California INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Report | |
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CONTENTS |
Special Election Initiatives Rejected In a stunning defeat for Governor Schwarzenegger, California voters rejected all four of his initiatives this month in the costliest election in State history. None of the initiatives were related to business but rather were supposed to reform the political process in California, including a plan to give the Governor more power to control spending, redraw voting district lines five years early, restrict public employee unions campaign spending, and make it more difficult for teachers to be awarded tenure. While analysis of the meaning of this election vary, many voters were highly suspicious of the apparent partisan nature of these initiatives and others simple didn't think the election was warranted and wanted the Governor to work with the Legislature rather then fundraising and running an ongoing campaign. Regardless of the varying opinions on these initiatives, the net result is that California has lost nearly a year when the State government has taken virtually no action on the many critical problems facing California. ------------- IMPORTANT: As a recipient of the newsletter, you are invited to join the California Trade Network at no charge. Please register for this service at www.CALTRADE.com. It only takes a minute and you will be part of a dynamic and growing international business community. There will be no newsletter in December to remind you so please register as soon as you get the chance. |
 News and Politics back
Companies Still Fleeing State Nissan Headquarters latest to exit California continues to lose companies to other States and Countries, with the latest to be Nissan's North American Headquarters taking with them almost 3000 jobs (see story below). So alarmed was the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation, that they took the unusual step of writing a letter to Governor Schwarzenegger and other State leaders asking them to immediately address this situation. The letter included a list of 80 companies that either have left, or are in the process of leaving Southern California. These include engineering giant Fluor Corporation that has moved its Headquarters to Texas, Triad Financial with 270 jobs going to Texas, Ingram Micro that has outsourced 250 jobs jobs to India and the Philippines, Citicorp credit card operations moving with a loss of 1300 jobs, Spring Industries with a loss of 270 jobs, the Nabisco production facility with a loss of 250 jobs, Robinsons-May headquarters and collection center with a loss of 364 jobs, the Libby Glass plant with a loss of 300 jobs, Ultra Wheels with a loss of 168 jobs- the list goes on and on. Companies heading to Mexico include American Racing Equipment with a loss of 500 jobs, Aradiant Corp with a loss of 350 jobs, Hutchinson Steel with a loss of 640 jobs so far, Spirit Apparel with a loss of a loss of 200 jobs, Pacific Precision Metals with a loss of 200 jobs, ITT industries HydroAir plant with a loss of 120 jobs, Sprint Apparel with a loss 200 jobs, and Saint Goban Calmar Industry with a loss of 140 jobs. “More than 13,000 jobs will go with these companies,” Lee Harrington, President and CEO of the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. (LAEDC), said. “What the Legislature doesn’t seem to understand is the tax revenue impact of the job loss,” explained Jack Kyser, senior vice president and chief economist, LAEDC. “A $40,000 job contributes around $5,000 annually to State and local government and schools through the State income tax and sales taxes generated by the employee. The loss of 13,000 jobs at this level costs our public sector some $65 million annually,” he said. “Every public sector employee should realize their employment and retirement benefits are at risk if private sector job and tax revenue creation goes elsewhere”. The report noted that an analysis of the list reveals an ominous shift: "In the past, jobs departing the region have been middle class jobs. Now there seems to be a shift to headquarters and research and development activities". In a development that has gone virtually unreported by the mainstream media, the State is also losing much of its banking industry as a wave of consolidations and mergers gobble up homegrown California banks. Bank of America, with long proud history in California had a "merger" in 1998 with NationsBank, but the merger was actually an acquisition and the Bank is now based in Charlotte North Carolina. Just recently, Wachovia Corp, also in Charlotte, announced it will acquire the international correspondent banking business of Union Bank of California; Citibank of New York announced that it will acquire Golden State Bancorp, including California Federal Bank (Cal Fed) and First Banks of Colorado, has acquired International Bank of California. The are few if any major Banks headquartered in California, and this means these banks, already insensitive to small business and community needs, will likely grow even more remote. Major corporations increasing view California a "consumer market"- a good place to sell stuff, but they don't want to be here. It is not just Corporations that are leaving California. In a story titled "Saying Goodbye California Sun" in the New York Times, the paper noted how the State is losing much of its professional class. The reason is the high cost of housing and rents that don't keep up with income: The article noted that "A growing number of people are leaving California after a decade of soaring home prices. Last year, a half million people left California for other parts of the United States, while fewer than 400,000 Americans moved there. The net outflow has risen fivefold, to more than 100,000, since 2001...although immigration from other countries and births have kept the state's population growing". "People are saying, 'Even though I have to take a 10 percent wage cut to go to Vegas or Phoenix, it's actually a wage increase,' " said Ross C. DeVol, the director of regional economics at the Milken Institute. "They look at what housing costs here, and they're making decisions to go elsewhere". The LAEDC's recommendation was that a "blue ribbon" panel of Democrats and Republicans be appointed "consider changes in California's tax and employment laws to improve the business environment and attract and retain successful growing companies". The problem is that these "blue ribbon panels" have a long history of failure, and the recent election has shown that the citizens of this California prefer that the Governor work with the State Legislature- which already has committees in place to address these issues. More importantly, this recommendation ignores California's greatest strength- its small companies and entrepreneurs. According to recent U.S. census data, California has 1.2 million "zero employee companies". These are sole proprietorships with no employees at all, and although they are virtually ignored by the government, they are the seeds from which our major Corporations grow. If a way could be found for each of them to add just one employee, California would have an additional 1.2. million jobs and a healthy vibrant economy. Nissan to Move American Base to Tennessee. The Nissan Motor Company has announced hat it would sell its North American headquarters outside Los Angeles and relocate to Franklin, a town of 46,000 people 15 miles southwest of Nashville. "We're coming to Tennessee," Nissan's chief executive, Carlos Ghosn, announced to a room packed with state and local politicians at the Tennessee State Capitol. Nissan will begin relocating employees next year and plans to open the new headquarters in 2008. Nissan's decision to move to Tennessee, where Mr. Ghosn said the cost of doing business was 44 percent less than in California, comes as automakers are cutting costs in a tough North American business climate. High gas prices, stiff competition and consumer fatigue have combined to drive auto sales in the United States to historically low levels. Nissan decided to move after conducting a study of how it could cut costs and improve efficiency across its global operations. According to a report in the New York Times, to entice Nissan to Tennessee, Tennessee is providing a tax-incentive package, but state officials would not say how much the tax breaks would be worth. When Nissan closes its California headquarters, it will transfer all 1,300 jobs. Mr. Ghosn acknowledged that the company could face a brain drain of employees reluctant to move to central Tennessee from Southern California. He said as many as half the employees in the Los Angeles headquarters might decide to leave the company. The move has been met with some criticism. A former top Nissan executive for North America, Yutaka Katayama, known as Mr. K to Nissan enthusiasts, wrote to Mr. Ghosn saying that the move was a mistake. But Tennessee's governor, Phil Bredesen, a former Californian, offered some encouraging words for Nissan employees: "With creativity and hard work, you can make a pretty good life for yourself in Tennessee." Bay Area Executives Pessimistic. Bay Area executives have