California INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Report | |
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Gasoline Prices Soaring California gas prices have hit a record high, and most analysts believe there is no end in sight. A survey by Triple A has found that the price for a gallon of gas in the state has jumped fifty cents since mid-January. It now costs an average of over $2.60 a gallon for regular unleaded gas in the State. A recent Auto Club survey found that San Francisco's average has hit $2.71 and the highest average gas price was in Eureka at $2.82 for regular unleaded. The energy administration, part of the U.S. Department of Energy, has warned that worldwide demand for oil would continue surging through next year. Continued. ********************** Thank you for continuing to receive the California International Business Report. If you have been receiving a complimentary copy of this please take a moment and subscribe at the link at the bottom, or unsubscribe if you don't want to receive this newsletter or want it to go to a different email address. Please also read an important announcement about the California Trade Network at the bottom of this page. |
 News and Politics back
On the Wrong Track Californians Increasingly Pessimistic about Future
Governor Schwarzenegger's approval rating has also dropped dramatically and only 43 percent of Californians now believe he is doing a good job- a huge drop from last year when his approval rating was in the high 60s. Some attribute this to his decision to bypass the State Legislature and attempt to govern by referendum, his openly mocking Democrats who disagree with his policies and a fondness for show business props and cheesy gimmicks to attempt to sell these referendums to the public. He also picked a fight with Teachers and Nurses calling them "special interests" and even law enforcement and fire fighters have turned against him as a result of an important, but poorly thought out proposal to reform the State's pension system. Meanwhile, the bad news for California just keeps coming. The Los Angeles Times, for example, recently reported on the serious impact the resurgence of inflation is having on workers in California. For the first time in 14 years, the California workforce has in effect gotten an across-the-board pay cut. The growth in wages in 2004 and the first two months of this year trailed inflation, compounding the squeeze from higher housing, energy and other costs. Meanwhile, corporate profits hit record highs as companies got more productivity out of workers while keeping pay increases down. For now, workers' wallets are being pummeled by something of a perfect storm of economic forces, the Times reported: a weak job market, rising health insurance premiums and other inflationary pressures. The biggest factor is the slack employment market, which means there is little pressure on businesses to boost pay. Although the unemployment rate is officially only 5.2%, that figure doesn't count the hundreds of thousands of jobless people who've given up their searches and dropped out of the labor market at a greater rate than anytime since 1988. At the same time, the cost of health premiums has skyrocketed, eating into the pool of corporate cash set aside for raises. Another study of Los Angles County residents conducted by the Public Policy Institute of California found residents to be increasingly disturbed by local problems – from traffic to race relations – and express growing pessimism about the future of the county and their own long-term prospects in the region. The survey found that residents are extremely unhappy with some key indicators of quality of life: Large majorities say traffic congestion on freeways and major roads (74%) and the availability of affordable housing (64%) are big problems in the county today, up significantly from two years ago (67% traffic, 54% affordable housing). Los Angeles County residents are also pessimistic when they imagine the future of their region. In fact, they are more likely to believe that Los Angeles County will be a worse place (37%) rather than a better place (24%) to live in twenty years. One consequence of this negative outlook? Fully one-third of county residents (33%) expect to leave Los Angeles County in the next five years.. Trade Deficit Still Increasing. In what has become almost routine news, the United States trade deficit hit still another record of $61 billion dollars in figures just released for February. The monthly trade deficit has smashed through previous highs eight times since the start of last year, and this is a new all time record. The increase is due to a $2.58 billion rise in the country’s imports during the month while exports increased by a measly $50 million. Much of the increase is attributed to increased oil imports and U.S. consumers who continue spending on good made by overseas companies. The most recent figures deepened concerns that the flow of goods across U.S. borders does not seem to be responding to the dollar's fall, even though that decline has continued for three years. Incredibly, the Bush administration continues to argue that the trade deficit is a good thing and shows the strength of the economy. In the words of Treasury Department Spokeman Rob Nichols: "The trade deficit reflects the fact that the American economy has been doing better than other industrial economies, and as a result we are importing more from those other economies", he said. Chinese Immigrants Protest Loss of Jobs to China. Chinese immigrant workers marched through downtown San Francisco last week in a protest of garment jobs being outsourced to China. Most of the protestors were former employees of San Francisco-based apparel maker Nova Knits Inc. They claim they were laid off last month without prior notice, severance pay or benefits in violation of state labor laws. The workers shouted slogans and waved signs to protest the loss of garment jobs. The end of textile quotas worldwide Jan. 1 accelerated the loss of garment jobs in the United States and other countries, as apparel makers shift more production to low-wage China, which exports more than $60 billion in textiles and clothing each year. The United States, which once had 2.5 million garment workers, now only has about 500,000, mostly in California, New York and the South. In the first 90 days of this year, 17,200 American textile workers have lost their jobs. ChevronTexaco to Buy Unocal. ChevronTexaco of San Ramon announced that it will be buying Unocal of El Segundo in a $16.4 billion cash and stock deal that will give California the the fourth-largest oil company in the world behind Exxon Mobil, British Petroleum and Shell. ChevronTexaco beat out Cnooc, China's state-owned oil company, and ENI of Italy, the fourth-largest oil company in Europe after Unocal put itself up for sale in an auction this year. Giant oil companies are currently flush with cash thanks to record crude prices- the world's top 10 oil companies made more than $100 billion in profit last year, but they don't have many opportunities to develop new fields. This has led some companies to seek growth through acquisitions rather than through exploration. ChevronTexaco will gain Unocal's exploration assets in this deal including liquefied natural gas plants in Indonesia, gas developments in Thailand; oil fields in the Gulf of Mexico; and large assets in the Caspian Sea including a position in the planned Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline. Unocal, once known for