California INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Report | |
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Chinese Investments Target California The Chinese $18.5 billion bid for California oil company Unocal has been withdrawn because of "political considerations" but they nearly pulled it off, and no one believes we have heard the last of them. They are said to be interested in buying the entire Port of Sacramento, and Chinese buyers may be close to an agreement to purchase an unbuilt industrial park near Sacramento International Airport for more than $900 million. The industrial park is called "Metro Air Park" and the Chinese government, representing a consortium of its companies, wants to build a huge international trade center to showcase Chinese products in this country. The deal may have preempted, or may be related to a similar project called, "The California International Trade Center" that was to include an office tower, 550-room hotel, a huge exhibition center, housing, restaurants and a small college at a different location in Sacramento. Those involved in the potential transaction told the Sacramento Business Journal that the companies could employ about 20,000 people at the center. The Chinese decided to build a trade center in California, their sources said, because U.S. buyers have been reluctant to go to China. China has more than $700 billion in cash reserves and they recently decoupled their currency from the dollar which is expected to increase the purchasing power of the Yuan and in theory should make California exports more competitive in that country. Thank you for continuing to receive the California International Business Report. Please take a moment to formally subscribe at the link at the bottom or unsubscribe if you don't want to receive this. Also, this newsletter is "content rich" and can trigger spam filters- make sure you "white list" this publication in your spam filter. Please also read some important announcements at the bottom of the page about the California Trade Network. |
 News and Politics back
State Housing Market Slows
Several factors could cause a more pronounced slowdown, the report said. One is the far-below-average level of affordability. By one measure, only 16 percent of households in California can afford a median priced home — the level at which half of all homes sold for more, half for less. By contrast the figure nationwide is at 50 percent. Another worry is the high level of risky loans including piggyback loans, which let borrowers with low down payments finance a home purchase without paying for mortgage insurance. Yet another risk stems from the higher than normal level of activity by investors. Analysts expect investors will start unloading properties when they see their returns diminish. Many holders of riskier mortgages, already stretching to meet their monthly payments, could default when their loans reset at higher rates in the next few years if mortgage rates start rising.. While not everyone agrees that there is a housing bubble, California tops the 10 states most at risk for a housing price decline, containing six of the riskiest areas, the study shows. These areas include Oakland, San Francisco/peninsula, San Jose, San Diego, Santa Ana and Riverside. If there is a bubble, we will know it here first. Massive Layoffs at HP. Hewlett-Packard Company, headquartered in Palo Alto, announced massive job cuts involving as many as 15,000 employees this past month. Analysts said this would save the company $750 million to $1.5 billion. The company is California's biggest manufacturer and employs 150,000 people around the world. The news pushed the company's stock to a 52-week high of $24.99 on Wall Street but also set off rumor and worry through the HP workforce. Brian Alexander, a senior technology analyst at investment dealer Raymond James said the company layoffs will cut across all divisions, but the enterprise hardware and related services operation will be hardest hit. "That's where they have the biggest cost disadvantage when compared with their competition," he said in an interview with the LA Times, noting that HP competes directly with International Business Machines Corp. and EMC Corp. An analyst at New York-based Argus Research Co., an independent investment research firm, said in a report that job cuts will improve HP's profits in 2006 and beyond but that it will continue to face "very tough competition" in its core computer and printer businesses. The job cuts were announced as part of a broader management reorganization by Mark Hurd, the new chief executive HP hired in March to replace Carly Fiorina. Huge Sex Trafficking Ring Broken. Last month, local and federal law enforcement raided more than a dozen brothels in San Francisco and Los Angeles, exposing a major sex trafficking ring. Officials discovered more than 100 women, mostly from South Korea, who had been smuggled into the country to work as prostitutes. Many were reportedly promised jobs as waitresses before being forced into prostitution.Two dozen people have been indicted for allegedly being part in a human smuggling ring involving the women who worked as prostitutes at California massage parlors. Twenty-three of those named in two federal indictments were among those already charged in a criminal complaint relating to raids last month at various businesses in San Francisco and Los Angeles. Five people remain at large. The indictments charge the suspects with conspiracy and add new charges against several of the alleged brothel operators for money laundering and illegal money transactions. The indictments describe a sophisticated criminal network in which coconspirators recruited young women, arranged for them to be flown from Korea to Canada and then smuggled them illegally into the United States. The women often passed through Virginia and Los Angeles before arriving in the San Francisco Bay Area, according to the court documents. Some of the women allegedly paid $16,000 each to be smuggled and were expected to repay their debts by working as prostitutes at brothels that were housed in massage parlors, spas, acupuncture clinics and other businesses. Authorities said there was no evidence the women were forced to work in the brothels against their will. In the Bay Area, about 400 federal, state and local agents searched some 50 brothels, homes and businesses, following a nine-month investigation called "Operation Gilded Cage." More than three dozen search warrants were served in Los Angeles, Santa Monica, Anaheim and other cities. One woman who sought help escaping the brothel she was kept in sent a message in an Internet chat room. The woman was without her passport, which had been taken by her brokers, the people responsible for smuggling her into the United States. She was brought to the Korean consulate in San Francisco, where she received a new passport and a ticket back to Korea. Insurance Commissioner says Health System in a "Death Spiral". California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi says the States health care system is in a "death spiral" in a 73-page report, called "Priced Out". The report blasted health insurance plans targeting specific groups and of health savings accounts that the Bush administration supports. With some 6.6 million uninsured Californians, health insurance companies should not be allowed to reap large profits and at the same time cherry-pick members, Garamendi said. Health insurance premiums rose 61 percent between 2000 and 2004 in California and families in the state pay $1,500 more per year than the rest of the country for preferred provider organizations, or PPOs, according to the report. The uninsured are priced out of health care in California, said Garamendi at a news conference in San Franciscos. For the rest of us, were one job away from losing our health insurance. Garamendi is a supporter of universal health care and said he wants to work within todays health care system dominated by health insurance companies and public programs such as Medi-Cal. He'll kick off a series of hearings next month in San Francisco, where the focus will be on new low-cost health plans that have fewer benefits. California National Guard Investigation Expands. The California National Guard, already under investigation for forming an unauthorized intelligence unit, is now being investigated for abuse of Iraqi detainees and allegedly extorting money from small businesses there. According to military officials and members of the battalion, soldiers from the battalion's Bravo Company, based in Dublin near San Francisco, approached several businesses earlier this year that were owned and operated by Iraqi nationals. The businesses catered to U.S. soldiers and were located on the fringe of the U.S. military's operating base inside the Green Zone, the fortified hub of the Iraqi government and U.S. occupation. The businesses were asked to pay the soldiers "rent". According to a report in the LA Times, there is considerable dispute about the financial arrangement - how much money was raised, how many soldiers were involved and how important the allegations are. Army officials say the total amount involved was $4,000, but troops in the battalion have said the scheme raised more than $30,000. The investigation resulted in disciplinary action against one officer from the battalion's Bravo Company. The battalion's Alpha Company, a 130-soldier unit based in Fullerton, has been the subject of the most serious portion of the investigation: that soldiers allegedly mistreated or abused Iraqi detainees in March. Military sources have said that at least some of the mistreatment involved a Taser stun gun and was captured on videotape. Eleven soldiers have been charged in connection with the alleged abuse; the Army's Criminal Investigation Division will determine whether the soldiers will face courts-martial. Military officials also confirmed that a leader of the battalion's Delta Company, 1st Sgt. Robert Jones, was relieved of duty recently after being accused of threatening an Iraqi detainee by, among other things, shooting at a water heater during an interrogation. California Border Patrol Rejected by State Legislature. The state Assembly's Judiciary