grown more pessimistic about the region's economy, posting the gloomiest assessments on the Bay Area Council's ``business confidence index'' in nearly three years. According to a report in Mercury News, twenty percent of Bay Area executives surveyed expect the local economy to worsen over the next six months. Three months ago, only 7 percent were downbeat in their six-month outlook. "That's a pretty big drop" in mood, said Jim Wunderman, chief executive for the council, a public policy group sponsored by businesses. "We should all be concerned about the potential of the Bay Area economy, which has been gaining strength (but) is now losing it". Of the 517 top executives surveyed, 33 percent expected to hire workers over the next six months, while 10 percent planned layoffs. In April, 39 percent of executives said they planned to hire, while only 7 percent planned to reduce their workforce. J. P. Getty Museum Curator on Trial in Rome. The recently departed antiquities curator at the J. Paul Getty Museum is facing trial in Rome over allegations that she knowingly received dozens of stolen items. The internationally renowned Getty has found itself facing questions about how it amassed its world-class collection of Roman, Greek and Etruscan works. Getty officials have denied any wrongdoing and the museum recently returned of three objects, including an Etruscan bronze candelabrum Italian authorities allege was stolen from a private collection, as “demonstrating the Getty’s interest in a productive relationship.” Many in the art world, however, now believe the trial will refocus attention on the dark side of how art is acquired. The Italian prosecutors hope their trial of former antiquities curator Marion True will deter art trafficking. “The Getty case is so important that it will represent a milestone and completely change relations within the art world,” Anna Maria Reggiani, director of archaeology at the Italian Culture Ministry, said in an interview with Time magazine. That attitude is a break with the past when many museums might have been more willing to look the other way regarding the origins of high-dollar antiquities. In May, a judge in Rome ordered True tried on charges that she allegedly helped the museum acquire, between 1986 and the late 1990s, about 40 archaeological treasures stolen from private collections or dug up illicitly. They include a stone sculpture representing Aphrodite and a marble statue of Tyche, the goddess of fortune, that both are more than 2,000 years old. Italian prosecutors also charged True with criminal association in receiving the stolen goods. The case follows a 10-year investigation centering on Italian art dealer Giacomo Medici, who was sentenced last year to 10 years in prison for conspiracy in international trafficking of antiquities. He remains free pending appeal. True has denied the charges, and Getty officials have said publicly they have no evidence of wrongdoing. A recent Los Angeles Times investigation, citing internal documents, reported that Getty lawyers have determined that half of the 104 artifacts the museum identified as masterpieces were purchased from dealers now under investigation for selling stolen artifacts. True stepped down earlier after museum officials determined that she violated policy by failing to report details of her purchase of a vacation home on a Greek island. True reportedly secured a $400,000 loan for the home with help from one of the institution’s main suppliers. The museum’s former director abruptly left last year owing to differences with executives at the Getty Trust, which oversees the museum and divisions of art conservation, research and philanthropy. The acting director has also departed to head the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The Times also detailed lavish spending by the office of the nonprofit trust’s chief executive, Barry Munitz, and both the Council on Foundations and the California attorney general’s office have launched inquiries. A few weeks before the antiquities villa reopens, Michael Brand, 47, will take over as museum director. Brand — an expert in Indian art who has been director of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts since 2000. The trial of Ms. True has recently resumed in Rome. Google Earth raising International Security Concerns. The "Google Earth" satellite imaging and mapping system has been causing concern among national governments the world over about the detailed satellite imagery now at the fingertips of anyone interested. Aerial photographs of the White House and the US Capitol have been blocked out for security reasons, and other countries are asking for the same consideration. Indian President Indian President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam , who at a meeting with police officials in Hyderabad expressed concern about Google's mapping and imagery service. Kalam complained that "developing countries, which are already in danger of terrorist attacks, have been singularly chosen to provide such high resolutions. Google Earth also provides images of Rashtrapati Bhavan, the president's home, and other government buildings in the Indian capital. The Times of India quoted science and technology secretary V.S. Ramamoorthy, who agreed with the president. "What is a matter of great concern is the sufficient resolution provided by the satellite images on Google Earth posing a security threat to various installations," said Ramamoorthy. India joins Thailand, South Korea, Australia, The Netherlands, and the US Army in criticizing Google Earth and the sensitive information it could provide enemies. Google says they're willing to work out the kinks with India and others. "Google takes governmental concerns about Google Earth and Google Maps very seriously. Google welcomes dialogue with governments, and we will be happy to talk to Indian authorities about any concerns they may have," Google spokeswoman Debbie Frost told Wired News. Taiwan wants Google to apologize. Taiwan is demanding that Google change its recently launched Google Maps, which displays the name "Taiwan, Province of China" next to a map of the island. "An apology wouldn't hurt either", Taiwan's vice president told reporters. The map name raised anger throughout Taiwan, a technology powerhouse with close ties to Silicon Valley. A Google spokeswoman says the company is reviewing the issue. The controversial name appears only on Google Maps, not other Google features, and appears because of outside data chosen to help build the map service, said a company spokeswoman. According to a report in Mercury News, by listing Taiwan as it did on Google Maps, the company has found itself in the middle of one of Asia's political problems. Taiwan, also known as the Republic of China, separated from China in 1949 after a long civil war. The island has since been self-governed, and in the last two decades has evolved into a stable democracy with one of Asia's strongest economies. China, however, regards Taiwan as a renegade province and says the island is part of China. It has threatened to reclaim the island by military force if it officially declares its independence. China has also pushed the international community to recognize its claims. Google's "information about Taiwan is totally wrong", said David Lu, spokesman for the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in San Francisco. "We have our sovereignty, our own territory, and 23 million people". Korean City Mayor Subjected to Body Search in U.S. The Mayor of Gwangju in Korea is said to be furious after being held up in a U.S. airport for nearly two hours as authorities subjected him to a full body search and sifted through his personal belongings. A statement released by Gwangju City said that Mayor Park Gwang-tae Park and an 18-member group who were in the U.S. to drum up investment were put through a thorough security check at San Francisco International Airport morning that lasted an hour and 45 minutes. After everyone in the mayor's entourage was subjected to an hour-long search, they were asked to walk through an ion trap mobility spectrometry test machine, while fellow American and Japanese passengers cleared security in about 10 minutes, the statement said. “When even travelers carrying official passports are insulted like this, it is possible to imagine what kind of treatment ordinary Koreans get,” it quoted Park as saying. He vowed to demand that the U.S. withdraws patriot missiles deployed near Gwangju airport and apologizes for the incident. The mayor blamed the Korean government’s “submissive attitude” toward the U.S. for the incident. “According to the diplomatic principle of reciprocity, Korea should carry out more thorough security inspections of Americans who come and go in Korea,” he added. San Francisco Airport says Park and his team were randomly selected for the security search. U.S. Forms Trade Agreement on
Wine with EU. Korbel can continue to make
"champagne" in Sonoma County, but no new
producer can, according to a trade agreement reached between the
United States and the European Union. The issue of place names had been a
sticking point on wine trade talks that began in 1983. Under the agreement, U.S.
