Budget to address Singapore’s immediate and long-term economic needs: PM Lee

Yahoo News SingaporeJanuary 27, 2017

ricky l

3 seconds ago

When every Singaporeans - young, middle age or old people can get jobs or those who lose their jobs can be re-employed - then Singapore will have succeeded.

• 

  ricky l

  3 seconds ago

  As it stands now, there are still many Singaporeans in difficulties and not able to get jobs.

Mexican president cancels planned DC meeting with Trump

MARK STEVENSON

Associated PressJanuary 27, 2017

ricky l

3 seconds ago

Mexico is one of America's biggest trade partners, and the U.S. is the No. 1 buyer from Mexico, accounting for about 80 percent of Mexican exports. A complete rupture in ties could be damaging to the U.S. economy, an disastrous for Mexico's
---

Trump did not know that in all trade war, there will be collateral damages.

Mexico should also learn a costly lesson - where its trade is so highly dependent on one Country - 80% !

It is time for Mexico to seek out for more trade partners and reduce its reliant on one Country - when Trump in a twist - decide to betray Mexico's trust.

• 

  ricky l

  2 seconds ago

  Mexico should try not to "put all eggs in one basket" - and must try to diversify its trade risk.

Trump proposes big import tax, triggering fight with Mexico

JULIE PACE and MARK STEVENSON

Associated PressJanuary 27, 2017

ricky l

23 seconds ago

ricky l ricky l 12 seconds ago
If Trump hurt Mexico with trade war, Trump is also hurting US business and its consumers.
It will be collateral damages.

Until Trump cause US to burn itself, he will not realise what he does is mutual collateral damages.
See less
ricky l
ricky l 12 seconds ago
The moment the World trading partners see how Trump ill treat his trading partners, you will be surprise that the World will be unified in responding to Trump ----- and at the end of the day, US (businesses worldwide and US consumers) will be the one that will be badly hurt.

Just be warned.
ricky l
ricky l 1 second ago

coho

53 minutes ago

easy there Nostradamus!

ricky l

2 seconds ago

I hope US political mechanism has a self-checking mechanism.
If Trump trigger a devastating trade war or a devastating war that will trigger World War 3 - there must a US mechanism to stop him - from MAD (Mutual Assured Destruction).

Marquese

4 minutes ago

Trumps Inaugural speech was basically ' I declare war' -- on everybody; this first week he's lobbed a lot of missiles and dropped plenty of bombs.

• 

  ricky l

  23 seconds ago

  我佛慈悲。
  人世间已到达
  颠倒是非，贪嗔痴凝聚， 因果总计的时刻。
  人类是否能逃过此灾难？。。。。。。
  Appealing to the Universal Compassion of My Buddha.
  Human has reached the stage of :-
  Not knowing what is right and what is wrong.
  Greed, Hatred/Anger, Ignorance/Stupidity has reaced its maxim
  That trigger the ripening of the Universal Law of Karma.
  Will Human Mankind be able to be salvaged from this Major Catastrophe ?....
• • 

    ricky l

    3 seconds ago

    Symbolic has just adjusted the Doomsday Clock 1 second ahead - of Human Extinction - with direct reference to the risk of Donald Trump to the World

Trump proposes big import tax, triggering fight with Mexico

JULIE PACE and MARK STEVENSON

Associated PressJanuary 27, 2017

ricky l

13 seconds ago

Trump will have to be very careful.

If Trump start a trade war with the World, it will follow a World War 3 - the Big Bang vision maybe coming true.

The Economic Depression 1930s trade war started by US follow a World War 2.

This is what i have been trying to stop for so many years.