Committee rejected proposed constitutional amendments that would have created a State Border Police and denied some benefits to undocumented immigrants. The committee voted 5-2 against a proposal by Assemblymember Ray Haynes, R-Murrieta, that would have given the state’s Division of Homeland Security a California Border Patrol to help federal agents enforce immigration laws. By a 4-2 vote, the committee rejected a plan by Assemblymember Mark Wyland, R-Del Mar, that would have prohibited undocumented residents from receiving any health care or social services not required by the federal government. It would have eliminated the lower in-state tuition rates for undocumented students and would have required people to show identification when they vote. Haynes and Wyland said the state is paying up to $10 billion a year on undocumented immigration costs without getting full reimbursement from the federal government. "The federal government has just abandoned state and local governments and is doing a terrible job on immigration" he said. Assembly Leader Fabián Núñez had a different take on these bills. "The days when anti-immigration proposals were used to create a divided California are over", he said, "What it all comes down to is whether or not we look at the ills of immigration, or we look at the contributions of immigration," said Núñez. "We complain about the ills, but we take advantage of their cheap labor". "We should be looking at ways we can compete in a global economy and utilize immigrants in ways we can control to strengthen our ability to be competitive on a global level". U.S. Border Patrol considers welcoming volunteers . The U.S. Border Patrol is exploring ways to involve citizen volunteers in creating “something akin to a Border Patrol auxiliary,” Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner said. The move, disclosed in an Associated Press interview with Bonner, would be a significant shift in rhetoric after a high-profile civilian campaign this spring along the Arizona-Mexico border. Bonner said his agency has focused on citizen involvement after noting how eager volunteers were to stop illegal immigration. “It is actually as a result of seeing that there is the possibility in local border communities, and maybe even beyond, of having citizens that would be willing to volunteer to help the Border Patrol,” Bonner said. “But with some training and being organized in a way that would be something akin to a Border Patrol auxiliary”. The move is thought to be in response to the "Minute Men" - a group that confronts illegal immigrants crossing the border. Some people- including President Bush have called this group "vigilantes"; other people- including Governor Schwarzenegger, have compared it to a simple "neighborhood watch" program. Vietnam Activist Extradition spur Protests About 200 supporters rallied outside the Pasadena courthouse last month to protest the possible extradition of Van Duc Vo has who has been in a federal jail, accused of plotting to throw a bomb over the wall of the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand. The protestors waved U.S. and South Vietnamese flags and wore yellow pieces of paper around their necks that read "Freedom and Democracy for Vietnam". The federal appeals court was preparing to decide whether Vo should be extradited to Bangkok to stand trial. The LA Times reported that the 45-year-old Baldwin Park man has become a much-debated symbol in Southern California's Vietnamese American community. "Van Vo is a freedom fighter," said Kim Vo, 55, of Lawndale, who is not related to Van Vo. She said she arrived at the courthouse at 6:30 a.m. She wore a sign around her neck that said, "When you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you," a paraphrase of a quote by President Bush. Others in the community, Vo is an embarrassing extremist who is out of sync with political realities. "He should know that the war is over a long time ago," said Thuy Reed, 52, of San Pedro, a community activist who fled Vietnam 30 years ago and supports the normalization of relations with Vietnam. "These people aren't helping Vietnam, and they're not helping their cause. They think they're Superman and want to fix everything". The Times reported that Vo's case has been covered aggressively in the Vietnamese-language press. And the anti-Communist group he belongs to — the Garden Grove-based Free Government of Vietnam, which organized Monday's rally has received international attention for its efforts against the Vietnamese government. Disney Turns 50, Will Open Hong Kong Park. Disneyland celebrated its golden anniversary this past month with a re-dedication ceremony featuring Governor Schwarzenegger, Michael Eisner, chief executive officer of The Walt Disney Company and Robert Iger, president, chief operating officer and CEO- elect, The Walt Disney Company. Broadcast legend Art Linkletter- who annouced the orignianl opening 50 years ago, and Walt Disney's eldest daughter Diane Disney Miller also joined the festivities to pay homage to the world's first Disney theme park. Thousands were on hand as Governor Schwarzenegger arrived through the gateway of Sleeping Beauty Castle to participate in the milestone event. Michael Eisner presented Schwarzenegger with a gold motorcycle (provided by American Honda) to commemorate his participation. "Disneyland is a California dream and a true original," Schwarzenegger said. "It's the place everyone wants to go and the place you never forget once you've been there". In a related story, the mouse seems to be looking East. Disney Hong Kong is scheduled to open in September. It will be Disney's second park in Asia after Japan, aims to attract tourists from across Asia and especially from mainland China. The company has already announced it is planning a park for Shanghai, but says it is unlikely to open before 2010. Schwarzenegger to visit China in November. Governor Schwarzenegger has scheduled a six-day trade mission to China in November, his office announced Tuesday. Press secretary Margita Thompson said the governor would travel to China Nov. 13-18, but has not yet set an itinerary. The trip was originally planned for last April, with stops in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, for the governor to promote California products and increase Chinese investment in the state. It was postponed so Schwarzenegger could devote his attention to qualifying several ballot initiatives for the Nov. 8 special election. The trip will be Schwarzenegger's fourth official overseas visit on state business since he became governor in November 2003. He traveled to Israel and Germany on his first visit abroad, followed by trips to Japan and Mexico. A year ago, at the request of President Bush, Schwarzenegger represented the United States at the funeral of former Austrian President Thomas Klestil. | |
 Letters to the Editor back
Sole Response from California State Legislature Dear Mr. Gordon, Thank you for your follow up email regarding the survey questions you submitted. I should point out that I am not the Chair of the Assembly JOBS Committee, simply a member. The committee does still meet but hears very, very, few bills. I do believe that international trade and business is important for our state but also know that unless and until we have stabilized our financial and political situation it will be difficult if not impossible to increase state investment in expanding international trade. Until that time we will have to rely on private investment and entrepreneurship to advance these opportunities. AssemblymanJoe Canciamilla 11th District California State Assembly
Editor's Note: This letter was the sole response we received to a survey we sent to the entire California State Legislature. Please see the editorial section for a discussion of this survey.
Why is California Media Ignoring International Trade? Dear Sir: As my company provides export finance loans to companies all over the country, I have daily on-line subscriptions to about 30 Business Journals. It's a very fine service, by the way. When I moved to San Diego 15 years ago, headlines universally promoted San Diego as being ideally positioned to be the Pacific Rim capital for the west coast, and serve a role similar to the one Miami serves on the east coast for the Caribbean nations and South America -- only the PacRim is much, much bigger. In the last two months all three the Florida Business Journals have each featured at least two stories on local reactions, pro and con, to the DR-CAFTA negotiations which today narrowly passed in the House 217-215. (The Houston Business Journal sent me this information this afternoon. The SDBJ Manufacturing Digest arrived about the same time, and didn't mention it.) In fact, all the Texas Business Journals have covered the implications of DR-CAFTA to their local economies. I mention Florida and Texas because they are California's biggest export rivals. I have seen nothing about DR-CAFTA in the San Diego Business Journal -- nor in the Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, or Los Angeles Business Journals. Do California's politicians have no opinions? Are no San Diego companies planning to explore this opportunity, for better or worse? Have the California Business Journals entered into an agreement to virtually ignore such a major California economic powerhouse? Importing and exporting provide many exciting and well-paid jobs, and there are lots of associations and meetings, activities and classes going on around the State to support this important industry sector. Our universities are teaching thousands of young people about doing business in the international marketplace, and to be entrepreneurs. Immigrants find importing and exporting a viable small business to start with comparatively little overhead. These are stories which should be right up the Business Journal's alley. And what happened to the Pacific Rim vision for San Diego? It's a viable concept worthy of revival. San Diego need some "vision" these days. Sincerely, Sally Johnson San Diego Editor's Note: This letter was originally written to the San Diego Business Journal and was copied to us and has been reprinted because it represents an interesting and relevant issue.
