...America

Rocks. Unless you have been living under one for the past 28 hours then you already know that America's credit rating has been dropped by Standard & Poor's from AAA to AA+ for the 1st time in U.S. history. Though no one knows what this means for sure for America's short term future, because the markets have yet to dictate that, so far I have heard nothing too good. I find it horrible that we must wait for the markets around the world and here in NYC to dictate the nation's future. I understand how it works, 75% anyway, and I do not like it. Most say that eventually this will impact all of us who need to take out a loan for a home, car, business, etc. In normal times, in another country, a downgrade in a country's sovereign debt rating probably would force its government to pay higher interest rates to convince investors to keep buying its debt. Standard & Poor's reasoning for doing this is because they feel that the bill that was passed by congress to cut $2 trillion worth of spending over 10 years is not enough. They were looking for a minimum of $4 trillion, and they warned the government about that. Also they feel as if the political climate in D.C. is too unstable to be a safe enough bet right now. Still U.S. debt is special. Treasury debt is considered the safest investment in the world. Even after the downgrade. Investors don't doubt the U.S. government's ability to repay the $9.8 trillion it owes. So what does China think? Well they said, "The U.S. government has to come to terms with the painful fact that the good old days when it could just borrow its way out of messes of its own making are finally gone." Other nations are also concerned about what this will mean for their economic situations as well. There will most likely be a special meeting among the G8 nations to talk about how to fix this issue. Honestly there is nothing that can be done int he near future. There needs to be massive cuts across the board and people will just have to be pissed off about it. New leaders will need to be selected to run certain departments in our nation before it is too late, though the S&P has already warned that we can be further downgraded in6-24 months. The "bright side" of this is that they are the only agency to downgrade us and they also gave AAA ratings to a lot of home loan agencies, and we all saw what that did to the economy. Still things need to change. Politics need to be put aside and major moves nee to be made. I doubt this will happen so I plan on converting all of my assets into cash, because eventually even gold will fall. And if you are wondering, it takes about 9-18 years for most countries to regain a AAA rating after dropping to an AA+ rating, and it has only happened 4 times. I am giving America 2 Digits Down for letting things get this bad.

...Wendi Deng

Wendi Deng or Wendi Deng Murdoch, depends on who you are talking to, is married to billionaire media mogul Rupert Murdoch. A little back story on her: Born Deng Wen Di in China in 1968. In 1987 Deng met an American businessman and his wife, Jake and Joyce Cherry, who had temporarily relocated to China to help build a refrigerator factory. Deng asked the couple for tutoring lessons in English, which Joyce eventually provided. In 1988, she abandoned her medical studies and travelled to the United States to study, with the Cherrys sponsoring Deng's student visa. Deng enrolled at California State University, Northridge, where she studied economics and was among the top 1% of students. The wife kicked her out when she suspected Deng and her husband were having a sexual relationship. The couple divorced and and Deng and Jake married. After 2 years and 7 months of marriage they divorced, but that marriage granted her a green card to stay in America. Her first work experience in the media was with Fox TV, from there she was offered an internship at Star TV, Hong Kong, part of News Corporation. Deng's influence has seen the company gain entry into the Chinese market. Deng later married the owner Rupert Murdoch, the couple met in Hong Kong in 1997 when Deng was 29 years old and twice-before-married Mr Murdoch was 68. Her focus has since been on pushing forward with News Corps business interests in China.
Okay back to current events. While Rupert and his son James were giving their testimony in front of Parliament, a man rushed in and threw a shaving cream pie in the face of Rupert Murdoch. Though it was not fully successful, he managed to hit him mainly on the jacket, Wendi jumped up and struck the man attacking her husband. It is said she is a volleyball fan so with that being said it sort of looked like she spiked the man. You can see her, in the pink, below.

Wendi is not just a trophy wife though, she is a pivotal part of her husband's media empire's current and future Chinese ventures. Deng has led her husband's Chinese Internet investments totalling between $35 million and $45m. She has led the way in forming business links with China for high-speed video and Internet access. She is now chief of strategy for MySpace’s China operation. No matter how you feel about Rupert, I personally like him because he is a solid businessman, you have to admire a wife willing to not only stand by her man but fight for him as well. Somehow this has put a favorable eye on the Murdochs and Wendi will be a popular topic for news shows for the days to come. I am giving Wendi Deng a Digit Up.