companies that are already using "semi-generic" place names, such as Korbel
Champagne or Thief of domain name "sex.com" arrested in Tijuana. In a story that could be a Hollywood screen play, the conman who stole the most valuable domain name in the world, sex.com, was arrested in Tijuana after five years on the run. Steven Cohen, who has served three prison terms for fraud, was arrested in Tijuana as he applied for a work permit. He was turned over to agents of the US Border Patrol and is being held without bail at the Metropolitan Correctional Centre in San Diego. Cohen is being questioned over his failure to pay $65 million to entrepreneur Gary Kremen, the original owner of the sex.com domain, in a court judgment reached in April 2001. "I'm excited, and I'm happy to prepare for the next stage of justice," said Mr Kremen. The long-running legal skirmish began in the early days of the internet. In 1994, when domain names were given out free to the first person who asked, Mr Kremen registered the web addresses sex.com and match.com. Kremen built match.com into what has become the world's biggest dating site but sex.com remained a simple advertising portal - hired out to pornography retailers for a monthly fee of around $60,000. Following his release from his third prison sentence for fraud and forgery in October 1995, Cohen realized the potential of the site which he considered to be under-exploited. Accounts vary of exactly how he pulled off the hijack. Some reports say that he embarked on a relationship with one of the clerks at Network Solutions, the company which then administrated all dot.coms. Others suggest that he forged a letter to the domain-name registrar saying that Mr Kremen had been fired. The name was handed over without any checks. When, some months later, Mr Kremen discovered his profitable domain name had been stolen he contacted Network Solutions; but with no legislation to cover virtual theft the company said it was powerless to intervene. Mr Kremen sued Cohen, whose lawyers fought back so aggressively that the federal judge on the case ordered Cohen's arrest for contempt of court. By this time, the rejuvenated sex.com was bringing in tens of millions of dollars and attracting 25 million hits a day. After five years of litigation, a judge ruled that Cohen had obtained the domain illegally and ordered him to hand it back. The following year he awarded Mr Kremen $65 million in damages and lost revenue. With interest, the amount is now $82 million. Cohen fled across the border to Tijuana and began to siphon money from US bank accounts to offshore havens through a series of shell companies. In 2001, Cohen was officially made a fugitive from justice. In response, Mr Kremen offered a reward for his capture which was taken up by a series of bounty hunters. Cohen moved to Monte Carlo after a shoot-out outside his home in Tijuana, on the Mexico border. He has lived on-and-off in Monaco for the past five years. The warrant orders Cohen to remain imprisoned until he returns $25 million that the judge said was illegally transferred out of the country. Through the courts, Mr Kremen has seized several of Cohen's properties, including a mansion in Rancho Santa Fe, a San Diego suburb. He told the LA Times that he now hopes to be able to claim back more of Cohen's assets. "Hopefully, I'll get to them before the IRS," he said. Four charged with spying for China. FBI agents in Los Angeles arrested four ethnic Chinese who allegedly stole U.S. military technology and attempted to smuggle it to China on encrypted CDs. The material included research into silent propulsion systems for U.S. warships, the South China Morning Post reported Friday. U.S. laws ban export of such defense-related technologies to China. One of the four, Mak Chi, is an engineer with Power Paragon of Anaheim, Calif., a subsidiary of L-3/SPD Technologies/Power Systems Group, a defense contractor that develops advanced technologies for naval systems. Mak had high-level clearance and was the lead project engineer on a research project involving Quiet Electric Drive technology for use aboard U.S. Navy warships. An FBI affidavit said Mak transferred information concerning QED from his workplace to his home and copied it onto CDs, which he delivered to his brother, Mak Tai-wing, for encryption and delivery to the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. The brothers allegedly planned to smuggle other information to China as well. Among rubbish in his home, agents found shredded Chinese documents, which they reconstructed, containing instructions to Mak Chi to join professional associations and participate in seminars with "special subject matter". One directed him to gather information on a number of military technologies, including space-based military systems. Mak Tai-wing and his wife were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport as they were about to board a flight for Hong Kong, the newspaper said. Mak Chi and his wife were arrested at their home. Mak Chi is being held without bond, while his brother was to appear at a bond hearing Friday, the newspaper said. If convicted of stealing U.S. government property, the brothers and their wives could face prison terms of up to 10 years plus fines. Many in the Chinese American community are skeptical of the charges with memories of the apparent false charges against Wen Ho Lee, a scientist who was fired from his job at Los Alamos National Laboratories. A Federal Grand Jury has subsequently dropped one of the charges entirely and reduced the other charges to the less serious, "failure to register as an agent of a foreign government". Saudi Envoy with Links to Terror Groups Ejected. A Saudi consular official was held for two days and expelled from the United States because he was suspected of having links with terrorist organizations, the Los Angeles Times has reported. Fahad al Thumairy, 31, arrived on a flight from Frankfurt at Los Angeles International Airport to learn that his visa had been revoked in March. He was barred from returning for five years, and was put on an international flight out of the country. He had been at the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles since 1996 and held a diplomatic post in the Islamic and cultural affairs section. He also served as a prayer leader at the King Fahd Mosque in Culver City, one of Southern California's largest Muslim houses of worship. The newspaper cited an unidentified official source as saying that a State Department communiqué specifically mentioned that al Thumairy had "suspected affiliation with terrorists". Schwarzenegger Completes Trade
Mission to China. Governor Schwarzenegger has returned
from his trade mission to China to face the realities of the many problems
facing the State. During the trade and good will mission, he attended a
special Olympics event, was mobbed by fans and photographers, attended the
opening of a new Harry Potter movie, and spoke out against intellectual property
piracy. The 79 member trade mission included representatives from
Chevron, Kikkoman Foods, Abbott Labs, Disney, Pfizer, Qualcomm, United and
Target as well as reporters and trade associations and a number of out-of-State
firms. The trade mission was paid
for with the help of two nonprofit committees founded by Schwarzenegger that
have raised money for his political campaigns and his policy efforts: the
California Protocol Foundation, headed by Charlotte Mailliard Shultz, and the
California Commission for Jobs and Economic Growth, headed by Mark Mosher. The
state's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency, headed by secretary Sunne
Wright McPeak, also solicited funds for the trip.