Water & Mining Sector Conference in Romania and Kazakhstan Dear California Trade Network I wanted to contact you and ask whether you would be able to help us contact California area firms who might be interested in attending the upcoming USAID EcoLinks-sponsored Water and Mining Sectors Business Conferences in Southeastern Europe and Kazakhstan. This a great opportunity for firms to take advantage of any of these three well-organized conferences with Embassy Endorsement in Bulgaria and Romania - organized back-to-back in a 10 day period. The cost for the SE Europe events to U.S. firms is $250 per person and the Kazakhstan event is free-of-charge. See my email to firms below and attachments for more information. If it is not possible for you to email information about this directly to your subscribers and members, we would be grateful if you could put it on the calendar of trade events listed in your newsletter. The main event the 2nd Environmental Conference for Water and Mining in Southeastern Europe will be held in Bucharest Romania will cover water and mining projects and has support from the Mining Department of the Economic Ministry and the Ministry of Environment and Waters.. Thanks for your consideration. Sincerely John McGill Editor's Note: One of our members in San Francisco- Scott Sambucci, will be attending the conference in Kazakhstan and is looking for California companies in the Water sector who would like to attend or be represented. Contact him through the website of his firm Economic Information Services, LLC at www.economicis.com
Niger in Desperate Need of Help Dear Caltrade, As citizens of this world, how can we allow children and adults disappear with starvation because of drought and locusts? I watched a special program on CNN by Anderson Cooper "360" today, broadcasting from Niger, Africa. The trauma is very sad and children and adults need help with food and medical care. I encourage you to support the starving children and adults of Niger by your contributions. We cannot depend on governments to do all the work. Some governments have sent their doctors and some food. But, more is required for the monumental task of eliminating starvation in Niger. Just this afternoon I donated money through World Food Programme, a branch of UN, and specified Niger as a recipient. There are many aid groups to choose. Here is the CNN link for aid groups: Regards, Ernie Martin We would like to hear from you. Please send us your ideas and opinions to caltrade@gmail.com | |
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Newsom wants S.F. to be ‘Digital Hollywood'. The San Francisco Examiner has reported that Mayor Gavin Newsom wants to turn San Francisco into a "Digital Hollywood" that he hopes will become the national and international hub for the emerging field of digital media. George Lucas has recently built a new $350 million digital arts center in the Presidio and the Bay Area already has about 50 companies and 2,500 employees creating things such as special effects for movies and commercials. Newson has created an advisory council to help solidify San Francisco's role as a dominant force in the industry. The Digital Media Advisory Council, which consists of 18 digital media CEOs, innovators and industry representatives, will advise Newsom on how to attract new digital media businesses, develop talent and help create the infrastructure necessary for the industry to thrive. The effort is modeled on The City's efforts to attract biotech businesses, which featured a similar Biotech Advisory Council. The council helped The City score a victory over San Diego when it landed the headquarters for the state's $3 billion stem cell research initiative in May. Newsom said the digital media initiative would dovetail with The City's efforts to revive its film industry, which has been bolstered recently by the addition of three major film productions featuring such stars as Will Smith, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane. Film industry spending had dwindled from $461 million in 1996 to $138 million in 2002, according to the San Francisco Center for Economic Development. State makes $1.5 billion settlement with Enron. California and Enron Corp. have agreed to resolve electricity market-rigging claims with a $1.5 billion settlement that could yield perhaps $250 million in refunds to consumers for overcharges during the power crisis. If approved by regulators, the Enron settlement would close another chapter in the 2000-01 crisis, which saw California's electricity market descend into disaster when regulations were loosened in an attempt to foster competition. The California State Legislature deregulated electricity at the producer lever, but not at the consumer level in a unanimous decision that took effect in 1998. Texas based Enron quickly discovered how to manipulate this market with a host of colorfully named market-rigging schemes – such as "Fat Boy" and "Ricochet". The company's traders were caught on tape recordings boasting of ripping off "Grandma Millie," a reference to California's consumers. "After masterminding one of the largest rip-offs in history, Enron collapsed under the weight of its own greed and corruption", said California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. The electricity crisis cost the state's consumers at least $30 billion in overcharges, with some experts estimating the cost at more than $40 billion. The difference between the announced settlement and probable refunds will be determined by the outcome of the company's bankruptcy proceedings, in which it is juggling $13 billion in assets against $65 billion in claims. Enron filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2001 and implemented a reorganization plan last year that seeks to balance what it owes against its ability to pay those claims. Under terms of the settlement with California, Enron would make an immediate payment of $47.5 million. PierPASS Offpeak Hours Program Starting. PierPASS Inc. has detailed an outreach effort it has conducted in preparation for the July 23 launch of the "OffPeak program" at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. PierPASS also announced that more than 3,400 port users have registered for the program, which is hoped to reduce port and highway congestion by shifting cargo traffic out of peak commuting hours to new night and Saturday shifts. PierPASS has conducted efforts to inform and engage importers, exporters, shipping companies, trucking companies, truck drivers, warehouses, brokers, industry associations, community associations, community residents, political leaders and the media in advance of the launch date. "A wide variety of stakeholders are depending on the successful launch of OffPeak," said Bruce Wargo, President and CEO of PierPASS Inc. "Political and community leaders are giving the goods movement industry a chance to address port congestion and air quality problems through a private-sector solution. In order to protect this vital engine of jobs and economic strength, the industry now needs to pull together and make this work." "OffPeak" is an effort to address chronic congestion and air quality issues in and around the two ports by using the existing transportation infrastructure more efficiently. Beginning on July 23, a Traffic Mitigation Fee is being charged for cargo movement through the ports during peak hours. The proceeds of this fee will be used to keep the terminal gates open four nights per week and on Saturdays. It is hoped that this will help speed the movement of cargo, reduce waiting time for truckers, cut the number of trucks in rush-hour traffic, and reduce air pollution around the ports. Others were less enthuastic. The Teamsters Union has denounced the program, the "program forces drivers to work longer hours without additional pay", they said in a press release. "PierPass in its current form will only cause more problems for motor carriers and drivers that operate out of Long Beach and Los Angeles," said Chuck Mack, Director of Teamsters Port Division. "This program only benefits the shippers and hurts the motor carriers and truckers." The Teamsters have planned a rally at the Port of Los Angeles Administration Building on July 22cd to raise awareness of the problems with PierPass. Port of Los Angeles Receives $750,000 Security Grant from the State. The Port of Los Angeles received $750,000 in security grants today from the California Office of Homeland Security, part of nearly $5 million awarded to ports around the state. This brings the total to $16.15 million in state and federal homeland security grants received by the Port of Los Angeles to date. "We were very happy to hear the news from the governor," said Port Director of Operations and Emergency Management Noel Cunningham. "Our goal is to be one of the safest ports in America, and these funds will help us implement additional security measures". Grant funds will be used to purchase, train and house two additional explosive detection K-9 police dogs. These K-9s are used primarily at the Port's cruise terminals and are on-call for all other Port properties. Grant funds also will be used to purchase additional key equipment for the Port's underwater surveillance operations, hazardous materials response team, and visual surveillance operations. Mexicali, Environmental Groups sue U.S. over Water. A dispute over water rights along the California-Mexico border took an legal turn as a coalition of U.S. and Mexican groups sued the U.S. Department of Interior, according to a report in the San Diego Union. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. federal court in Las Vegas, seeks to halt a multimillion-dollar U.S. plan to line 23 miles of the All-American Canal and send the water that is saved to San Diego County. "This will cause irreversible damage to our city," said Federico Prieto Gaxiola, president of Mexicali's Economic Development Council, in announcing the lawsuit in the Baja California capital. The council, a business-oriented planning group, has joined forces for the legal action with two California environmental organizations, Citizens United for Resources and the Environment, or CURE, and Desert Citizens Against Pollution. The lawsuit comes as rapidly growing communities on both sides of the U.S.-Mexican border put pressure on limited water resources, and the United States and Mexico confront unresolved issues about water rights. "We firmly believe that we have the right to use this water," said Victor Hermosillo, a former Mexicali mayor. Hermosillo, who owns one of Baja California's leading construction companies, is spearheading the Mexican Development Council's campaign against the canal lining. U.S. officials have maintained that the water carried by the All-American Canal belongs to California, part of California's annual 4.4 million acre-feet under the 1922 Colorado River Compact among seven western U.S. states. "The water that we're saving through lining the canal is water that is allocated to California, not water that is allocated to Mexico," said Gordon Hess, director of imported water for the San Diego County Water Authority. "We believe that each side has the right to manage its resources as efficiently as possible". UC and India Universities to offer eLearning Program. The University of California (UC) and four other U.S. universities will join with Indian institutions to enhance engineering science education in India, over a new satellite e-learning network. The Program was announced by Gretchen Kalonji, Director of International Strategy Developmentfor UC's Office of the President. Her $192,00 postion with full tenureship was created for Ms. Kalonji by the U.C. Board of Regents after her domestic partner was appointed as the new Chancellor for U.C. Santa Cruz. Ms. Kalonji has not returned repeated phone calls from CIBR asking for information on this strategy, but it is assumed that this new program is one element of their plans. Under the agreement, UC Berkeley and UC San Diego, as well as Carnegie Mellon University, Cornell University, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and Case Western Reserve University will encourage engineering faculty to spend a quarter or semester of their sabbatical at AMRITA University in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. AMRITA will extend use of its e-learning centre, making it possible to be beamed over Edusat, a satellite launched by the Indian Space Research Organization to transmit educational programming to multiple educational institutions throughout India. Three U.S. research centers are partners to the agreement: UC's Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society (CITRIS); the California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology (Calit2); and Carnegie Mellon's CyLab. Funding for U.S. participation in the program will come from QUALCOMM Inc., Microsoft Corp., and Cadence Design Systems, Inc. California State Universities form International Agriculture Consortium. Five California State Universities have formed a new group called the "Consortium for International Development" (CSUCID) that will concentrate on agricultural development in the developing world. The CSUCID, which includes the campuses of Fresno, Chico, Humboldt, Pomona and San Luis Obispo, intends to provide a core of expertise as a resource for federal and non-governmental international agriculture development initiatives. Last month, the presidents of all five campuses in the consortium signed a memorandum of understanding that officially launched the CSUCID. The new group will work to improve public safety and health in the developing world and foster consumer sensitive and environmentally sound food and agriculture systems worldwide. The consortium will work to improve the economic efficiency, productivity, profitability and sustainability of international agriculture development initiatives and produce results and models that are easily transferable. Organizers also expect the new consortium to foster collaboration between California State University, land-grant universities and industry at the international level. “We recognized that each of our five core campuses in the consortium already had very active international development programs,” said CSUCID Director Dr. Hany Khalil, professor of food science at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. “By combining our resources and experience, the consortium is now able to offer to the developing world a centralized wealth of applied research and technical knowledge in virtually all areas of agriculture, including water management and irrigation, food and dairy processing, enology and viticulture, forestry, environmental sciences, agribusiness marketing, small and medium enterprise development and much more”. UN Wants California Non-Profit to Surrender Internet Control. The United Nations and the US are headed for a showdown over the publication of a UN report that recommends the US's internet governance powers be transferred to a UN-linked body. The report of the UN Working Group on Internet Governance suggests the creation of a new organization that would take over the internet oversight functions of the US Department of Commerce. The U.S. Commerce Department currently holds veto power over the more than 250 top-level domains and officials have said the agency wants to retain authority despite promises to cede control to ICANN. The United States holds 10 of the world's 13 root servers, computers that store files of domain names. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced the report's findings on July 18, less than two weeks after Michael Gallagher, an assistant secretary at Commerce, said the U.S. has no intention of relinquishing its internet governance powers. "No single government should have a pre-eminent role in relation to international internet governance," the report reads. The report outlines four possible forms that this forum could take. Three of the four proposals envisage a UN-anchored organization that would take over some of the powers of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The powers in question relate to the management of internet domain names and IP addresses, a function currently carried out by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)- a California based non-profit organization.. While the US is the only nation that can wield unilateral power over the internet's few centralized resources, the theory goes, the chances increase that other nations will decide to splinter, compromising the internet's end-to-end interoperability. The WGIG says the decision is being guided by UN concerns such as internet access in developing nations and multilingualism. Currently, the resources ICANN manages are not available in many non-English character sets. "This medium has changed," WGIG chair Nitin Desai said at an ICANN meeting in Luxembourg. "You have a billion internet users out there. It is an increasingly central part of business, of media, of governmental operations". "Remember also that the greater part of the growth of internet, looking ahead, now, is going to take place in developing countries," he said, according to a transcript of the meeting, "in countries where English is not the first language, or even the second language". Taiwan opens Talent Incubation Center in Silicon Valley. Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) recently opened a talent incubation center in Silicon Valley, California, via its North American base -- ITRI Defense Contract Awarded for Small Manufacturers in California. California Manufacturing Technology Consulting (CMTC) has announced the development of the California Enhanced Manufacturing Supply Chain (CEMSC) Program. The CEMSC Program will allow CMTC to greatly increase the state's small manufacturers' capabilities for selling to the Department of Defense and bring DoD business to California. The four million dollar award is phase one of a three-phase program to develop, test and prototype new techniques and approaches. The program is currently administered by the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) through a prime contract with Concurrent Technologies Corporation. "The $4 million program award is a big win-win for everyone involved. California's small manufacturers get greater access to DoD. And, DoD gets greater access to the nation's largest manufacturing base. In the end, the nation builds a more reliable and strategically capable supply chain for Defense parts and supplies," said David Braunstein, President and CEO of CMTC. CMTC is developing plans to work with several organizations having skills and capabilities to further CEMSC program objectives. They are working with the Professional and Technical Assistance Organizations in Los Angeles, Riverside and San Diego to complement their mission to support small business' attempts to sell to the US government. Further, CMTC is developing a working relationship with California State University Long Beach to translate DoD procurement technical data packages into useable specifications by the small manufacturer. California State University San Bernardino is being considered for the role of conducting distance learning capabilities for the small manufacturer, and Cerritos College's Center for Applied and Competitive Technologies is being considered for assisting in the prototyping process for manufacturing products. For more information, visit www.cmtc.com.