its "76" brand, refocused its attention on exploration and production in recent years, particularly in North America and Asia, after selling its marketing and refining businesses in the United States in the late 1990s. The company has long been considered a candidate for a takeover after a string of disappointing announcements about its production growth. The company has also courted controversy in recent years, doing business in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and trying to build a pipeline in Afghanistan during the time of the Taliban. Unocal Chief Executive Charles Williamson was quoted as saying that "The assets we have built up really belong in a portfolio like the one managed by ChevronTexaco, and our board understood that" he also said that the "California-based cultures" of their companies was another factor that influenced their pact. He acknowledged that there would be layoffs at Unocal, whose headquarters would be phased out after the deal is completed in the next few months but declined to be more specific. About 125 of Unocal's 6,600 employees work in El Segundo. The acquisition is still subject to the approval of Unocal's shareholders and regulatory approval. Both companies have a long California history: ChevronTexaco began 125 years ago as Pacific Coast Oil Co. in Southern California and then merged with Texaco in 2001 in a $35-billion merger deal. Unocal was founded as Union Oil Co. of California in 1890 in Santa Paula in Ventura County. It joined Chevron as a major player in California's oil and gas markets during the 20th century. Passports may be required for Canada and Mexico. Under a proposed federal rule announced recently, U.S. citizens could soon have to present passports to regain entry into the United States. The proposal, which must go through an approval process that includes public comment, would bar U.S. citizens from using state-issued driver licenses and identification cards or birth certificates to re-enter the country after traveling within the Western Hemisphere. "Neither the driver's licenses nor the birth certificates identify citizenship, and you can easily forge both documents," said Christiana Halsey, a Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman. The documentation that will be required for a return trip from Mexico and Canada will be similar to what is needed for European or Asian trips, she said. Major New Port Proposed in Baja. A coalition of shipping and freight concerns announced plans Friday for a $1 billion port on deserted seaside farmland about 150 miles south of Tijuana on the Baja peninsula, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times. The group hopes to link the Mexican port to California with a new rail line connecting to the Imperial Valley and compete with the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports for a share of the multibillion-dollar West Coast shipping business. If it happens, the Punta Colonet project would be one of the largest public works projects undertaken in Mexico, requiring the construction of roads, housing, public buildings and other infrastructure where none now exists. "We have to get Colonet developed," said Walter J. Romanowski, an executive with Los Angeles-based Marine Terminals Corp., a holding company owned by Evergreen and Yang Ming shipping lines of Taiwan, Hanjin of South Korea and China Shipping of Shanghai, all among the world's largest shipping firms. "There are no other viable West Coast options." The shipping industry soon will have no choice but to expand out of the Los Angeles basin, and Mexico is the best alternative, said Al Fierstine, former Los Angeles port business development director who is now an advisor to Marine Terminals Corp. Filipino Star Arrested at LAX on Crystal Meth Charges. One of the Philippines' most popular film and music stars was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of possessing crystal methamphetamine. Nora Aunor, whose real name is Nora Cabaltera Villamayor, was arrested for allegedly carrying eight grams of the drug in her carry on bag and a glass pipe wrapped in a T-shirt, according to the Daily Breeze of Torrance. Airport screeners stopped Aunor, who was flying to Oakland, and found the methamphetamine in a film container. Aunor, 51, was released after posting $10,000 bail, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. A court hearing was scheduled April 21 and she has surrendered her passport and cannot leave the U.S. Known as "The Superstar" to her fans, Aunor has appeared in more than 170 films and recorded more than two dozen albums, including scores of hit singles. A Philippines citizen, Aunor now spends much of her time in the United States and has a home in San Diego. Japanese Charge Intel with Anti-Competitive Practices. After a year long investigation, the Japan Fair Trade Commission has accused Intel Corporation, based in Santa Clara, of anti-competitive practices by providing advertising dollars to computer makers who agree to limit or stop buying processors from other chip makers. Intel insisted it has done nothing wrong but said it would accept the recommendation of the Commission and stop the practice: "Intel respectfully disagrees with the allegations contained in the recommendation, but in order to continue to focus on the needs of customers and consumers, and continue to provide them with the best products and service, we have decided to accept the recommendation,” said the general counsel of Intel. AMD, based in Sunnyvale, California, said Intel’s practices has taken customers away and criticized Intel for saying it didn’t try to monopolize the market. “Intel failed to accept responsibility in the face of evidence,” said AMD spokesman Dave Kroll. Los Angeles Police Lose Explosives for a Second Time. Los Angeles police are looking for two potentially dangerous decoy explosives they recently lost, the Los Angeles City News Service reported. The police lost tracks of two canisters, each containing one pound of ammonium nitrate-based explosives, during a recent inventory of bomb squad equipment, the report said. The loss of the devices, lent to the Los Angeles Police Department by the FBI, is the second recent security breach by the department. In the previous incident, LAPD officials ordered an accounting of all explosive training devices on March 22, and found that officers from the department's K-9 explosive detection unit accidentally left behind a satchel of fuse-less pipe bombs in a terminal at Los Angeles International Airport, causing major delays at the airport. Continued: Gas Prices. The growing economies of the developing world have fundamentally changed the oil market and the increased worldwide demand has kept oil prices above $50 per barrel for weeks. A few analysts think that the prices might drop. There reasoning is that the huge windfall profits in the oil industry will provide incentives for them to refurbish their refineries so that they can pump out more gasoline. The consensus, however, seems to be, however that these prices are here to stay and even if prices decline from their current heights, they may not fall far. Small businesses are being squeezed especially hard, especially delivery drivers, taxi drivers and companies with small fleets. The U.S. Department of Commerce recently reported that these increases are almost certainly impacting the economy. Retail sales rose only .3 percent in March, far below Wall Street's expectations, as consumers spending more at the pump have apparently cut back on other purchases.