Also donating to the governor's causes, and pushing the China mission: the
California Chamber of Commerce, whose chief financial officer, Larry Dicke, also
serves as CFO of the nonprofit protocol group.
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State Senator asks state input on global trade accords. Californian Senator Liz Figueroa has called for legislation that would require a public vetting process to give California the opportunity to sign-on to provisions of trade agreements. But Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has vetoed such a move. “In vetoing critical trade oversight legislation, Governor Schwarzenegger acknowledged that California laws are at risk under trade agreements, but decided to do nothing about it,” said Senator Liz Figueroa in a statement. “Senate Bill 348 would have ensured that certain provisions in international trade agreements are reviewed through the same democratic process used to adopt our state laws”. This dispute comes just after the US made a firm commitment to cut domestic farm subsidies in order to get the current WTO round of talks moving again. Farm subsidies have been widely considered to be a major hurdle in achieving an agreement on global agriculture and services, and US reluctance to concede much ground on this issue has delayed any possibility of real change. But Figueroa is concerned that without a public vetting process, any commitment made at the WTO could damage Californian interests - without the state being able to do anything about it. She also argues that the US Constitution protects such rights. Figueroa claims that while the United States Constitution places the regulation of international trade within the prerogative of the federal government, primary responsibility for protecting public health, welfare and safety is left to the states. For that reason, the federal government occasionally consults with California about whether or not the state wishes to be bound by some of the terms of trade agreements. “If an international trade tribunal finds a state law to be in conflict with trade rules, it's up to the federal government to decide to manually preempt the state. That is why it is so important for a state to thoroughly examine international trade rules before agreeing to be bound by them,” said Figueroa. State trade office to open in Armenia. California will be opening its first overseas trade office since a performance scandal and the State's budget crises caused the State Legislature to close the States network of 12 trade offices. The new office is being funded with $75,000 raised by local members of the Armenian community to create trade partnerships between the Golden State and the former Soviet republic. The office will be in temporary quarters in Yerevan, Armenia's capital, in a government building there. An English-speaking Armenian was appointed to run the office, which will link importers and exporters between California and the landlocked nation east of Turkey and north of Iran. Because the money was raised privately, the state was able to open the office in Armenia and it is hoped that could be a model for the state if it opens other foreign trade offices. oficials said. "The Armenian officials that I met with are very excited about it because they recognize that one of the ways as a developing country they're going to progress is to count on the expertise and the products that would come from a place like California," said Sen. Jack Scott, D-Pasadena, in an interview with LA Daily News. "There is nearly $50 million in trade between Armenia and the United States, most of it with California, said Berdj Karapetian, chairman of the Glendale-based Foundation for Economic Development, which helped create the trade office. "There are quite a few individual business owners, midsize business owners - not the multimillion dollar ones or the small mom-and-pop entities - midsize businesses that are looking for business opportunities in Armenia that are developing, but they're not sure the exact ways to go about it", said Karapetian, who works in marketing. "I'd like to see it grow," said Annette Vartanian, executive director of the Glendale-based Armenian American Chamber of Commerce. "Obviously, it's going to start out small, but I'd like to see in the next couple of years for the office to expand and to see a team of people working". The office is overseen by the California Business, Transportation & Housing Agency. Call to reopen state trade missions abroad. A State Senate panel has been hearing requests to reopen Trade Offices for the State of California. Meeting at San Francisco's City Hall, a range of politicians and business leaders called for the state to reopen its offices in China and elsewhere in the Far East. A series of witnesses appeared before a hearing of the state Senate select Committee on Asia-Pacific Rim Trade, Commerce and Culture and most were in favor of reopening at least some Trade Offices. California's 12 foreign trade offices were shuttered in 2003 during the budget crisis, and as the result of a scandal where some office were found to be submitting false or exaggerated performance reports. Senate Majority Leader Gloria Romero, D-Los Angeles, who chairs the select committee, brought the hearing to San Francisco, where she appeared with city Supervisor Fiona Ma and Assemblyman Mark Leno. "It's hard to imagine that California, which does $47 billion in trade with eastern Asia, doesn't have any permanent representation over there," Romero said. She noted that most other states have several foreign offices - for example, Florida has 13, New York has eight and Washington has five. According to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle, the idea was seconded by Curt Augustine, deputy secretary of the state Business, Transportation and Housing Department. Augustine testified that Schwarzenegger supports creation of two offices in East Asia and one in Mexico - with the exact locations to be determined - but funded primarily by private firms rather than by the state. He called the Armenia office "a model for what we support". Western Australia Opens Trade Office in LA. Western Australia's first Trade and Investment Office in the United States is open for business, following the official launch in Los Angeles today by the Western Australian State Development Minister, Alan Carpenter. Carpenter, who is currently leading a Trade and Investment delegation to the USA, said the new office was a key element in the state's plan to expand Western Australia's strong international trade reputation. "The establishment of the new Trade and Investment Office will enable Western Australia to capitalize on the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement and the ensuing broadening of bilateral trade," said Carpenter. David Doepel has been appointed as the Regional Director for the new office, combining his experience in both international trade and economic development. Prior to the launch, Carpenter and California Lieutenant Governor Cruz M. Bustamante signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the California Commission for Economic Development, of which Bustamante is the chair, and the State Government of Western Australia, establishing the California-Western Australia Business Forum. Long Beach Lobbies to Save Southern California's Last Aircraft Factory. Politicians in Long Beach, trying to head off the loss of Boeing's C-17 plant are lobbying Congress to save the factory. Manufacturing jobs in Long Beach have fallen to 10 percent of the city's employment from 29 percent 15 years ago. ccording to a report in the LA Times, the Boeing factory that builds C-17 Globemaster III transport jets runs