Have you heard any public sector news related to "international business"please let us know at caltrade@gmail.com. | |
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EU raids Intel offices. European Commission officials raided Intel offices in England, Germany, Spain and Italy last month, searching for evidence that the chipmaker used unfair business practices to persuade clients to buy its microprocessor chips to the exclusion of rivals. "DG Competition officials, accompanied by officials from national competition authorities are conducting inspections of several premises of Intel Corp. in Europe as well as a number of IT firms manufacturing or selling computers," Jonathan Todd, a European Union spokesman said. "The investigations are being carried out within the framework of an ongoing competition case." Among the firms that warranted a visit is Intel's partner Dell Computers. The raid kicks off a new round of investigations into a complaint filed in 2000 by Intel rival AMD. In 2002, the commission declared that complaint "not founded," but never officially closed the investigation. Now, with AMD's recent allegations and a March ruling by Japan's Fair Trade Commission that found that Intel had violated antitrust laws, the commission felt Intel merited another look. Kuwaiti-based PWC to buy Geologistics. Questor Partners Fund II, a private equity fund, has signed an agreement to sell GeoLogistics Corporation to PWC Logistics, the Kuwaiti-based logistics company. Under the terms of the agreement, PWC Logistics will purchase the non-asset based logistics company from its principal shareholders for approximately US $454 million on a debt-free basis. Also under the deal GeoLogistics senior management team will remain in place under PWC Logistics’ ownership. Based in Santa Ana, California, the company has more than 5700 employees specializing in freight management and customized logistics solutions with revenues of US $1.6 billion. “GeoLogistics is in a strong financial position. We have explored several options including an initial public offering, but PWC Logistics world-class contract logistics capabilities and its access to Middle Eastern markets made this a perfect fit,” said Rob Denious, managing director, Questor Management. “We are very pleased to have signed this acquisition agreement as GeoLogistics is a recognized leader in global freight forwarding with a significant presence in key Asian, European and American markets,” said Tarek Sultan, chairman, PWC Logistics. Genetech Profits Soaring. Biotechnology giant Genentech, fueled by a number of successful tests recently for its drugs to combat cancer and other diseases, is seeing a huge surge in profits. The South San Francisco company reported a 73 percent increase in net income for its second quarter from a year ago, to $296.2 million, its 14th consecutive quarterly net-income gain. The value of its stock has risen more than 60 percent over the past year. Genentech's cancer-fighting medicine, Avastin, which is already being sold for colon cancer, was shown to be effective in treating breast and lung cancer in two of those tests. Herceptin, already in use for late-stage breast cancer, was found useful in battling early-stage breast cancer. In other tests, Genentech's drug Tarceva showed promise in fighting pancreatic cancer and its Lucentis helped maintain vision in patients with macular degeneration. The company's biggest drug currently is Rituxan, used to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. It accounted for $450 million in sales in the second quarter. Avastin was second with sales of nearly $246 million. Anticipating a big increase in drug sales in the future, Genentech recently bought a manufacturing plant in Oceanside from Biogen Idec for $408 million. Google Profits Quadruple. Web search leader Google announced that quarterly profit more than quadrupled, fueled by growth in search advertising. Even with this growth, some investors were disappointed and shares fell 5 per cent as revenue failed to match some high hopes. Chief Executive Eric Schmidt told Reuters the current quarter may not see the same 15 per cent sequential revenue gain Google posted last year, when results were boosted by media coverage leading up to its initial public offering. Revenue, which comes almost exclusively from Web search advertising, was $1.38 billion, nearly double the $700.2 million in the year-ago period. Mountain View, California-based Google has expanded its services beyond Web search to free email, Web logs, video search and comparison shopping, all of which carry the search advertising that makes up almost all company revenue. In a related story, a report in the New York Times called, "Google gets Googled" it was reported that the company used its power to ban two reporters from asking questions of the company for one year in retaliation for them publishing personal information about billionaire CEO Eric Schmidt- that they had gotten from Google itself. The story was meant to raise questions about the kind of information Google is now collecting from its users. Mozilla going Private. The non-profit Mozilla Foundation, the group that manages the development of the open source Firefox Web browser is forming a for-profit subsidiary to promote wider use of its technologies. The Mozilla Corporation, as it's to be known, hopes to capitalize on Firefox's growing popularity by pursuing commercial business partnerships and using the revenue they generate to further the goals of the foundation. "As Firefox has gained market share and become noticeable on the Web, it's become a valuable asset". Speculation is that this new company, which will be based in Mountain View, will be a takeover target for Google that would allow them to compete more effectively against Microsoft. Oracle buying Indian Banking Software firm. Oracle announced that it has taken the first step in a $909 million deal to acquire a controlling stake in an Indian banking software company, i-flex solutions. The Redwood City software company will acquire a 41 percent stake in i-flex from Citigroup Venture Capital International for $593 million and make a public offer to i-flex shareholders for an additional 20 percent of shares, which could cost as much as $316 million, company officials said. Bangalore-based i-flex solutions, which makes software programs that help banks manage loans, accounts and credit risk, had revenue of $261 million in its most recent fiscal year- up by 42 percent from the previous year, and had net income of $46 million. I-flex is the ``hottest software company in the banking industry,'' Oracle Chief Executive Larry Ellison said in a statement. The company is ``signing more new customers than any other banking software company in each of the last three years.'' Apple Shares up on Increased Profits. Shares of Apple Computer spiked last month after the company's report of a more than a fivefold increase in third-quarter profit. After market close last Wednesday, Apple reported a profit of $320 million, or 37 cents a share, on revenue of $3.52 billion. That's a 425 percent increase in earnings over the same period last year and a 75 percent surge in sales. As expected, the company's iPod digital media device proved to be the quarter's highlight. Apple said it shipped 6.16 million iPods during the quarter ended June 25, a 616% increase from a year ago. Sales of the device totaled $1.1 billion - up more than fourfold and this accounted for almost a third of the company's total revenue. PayPal Starts Venture Fund. The founders of PayPal have launched a $50 million venture capital fund focused on "emerging companies in the consumer Internet secton". The Founders Fund, announced last week, is run by PayPal co-founders Peter Thiel and Ken Howery, who left PayPal when it merged with eBay in 2002. According to Cnet, another PayPal co-founder, Luke Nosek, is involved as are fund managers who made early investments in several Internet start-ups including Facebook, Friendster and LinkedIn. The fund intends to concentrate on seed and early stage investments in the range of $500,000 to $1 million. The San Francisco-based group has already invested in several companies, but is keeping the details under wraps for now. They touted their partners' credentials in a statement announcing the creation of the fund. "Unlike traditional venture capital funds, The Founders Fund is managed exclusively by entrepreneurs who have successfully developed their own companies, which provides the fund with unmatched depth of knowledge and real-world expertise for building companies from the ground up". Ocean Garden Agrees to Protect Wildlife in Sea of Cortez. San Diego-based Ocean Garden Products Inc. has joined a pact to stop the unintended catch of an endangered porpoise and eradicate illegal fishing in the northern Sea of Cortés. The agreement forges an alliance among the United States' largest importer of Mexican shrimp; one of the nation's biggest environmental groups, the Natural Resources Defense Council; and representatives of Mexican fisheries. In anticipation of the shrimping season, which opens in September, the parties aim to improve the prospects of the vaquita marina porpoise and other disappearing species while maintaining the age-old fisheries that support thousands of families. Among the environmental protections drafted in the agreement are a ban on large-mesh gill nets, monitoring of the shrimp harvest, and establishing a registry of legal fishermen. The accord also calls for developing ways to make the Mexican fishery more economically viable and experimenting with less-polluting boat engines. The company aims to recoup its costs by convincing restaurateurs to pay more for an eco-friendly product that can be traced back to the boat where it was caught. The 700-mile-long Sea of Cortés, also known as the Gulf of California, is home to nearly 900 fish species. In mid-July, the United Nations' World Heritage Committee added the sea to its global list of places with "outstanding natural value". Rubio's Busted for Fake Lobster. A class action lawsuit was filed against Rubio's restaurant chain after a customer said she was deceived into buying a Lobster burrito that actually contained no lobster. Lisa Marie Meier of Los Angeles got a $6 lobster burrito from a Rubio's in Manhattan Beach in January. Meier said she would not have made the purchase if she'd known the true content of the burrito, according to the lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Los Angeles. Rubio's uses Chilean langostino, a crustacean also known as squat lobster, in its burritos and is asking the claim be dropped. A Rubio spokesman said they investigated the use of several types of meats before the launch of the lobster burrito in 1998. When Rubio's learned of the complaint, it changed the product name to the Langostino Lobster Burrito. The lead attorney for the case, however, said the name change was not adequate. He said the company is deceiving customers into thinking they are getting higher-cost lobster. The company has subsequently consulted with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and has received permission to market it's product under the new name. Sela Relocates Sales Operations from Israel to Sunnyvale. Sela, a manufacturer of electron microscope equipment for the semiconductor industry, announced it has relocated its sales and marketing operations from its Israeli headquarters to Sunnyvale, California. Sela's newly released EM2 system incorporates unique technology for enhancing transmission electron microscope sample preparation and has recently won a best product award at Semicon West. Over 250 Sela systems are installed at fabs, equipment and material suppliers and research institutes throughout the world.