• 

  ricky l

  34 seconds ago

  Posted in :-
  Reuters – Fri 20 Jan, 2017 3:26 AM IST
  Avatar
  ricky l 0 seconds ago
  1930s Deep Depression --- hopefully it will not occur.
  It is trigger by US trade war - increase trade tariff against the World - that trigger 1930s Deep Depression.
  Hope Donald Trump learned from this - and not repeat the mistake of the 1930s Deep Depression.
  ----
  "The decline in the U.S. economy was the factor that pulled down most other countries at first; then, internal weaknesses or strengths in each country made conditions worse or better. Frantic attempts to shore up the economies of individual nations through protectionist policies, such as the 1930 U.S. Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act and retaliatory tariffs in other countries, exacerbated the collapse in global trade.[17] By late 1930, a steady decline in the world economy had set in, which did not reach bottom until 1933."
  Reply
• 

  ricky l

  3 seconds ago
  
  
  Avatar
  ricky l 1 second ago
  And Deep Depression 1930s --- trigger the 2nd World War.
  0
  ----
  World War II and recovery
  
  The common view among economic historians is that the Great Depression ended with the advent of World War II. Many economists believe that government spending on the war caused or at least accelerated recovery from the Great Depression, though some consider that it did not play a very large role in the recovery. It did help in reducing unemployment.[11][90][91][92] The rearmament policies leading up to World War II helped stimulate the economies of Europe in 1937–39. By 1937, unemployment in Britain had fallen to 1.5 million. The mobilization of manpower following the outbreak of war in 1939 ended unemployment.[93] When the United States entered into the war in 1941, it finally eliminated the last effects from the Great Depression and brought the U.S. unemployment rate down below 10%.[94] In the U.S., massive war spending doubled economic growth rates, either masking the effects of the Depression or essentially ending the Depression. Businessmen ignored the mounting national debt and heavy new taxes, redoubling their efforts for greater output to take advantage of generous government contracts.[cit
• • 

    ricky l

    3 seconds ago

    Avatar
    ricky l 0 seconds ago
    Hour before the announcement of US Election result :-
    
    One Big Bang comes ------ Lightning strike and Thunder roar - when reading the 1st headline of US Election result .....
    And a "Vision appear" --------- there will be One Big Bang.......
    
    Let's hope the vision of 1930s Great Depression (Economic Impact) follow by World War 2 (Security Impact) -------- will not be repeated from 2017 to 2021 .....
    
    Because it will end the Mankind .......... if there is WW3........
    0
  • • 

      ricky l

      13 seconds ago

      Avatar
      ricky l 0 seconds ago
      南无啊弥陀佛 ！！！ 阿弥陀佛 ！！！
      0
      Europe[edit]
      Europe as a whole was badly hit, in both rural and industrial areas. Democracy was discredited and the left often tried a coalition arrangement between Communists and Socialists, who previously had been harsh enemies. Right wing movements sprang up, often following Italy's fascist mode.[24]
      As the Great Depression worsened, Labour lost power in Britain and a coalition government dominated by conservatives came to power in 1931, and remained in power until 1945. There were no programs in Britain comparable to the New Deal.
      In France, the "Popular Front" government of Socialists with some Communist support, was in power 1936–1938. It launched major programs favoring labor and the working class, but engendered stiff opposition.
      Germany during the Weimar Republic had fully recovered and was prosperous in the late 1920s. The Great Depression hit in 1929 and was severe. The political system descended into violence and the Nazis under Hitler came to power through elections in early 1933. Economic recovery was pursued through autarky, pressure on economic partners, wage controls, price controls, and spending programs such as public works and, especially, military spending.
      Spain saw mounting political crises that led in 1936–39 to civil war.
      In Benito Mussolini's Italy, the economic controls of his corporate state were tightened. The economy was never prosperous.
      The Soviet Union was mostly isolated from the world trading system during the 1930s. To force peasants into industrial jobs in the cities, food was stripped from rural areas, and millions died of starvation. The dictator Joseph Stalin purged nearly all the old Bolsheviks, and killed or imprisoned hundreds of thousands of presumed enemies.
      Canada and the Caribbean[edit]
      In Canada, Between 1929 and 1939, the gross national product dropped 40%, compared to 37% in the U.S. Unemployment reached 28% at the depth of the Depression in 1929 and 1930,[25] while wages bottomed out in 1933.[26] Many businesses closed, as corporate profits of C$396 million in 1929 turned into losses of $98 million in 1933. Exports shrank by 50% from 1929 to 1933. Worst hit were areas dependent on primary industries such as farming, mining and logging, as prices fell and there were few alternative jobs. Families saw most or all of their assets disappear and their debts became heavier as prices fell. Local and provincial government set up relief programs but there was no nationwide New-Deal-like program. The Conservative government of Prime Minister R. B. Bennettretaliated against the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act by raising tariffs against the U.S. but lowered them on British Empire goods. Nevertheless, the economy suffered. In 1935, Bennett proposed a series of programs that resembled the New Deal; but was defeated in the elections of that year and no such programs were passed.[27]
      Cuba and the Caribbean saw its greatest unemployment during the 1930s because of a decline in exports to the U.S., and a fall in export prices.
      Asia[edit]
      China was at war with Japan during most of the 1930s, in addition to internal struggles between Chiang Kai-shek's nationalists andMao Zedong's communists.
      Japan's economy expanded at the rate of 5% of GDP per year after the years of modernization. Manufacturing and mining came to account for more than 30% of GDP, more than twice the value for the agricultural sector. Most industrial growth, however, was geared toward expanding the nation's military power. Beginning in 1937 much of Japan's energy was focused on a large-scale war and occupation of China.
      Australia and New Zealand[edit]
      In Australia, 1930s conservative and Labor-led governments concentrated on cutting spending and reducing the national debt.
      In New Zealand, a series of economic and social policies similar to the New Deal were adopted after the election of the first Labour Government in 1935.[28]