out of orders in 2008, putting at risk 6,500 jobs, or about 3 percent of the city's workforce. A Long Beach sent its Washington lobbyist, Del Smith of Smith, Esposito & Lyerly, to press Congress for more C-17s to save the last vestige of an aerospace industry that was crippled by defense cuts in the 1990s. Over the past 15 years, aerospace and defense employment in Los Angeles has declined by more than 80 percent to about 40,000 jobs, according to the California Employment Development Department. Long Beach politicians say they're obligated to do everything they can to save the Boeing jobs, which pay $25 to $28 an hour, or as much as $58,000 a year. Last week, Governor Schwarzenegger joined Long Beach's effort, sending a letter to President George W. Bush seeking support for more orders for the C-17, a plane about the size of Boeing's 767-300 passenger jet. Alstom Canada wins contract to refurbish Shasta hydro generator units. The North American division of global engineering giant Alstom has been awarded a $13 million US contract from the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Under the deal, Alstom will refurbish two generators at the Shasta hydroelectric power plant in northern California. "We did similar work on the other three units at Shasta back in 1998, 1999 and 2000," Claude Lambert, managing director of the North American unit, said in a release from Montreal. "We are happy to be selected again to provide the products and services needed". Services on the first generator should be complete by September 2007, while the second generator will take until September 2008, the company said. Alstom employs 69,000 people in 70 countries. Google Offers free Wi-Fi Network for San Francisco. Google has submitted a proposal to cover San Francisco with a free wireless Internet network, in response to Mayor Gavin Newsom request for ways to reach his goal of providing universal broadband access to all the city's residents. Google submitted the proposal at the exact deadline the city had set for companies to respond to a "request for information" and comments about setting up a community broadband network. Newsom has made wireless broadband for city residents one of his priorities, saying last year, "We will not stop until every San Franciscan has access to free wireless Internet service". The city wants the service to be available to residents, businesses and city emergency personnel. Its goal is 90 percent coverage for indoor use and 95 percent coverage for outdoor use. City officials do not want residents to have to buy additional equipment beyond that which comes with their laptop computers or handheld devices. Google officials said they view San Francisco as an ideal testing ground for applications and services they want to work on, including targeted advertising. The Mountain View company said it could begin building the network in about eight weeks if were granted the contract. Google expands WiFi coverage offer to Mountain View. Internet search giant Google has offered to bring free wireless Internet, or WiFi, connections to Mountain View, the city of its corporate headquarters. The offer comes about two months after the company offered to do the same for the city of San Francisco. "This proposal is in the same spirit of making the world's information easily and quickly accessible as our recent San Francisco WiFi bid and is technically comparable to that initiative,'' Google said in a statement. "Google has no plans at this time to expand our WiFi efforts beyond the Bay Area". Google officials approached Mountain View leaders and offered to hoist 300 transmitters onto the city's 3,000 telephone poles and street lights, according to a report in Mercury News. Mountain View Mayor Matt Neely. Neely said the company could install what he described as softball-sized devices that would transform the whole city into a so-called hotspot. "It's pretty amazing" , Neely said. ``What better place than Google's hometown and what better place than Mountain View to have the whole city connected on WiFi?" Mountain View, a mid-Peninsula city of 12 square miles and about 72,000 residents, is also home to the NASA/Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, where Google is building a research complex. There, it will collaborate with the space agency scientists. Mountain View City Councilman said that he applauded the possibility of offering residents wireless services. "Someone offering for free to put WiFi across the city? Why wouldn't I think it's a good idea?" said Perry. "It's great to see a local company providing quality Internet connections for people in Mountain View".
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Spielberg Partnering with Game maker Electronic Arts. Electronic Arts Inc. announced that it is partnering with Steven Spielberg, hoping that one of the most successful filmmakers in Hollywood history can help it top the box office in the world of video games. Spielberg, an avid video game fan, plans to help developers at EA's Los Angeles studio churn out three original creations. "Having watched the game industry grow from a niche to a major creative force in entertainment, I have a great deal of respect for EA's understanding of the creative format," Spielberg said in a statement. Executives of Redwood City, Calif.-based EA declined to disclose the financial terms of the deal or the genres of the games their developers were pursuing with Spielberg. "He really wants to make sure each of these products has at least one really meaningful innovation that nobody has ever seen before," said Neil Young, general manager and vice president for EA's studio in Playa Vista. "It would be akin to 'Jurassic Park' as a film. Nobody had seen dinosaurs moving that way before. That innovation added so much dimensionality to that film." Young said players could expect to see the games on the next generation of consoles by Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co. and possibly other platforms. Deutsche Bahn Acquires Bax Global. Deutsche Bahn AG has signed a purchase contract in New York to acquire a 100 percent shareholding in Irvine- based Bax Global Inc. Bax Global offers worldwide air and sea freight forwarding services, domestic transportation services and supply chain management, and has a strong blue-chip customer base, primarily in the fields of electronics and consumer goods. In the first three quarters of 2005, Bax generated revenues of USD 2.04 billion with over 12,000 employees. Bax Global is one of the top 20 US logistics companies, and Bax Global is the Number 1 in the USA in the heavy general cargo business. Worldwide, Bax maintains more than 500 offices in over 130 countries. In recent years, however, the company has been financially struggling and shareholeders have been frustrated by losses of $50 million during the past five years. Deutsche Bahn, Germany`s national rail operator, will pay $1.1 billion for BAX Global Inc.