...The Jiaozhou Bay Bridge

Earlier this week I wrote about China pretty much building a bridge in California at a cost of $7.2 billion. Yesterday I saw a new bridge opening in China, The Jiaozhou Bay bridge. It is 26 miles long and is designed to withstand an earthquake or typhoon. The part that made me re-read it was the cost. China says it only cost $1.5 billion to build this bridge. Are you serious!?! France said it cost $2.7 billion, still cheaper than our bridge. Great Britain said it cost more like $8.8 billion, which though more than our bridge, is still a hell of a deal. Why is the San Francisco/Oakland bridge $7.2 billion, and that is considered a "deal", and theirs is much longer and cost less per mile? I hope that I find out later that this bridge cost $30 billion and is unsafe. Until then I am going to give China a Digit Up for their ingenuity, the same ingenuity that will overtake the world.

...States

In California they are building a bridge from San Francisco to Oakland. Normally this would never make news in my eyes, but this time it is. Why? The bridge is being made by the Chinese. The assembly work in California, and the pouring of the concrete road surface, will be done by Americans. But construction of the bridge decks and the materials that went into them are a Made in China affair. California officials say the state saved hundreds of millions of dollars by turning to China. The state is already in debt so saving money is important, but giving money back to American companies is more important. But this is not just a California issue. In New York City alone, Chinese companies have won contracts to help renovate the subway system, refurbish the Alexander Hamilton Bridge over the Harlem River and build a new Metro-North train platform near Yankee Stadium. As with the Bay Bridge, American union labor would carry out most of the work done on United States soil. At $7.2 billion, it will be one of the most expensive structures ever built. But California officials estimate that they will save at least $400 million by having so much of the work done in China.California issued bonds to finance the project, and will look to recoup the cost through tolls. I guess $400 million is a lot..but when you are spending $7.2 billion already, what is an extra $400 million? Not much in my eyes. It cost a lot less to make things in China for sure, especially when you look at a typical worker. Pan Zhongwang, a 55-year-old steel polisher, is a typical Zhenhua worker. He arrives at 7 a.m. and leaves at 11 p.m., often working seven days a week. He lives in a company dorm and earns about $12 a day. It sucks but we cannot compete with such low standards of living. Still I must give these States a Digit Down. Where there is a will there is a way and if they really wanted to get a deal in America, they could have done it, but they are not going to "waste" their time searching for them.

...Han Chinese Men

Apparently the 28-year old Han Chinese man is the most typical face on the planet with about 9 million of those faces on this planet. This is according to National Geographic Magazine. But fear not, in 20 year the most common face will be of Indian decent, Indians in India, not the Native Americans. This video should help explain it a little better...maybe.

I do enjoy little facts and whatnots about people around the world. I am going to give the Hans a Digit Up because I think have seen a few...? I am not really sure. 9 million is a large amount so I probably have and just never paid any attention to it. Maybe I should continue to ignore them since they will not even matter in 20 years or less.

...General Motors

General Motors is about to make a lot of its 48,000 hourly workers very very happy. These workers will be receiving bonus checks of $4,000 dollars. Engineers and managers will be receiving a bonus of 4 to 16 percent of their salary and the top bosses will get up to 50% of their salaries as a bonus. In all GM will be handing out bonuses totalling more than $400 million. Last year the company made $4.2 billion in profit through the 1st 9 months, and they are expected to post a profit for the last quarter of the year as well. I would love to give this a Digit Up, but I cannot. GM was given $49.5 billion in those auto bailouts and they have only paid back $23 billion. Before they go handing out money so willy-nilly they should pay off their loans. Yes the workers could help jump start the economy in Detroit, which could use it, this is just not a smart move. The Associated Press calculated that the white-collar bonuses could total more than $200 million, so they will be giving out over $600 million for 1 good year of business, 1 good year and they are still in major debt. They are not alone though. Chrysler plans on giving out bonuses, even though they also took a $12.5 billion bailout and they lost $652 million last year. Ford is also handing out bonuses, which I approve. They did not take any government money and posted a profit of $6.6 billion last year. Adding to this the United Auto Workers union (UAW) runs out this year and they will certainly have an issue with the white-collar bonuses. GM has a large pension plan for ts workers and these current bonus grabbing workers will be future pension grabbers in no time. GM needs to prepare for the future and save as much money as they can. Obviously history escapes them because it was this same lack of financial responsibility that landed them on Capital Hill begging for bucks 2 years ago. At this point I see them bankrupt again but this time being bought by the Chinese government, they really like Buicks over there. I am giving General Motors a Digit Down.