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 Letters to the Editor back
Lt. Governor's Office Releases California Trade Forum Contacts Dear Mr. Gordon, Thank you for your calls over the past few months keeping me informed on your company and portal: "the California Trade Network". Please find below the contacts for all Executive Officers of the California Business Forum located in China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mexico. Sincerely John Almanza Office of Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamante Sacramento, California
Editors Note: The following information information was sent at our request for contact information for the California Trade Forums: a program the Lt. Governor has started as a partial replacement for the shuttered California Trade Offices.
California Business Forum Officers California-China Business Forum-Beijing Richard Wang, Executive Officer Janie M. Fong, Executive Officer Elias Laborin,Executive Officer Paul Giubergia, Executive Officer Book Recommendation from Mexican Consul General Dear Rob : This is recent book just published in November 2004, I will be happy to explore the SD Consulate co-sponsoring of the book presentation withyou, when you and Prof Hayes-Bautista agree, he lives in LA but I am sure he will be delighted to present his book in any venue in SD, Regards Bernardo Mendez Correction. In a discussion of the California Trade Partners group being formed by the Federal Government with participants from the old TradePort program, we said that about two million dollars had been wasted on this project and the (now defunct) BAYTRADE and LATRADE business associations. Actually more than 12 million dollars was expended on this program. SAIC- the San Diego-based defense contractor and other participants responsible for this wasted money were never held accountable.
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LAPD will Start Checking Immigration Status of Suspected Felons. The Los Angeles Police Department has changed its policy on handling illegal immigrants and will allow officers to check the status of suspected felons. The policy is Special Order 40, also called "the sanctuary policy" that prohibits LAPD officers from asking about contacts' immigration status. If approved, the new rules would be a shift from the previous policy that prevents officers from inquiring about a person's immigration status to encourage illegal immigrants who had witnessed or been victims of crimes to cooperate with police without fear of deportation. The proposed policy directs officers to report suspected felons in the United States illegally to their supervisors, who would then consult with immigration officials. The Police will be able to arrest felons if it's determined they are illegal immigrants. LAPD officials said they will still encourage immigrants to come forward with information on crimes. The change has come about mostly because of dangerous gangs from Central America, who repeatedly sneak back into the country. The LAPD sanctuary policy, adopted in 1979 when Daryl F. Gates was chief, was quickly copied by other large cities. With this change, other Police Departments throughout the U.S. are also rethinking the policy of a "firewall" between the Police and Immigration Authorities. Ship Ballast Dumping Must Comply with Clean Water Act. A federal judge in San Francisco ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency can't exempt ship operators when they dump ballast water and must comply with the Clean Water Act. The EPA had previously declined to intervene in this situation, saying the Coast Guard was a more appropriate enforcement arm. According to a report in Mercury News, this was a major victory for environmentalists who were concerned about invasive organisms being released in San Francisco Bay and other U.S. Waters. The cost of combating these invasive organisms including the Asian clam, European green crab and the New Zealand sea slug runs in the billions of dollars each year. The San Francisco Bay has more than 200 non-native plant and animal species, many of which don't have natural predators. The tiny tagalongs kill native species, clog water pipes and disrupt the food chain. "This will hopefully be a landmark decision that will dramatically reduce the introduction of invasive species into U.S. waters" according to Warner Chabot, the San Francisco-based vice president of the Ocean Conservancy, one of the plaintiffs in the case. Globalization Causing Serious Health Related Problems. At a forum in Newport Beach sponsored by the International Commission on Occupational Health it was reported that the longer hours, faster pace and security typical of many new jobs is taking a toll on workers' hearts, according to a growing body of occupational health research. Studies in Europe, Japan and the United States have linked increases in cardiovascular risks and disease to a global push for greater productivity. The LA Times reported researchers as saying the damage is cumulative and will become more apparent and costly over time. "I think we're dramatically underestimating the impacts of these changes," said Peter Schnall, an epidemiologist and clinical professor of medicine at the University of California, Irvine's School of Medicine. "There are enormous health effects, but they don't make it into the calculations." U.S. and Japanese workers who put in more than 50 hours a week had markedly higher rates of hypertension, a precursor to heart disease. In Belgium, stressful jobs- defined as highly demanding with little decision-making authority— appeared to elevate the blood pressure of workers even as they slept. China's embrace of rapid economic change has been accompanied by surges in cardiovascular disease that have overwhelmed urban hospitals. "Clearly something is going on," said Steven Sauter, who coordinates research on stress for the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health- part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "we don't have the firm data we need to understand it." California Insurance Commissioner To Address Concerns in Mexico. Seeking better coordination of insurance programs so that people on California and Mexican highways are protected, Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi announced that he will lead a delegation to Mexico to participate in trilateral negotiations with Mexican and Canadian authorities, the Insurance Journal has reported. "Conflicting and uncoordinated insurance requirements in our three countries have a damaging impact on the flow of trade, and create damaging situations for California, Mexican and Canadian motorists," Commissioner Garamendi said. "Policies sold in one country can be worthless once you cross the border, so many truckers simply drive without insurance. This confused regulatory state is a ripe environment for fraud to thrive." During his Mexico trip the Commissioner and Superintendent Serna will also discuss the problem of cargo insurance to protect against all too frequent hijackings. Presently there is no insurance product that covers cargo as it crosses the Mexico/U.S. border. "We need to find a way to allow these truckers