- a unit of Brink`s Co. The all-cash deal is expected to close around year end, Brink`s said in a press release. Morgan Stanley financially advised Brink`s. Buying BAX gets Deutsche Bahn 18 planes as well as trucks and ships under contract to strengthen its logistics arm, Schenker. Brink`s said it will use as much as $600 million of net proceeds for a share repurchase program, at least $200 million for retiree medical costs and part of the money to cut company debt. The deal will allow Deutsche Bahn to significantly expand its position as an international logistics services provider in the key growth markets in the Asia/Pacific region, and also in China and the USA. Wako Logistics of Hong Kong Acquires Asean Logistics. Wako Logistics Group, Inc., a global provider of integrated transport logistics services, announced that it has acquired all outstanding shares of Los Angeles based Asean Logistics, Inc. Founded in 1999, ALI provides freight forwarding and logistic services to clients primarily between Asia and the United States. ALI's revenues for its fiscal year ending June 2005 were approximately $4.1 million. Stewart Brown, CEO of US operations stated, "The ALI acquisition supports our continuing growth in the Pacific trade lane. ALI is a well respected, high quality international logistics company, with substantial existing business, experienced personnel and a culture of world class customer support. We are pleased to add this key location to our US network". Christopher Wood, CEO of WLG, remarked "With Los Angeles being our premier gateway to North America, our multinational clients demanded that we expand in this region. We feel very fortunate that we're able to acquire ALI, which in only a few short years has gained the reputation as being an excellent provider of freight forwarding services for the Pacific routes". First Banks, Inc. Acquires International Bank of California. First Banks, Inc. and International Bank of California ("IBOC") jointly announced completion of the acquisition of IBOC by First Banks. Allen H. Blake, President and Chief Executive Officer of First Banks, said, "We are pleased to welcome the customers of IBOC to First Banks, and, together with IBOC's employees, we are committed to continuing IBOC's dedication to providing the highest level of service to our customers." Mr. Blake added, "Our combined banking network of 37 banking offices in Southern California will provide our new customers with an expanded ATM and branch banking network that offers an extensive array of financial products and services". Frank C.L. Tu, President and Chief Executive Officer of IBOC, said, "Based on First Banks' strong background and leadership, they can definitely provide an array of banking products and enhanced services to IBOC's customers. I believe that First Banks will be one of our good neighbors in the California Asian Community in the future". First Banks' acquisition of IBOC provides six additional banking offices in Los Angeles, California, including one branch in downtown Los Angeles, four branches in eastern Los Angeles County, in Alhambra, Arcadia, Artesia and Rowland Heights and one branch west of downtown Los Angeles, as well as one banking office in downtown San Francisco, California. Wachovia to acquire Union
Bank. Wachovia Corp
announced that they have entered into an agreement under which Wachovia will
acquire the international correspondent banking business of Union Bank of
California, N.A. Union Bank of California is wholly owned by UnionBanCal.
Through this transaction, Wachovia will integrate Union Bank's sizeable
international correspondent franchise, including 600 bank relationships, the
payment and trade processing activity which drives these relationships, and
the related loan book in an amount up to $2 billion. Union Bank has been an
important player in international correspondent banking for decades with a
strong focus on the high-growth Asian market, where the bank established its
first overseas representative office more than 40 years ago.
As part of the transaction, a number of Union Bank's senior leaders,
relationship managers and customer service and operations specialists will
join Wachovia's international team. Following completion of the transaction,
the combined network will expand Wachovia's coverage to include New Delhi,
Chennai and Hanoi, cities where Wachovia is active but not currently Yahoo buys out stakes in its Europe units, seeking growth. Yahoo has paid $500 million to buy out the stakes it does not already own in its British, German, French and South Korean units, a move aimed at reducing its dependence on the U.S. market and better competing with its archrival, Google. Technology analysts said that the company, based in Sunnyvale, California, was eager to cement its control of its European businesses so it could take better advantage of the European online advertising market, which is growing at a quicker pace than the that of the United States. They said that Yahoo also wanted to catch up with Google, which has been aggressively expanding internationally in recent years. In Europe, revenue from online advertising is set to more than double to 6.5 billion, or $7.7 billion, in 2010 from 3.2 billion in 2005 according to Jupiter Research. In the United States, it said, annual online advertising revenue will increase to $16.04 billion from $10.10 billion during the same period. According to a report in the International Herald Tribune, Google's European expansion also has forced Yahoo to increasingly turn its attention across the Atlantic. Google has attracted a large and loyal following by expanding the languages of its search engines in Europe to include everything from Flemish to Turkish, and by teaming up with local portals to offer access to services. Analysts say that such services have helped it gain an edge over Yahoo in important countries like France, Germany, Italy and Spain. In Germany, the largest European online market, Google last month had 18 million users, compared with 5.4 million for Yahoo. The chief executive of Yahoo, Terry Semel, said that the stake purchases would give Yahoo more flexibility to take advantage of growth opportunities in Europe and South Korea. He said the purchases would be completed by the end of the year. In a sign of the growing importance of Yahoo's international business, sales from global operations rose 50 percent to $228.5 million, compared with a 40 percent rise in U.S. sales to $703.6 million. "The U.S. remains the biggest profit engine, but Europe is growing quicker and any company that wants to be a global player can't afford to ignore it" according to one analyst. Yahoo also recently paired up with its partner Softbank to buy big stakes in Yahoo Japan and the Chinese online commerce site Alibaba, which helps it to compete against eBay.
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Former Gov. Gray Davis has joined the University of California, Los Angeles as a
distinguished policy fellow. Nissan Motor Co. promoted Mark McNabb, an executive who helped the Japanese automaker set U.S. sales records, to oversee sales in markets ranging from China to South America and Africa. McNabb, 44, a vice president of the company's North American unit and U.S. manager for the Nissan brand, becomes senior vice president for sales operations outside North America, Japan and Europe, He will move to Tokyo from Nissan's U.S. base in Gardena, California. According to the company press release, Toyota Motor Corp., Japan's largest automaker, and No. 3 Honda Motor Co. don't have any non-Japanese in executive jobs as high-ranking as McNabb's new position. Dole Food Co. Inc. promoted Javier H. Idrovo to president of Dole Worldwide Packaged Foods, succeeding Peter M. Nolan, who earlier announced his retirement after 13 years with the company. Idrovo, who joined Dole in 2001 as vice president of strategy, had been named vice president and chief financial officer of the packaged-foods business earlier this year.
Dean A. Yoost, who served 32
years with PricewaterhouseCoopers, most recently as a senior partner, has joined
the board of directors for UnionBanCal Corporation and its primary subsidiary,
Union Bank of California, N.A.
Earlier in his career, Yoost spent 14 years in Beijing and Tokyo, where he was
involved in international trade and investment. He also served in a variety of
industries, including consumer products, technology, financial services,
distribution, and manufacturing.
