

TEc - The shores of El Dorado

One look at these figures knocks you off your feet.
A second look reveals the whole extent of a partly rotten banking and financial system that has allowed, nurtured or stoked tax havens to thrive unimpeded for so long.

Apparently there never was and there may never be political will or elected power to take relevant action on behalf of common folk around the world. Folk who duly pay their taxes and bailout the majors when it is deemed they are suddenly found to be too big to fail...

For it is not only the filthy rich ruling few from Africa, Asia or South America who would rather have their ill-gotten gains safely stashed away in Switzerland, that quintessential nation of bankers and precision timepieces.

Everyone knows something ought to be done.
I've known about those deals sought by Britain and Germany and America's tougher moves lately.
What I definitely do not know is what has noticeably come out of them (?).
Can anyone expand on the subject?

TEc - The next special case? - Portugal's fate

There are far too many unknown quantities and moving variables to arrive at a clear-cut conclusive statement.
Beyond wishful thinking I believe that only time will tell which way market sentiment shifts. A few developments earlier on in 2012 - the ECB's bountiful lending featuring big - point to a changing mood albeit localized and insufficient as yet.

Uncertainty remains the buzzword for Portugal.
But if it stays the course as its seemingly resolute government propounds and enacts a sudden shift in the country's outlook as seen from outside might just ensue.
That would spell a welcome turning point that now hinges on internal as much as on external factors.

So much for running up debts way above reasonably serviceable levels.

TEc - Facebook by numbers

I do not count myself as one amongst Facebook's 840m plus population.Yet.
Who knows one of these days I might change my mind to join in?!

The numbers are impressive at the very least confirming beyond a shred of doubt just how successful this young company turned out to be.
A giant social media network that keeps pulling in ever more people from kids to Presidents!
All experiencing the joys and thrills of communicating online by hitting a few keys et voilá...

Facebook has become the face of a fast changed world where anyone can build a platform to reach out to a greater number of buddies and foes alike.

MZ is pretty much a self-made ingenious genius.