Trump proposes big import tax, triggering fight with Mexico

JULIE PACE and MARK STEVENSON

Associated PressJanuary 27, 2017

ricky l

15 seconds ago

White House backs away from 20% Mexico tariff
Posted 27 Jan 2017 07:51 Updated 27 Jan 2017 08:00
White House press secretary Sean Spicer speaks to reporters on Air Force One en route to Andrews Air Force Base on Jan 26, 2017, from Philadelphia. (Photo: AP/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
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WASHINGTON: The White House on Thursday (Jan 26) floated the idea of a 20 per cent tax on Mexican imports to pay for Donald Trump's border wall, before quickly backtracking and calling it just one idea among many.

Trump has vowed to "make Mexico pay" for the wall - something Mexico has strongly rejected - but, until today, given little indication of how that would be done.

The financing of the project, which is aimed at clamping down on illegal immigration, has sparked tensions between the two countries.

Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Thursday called off a meeting with Trump set for next week in Washington.

With a war of words escalating, and Congress moving to meet the US$12-15 billion price tag though taxpayer dollars, White House press secretary Sean Spicer indicated tariffs on Mexico would be used to claw back the cash.

"It clearly provides the funding and does so in a way that the American taxpayer is wholly respected," Spicer said, adding that lawmakers had considered the proposal in the context of broader tax reform.

But the suggestion was met with fierce blowback.

"When you look at tariffs and repercussions you get from countries that you use your tariffs against, there is always the potential response for retaliation, which normally doesn't support good economic growth," said Republican Congressman Mark Meadows.

Senator Lindsay Graham was a little more colourful.

"Any policy proposal which drives up costs of Corona, tequila, or margaritas is a big-time bad idea. Mucho Sad," he tweeted.

Hours later Spicer was forced to row back the idea, saying it was just a hypothetical, one of many options.

"The idea today wasn't to roll anything out or be prescriptive or announce anything, it was to say it's actually not that hard to do," Spicer said. "The idea is to show that generating revenue for the wall is not as difficult as some might have suggested, one measure alone could do this."

On Wednesday, Trump signed an executive order telling officials to begin to "plan, design and construct a physical wall" along the 2,000-mile (3,200-kilometre) US-Mexico border, making good on a central campaign pledge.

Republicans had been mulling a 20 per cent "border adjustment" to pay for substantial corporate tax breaks.

But the idea is fiercely opposed by big retailers like Walmart who would see the cost of their imported products go up.

And any such tariff would likely prompt legal action and retaliatory measures from Europe or others at the World Trade Organization.

Spicer said the proposal need not provoke a trade war. "You can do things in a very WTO- compliant way," he said. "Hypothetically there are several ways you could do that and be compliant."

