Good morning
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The headlines:
- Foxconn shuts China plant.
Link: a fight broke out?
So there’s this factory in Taiyuan in the Shanxi province (for all the travel agent readers who know something about Chinese geography). And it was closed after a fight broke out in the dormitories (!) last night between rival worker groups that lasted four hours (!!) and involved TWO THOUSAND PEOPLE.
That’s not a fight: that’s a war.
The plant has been shut for the day, because Foxconn management “want to give people time to cool down”.
From my side – I just hope that this is one of the factories producing HP printers or something and NOT ONE producing my new iPhone 5. It’s good to have a heart, but business be business.
- Apple seeks more damages from Samsung.
Link: obviously.
Aaaand…. rinse and repeat: business be business.
Wrote about it here.
- Europe and the “fresh crisis stalemate”.
Link: are stalemates every really fresh?
The issues: banking union discord (should we or shouldn’t we?); Greece not wanting to decide on spending cuts (no one wants to cut back); and Spaintaly not wanting to request aid when they need it (no one wants help with strings attached).
Banking union discord:
France wants it tomorrow, Germany wants it at some point. The French want it because it will bring stability to the euro (that’s the theory), and allow the Euro economies to get back to getting back on their feet without the pervasive fog emanating out of the Mediterranean (more theory). The Germans don’t want it so quickly because it means that they have to stand surety for everyone else (less theory, more empirical evidence).
In some ways, it’s a lot like getting my parents to sign further surety on my mortgage bond after I missed a few months of payments. I don’t have a job; but I’m getting so distracted by having to send budgets and stuff to the bank that I, like, just don’t have enough time to go job-hunting. So, like, please dad.
And he (the ECB) sits on the other side going “Speak to your mother”. And she (Germany) is saying “And so you’re seriously trying to tell me, your mother, that you’re not going to go out partying any more? Let me tell you – I have BEEN there and DONE that and I am NOT funding your habit!”
Greek Spending Cuts
No surprises here.
Spain and Italy
Despite everything – all the unlimited bond buying and such – Spain and Italy aren’t asking for aid because they’re still hoping that the aid will come without restrictions/limits/supervision from the ECB.
More entertainingly, I keep reading about politicians saying “there’s no nation that will willingly surrender its sovereignty!”
Yes – there is. You called it “entering the Euro”.
That’s all for now.
Have a good day.