...Alcohol

It appears that alcohol kills more than AIDS, tuberculosis and violence around the world, says the World Health Organization (WHO). With more drinking in heavily populated area in Africa, Asia and India, the risk is growing greater every year. last year 2.5 million people died from alcohol related deaths around the world, roughly 4% of the world's total deaths, and yet alcohol control policies are always low on the list of most government priority list. Males lead the pack with most of them dying between the age of 15-59. 30% of the alcohol consumed is illegal or homemade, which can be more toxic than store bought alcohol. In Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), every fifth death is due to harmful drinking, the highest rate. Binge drinking, which often leads to risky behavior, is now prevalent in Brazil, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Russia, South Africa and Ukraine, and rising in other places. There are about 60 illnesses linked to alcohol including cirrhosis of the liver, epilepsy, poisonings, road traffic accidents, violence, and several types of cancer, including cancers of the colorectum, breast, larynx and liver. I am not an alcohol drinking, never have been, probably never will be. This does not surprise me. Asians and Indians are not large people so I am sure it does not take a lot to get them drunk and impaired, and if they decide to binge then poisoning could happen very easily. High school kids binge drink because they just want to have a "good time" or because they do not want to stick out from the crowd and their bodies are not built to handle the large amounts of alcohol they tend to consume at house parties. You cannot really regulate alcohol, because you can always buy in advance and have it stored for a later date. We tried Prohibition in America and we lost billions, in today's dollars, in tax money, and there was also the rise of the mafia, bootleggers, and many many many deaths. So what can we do? Nothing. All we can do is hope people will learn responsibility and self control other than that, just hope you do not get hit by a drunk driver. Digit Down.

...America

I read this article on Yahoo about what things America is no longer the lead producer of. They only gave us 10 things to look at, but I am sure there are many many more, not including education and healthcare. Take a look:

1. Autos

Position: 2nd

Leader: Japan, with 17 million autos produced by Japanese automakers in 2009

U.S.: 12 million autos produced by American automakers in 2009

U.S. auto manufacturing has long been considered not only one of our most critical industries, but is representative of American industrial power. The U.S. is the second largest manufacturer of cars and light vehicles after Japan, which is the headquarters of Toyota (NYSE: TM - News), Honda (NYSE: HMC - News), Nissan and Mazda. The American auto industry nearly collapsed in 2008 after years of extremely high labor costs and falling market share in domestic sales. GM (NYSE: GM - News) and Chrysler went through bankruptcy with extensive federal government support. Ford (NYSE: F - News) was strong enough to avoid having to ask for government handouts. The U.S. is not only the second largest manufacturer of cars; it is also the second largest car market by sales. China passed America in this metric in 2009. Japanese automakers made 17 million cars in 2009 compared to 12 million made by U.S. companies.

2. Beer Production

Position: 2nd

Leader: China, with 423 million hectoliters in 2009

U.S.: 229 hectoliters in 2009

U.S. beer production in 2000 was the greatest in the world, generating 232 million hectoliters, versus second-place China's 220 million. In just nine years, the People's Republic has roughly doubled its production output to 423 million hectoliters. American output has actually decreased to 229 million. Per capita consumption in China is relatively low at less than half of the level in the U.S. However, China has a drinking population four times larger and has created an industrial capacity in the beer sector that has allowed the country to pull far ahead of the U.S.

3. High-Technology Exports

Position: 2nd

Leader: China, $381 billion in 2008

U.S.: $231 billion in 2008

The World Bank describes high-technology exports as "products with high R&D intensity, such as in aerospace, computers, pharmaceuticals, scientific instruments, and electrical machinery." These are all fields in which the United States prides itself, and the U.S. remains in first place in the pharmaceutical industry. Despite this, China has beaten America in the high-technology exports since the World Bank began collecting data on the category in 2005. In 2008, Chinese high-technology exports were worth $381 billion and American exports were $231 billion. America's second place status shows no signs of changing. Between 2005 and 2008, Chinese high-tech exports increased 78%, relative to a mere 21% by the U.S. over the same time period.