to get cargo coverage from the beginning of the trip to the end," Commissioner Garamendi said. The Commissioner and the delegation will also look at solutions to the problem of policy sharing. Trucking companies have been known to buy 10 insurance policies to share with a fleet of 20 or more, merely swapping photocopied certificates to pass inspection or register vehicles. Market Based Plan for Limiting Greenhouse Gases being Considered. California energy regulators are considering new ways to encourage the state's utilities to switch to cleaner energy, according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News. The California Energy Commission's Climate Change Advisory Committee is considering "cap-and-trade" proposals, similar to what has worked to limit smog and acid rain. This time it would go to limit "greenhouse gases" that contribute to global warming. Cap-and-trades work by setting emissions limits, but let polluters buy and sell credits to help meet the standard. Where they've worked for other emissions, however, have been over the entire nation or broad regions such as Europe or the East Coast, said Stacey Davis, a consultant to the energy panel from the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Clean Air Policy. The announcement came at the same time as announcement by the governors of California, Wyoming, Nevada and Utah of a plan to encourage electric transmission lines to power-starved Southern California from the coal fields of Wyoming. One option for a California-led effort to limit greenhouse gases would require an agreement among several states to prevent utilities from simply getting their power from areas that don't have the same restrictions. California already gets 20 percent of its power from out of state, and half the carbon dioxide emissions from California power use actually are generated by coal-fired plants in other states. Coal-fired power is where the growth is, and coal-rich states including Arizona and New Mexico are unlikely to go along, Davis said. So she favors putting the regulatory burden on utilities, other suppliers and generators that distribute power in California instead of those who generate it in several states. Each would have to meet the emissions standard, a process that could include trading carbon credits while encouraging long-term use of cleaner energy. Pacific Gas and Electric thinks it's "a good concept because having a market-based solution can address climate change issues in a positive manner," said spokesman Jon Tremayne. But Southern California Edison reissued a statement noting that "neither greenhouse emissions nor electricity stop at state borders," illustrating what it said is the need for a national policy.
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Aircraft Leasing Firm Moves to Newport Beach in $2.5 Billion Deal. Bellevue Washington-based Boullioun Aviation Services, an aircraft-leasing company founded by a former Boeing president and now boasting a fleet of 102 jetliners worth billions, is moving to to California. WestLB, the German bank that owns Boullioun, is selling the company for more than $2.5 billion in a deal expected to be finalized within weeks, according to a report in the Seattle Times. The buyer, Aviation Capital Group, an aircraft leasing company based in Newport Beach will become the largest aircraft-leasing firm outside the industry's two giants, GE and International Lease Finance Co. (ILFC). A 15-month bidding war for Boullioun ended with Aviation Capital winning over three private equity firms. Aviation Capital is owned by insurance giant Pacific LifeCorp. With the major airlines weakened and cash-poor, leasing is increasingly more attractive than buying. An airline can lease a Boeing 737-800 for about $350,000 per month, rather than pay Boeing around $46 million for a new one. Virgin America Deal Not Consummated. Virgin America, a low-cost airline planned by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, will be delayed by more than a year, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle. The new airline was to to begin flying by mid-2005, with much of its operations based in and around San Francisco International Airport, but has apparently had difficulity finding investors and financing. Branson, worth an estimated $3.2 billion, could likely afford to start the airline using his own fortune. But U.S. law bars foreign investors from owning more than 49 percent of an American airline, making it critical that he persuade other investors to back the airline. Local officials were counting on Virgin to create thousands of Bay Area jobs. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and other public officials spent months persuading Virgin to pick San Francisco for its operational base last summer. At the time, Virgin said it planned to hire 1,600 local employees, including flight attendants, pilots and maintenance technicians in its first two years of operation. Quiksilver to Buy Rossignol. Quiksilver Inc, a Huntington Beach surf wear company, announced that it would buy the French company Rossignol, a maker of skis and winter sports equipment, for about $320 million in cash and stock. By acquiring Rossignol, Quiksilver could become a major player in the winter sports equipment arena, expanding its revenue by about 50%. Rossignol's sales were about $625 million in its last fiscal year and Quiksilver's were $1.3 billion. Quiksilver, the creator of youth apparel lines such as Quiksilver, Roxy and DC Shoe, would gain brands including Rossignol, Lange and Cleveland Golf. The Company plans to make more clothes bearing the Rossignol brand, a line that includes jackets, ski pants, sweaters and long underwear, News of this acquisition sent the stock down 10%, partly on concerns that the purchase would slow the company's growth but some analysts applauded the move saying it would greatly expand Quicksilver's ability to expand into new markets and product lines. Gold's Gym to open Fitness Center in Kolkata, India. Gold's Gym, the world's largest gym chain, is starting a new fitness center in Kolkata, India. The chain, with more than 650 gyms worldwide, is looking to establish a fitness culture in a country that is not known for that activity. California-based Gold's Gym has a global membership of 2.5 million and is already present in India with centers in Mumbai and Chennai. At 8,000-sq ft, the Kolkata outlet would be one of its biggest in that part of the world. Gold's Gym, opened its first center in Venice California in 1965 and became a mecca for body builders. In 1977, Gold’s Gym received international attention when it was featured in the cult favorite, Pumping Iron, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. PamAmSat to use Napa Teleport to Distribute China Radio. PanAmSat Corporation has entered into a multi-year agreement with China Radio International (CRI). Under the terms of the agreement, CRI will use three of PanAmSat's satellites - the PAS-8 Pacific Ocean Region satellite, the PAS-9 Atlantic Ocean Region satellite and the PAS-10 Indian Ocean Region satellite. CRI ia owned and operated by the Chinese government and is the only overseas broadcaster in the Peoples Republic