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Former Secretary of State Colin Powell, joined Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers earlier this month as a strategic limited partner - a new position created especially for him, the firm said. In that role, Powell will offer strategic advice to the firm and its portfolio companies, according to John Doerr, a general partner at the Menlo Park venture firm. Powell is not expected to sponsor new investments or join the boards of companies on a regular basis, the firm said. As a limited partner, however, Powell will have a financial stake in Kleiner Perkins. "I have a position in the company and in their funds," he said in an interview. Powell said he is especially interested in health care, alternative energy and what he called the "search engine revolution -- how best to use information technology not just for America but for the rest of the world." Bill Gates Sr., whose son founded Microsoft, traveled to San Francisco last month to recruit Bay Area business and philanthropic leaders to join the Initiative for Global Development, which he co-founded last year to end the world's most extreme poverty by fostering education, health and economic programs. The initiative targets places where people live on $1 or less a day. Silicon Valley supporters include Cisco Chairman John Morgridge and venture capitalist Neal Dempsey of Bay Partners Hewlett-Packard has hired Randall Mott as its chief information officer - luring him from rival Dell Inc. in the latest management shuffle by HP's new chief executive Mark Hurd. Mott, 49, was previously chief information officer at Dell, one of HP's competitors. Before Dell, Mott worked for 22 years at Wal-Mart Stores Inc. where he headed up the automation of Wal-Mart's retail and supply-chain systems. Last month, HP tapped former PalmOne Inc. chief executiveTodd Bradley to run its personal computer division, reestablishing that business as a stand-alone unit at HP. HP is the world's second largest PC maker after Dell and the largest maker of computer printers. Salesforce.com a large developer of customer relationship management (CRM) ystems, today announced that Bobby Napiltonia has joined the company as senior vice president for world wide channel and alliances. Napiltonia, a 16-year channel veteran, was previously vice president and general manager of worldwide channels and alliances for BEA Systems, Inc. At BEA, he directed strategy and business models for the company's worldwide alliance partners Global Logistics, a technology and logistics company, recently announced that Mr. Gary Freeberg, formerly of United Airlines Cargo and Mr. Jim Campbell, formerly of Con-Way Air Express and Emery Worldwide, have joined the Integres Global Logistics team as Area Managers to focus on the continued development of Integres' business lines. Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced that he has named Lloyd C. Day as Administrator of the Agricultural Marketing Service, (AMS) at the United States Department of Agriculture. Since 2002, he has served as special assistant to the Administrator of the Foreign Agricultural Service ( FAS ) at USDA. In this role, he was responsible for coordinating all USDA activities with Mexico on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture. Day has significant California experience and contacts. Prior to coming to USDA, he worked as a business development director and industry marketing manager at Tumbleweed Communications in Redwood City, California from 1999-2002. He also served as Deputy Secretary of International Trade and Investment with the California Trade and Commerce Agency in Governor Pete Wilson's Administration from 1996-1999.
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Any way you look at it, Governor Schwarzenegger's popularity is in the tank. According to the most recent field poll, only 37 percent of Californians approve of the job he is doing- and a more recent PPIC poll confirmed these numbers. Mark DiCamillo, Director of the field poll, said that the message of the poll is clear, "there is broad disenchantment with the Governor's policies". Even among Republicans in "red" California, the disappointment is growing. The central valley newspaper Modesto Bee put it this way, "Although he comes to Fresno often, he appears mostly before conservative groups and the people advising him will not allow him to reach beyond the people who already agree with him". Governor Schwarzenegger is now one of the least popular Governors in the United States - ranking 46 out of 50 in a recent Survey USA poll. Many people blame the Governor's misuse and mismanagement of the special election as the reason for this stunning drop in popularity. His plan for a special election and a "year of reform" is now in shambles. An important, but poorly thought out proposal to reform the State's pension system had to be withdrawn when it was revealed the it could also end death benefits for police and firefighters. His proposal for teacher merit pay never qualified for the ballot. Another major initiative for redistricting was recently thrown out by a Superior Court Judge after it was realized the the Governor's supporters had circulated a different version of the petition than the one that had been certified by the Attorney General. That leaves his "Live Within Our Means" initiative, which would give the governor broad new powers to make spending cuts, but it trails in voter surveys. The Governor's other proposal, a minor change in the way public school teachers are awarded tenure, however, is ahead in most polls. There are many other theories as to why the Governor has become so unpopular. After promising bi-partisanship, he chose to stump for President Bush- who is extremely unpopular in California- in the critical battleground State of Ohio. It also turns out, that people don't like being called names like "girly men" or "a bunch of losers". Many people also mention the Governor's frequent out-of State fundraising trips to Republican strong holds in Texas and Florida. People don't like bullies- even if they don't particularly like the people being bullied. We understand that the Governor now plans "a makeover" and we sincerely hope he pulls it off. No one is foolish enough to count Schwarzenegger out, but in the past year he has not been acting like someone who wants to be governor "for all the people". We are a bit more disgusted than usual this month with our ridiculously dysfunctional government. We will come back the the Schwarzenegger administration in a moment, but first let's talk about our elected representatives. As readers of this publication know, we have been strong supporters of the California State Legislature- at least until now. We even have broached the idea of California having its own foreign policy of sorts- something that would require legislative involvement. Because we sincerely wanted to know the opinions of our representatives on international business issues, we sent a simple questionnaire out by email to the entire California Senate and Assembly. When we didn't receive a single response, we sent a second stronger and more personal appeal to members of the committees responsible for economic development and international trade. This time we got one single response (see letters to the editor) from Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla (D - Pittsburg). Frankly, before I received this letter from Assemblyman Canciamilla, I was seriously beginning to wonder if our elected representatives had the ability to read and write- and actually began to consider that they might be functionally illiterate. Well, we haven't given the Lame Award out in some time. Recall that the Lame Award is only given out for extreme examples of incompetence, corruption or dishonesty in California. The last recipient was Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) of San Diego. This company that claims to be "employee owned" is really more like a branch of the Government, so no matter how much they screw up another huge government contract is always waiting in the wings. They were given this award for blowing the contract for a "virtual case file" system for the FBI that was to protect us against terrorists, but they burned through $170 million and produced a system that was so worthless that the FBI said it couldn't even be salvaged. We made a promise in our legislative survey that no legislator would be criticized or attacked for expressing any opinion in our survey. We intend to keep this promise, so Assemblyman Canciamilla- this does not apply to you, but it does apply to the other 119 Legislators who could not take five minutes to answer a few simple questions on this important issue. Therefore, California State Legislature: for disservice to your State and Country, below and beneath the call of duty, we hereby confer upon you the CIBR Lame Award. It is possible that we may consider withdrawing this dubious distinction, should we see active and engaged interest in this issue by our representatives at some point in the future, but for now, know that we consider the whole sorry lot of you to be lame! (except for Assemblyman Canciamilla). So why didn't the Schwarzenegger Administration get the Lame Award, you might ask. Well it turns out, we have finally been able to established at least a low level dialog with them, and while we naturally don't necessarily agree with everything, at least some of them are willing to talk to us. While it was hugely difficult to arrange, and required some strong letters to the Governor, I was able to arrange another