4. Commercial Aircraft Production

Position: 2nd

Leader: Airbus (Europe) based on 574 orders in 2010

U.S.: Boeing, with 530 orders in 2010

Through the 1970's, the United States had what was effectively a monopoly on large commercial aircraft production. The nature of the industry made it difficult for other companies to compete with the massive U.S.-based Boeing (NYSE: BA - News). The costs to create an aerospace manufacturing industry were prohibitive. In the 80's European air manufacturers began to compete through subsidies, particularly European-based Airbus, which was originally formed by France, Germany, Spain, and other investors. Rising demand for Airbus planes have propelled the European company past Boeing to become the largest commercial airplane manufacturer in the world. In 2010, Airbus was awarded more jetliner contracts than its American competitor. It appears the trend will continue this year, with Airbus securing a massive deal with IndiGo, the third-largest airline in India. It is the largest commercial aircraft sale in history.

5. Coal Production

Position: 2nd

Leader: China, with 3.3 billion short tons produced in 2009

U.S.: 1 billion short tons

America is no longer the world's largest manufacturing economy nor is it the largest consumer of energy for manufacturing purposes. Coal production in America is now a distant second to China. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the U.S. produced just over a billion short tons of coal in 2009. China produced more than three times that amount — 3.3 billion — because of the exponential growth of the Chinese energy infrastructure in the last decade. Since 2005, American coal production has decreased slightly, while Chinese production has increased 34%. The two countries account for more than half of the world's total coal production.

6. Lettuce Production

Position: 2nd

Leader: China, with 12.9 million metric tons

U.S.: 4.1 million metric tons

The population of China at 1.3 billion is more than four times that of the United States. Food consumption is obviously significantly higher as well. Partially because of large federal subsidies, the United States remains #1 in corn and soybean production. Chinese demand has caused domestic production of many crops to move well ahead of that of the U.S. For example, Chinese lettuce production was nearly 13 million metric tons in 2009, while U.S. production was closer to 4 million, according to the United Nations.

7. Oil Production

Position: 3rd

Leader: Russia, with 9.7 million barrels produced each day.

U.S.: 9 million barrels produced each day

The United States produces the third most oil per day, at just over nine million barrels. The two leaders are Russia, at 10 million barrels per day, and Saudi Arabia, at 9.7 million barrels per day. Despite its current position in production, the U.S. is only 14th in proved reserves, with 19 billion barrels available relative to Saudi Arabia's 264 billion barrels. The U.S. is now the second-largest importer of crude and continued to deplete its reserves to try to be less dependent on foreign crude.

8. Rice Production

Position: 11th

Leader: China, with 166 million metric tons produced between 2009 and 2010

U.S.: 6.9 million metric tons

U.S. rice production is not even in the top 10 compared to the rest of the world, and accounts for just over 1% of the world's total. Because of reduced demand, this country is actually the third leading rice exporter with 18% of the world market. About 20% of U.S. rice production is exported. China produces 20 times more rice than the U.S.

9. Wind Energy Generated

Position: 2nd

Leader: China, with 42 gigawatts generated in 2010

U.S.: 40 gigawatts in 2010

While some chastise the United States for failure to implement alternative energy sources and complain about our dependence on fossil fuels, the country is nevertheless, for the moment, leading the globe in alternative energy capacity. According to a recent Pew study, the U.S. beat out China's total alternative energy capacity in 2009, 53.4 gigawatts to 52.5 gigawatts. China's renewable energy infrastructure has increased, however, and might have surpassed the U.S. in 2010. What is certain is that China beat out the U.S. in wind generation. In 2010, American wind energy capacity was at 40 gigawatts, while Chinese generation was nearly 42 gigawatts.