- AFP/ec

Pension, scrapping Mexico plant hurt Ford 2016 net profit

Ford Motor Co.'s net income fell nearly 40 percent last year as a big pension adjustment and the cost of scrapping a new plant in Mexico outweighed an otherwise strong performance

By Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | Associated Press – 2 hours 51 minutes ago

• 
• ricky l 0 seconds ago
  The loss was due largely to a $3 billion noncash adjustment of pension obligations and a $200 million charge for halting construction of the Mexican factory. That was announced earlier this month amid criticism from President Donald Trump that Ford was shifting production of the compact Focus to Mexico. 
• --
•  See, Trump intervention in trade has cause US business to start suffering. When this is done in a large scale, US Economy will be impacted when more US businesses cumulatively suffer losses.
• Reply
   0 
• • 
  • ricky l 1 second ago
    What Trump is doing to US - is similar to what Pauline do to SOE - the dark ages follow by the karma invoked against the dark age.
     0 

• Pension, scrapping Mexico plant hurt Ford 2016 net profit

  Ford Motor Co.'s net income fell nearly 40 percent last year as a big pension adjustment and the cost of scrapping a new plant in Mexico outweighed an otherwise strong performance

  By Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer | Associated Press – 2 hours 51 minutes ago

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    In this Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2017, photo, a potential customer looks at a 2017 Ford F-250 Lariat FX4 at a Ford dealership, in Hialeah, Fla. Ford Motor Company …

  DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) -- Ford Motor Co.'s net income fell nearly 40 percent last year as a big pension adjustment and the cost of scrapping a new plant in Mexico outweighed an otherwise strong performance.

  The company on Thursday posted $4.6 billion in net income, down nearly $2.8 billion from a year earlier. But Ford said its pretax profit for the year hit $10.4 billion, the second-best ever, while revenue rose slightly to $151.8 billion.

  Ford's 56,000 U.S. hourly workers will reap the benefits. They'll get average profit-sharing checks of $9,000 based on a pretax North American profit of just over $9 billion.

  But with slowing sales expected in the U.S., Ford's most lucrative market, and big investments in electric and autonomous vehicles, the company said it expects 2017 profits to be strong but lower than last year.

  For the fourth quarter, the Dearborn, Michigan, automaker posted a $783 million net loss compared with a $1.9 billion profit a year ago.

  The loss was due largely to a $3 billion noncash adjustment of pension obligations and a $200 million charge for halting construction of the Mexican factory. That was announced earlier this month amid criticism from President Donald Trump that Ford was shifting production of the compact Focus to Mexico.

  Ford canceled construction of the Focus plant in the fourth quarter, but still intends to make the cars in Mexico at an existing plant. The company says no jobs will be lost due to the move because the current Focus plant near Detroit will build new a new small pickup and SUV. Contingency

  Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks said the company is still trying to gauge the impact that President Donald Trump and has taken no actions "since there is no specific policy." Ford expects pro-growth policies and a possible corporate tax cut. "It's something we're going to have to watch closely and respond appropriately when specific policies are formulated," Shanks said.

  For the fourth quarter, Ford said it lost 20 cents per share, but excluding special items, made a 30-cent profit. That fell just shy of Wall Street estimates. Analysts polled by FactSet expected 31 cents per share.

  Quarterly revenue fell 4 percent to $38.7 billion, but still beat analyst estimates.

  The fourth-quarter net loss was Ford's first quarterly red ink since the fourth quarter of 2014.

  For the year, Ford's North American pretax profit fell by $344 million compared with 2015, when it booked earnings from increased production of new heavy-duty pickup trucks and a refurbished Ford Fusion sedan, Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks said. In Europe, the company made a record $1.2 billion, up $946 million from a year earlier. Its Asia Pacific unit reported a $627 million profit, down $138 million from a year ago. Ford still lost money in South America and the Middle East/Africa.

  Ford's U.S. sales fell 0.1 percent last year as car sales dropped and truck and SUVs rose. Since trucks and SUVs cost more, the company said its average retail price per vehicle rose by $1,400 in the fourth quarter. Shanks said Ford also benefited from customers buying vehicles with more options. "That was a really big factor in our profitability across the board this year particularly in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific," he said.

  Ford shares fell 39 cents, or just over 3 percent, to $12.40 in trading early Thursday.

  ___

  This story has been corrected to show that Ford's last quarterly net loss was two years ago, not seven years ago.

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