conversation with Jim Bognet- he is the Chief Deputy in the Office of the Special Advisor for Jobs and Economic Development. He started by disclosing that he previously worked for David Crane in the private sector in his investment banking firm of Babcock & Brown. I started by explaining a little about the goals of the California Trade Network, and his first question took me aback. "Why should the Government do this?" he demanded. I replied that I never said they should, and that I was mostly interested in learning what the Schwarzenegger administration thought the proper role of Government was in the area of international business development. He said that when he and Mr. Crane first joined the government, they emphasized that they had opened 19 offices throughout the world that employed hundreds of people, and they had never used any Government services at all- so didn't see how they were that useful. He also said that they realized the government had a horrible track record at this kind of thing, and found many examples of big government failures in the area of international economic development- "for this reason, we decided to emphasize reducing the cost of doing business in California" he said. He said that given the Government's poor track record in this area, they believed that the private sector is much more capable of providing these kind of services. "That's why David and I say, 'Let a thousand flowers bloom' he said. When that was first said to me by David Crane, I took it as a blow off- but it turns out, that really is their philosophy- that it is best if Government not interfere with initiatives in this area. After taking a brief look at the front end of our portal and paid me a small compliment, and seemed to be saying that we were proving their case: "Government could never do something like this", he said. He's right about that- the State of California has an incredible record of multi-million dollar failures on information technology projects. He left me with a referrals to the California Commission for Jobs and Economic Development, and I had a cordial discussion with Mark Mosher on his cell phone while he was driving to a meeting. Mostly we talked about the need for a distribution system for any international business opportunities- something that has been our mantra for many years. Mr. Mosher's commission is a private non-profit association that the Governor started- it is not a public agency and has been criticized by the California Fair Political Practices Commission as being a "de facto" public development agency since it had been started by the Governor and most member appointments were made by the Governor. The first question I asked was whether you had to be a Republican or a campaign contributor to work with this Commission. He emphatically said that this wasn't the case, and said that he himself was a Democrat (I think). He mentioned that one of their founders and key supporters: Warren Hellman, the Chairman and co-founder of San Francisco-based private equity firm Hellman & Friedman, had actually been against the recall election thinking it would be bad for California. He also mentioned that his group organizes the Governor's overseas trade missions, including last November's trip to Japan. This was widely considered to be successful, but he seemed to know they couldn't rest on those laurels forever, and seemed to be open to new ideas. More about the Commission's work can be found on this recentpress release. We didn't fare nearly as well with a second referral Mr. Bognet gave us to Barry Sedlik, Undersecretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency (BTH) and this is also where we were blocked before. Mr Sedlick didn't return our call, of course, but we were finally able to catch him at his desk and he said he hadn't been able to answer my calls or emails because he had been massively busy. He started by explaining that the main problem with International Business Development with his Agency was that they still had no legal authority to operate. Though he didn't say it overtly, he mentioned "problems" with the California State Legislature and it was clear that the feud between the Governor and the Legislature had blocked all action in this area. He mentioned that the State would have some limited involvement in some domestic trade conferences, but that was about it. I asked if he was giving any special consideration to any of California's World Trade Centers, as he had previously been President of the World Trade Center Association of Los Angeles-Long Beach, and mentioned that they had a business model that was sometimes in conflict with our information sharing approach. "I'm fully aware of the limitations of the World Trade Centers" he said, but then vaguely alluded that they were "looking" at doing some things with them. I also asked what was going on with the group that is now calling itself the "California Trade Partners" - made up of the heads of the California World Trade Centers and a few of the bigger Chambers and Trade Associations, and he said their hadn't been much State involvement in that group but that it was limited to non-profits. "We still haven't decided what to do with the guys trying to make money off this" he said. I mentioned that we were starting a non-profit- the "California International Business Association" (see description below), but that it was still very tiny at this point and that I didn't think that organization size should be a consideration. He said that I should write another email to him describing our activities and he would see what he could do. Wanting to have good relations with BTH, I agreed, and didn't mention that he had already ignored several such messages before. We would have had more sympathy to the legal predicament of BTH, but as I was starting to write still another letter to Mr. Sedlik a few days later, I learned that that they had had a meeting with California Trade Partners the very next day after our conversation! Apparently, this meeting was presided over by BTH Secretary Sunne Wright McPeak but we have no idea what they are doing. Clearly we are being stonewalled. The Government belongs to all of us, or at least it is supposed to I have a right to know what they are doing- so do readers of this publication. For this reason, we are exercising our rights under the California Constitution and demanding access to all public documents about their activities in this area. This is under a law that is the State equivalent of the Freedom of Information act, and we will let our readers know what we find out. Since we have slammed just about every branch of government, there is no reason to let the Feds off the hook, so it is time to ask What's going on at U.S. Department of Commerce? This once proud agency seems to have sunk into disarray and confusion- staff members in California are not able to answer the most simple and basic questions. Since we can't get the San Diego office to return our phone calls or answer our emails, we called one of our contacts at the USDOC in Washington D.C. to try to find out. He didn't want to be identified so we will call him shallow throat. He acknowledged that California was a problem, but he didn't know why. "We get lots of complaints about the performance of the California offices", he said. Shallow throat then went on to explain how he thought the department began its decline under former Secretary Don Evans, President Bush's boyhood friend. During his tenure of Secretary Ron Brown, who died when his plane crashed into a mountainside while on a relief mission to Bosnia, the USDOC had been "fairly dynamic" he said. Now, it has become completely political: "It is a culture of secrecy here", he said. "If you really want to get anything done, the best way is to go through the Republican Party"- and he recommended that I call one of the Republican Congressmen in California. Shallow throat expressed hope that the new leadership in the Agency would turn things around. The new Secretary of the USDOC is Carlos Gutierrez, the first Hispanic Secretary, and the new Director General of U.S. Foreign Commercial Services is Israel Hernandez, one of the first openly gay appointments by the Bush administration. Several months back, I called the head of the local District Export Council thinking that might be a better way to get through to the U.S. Commercial Services. I won't mention his name, but this is actually a Presidential appointment, and I asked what the San Diego DEC was doing and if there was any way to get involved in their activities. "Not much going on around here" he said. I then asked if I could attend one of the District Export Council meetings. "Well, I don't know" he said. "I could check, butI don't know why anyone would ever want to". What I have learned from this sad experience is that bureaucrats only talk to other bureaucrats - or it least they would prefer to. They may talk to big powerful Corporations, but the last ones they want to hear from are small business. They count on our disinterest. When they blow us off, they expect us to just go away, and actually seem taken aback when someone follows up and expects them to act responsively. Foolish Liberals we are. We continue to believe in Government, even when the people who run our Government- and reap its generous benefits, no longer have that faith. Maybe there is nothing that can ever be done about bureaucrats- except perhaps to take away the life long job security that has warped their thinking. It would be really nice, however, if more than occasionally, we could talk to someone in our government who is not clueless.