of China. The stated mission of CRI is to "enhance friendship and understanding between the Chinese people and people in other countries". PanAmSat will provide C-band capacity on PAS-8, PAS-9 and PAS-10 and turn-around service at its Napa, California teleport to facilitate the global distribution of CRI's programming. Through PanAmSat, China Radio International will reach listeners around the world in eight different languages via its 36 audio channels. "PanAmSat will now serve as the global platform for the worldwide delivery of China Radio International's programming bouquet, enabling the network to reach listeners on every corner of the earth," said David Ball, vice president, Asia-Pacific, PanAmSat. "This significant agreement offers CRI the versatility, reliability and comprehensive coverage that they need as they expand their service offering." PamAmSat owns and operates fleet of 23 satellites and is a leading global provider of video, broadcasting and network distribution and delivery services. In total, the Company's in-orbit fleet is capable of reaching over 98 percent of the world's population through cable television systems, broadcast affiliates, direct-to-home operators, Internet service providers and telecommunications companies. Google Swallows Urchin. Google Inc. announced it has agreed to acquire Urchin Software Corporation, a San Diego, California based web analytics company. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Urchin is a web site analytics solution used by web site owners and marketers to better understand their users' experiences, optimize content and track marketing performance. Urchin tools are available as a hosted service, a software product and through large web hosting providers. Google plans to make these tools available to web site owners and marketers to better enable them to increase their advertising return on investment and make their web sites more effective. "We want to provide web site owners and marketers with the information they need to optimize their users' experience and generate a higher return-on-investment from their advertising spending," said a Jonathan Rosenberg, vice president of product management. | |
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Brittany Whiting has been named Director of "Global California"- a new service being organized by the Silicon Valley Center for International Trade Development- one of the international trade assistance centers operated by the California Community College Workforce Development Program. Brittany moved here from Washington D.C. where she was part of a group that oversaw the Global Technology Program- a USAID program that has recently been de-funded here in California. Global California is a pilot program for the San Jose/Silicon Valley area and may eventually become a State-wide program. The San Diego World Trade Center is paying for county Supervisor Ron Roberts to go to China on a nine-day trade mission next week. Roberts has used his taxpayer-funded discretionary fund to give the World Trade Center four grants totaling $350,000 since May 2002. In return, the WTC has spent $27,000 for Roberts and one of his aides to travel to Asia twice as part of business delegations during the same period It's the cheese. Jim Boyce, a cheesemaker from Marin Countyn won the gold award at the World Cheese Awards in London this spring for his Boyce's triple cream brie, winning top honors in a category historically dominated by France. The victory is the latest in a series of awards for California and U.S. artisanal cheeses. | |
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News that Governor Schwarzenegger's approval rating has dropped below 50 percent should set off alarms in the administration that something has gone seriously wrong with their approach to governing. Like many other Californians who don't often vote for Republicans, we voted for this Governor because we believed his promise of bi-partisanship, and we believed that as a wealthy man he would have California's best interest at heart and would have no need to take money from special interests. Governor Schwarzenegger claimed that he wanted to be the Governor "for all the people" but the only group that seems to have any influence at all in his administration is large Corporate interests. The Governor wants to be thought of as "pro-business" but he is really "pro-Corporation" - and there is a big difference- we have yet to see any evidence at all that the Governor has even the slightest interest in small business concerns. The reason is simple- small business seldom has much money for campaign contributions and money is apparently what is needed to have any influence at all on this administration. In his wasteful and probably doomed special election plans, the Governor put together a group called Citizens to Save California. This group consists almost exclusively of Corporate interests including California Chamber of Commerce president Allan Zaremberg. The Chamber represents mostly large California companies and, as the LA Times reported last year, the Schwarzenegger administration has been in "virtual lock step" on all business policy issues. Another organization is the California Business Roundtable represented by president William Hauck. According to their own website, "The Roundtable membership is limited to leading companies doing business in California. Participation is also limited to chief executive officers and senior operating executives of these companies". Another participant is Joel Fox, a Republican anti-tax activist who made a lucrative career for himself with the initiative process and now claims to represent small business with his newly formed Small Business Action Committee. Other members include Rex Hime, president and CEO of the California Business Properties Association and Janet Lamkin, president and CEO if the California Bankers Association At a recent fund raising dinner for his initiatives at the Century Plaza Hotel had co-chairs: Roland Arnall, chief executive of Ameriquest Capital Corp.; Chairman Ray Irani, of Occidental Petroleum Corp. developer Alan Casden, attorney Marshall Grossman and Latham & Watkins LLP attorney David Fleming. The Governor recently backed down from his plans for Pension Reform, the one initiative we supported. We are told that the bill was poorly written- and they apparently forgot to include death benefits for Police and Firefighters in one of the versions, needlessly inflaming this group. We are left with the impression that this whole thing could have been done differently- no one gets a pension anymore and Government workers should be no exception- they already get job security far beyond anything people in the private sector can even dream of. Most government employees are Democrats, but the corollary is not true: most Democrats are not government employees. Had this initiative been carefully thought out and explained properly I believe most Democrats and Progressives would have supported it. The Governors proposals are rapidly losing traction. Only about 150 supporters from taxpayer groups and "Citizens to Save California" turned out for to hear the Governor at what was billed as a