I.
General
. Happy
New Year to the nation’s
largest long-distance companies: AT&T, Sprint &
WorldCom’s MCI Division are raising their rates. Most of the rate
increases will be concealed in the surcharges that phone companies
are increasingly adding to their bills. Hikes are scheduled to go
into effect this month and next.
. The
dramatic collapse collapse of the Taliban
has exploded many myths that have been perpetrated by a melange of
self-proclaimed Afghan experts. The Taliban
proved to be no great fighters, no descendants of Saladin. They were
a ragtag brigade that disintegrated once their medieval defense was
pounded by the latest in weapons technology.
. To
say terrorism is not related to poverty
because some terrorist leaders and martyrs are not poor is a
self-deluding denial of the popular support they enjoy because
others with wealth and power, like the US, offer no solutions.
. The
Saudis foment instability that leads to greater oppression,
backwardness and bigotry. By funding religious extremists, they have
done their best to destroy democracies, turn back the clock on human
rights and deny religious freedom to Islamic and other populations,
while we guarantee its security. This is the most
bizarre and weird policy
in American history since the defense of slavery. Remember that
the majority of the hijackers were Saudis.
. Pres.
Bush allowed US technology firms to sell high speed computers to
Russia, China, India and countries in the Middle East, easing a Cold
War-era ban designed to halt the spread of nuclear arms.
II.
Private Sector
. The
case of Enron should
remind us that this can happen to anyone. White collar
professionals, who cook the books, should be prosecuted, sent to
jail and required to disgorge profits from all stock sales made
during the period of fraud, rather than receive what is too often a
slap on the wrist and a reminder to the corporate world that crime
can pay.
. After
finishing 2000 with a flush, the semiconductor
industry went bust last year as a sweeping economic slowdown
took tens of billions of dollars out of the global market.
. To
see how tomorrow’s
soldiers will do battle, do not look in Afghanistan or into the
fresh focus of the military’s newest recruits. Look in the
trenches of Silicon Valley.
. The
results are in: Consumers spent $13.8 billion over the holidays,
according to Harris Interactive, Goldman Sachs, and Nielsen/Net
Ratings. The total was 15% over that of the preceding year for the
two months of Nov. & Dec.
III.
Federal Government
. USPS will
eliminate 15,000 jobs this year as a result of the weak economy, the
attack of 9/11 and discovery f anthrax in the mail system. This
follows the earlier reduction when it lost $1.7 billion.
. A
federal judge has struck down an executive order by Pres. Bush that
required Govt contractors to notify employees that they do not have
to join unions or pay certain union dues. It would be up to DOJ
whether or not to appeal.
. FAA
wants 300 dogs patrolling 80 airports by next year. Dogs can work 8
hours, but the must take frequent breaks because their detection
ability fades after a while.
. HUD has
pledged publicly to fight abusive mortgage lending, zeroing in on
excessive and unexpected fees that hit borrowers at closing.
. FERC
said new standards governing which power companies can sell
wholesale electricity at unregulated rates won’t take effect until
it holds a technical conference on the issue.
IV.
International
. Regional
broadcasters are urging Asia’s
govts. To liberalize their TV markets to keep up with international
developments.
. Mobile
phone operators China Mobile
and China Unicom face challenges this year with a market slowdown and
greater competition.
. Hongkong has an increasing number of companies that are building their presence
in China and overseas which will offer benefits when the global
economy recovers.
. Taiwan took another step in the development of its fledging biotech industry
last week with the establishment of the Center of Bioinfomatics.
. Japan’s wave of bankruptcies has recorded the housing industry with leading
builders of custom-made houses, Shokusan
Jutaku Sogo, filing for court protection.
. Combined
sales of S. Korean automakers
last year fell 4.9% to 3.16 million vehicles.
. Singapore’s unemployment rate could climb above 5% this year to its highest levels
in 15 years, the Govt. has warned.
. Malaysian PM has raised the specter of a regionwide slide in currency values if a
further weakening of the Japanese yen
forces China to devalue the yuan.
. After
falling 21.8% to 1168.08 in 2001, making it Asia’s worst
performing stock market, the Philippine
Stock Exchange looks for a turnaround. The Central Bank has revised
its monetary policy, lifting the interest burden on indebted
companies.