10. Pork Production

Position: 2nd

Leader: China, with 51.5 million metric tons produced in 2010

U.S.: 10.2 million metric tons produced in 2010

The United States leads the world in production for most of the agricultural commodities and has the strongest demand for them as well. For example, the U.S. continues to produce the most beef and veal, beating out Brazil and China in consumption as well. However, pork demand in the United States, while the second-greatest in the world, is less than a fifth of that in China. Chinese farms produced 51.5 million metric tons of pork last year, compared to 10.2 million in the U.S.

Of course we all know America has been hurting for a few years but this is nothing new for us. I think the thing we really have to look at is who might be our next big competitor; Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela? Jut remember 20 years ago China was not even on our minds, Russia yes, China no. So we may laugh at a 3rd world country today, but tomorrow we may be kissing their ass because they bought a significant portion of our debt. Digit Down in disappointment.

...Chinese Workers

In 6 days, less than a week, Chinese workers built a 15-story hotel. Yet again this is just a sign of how lazy we are in America, I guess. The building may have been prefabricated, but still 6 days is fast! Extreme Home Makeover is known for their fast homes, but it takes them a week and help from locals, locals who do not know how to build things. Also this building can stand an earthquake with a magnitude of 9! I would like to see that put to the test. They worked day and night, something that Americans, including myself, hate to do. Check out the video below.

I wonder if they can make war machines as fast, if not faster. This should be monitored just in case something major breaks out after the G-20 Summit or 20 years from now, that makes more sense. Although they could get pissed and call in their debts, we would be so screwed. Any who I am giving this a Digit Up just because it looks fake but it is not and it just shows us what we are stepping in the ring with.

...Ferrari

Ferrari is known for making some of the most coveted sports cars in the world. But recently their new darling, the 458 Italia, has been having major problems. This new Ferrari is being recalled because some have caught on fire on more than 1 occasion, about 10 cases actually. Apparently the rear wheelhouse has glue that can melt and become flammable when you drive the Ferrari hard, the way you are suppose to drive a Ferrari. The cars being recalled were made before July 2010 and were sold in Europe, China and California. With a base price of $230,000 a problem like this should have never ever occurred in the 1st place. I am still planning on purchasing one, why not, but I am going to make sure that all of the kinks have been fixed before I take it for a drive. I am giving Ferrari a Digit Down because these a Bush League problems.

...China

China has been on the radar for many decades, and now they are making news for good and bad. China has moved all the way to #2 on the world power list, according to their economy valued at $1.33 trillion. America is still #1, but this is still major. In the past years many, including me, have doubted if China's power was real or just some elaborate bubble waiting to be burst. Although It could still be a bubble, until proven we will have to recognize China as a legitimate superpower. If you do not watch the markets then you do not understand how major this is. China jumped over Japan, Germany, France and Great Britain to become #2. They are now the main trading partner in the world, not America or China. A decade ago analyst wondered if Japan, whose economy is mature and its population quickly aging, was going to top America, but now it could be China? China is still not as urban as Japan and it has a new generation of young adults seeking economic success. They have a lower standard of living and much room to grow. All of Wall Street was abuzz when china said it was going to revalue its currency. To this day it is still in the air hat they will do. Some fear that it could make our dollar even weaker than it is while others think it will actually make the Yuan weaker.
Now let us shift gears and look at another development in China, their military. The Pentagon's annual assessment shows that China's military power is secretly grower stronger. They have suspended their military-to-military talks with America, so we have no clue as to why they are trying to build up their army. They refuse to meet with officials here to talk about their military and have been unclear on their views on Iran, sometimes yes and sometimes no. They have more than enough money to invest in their military so it should come as no surprise that they are. China was not a threat to us, or so we thought, we were always looking over the Middle East and Russia. I do believe that Russia would have our back if we needed them before China simply because China buys our debt, makes our things, and helps us greatly, especially General Motors who is selling more cars there than here.
So you have to think about it. It took China 30 years to get to #1, so is it a fluke? In 50 years or less could they be #1? They have pretty much everything on their side right now. America has been through things and have come through them OK, but this is a new age. technology is available to everyone. They have a major control in the markets they can influence a lot of things. They have a lot of extra money to spend freely and a military that is growing larger daily. Although they have a large chunk of the world's population on land roughly the same size as America, they survive on $3,600, 3rd world wages, and yet they continue to grow. I am going to give this news a Digit Down, because in the long run this could spell trouble for not just America, but the world.