major campaign revival rally on the capitol steps this morning to "Thank Arnold" and to hear Tom Arnold praise the Governor. As the rally was underway, an airplane flew a banner that said "Real Taxpayers Oppose $70 Mil For Extra Election". At an earlier meeting in San Diego the Governor organized a fake Town Hall Meeting at our favorite defense contractor SAIC. The meeting was not open to the public and a security perimeter kept all but the hand picked audience away. The Governor has borrowed a page from the playbook of President Bush by only allowing softball questions that have been pre-screened by the Republican Party. This has likely caused many Democrats to ask: Has the Governor hit rock bottom? We are nothing if not persistent here- as readers of this publication know we have been trying for more than a year to find out if the State has an international business strategy. Letters and phone calls to the Business Transportation and Housing Agency have gone unanswered, so we dutifully call the Governor's local representative Cameron Durckel about once a month. He is always friendly and cheerful but never knows anything and always promises to get back with me if he is able to find anything out- but apparently even he can't get his phone calls returned from BTH or anyone in the Governor's office. OK, so nothing going on there- time to check back with the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth. This is a private "non-profit organization" that the Governor started with his campaign contributors and other supporters. We spoke with Project Manager Marcia McLean and wanted to know what was going on with plans for the Governor's Trip to China. Answer: it has been postponed all the way to November! Why? We wanted to know. "The Governor has more important things on his schedule right now", she said. Somehow, I thought there was probably a bit more to this story than that, but I didn't pry. Another thing I wanted to know was how people can work with this Commission. Do you have to be a campaign contributor, I asked? "No", she said, and she brought up Amy's Kitchen, something I assumed they would want to forget. Amy's Kitchen was part of a bidding war between Schwarzenegger and the Governor of Oregon and was given a position on the Commission to encourage then to keep their manufacturing in the State- they left anyway but kept their position on the Jobs Commission even though they moved most of their jobs out of State. She reminded me of the Governor's trip to Japan and what a fantastic salesman he is, and also about their coordinating role in getting Genetech to build a biotechnology facility North of San Francisco. I was trying to get to the bottom of what they do and how they work. What happens when someone wants to do business in California?, I asked. How do you "process" that information? She said they often work with the California Association for Local Economic Development and that their primary contact with the Schwarzenegger administration was David Crane, Special Advisor to the Governor for Jobs and Economic Growth. We had previously talked with Mr. Crane but he had no interest in our initiatives, so we asked what kind of things did interest him. "he mostly looks for big, interesting projects" she said. This sounds much more like a private sector approach, not a public sector one, but it jives with what we have been told by other sources- that the administration's economic plan is mostly to find deals that will bring large Corporations to California where the added jobs that can be publicized as "success stories". So far, this approach has had only limited success. We weren't overly impressed by what they are doing, but to be fair, this group has a very small staff- only four people. Of greater concern is that there is no apparent way for average Joe's (or average Jane's) to participate in this group. We couldn't even find out how anyone in the business community could participate in the Governor's (repeatedly delayed) trade mission to China. "That would have to go through the Governor's office", she said. From discussions with this group, and others, we are left with the impression that Governor Schwarzenegger believes he can govern California through his own private networks- but this approach is completely at odds with his expressed desire to be Governor "for all the people". It seems likely that the Governor is getting some bad advice- especially on business and economic issues, and we sincerely hope he can make whatever changes are necessary to make his administration functional again. Having mostly struck out with the Administration we moved onto the Legislature, and called Renee Pittin- a staff member to Assemblyman Leland Yee. Last month reported that the legislature was considering several bills related to international trade, including AB790 - a bill that simple reasserted legislative interest in international trade. She reported that this bill has morphed into something completely different- unrelated to international trade, and as far as she knew all the other trade related bills had died as well. "There is nothing going on in that area that I know of" she said. Well isn't that just peachy. It seems to me that our Government has become almost completely dysfunctional. The Schwarzenegger administration is only interested in large moneyed Corporations, the Legislature seems to be solidly under the control of Government employees. The rest of us don't even have a seat at the table. By deciding to do battle with each other, over issues that are largely irrelevant to to the extremely serous problems we are facing, the Administration and the Legislature have effectively disempowered each other. Something needs to be done about this- quickly. In those famous words of Rodney King- who came up with this wisdom in an otherwise mostly wasted life, "Why can't we all just get along?", RG | |
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Skype Internet Telephony. At the risk of recommending a technology many of our readers already use, we want to again mention the Skype peer-to-peer Internet phone system. This service was designed by the developers of the Kaaza peer-to-peer file sharing system and offers great audio communications anywhere in the world- for free. Earlier this week we had a Skype conversation with an American living in China and were amazed at the quality of the audio- though there was a bit of a lag, and a few minor breakups- the product worked as advertised as being "better than the telephone". Recently Skype announced "Skype Out" - for just 10 Euros (about $13) you almost 10 hours of calling to local phones anywhere in the world. There is no monthly fee- rather you just buy additional time as you need it. There is also a new service they are rolling out called "Skype In" - this gives you a normal phone number where people with a regular phone can call you on Skype- and they already have most area codes for California. Feel free to call and say hi if you would like to test it- my Skype ID is robgordon, Close to 100 million people have already downloaded Skype- you can get it at www.skype.com Pulver Communicator. Another interesting product we have recently started to use is Pulver Communicator. This service integrates all major instant messenger services as well as Skype and other Internet telephony services including group conferencing. It also integrated elements of :"social networking" into its architecture. Download Pulver Communicator at:http://www.pulver.com/communicator/