Yoost headed the global firm's Orange County-based office before retiring last
July and was elected in 2001 to its 19-member Global Oversight Board,
PricewaterhouseCoopers' equivalent of a board of directors. He is a member of
the board of directors of Emulex Corporation, an NYSE listed company.
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Well, the big news for us this past month was that this newsletter was blocked and censored in China. Immediately after publishing this Newsletter's commentary on the Yahoo-Alibaba deal, the arrest and conviction of pro-Democracy journalist Shi Tao, and reports of Chinese censorship of the Internet, we ourselves were blocked and censored in China. Except for a few odd visits from Beijing, Chinese traffic on on our web portal dropped to almost nothing immediately after we posted this newsletter on the portal. We confirmed with associates there that the California Trade Network could no longer be accessed in the Peoples Republic of China. So what to do? They were not just blocking Chinese access to this portal, they were also blocking access from American members we have in China. I was taught by my parents to always stand up to bullies, but admittedly they probably weren't thinking of a situation where the bully was a superpower with more than a billion people. I called the Chinese Consulate in Los Angeles to discuss this but it is extremely difficult to get through to them and I was unable to get anyone there to return my phone calls. I decided I should at least notify my elected representatives so I first wrote Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi since most of the members being blocked were from the Bay Area. She is known for being fairly tough with China but her staff didn't seem interested in helping- even though all I was asking for was an appropriate contact at the Chinese consulate. I then called the office of my Congresswoman, Susan Davis and though they were reluctant at first saying there wasn't much they could do, they did agree to open a file on the situation. Her office contacted the U.S. State Department and I got a fairly rapid response with contacts at the Chinese Embassy in Washington D.C. They also sent me a copy of a report about Chinese government Internet filtering. I started to consider what I should say to these Embassy contacts- because I didn't consider that I had really done anything wrong. Should I say that I will "tone things down"? I didn't want to do that, because I think self-censorship is worse than censorship, plus almost everyone I talked to advised me not to talk to the Chinese government about this issue. Maybe they were right- I have never had any luck with the American bureaucracy, what made me think I would have any better luck with the Chinese bureaucracy? Around that same time, a journalist from the Sacramento Bee called me about another issue and I wrote him a note about how we had been blocked. I don't know if I had anything to do with it, but a few days later an editorial appeared in that paper that was highly critical of the Chinese government for this practice. Then it occurred to me that I really had the moral high ground- a position that I am not used to occupying. If the Chinese Government was blocking the California Trade Network in China, couldn't I demand that the Chinese trade portal Alibaba be blocked in the U.S.? I know that never would have happened, Alibaba is a big powerful Corporation, flush with a billion dollars in cash from California's Yahoo- while CALTRADE is still a small, struggling venture. Still, it would be completely morally equivalent and they had empowered me to make a great deal of noise about this situation. Then I read President Bill Clinton's comments that he thought the Chinese Government would be dissuaded from blocking an filtering if they realized they were hurting their own citizens in business- and this gave me an idea. We sponsor the International Business network on Ryze- it has over 5000 members from all over the world and I decided to openly discuss this issue there. This was risky- the Chinese government has no compunction about blocking blogs they don't like, but I pointed out that all I had to do to get Chinese citizens blocked from this and other international forums was to raise topics their government doesn't like. In other words, this absurd policy would allow an adversary of the Chinese to just start shouting "human rights" or "falug gong" and the Chinese would be blocked from these business resources. In the end, the California Trade Network was quietly unblocked in China after about three weeks, and at the moment can be accessed in that country. Which brings us to the Internet Control debate. While I think "control" is the wrong word, there was a big movement afoot in the world to take management of the Internet root servers away from the California based non-profit ICANN and into the hands of some international body- possibly the United Nations. The Bush Administration was opposed to this move and recently pressured ICANN to withdraw their plans for an ".XXX" domain extension for adult content because of "international sensibilities". It sound reasonable, but this actually hurt the arguments for keeping management of the Internet in the U.S. In a story unreported in the mainstream media, the real story is that right wing religious groups such as "focus on the family" flooded the Department of Commerce with letters opposing the new extension, and in a bizarre bedfellows arrangement, they were joined by the porn industry. The porn industry didn't want this extension because it could keep them out of the dot com domains, plus if you are into filtering, nothing is easier to filter than an entire domain extension. This nearly destroyed the argument that ICANN was immune to U.S. political pressure, but in the end the U.S. prevailed, mostly because there were really no good alternatives other than keeping management of the technical side of the Internet here in California. Ever since Katrina, there has been alot of talk about cronyism in the Bush Administration and the Federal Government. It would be delusional to think that FEMA was an aberration- in fact it is likely that this cronyism has spread to most branches of the Federal Government. These cronies appoint more cronies, until we have an almost completely dysfunctional Federal government. No where has this been more apparent then in the groups that manage American Foreign Policy. Almost forgotten since the last election is that Bush has made more "political appointments" the the Foreign Service than any other President in history. Our ambassador to Canada- awarded the post for raising $200,000 for the Bush Campaign, almost started a trade war recently that even he admitted was a mistake. Just last week, President Bush appointed nine campaign contributors, including three longtime fund-raisers, to his Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board, a 16-member panel of individuals from the private sector who advise the president on the quality and effectiveness of U.S. intelligence efforts. Perhaps even worse than Michael Brown (who in an absolute outrage is still on the Federal payroll as a "consultant") is is Bush friend and advisor Karen Hughes who's job is to "improve America's image" abroad. I believe you could have scoured the entire country, and not found a worse pick for this post. What in the world would make Bush think that what plays in Texas would work in the Middle East? And that's not to mention notorious UN hater John Bolton put in as a "recess appointment" by Bush as Ambassador to the UN over Congressional objections. The net effect of all this? U.S. Foreign Policy no longer represents our values as Americans- in fact it insults us and our friends- over and over again. So where is the next FEMA? My guess would be the U.S. Department of Commerce. Bush's boyhood friend Don Evans ran this Department during the first term- and did virtually nothing as America lost almost its entire manufacturing base- and no one was even held accountable. A recent article in the New Republic tried to identify the worst cronies in the Federal Government, and two of their top 15 were in the USDOC. These include Chief of Staff Claire Buchan- a deputy press secretary who's previous job was PR for the lawn care, extermination, and appliance repair company ServiceMaster. The press corps was said to be stunned when her appointment was announced and they quoted one reporter as saying, "the most useless in a Bush universe of enforced uselessness. She took empty banality to a new low". The other USDOC appointment Israel Hernandez- appointed to head U.S. Commercial services and the first openly gay appointment in the Bush Administration- not that there is anything wrong with that, as Jerry Seinfeld might say. Mr. Hernandez actually lived with the Bush family in their Dallas home, and earned the nickname "Altoid Boy" by Bush because one of his jobs was to carry Altoids so they would be ready when Bush gave a speech. The article says that he became like an older brother to Barbara and Jenna and looked after them on some overseas trips. Now there may be a certain logic in having a gay guy look after your teenage daughters, but does that qualify him to run U.S. Commercial Services- an important organization with 1800 employees in 80 countries? Probably not, but we do wish Mr. Hernandez success- USCS has lost it sense of direction in recent years, and we can't afford to lose any more time. Back to California, Governor Schwarzenegger has just returned from his trip to China, and while we are sure his Corporate supporters who went on that trip had a great time, it didn't have anything to do with "us" - small companies and professional in California with interests in international business. It cost upwards of $50,000 or more to go on that trip, and I think it is safe to say those who paid that will expect more than a photo op at the great wall. We hope the Governor eventually learns that there is a big difference between being "pro Corporation" and being "pro business". Fellow Republican Governor Mitt Romney of Massachusetts, who for some reason loves to throw rocks at Schwarzenegger, made this statement while the Governor's trade mission was partying in China: “I don’t know how California makes it . . .Long term, their high tax rate, their totally unworkable transportation reality, their unreliable energy supplies, make it a place that’s going to have to, at some point, undergo some kind of transformation, or they’re going to begin losing. They can lose to Nevada, lose to other states and, ultimately, of course, lose to Asia”. Bingo.