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Global Trends 2015: CIA Report. A report by the Central Intelligence Agency on expected Global Economic and Security Trends during the next 10 years, outlines three possible scenarios that will result from Globalization. This is required reading for anyone interested in international trade, business and politics. http://www.cia.gov/cia/reports/globaltrends2015/ USDOC "Stop Fakes" Website. The Department of Commerce's United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has launched a Web site – StopFakes -- dedicated to small businesses and protecting their intellectual property (IP), both in the U.S. and abroad. http://www.uspto.gov/smallbusiness/ Asia Pacific - USA Chamber of Commerce Newsletter. This Pasadena Based Association has an excellent Newsletter. Check it out at: (PDF File)http://www.apucc.org/documents/spring05_newsletter.pdf Google Earth. Wanna get your socks knocked off? Download the new "Google Earth" and zoom all around the planet using the satellite imagery and mapping software Google has integrated. Find the download link at: http://earth.google.com/ World Map Server: Another small, but nice Map Server can be found at:http://www2.demis.nl/mapserver/mapper.asp
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August 10: Oakland- An Evening of Networking with our Trade Delegation from Vietnam. Bay Area World Trade Center's "Trading After Hours". Sponsored by US-Vietnam Chamber of Commerce, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Cost: No Fee to Attend: Location: Le Chavel Restaurant. No Host Bar.http://www.bawtc.com/events_detail.asp?PartnerId=&EventsRegionID=bayarea&EventID=627 August 10: Oakland- Certificate in Import and Export. First of 9 session course sponsored by Bay Area World Trade Center. Obtain a Certificate in Import and Export Management by completing a series of courses on international trade. The program is designed for individuals to obtain a broad comprehensive foundation to work in a variety of industry sectors and functions in international trade. If you are considering starting your import or export business, these courses provide you the necessary skills and knowledge to move your business into the next steps. The participant will receive a Certificate upon the successful completion of the entire series. Instructor: Tekle Sebhatu, Ph.D. Time: 6:00PM - 9:00PM. Location: Port of Oakland’s Exhibit Room, 530 Water Street, Oakland, CA 94607. Cost: $400 for the Certificate OR $55 per class; Certificate graduates receive a discount on a BAWTC Membership. Registration: www.acteva.com/go/bawtcevents OR Contact: Ngoc at 510.251.5900 August 11: Los Angeles. Make Trade Fair Event. Sponsored by Oxfam America- is an organization committed to long-term solutions for poverty and hunger. With over half of the world living on less than $2 a day, Oxfam America has endevored to make trade justice a priority for both the US and abroad. Oxfam hopes to put pressure on the US government and the international community to persue fair trade policies and reduce fiscally irresponsible, unethical, and unfair agricultural subsidies which leave millions of small farmers in poverty. Contact: Katie Ricketts, California Trade Intern, Oxfam America, Email:kricketts@oxfamamerica.org, Website: http://www.oxfamamerica.org August 18: Los Angeles- International Trade & Investments Council Meeting. The Chamber's International Trade & Investments Council will feature a presentation from Dr. Detlof von Winterfeldt, Director of the Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorist Events funded by the Department of Homeland Security. Dr. von Winterfeldt will focus on the economic impacts of a terrorist attack on the global supply chain passing through our local Ports. http://www.worldtradeweek.com/Default.aspx?tabid=44&mid=351&ctl=Detail&EventID=92 August 23: El Segundo- Custom's Broker Training Course. Organized by L.A. Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association. Five session course August 23, 30, September 6, 13 and 20 from 6:00pm to 9:00 pm. Organized by L.A. Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Association. We are pleased to present another intensive Broker Training Course. This course is open to anyone involved in the industry who want to increase their knowledge of Customs Regulations. The course will be of special interest to any applicant intending to take the Customs Broker Examination on October 3, 2005.http://www.worldtradeweek.com/Default.aspx?tabid=44&mid=351&ctl=Detail&EventID=86 August 27: Thousand Oaks- Evening at the Theatre. Sponsored by the British American Business Council Los Angeles. "Antony and Cleopatra" Freely adapted from Shakespeare's tragic play and taking place in the present day. One man and one woman stood between the Republic and the Greatest Empire the world has ever known. http://www.worldtradeweek.com/Default.aspx?tabid=44&mid=351&ctl=Detail&EventID=89 September 9: Oakland-. Customs Planning: Strategies for Savings & Profit. Sponsored by Bay Area World Trade Center. This half-day program will appeal to both the beginner as well as older customs hands. http://www.bawtc.com/events_detail.asp?PartnerId=&EventsRegionID=bayarea&EventID=632 --------------- 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. | |
The much discussed "housing bubble" may be showing the first signs of deflating, and the impact could be devastating for the California economy. The real estate market has been cooling statewide, and real-estate-related jobs have been slowing as well. While construction jobs remain strong, the rate of growth is far below last year's pace of 9 percent."Real estate as a driver of the economy has peaked," said Christopher Thornberg, economist at the Anderson Forecast of the University of California Los Angeles. "That's not to say that it's not important. But it's no longer a growth force. We've gone from first gear to neutral". The LA Times reported that the first signs of the end of the bubble may be appearing in San Diego- considered to be a bellwether for the State- "Amid concern that prices may be peaking, more homeowners are selling, doubling the number of single-family houses and condos on the market from a year ago. Yet fewer are finding takers. Homes that a year or two ago sold virtually overnight - in many cases triggering bidding wars - are on the market for weeks". 
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The Silence of the Lambs Early last month, we sent out a survey to the entire California State Legislature. This survey consisted of 12 simple questions and was designed to discern the political philosophy of our elected representative as they relate to the proper role of government in the area of international business development. We made it clear that no representative would be criticized or attacked for expressing their opinion in our survey, and we also made it clear that if they didn't have time to answer all 12 questions, then any response at all would be appreciated. With the exception of Assemblyman Joe Canciamilla (D - Pittsburg) we received not one single response to our survey, even after we followed-up with the Committees responsible for economic development and international trade. This was greatly disappointing to us, as we think our government and political leaders have become stuck by there own political rhetoric and this was our attempt to help them become "unstuck". When it comes to international business development, very few people are for unrestricted "free trade" and very few people are for strong "protectionism". Most people in business are somewhere in the middle, and it is also very difficult to determine a "Democratic" or a "Republican" standard position on the issue. With our survey, we hoped that we might be able to identify some areas of "common ground" where we might be able to work together- but without any cooperation at all from our elective representatives, even that small step is impossible. The California State Legislature is rapidly becoming completely irrelevant with regards to this issue, we were just trying to help. Since they wouldn't answer any of these questions I have reprinted them below and provided my own answers- but my opinions aren't necessarily any more valid then anyone else. Only by putting a large number of different ideas and viewpoints on the table could we come up with the solution that's best for California- but since that is not happening you will have to put up with my opinions for now:
Clearly the missing ingredient here is "leadership" - and if our Governor and our elected representative do not provide this leadership, then someone else will. Recent reports are that the Chinese are planning a huge international trade center in our Capital- this may just dwarf anything our Government is doing. It is fair to ask: in this particular area, will the Chinese become our partners, or will they become our masters? More than 150 years ago, Charles Dickens wrote the classic "David Copperfield" and the opening passage of that book somehow reminds me of the situation our State is in now: "Chapter 1: I am born. Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show". Whether California will be its own "hero" in charge of its own destiny is anyone's guess- but "these pages must show" this- we will follow the story.
If you would like to write an "Op-Ed" piece please let us know at caltrade@gmail.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 the will help nurture and grow California's international business community. As part of this effort, we have launched the following initiatives and services: California International Business Directory. This is a free "Registry" of firms and professionals in California with international business interests. The service includes a free international profile record and directory listing for any company or professional in this State. Please review the directory and if you find a listing for your company use the Password Request form to gain access to your international business profile. If you are not listed please register at the link below. California International Business Association. NEW: We are just launching a new non-profit organization for small companies and professionals working in international markets. This association will be separate from the commercial services on the portal and we are looking leaders to help us develop a dynamic new NGO. Communication and Collaboration Portal. We are especially excited about this new "4C" portal- connectivity, communications, collaboration and community. Currently in beta test. it uses a business networking technology with integrated Internet Telephony through Skype and has many other features including photo uploads, private messaging, instant messaging, message boards, guest books and is especially designed for international business professionals in California. We now have a small, but dynamic community starting to discuss and collaborate on international business issues- please consider joining us. Trade Opportunity Database. The California Trade Network also operates 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 services and higher quality information content. More high quality trade opportunities, including those from several government and commercial sources, are being released on our Communications and Collaboration Portal. We are still 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. |