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back April 21: Los Angeles. April 20: Sherman Oaks. Free Trade Agreements. Organized by the Valley International Trade Association. 818-379-7000.http://www.vitainternational.org/events/Free%20Trade%20Agreements%20-%20April%2020.pdf April 20: Long Beach. Information Session for Master's in Global Logistics. Organized by the Center for International Trade and Transportation at California State University - Long Beach. 562-296-1172.http://www.uces.csulb.edu/CITT/GeneralInfo.aspx?vMID=54 April 22: Azusa. Working with US Customs and the FDA. Presented by the Center for International Trade Development and the California-Mexico Trade Assistance Center at Citrus College. 626-334-0484.http://www.worldtradeweek.com/Default.aspx?tabid=27&mid=348&ctl=Detail&EventID=36 April 25: San Francisco. Korea and its Strategic Role in the Peace, Security and Prosperity of NE Asia. Sponsored by the Asia Foundation.http://www.bawtc.com/events_detail.asp?PartnerId=&EventsRegionID=bayarea&EventID=575 April 26: Sacramento. International Luncheon Forum with the French Ambassador. Sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce. http://www.worldtradeweek.com/Default.aspx?tabid=27&mid=348&ctl=Detail&EventID=44 April 27: San Pedro. Annual Harbor Cruse. Sponsored by the Propeller Club of Los Angeles/ Long Beach.http://www.worldtradeweek.com/Default.aspx?tabid=27&mid=348&ctl=Detail&EventID=37 April 30: Los Angeles. How To Do Business in Middle East and N. Africa. Hosted by UCLA Extension.http://www.worldtradeweek.com/Default.aspx?tabid=27&mid=348&ctl=Detail&EventID=34 April 30: San Pedro. British American Business Council Annual Meeting. Reception on the Diamond Princess. http://www.babcla.org/ct_event_show.php?id=284 May 4: Los Angeles. 79th Annual World Trade Week Kickoff Breakfast. Hosted by the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce http://www.worldtradeweek.com/Default.aspx?tabid=44&mid=351&ctl=Detail&EventID=3 May 5: Santa Clarita. Expanding Business with China. Hosted by College of the Canyons. http://www.worldtradeweek.com/Default.aspx?tabid=44&mid=351&ctl=Detail&EventID=17 Please send events for listing here to caltrade@gmail.com. if your event is near the beginning of the Month, please try to get us your listing at least 5 weeks in advance. | |
A recent poll by the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University found that only 39 percent of California residents believe that California is on the "right track" while fully 49 percent believe the State is on the wrong track- this is a 14 percent increase in just three months. People were asked a standard question about whether they think "things in California are going in the right direction or are they seriously off on the wrong track." Only 39% answered right direction; 49% said wrong track. In January, it was almost reversed: 52% right track, 35% wrong direction.
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The Language Police by Nancy Snow If you need any more confirmation that America is the numero uno propaganda nation, look no further than the GOP language maestro Frank Luntz, who has produced a memorandum of “The 14 Words Never to Use”. Thanks to the Internet and the blogosphere, we mere mortals can get our grubby mitts on what the conservative elite persuader Luntz is doing to scrub our brains free of individual thoughts. Luntz teases, “This memo was originally prepared exclusively for Congressional spouses because they are your eyes and ears, a one-person reality check and truth squad combined…However, by popular demand, I have included and expanded that document because effectively communicating the New American Lexicon requires you to STOP saying words and phrases that undermine your ability to educate the American people. So from today forward, YOU are the language police. From today forward, these are the words never to say again.” Parents and teachers, cover the ears and eyes of the young ‘uns, because this could get ugly. You may have to throw out those Dick and Jane readers and start anew. Consider the first word expunged from our memory—government. It’s such a bad word to Luntz that it must be replaced by Washington. “The fact is, most Americans appreciate their local government that picks up their trash, cleans their streets, and provides police and transportation services. Washington is the problem.” This is why he tells members of Congress (and their spouses!) to remind voters that Washington is the bogey man, Washington is the problem, Washington has regulations, Washington taxes. Hmm. Something seems fishy here. Does this mean our own President hates his government job in Washington? If Washington is the problem, then why doesn’t the President, who represents Washington, just step aside and let the people rule themselves? I may be overthinking the Luntz lexicon. But wait, there’s more! Never say privatization in reference to social security. It evokes images of fat cats on Wall Street picking our pockets. Reserve privatization for everything else related to the social good and collective security (education, health care, trade, criminal justice). The better choice is personalization and personal accounts. This sounds like ‘We The People’ have more control over our private, oops, I mean personal lives. Luntz explains: “Personalizing Social Security suggests ownership and control over your retirement savings, while privatizing it suggests a profit motive and winners and losers. BANISH PRIVATIZATION FROM YOUR LEXICON.” [Author’s note: only in reference to social security and nothing else. Privatization good, government bad.] Another zinger Luntz offers is to NEVER say global economy/globalization/capitalism. That’s right. Never refer to the way things really are. Instead, refer to the way you’d like things to be and make that your reality. Luntz warns, “More Americans are afraid of the principle of globalization than even privatization. The reason? Globalization presents something big, something distant, and something foreign.” And I thought he was talking about my Aunt Virginia’s fruitcake. So what to use? Free market economy, free market economy, free market economy! Capitalism is a major no-no because it reminds us of a world of winners and losers. And of course we’re not supposed to think about our pocketbook realities. Better to tune in to ESPN and find out the only winners and losers we need to care about—who’s going to make it to the Sweet Sixteen during March Madness. CNN’s Lou Dobbs won’t like this but Frank Luntz just can’t stand that word outsourcing either. “We should NEVER use the word outsourcing because we will then be asked to defend or end the practice of allowing companies to ship American jobs overseas. Rather, we should talk about the ‘root cause’ why any company would not want to hire ‘the best workers in the world.’ And the answer: ‘over-taxation, over-regulation, too much litigation, and not enough innovation or quality education.’ Because it rhymes, it will be remembered.” Getting the picture? We need to stop using the language of what happens to real people and replace it with the language of the corporation, which has no purpose other than profit and no conscience. Luntz is particularly jiggy with trade language. He implores us to stop using “foreign” or “global” and replace it with “international.” Foreign is just too scary to patriotic nativists. In his memo, “The Eleven Steps to Effective Trade Communication,” he says that wordsmiths must appeal to America’s greatness. “Americans love being told we’re the best, that we’re number one. We will do anything—ANYTHING—to remain number one, and will oppose anything that undermines our superiority. It is essential in any discussion of trade to declare that we are ‘the greatest economic power in the world’ and that ‘we will remain the greatest economic power in the world only so long as we continue to do business with other nations.’” Anyone who opposes “international” trade should be called a “defeatist” for giving up the fight to be number one. There’s just a tiny step further here to calling anyone who questions the fairness and justice of certain trade agreements as, dare I say it, “un-American” or even “anti-American.” The ultimate irony is that Luntz points to a foreigner (my bad) internationalist Governator Arnold Schwarzenegger as the poster he-man for the most effective way to discuss the American economy’s relationship with trade: “To those critics who are pessimistic about our economy, I say: Don’t be economic girlie men.” Luntz tells us to pump up American exceptionalism, just like Arnold, and “talk about the economy, but talk about it in terms of perseverance, stamina, and WINNING.” So remember, do six reps of You Own It, It’s Personal, It’s Your Choice in the Free Market Economy Where Everyone’s An International Trade Winner. DO NOT READ BETWEEN THE LINES. |
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The California Real Estate Bubble Every man can be a real estate magnate. Half the new jobs created in California in the last two years are connected to residential real estate. Now, 10% of all private sector jobs in the state are connected to the house price bubble. See what has happened, dear reader? Alan Greenspan's credit bubble has worked its way into the muscle and bone of the U.S. economy -and turned it into fat. When this next bubble bursts, it will be mess. Since 2001, the property bubble has raised house prices in California by $1.7 trillion. That is equivalent to 35% of personal income. Now, the whole economy not only enjoys a rising real estate market, it depends on it. Coast to coast, people buy big houses they can't really afford. They expect to "fix them up" and sell them to someone else for more than they paid for them. What they are not expecting to do is to pay for them. How could they? Meanwhile, back in the U.S.A., the whole nation seems to have gone gaga over property. Everyone's a real estate magnate. The trick, we've been told, is to find a "fixer-upper," do a little cosmetic work on it, and put it right back on the market. So many people are looking for the fixer-upper that canny sellers should probably deliberately wreck their own houses - so prospective buyers could hallucinate about how much money they will make after they fix it up. Apparently, few people actually intend to "buy" a house. They merely use them as places to stay, temporarily...and as speculative assets. At present prices, in many areas, few people could actually afford to buy a house. The California Association of Realtor reports that only one in five households in the state has enough money to buy the house that one in two of them live in. It is supposed to be an "ownership society," says George W. Bush. But few people own much of anything...and fewer and fewer people could buy a house if they wanted to. Note: This is an excerpt from the Daily Reckoning newsletter called The Root of All Evil: To subscribe to this newsletter visit their site at www.dailyreckoning.com
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The California Trade Network The California Trade Network is a private sector initiative with the goal of providing high quality information and communication services for California's international business community. This service operates a Registry of firms and professionals in California with international business interests. This includes a free international profile record, directory listing and access to our basic trade database for any company or professional in this State. We have recently greatly expanded the utility of this service by including all companies in California that we know to be involved in international trade and business. As a precaution, we are only including basic information and web addresses in the public listings for the California International Business Directory but full contact information is available in our secured database. Please review the directory and if you find a listing for your company use the Password Request form to request access to your international business profile. or send us a remove request if you want to be delisted. If you are not listed please register on the CALTRADE.COM portal. In general, we are seeking the person responsible for international business development or international marketing in each organization. The California Trade Network also operates services including a Trade Opportunity Database as well as several other information services and on-line business forums. We are also developing more sophisticated commercial services including an international trade opportunity matching service and higher quality information content and communication services. We are especially excited about the new CALTRADE Community Portal - it uses a business networking technology with integrated Internet Telephony- and can be used for communication and collaboration among international business professionals. We are actively looking for partners and sponsors for these initiatives so please contact us if you would like to discuss business possibilities. For more information about the current services of the California Trade Network please see this link or visit us on the web at: This report is published by the California Trade Network and we are solely responsible for its content. Please send comments, suggestions, corrections and ideas for inclusion to CALTRADE@gmail.com or call 858-483-7250. We will also consider short opt-ed pieces. This is part of an outreach effort to the international business community in California. Please help us by using the link at the bottom to forward this to the person responsible for international business development in your organization, or to your associates who may be interested in this topic. To remove yourself from this mailing list use the "unsubscribe" link at at the lower left. Also use the unsubscribe link if you want this delivered to a different email address- the current delivery address will be removed and a form will display that will allow you to enter a new email address. |