RG What have you "Heard on the Street?" please let us know atcaltrade@gmail.com. | |
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State Training Grant Funding Available. A new non-profit organization "Global Economic & Workforce Development Coalition" has established a service to help California firms secure State funded grants for employee training and workforce development programs. These services help member organizations to improve their profitability, productivity, effectiveness and efficiency while reducing operating costs. Several million dollars in grant funding is available for qualifying organizations. GEWDC also has online educational programs with over 14,000 hours of educational content available. For program details, contact William Prouty, PhD at 951-301-0605 or visit http://www.gewdc.org U.S. Department of State, Foreign Media Reaction. Each business day, the U.S. Department of State's Office of Research produces an Issue Focus of foreign media commentary on a major foreign policy issue or related event. These reports provide a global round-up of editorials and op-ed commentary from major newspapers, magazines and broadcast media around the world. http://usinfo.state.gov/admin/005/wwwhmenu.html
Have you found some cool, interesting or useful information or links? Please let us know atcaltrade@gmail.com. | |
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back November 29: Lakewood. Importing to the U.S. Sponsored By the Center for International Trade Development. Evening seminar covers the basic steps involved when importing products to the United States. Time: 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, Cost: $45 Location: CITD Offices - Conference Room. Email: citd@lbcc.edu, Phone: (562) 938-5018, web: http://longbeach.citd.org December 7: San Francisco. San
Francisco Chamber of Commerce International Networking Event. Hosted By:
Marriott SAN FRANCISCO FISHERMAN'S WHARF. Come join Chamber members, the Bay
Area consular corps, San Francisco leaders of International Trade and
international organization representatives at our premier international
networking event of the year! Develop new business contacts and catch up with
old friends while you enjoy an international ambience, hors d'oeurves and drinks
in the newly renovated meeting rooms at The Marriott Fisherman's Wharf. Cost is
$25 for Chamber members; $35 for prospective members if paid by Dec. 5, $5
additional after Dec. 5 and at the door. The Marriot is offering a discounted
Valet Parking at $15 for this event. Contact Nadia Chan at nchan@sfchamber.com
or 415-352-8858. December 09: Beverly Hills. The
46th BABC LA Christmas Celebration. Hosted By the British American
Business Council. What would be Christmas without the annual British American
Business Council event! Join a spirited crowd at the greatest Christmas party in
town! With celebrated humorist Ben Stein as our Guest Speaker. Time: 11:30
AM to 3:30 PM, Cost: $110 per person, Location: The Beverly Hilton HotelContact:
Gillian Campbell, Email: info@babcla.org, Phone: (310) 312-1962
--------------- 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. | |
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The Cards in Our Hand Ex-Reagan Administration official Clyde Prestowitz is making the rounds of the talk show circuit promoting his book, "Three Billion New Capitalists: the Great Shift in Wealth and Power to the East" He give his diagnosis for why our country is sliding towards economic decline under globalization. In looking at the world's economic future, he suggests that unsustainable U.S. trade deficits, the buildup of massive dollar reserves in Japan and China, the entrance of billions of individuals into the workforce in India and China, combined with the relocation of technological innovation from America to the East and the ease of outsourcing, will shortly bring about the end of the American era of economic leadership. Here is a book review from Publisher's Weekly:
Its is a pretty dark vision, but it is not all pessimistic. He likes to compare global politics to a game of cards, here is an exchange in an interview where he describes our "aces":
What are the aces and what should leadership do to play the right hand? The interviewer asked.
Now Mr. Prestowitz is a brilliant man, I am not qualified to stand in his shadow, but I think we have a few other cards up our sleeve that he may have forgot. Here is my take on a few aces we still have left:
We have some lousy cards in our had as well. A dysfunctional government, a seeming inability to act in our own self interest, an extremely unbalanced economy and others. While I think our "aces" are different than what Mr. Prestowitz thinks, I agree that we have some great cards, and also that "we ain't playing them very well right now".
RG
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The California Trade Network The California Trade Network is providing high quality trade information and communication services for the benefit of California's international business community. As part of this effort, we have launched the following initiatives and services: We have recently launched a new communications and collaboration portal that uses business networking technology with integrated Internet Telephony through Skype. It has many exciting 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 growing community starting to discuss and collaborate on international business issues. We are also delighted to announce that we launched a "Trade Opportunity Matching and Delivery Service. Currently, members of the network have a business profile that includes a list of industries and trade countries where they wish to do business. When a trade opportunity is identified that matches one of these countries and industries, it is flagged for the member and an email alert is sent that notifies the member that a potential match has been found. To our knowledge, this is the first time this type of service has been deployed in the context of a business/social networking portal, and we believe it is a very significant development. We intend to continue to identify and deliver high quality international trade opportunities for the benefit of California firms and professionals. There is no charge for the basic services on this portal. Please register at the link below.
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. |