| ||
| ||
The recalls come as product safety has been in the spotlight in the wake of high-profile recalls of pet food, toothpaste, snacks and most recently toys. | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
Ask the Fool: What kinds of mutual funds pay out the most money to shareholders? ¨C P.W., Montgomery, Ala. A: You¡¯re looking for ¡°income¡± funds. These aim to spit out cash for shareholders by investing mainly in securities that pay interest or dividends. They¡¯re favored by retirees, among others. Other kinds of funds (such as ¡°growth¡± or ¡°value¡± ones) typically aim to reward shareholders mainly via stock price appreciation. For recommendations of top-notch, low-fee mutual funds, try our Motley Fool Champion Funds newsletter for free for a month . Ask the Fool: Are reverse stock splits good or bad? ¨C G.S., Martinsville, Ind. A: It¡¯s hard to imagine when a reverse split would be a good thing. It¡¯s mainly companies in trouble that execute reverse splits, in order to prop up their stock prices so they look less embarrassing. For example, imagine a stock trading at $1 per share. If you own 150 shares and the company announces a 1-for-10 reverse split, then you¡¯ll suddenly have one share for each 10 that you owned. You¡¯ll now hold 15 shares, priced around $10 each. Note that before and after the split, the value of your shares is the same: $150. All that happened is that the company increased its stock price by decreasing its number of shares. Some companies execute reverse splits in order to avoid being delisted from stock exchanges that have required minimum price levels. It¡¯s often smaller, less well-known companies that do reverse splits, but you might have heard of these companies that have executed them: AT&T, 7-Eleven, Palm, Priceline.com. If a company you¡¯re interested in plans a reverse split, consider that a red flag and steer clear. My dumbest investment: As a recent retiree, I decided to try the stock market. I was looking for income, as bank interest rates were abysmal. I bought shares of two companies with high dividend yields ¨C which have subsequently evaporated. Fortunately, I also bought into a Canadian stock that¡¯s still paying me more than 12 percent. All I can say is that was pure, dumb luck. I hope you can impart some knowledge before my meager pension and savings are wiped out. If not, it¡¯s bagging time at the local supermarket. ¨C C.H.S., Stuart, Fla. The Fool responds: While big dividend yields are tantalizing, be sure to do some research before signing up for them. Some are high only temporarily, because the stock has plunged in value, driving up the yield. Many companies in trouble will eventually reduce or eliminate their dividends, while their stock price languishes or drops. Other high yields are tied to real estate investment trusts, which can fluctuate in value. Foolish trivia: I was founded in 1866 when a pharmacist tried to develop an economical alternative to breast milk for mothers who couldn¡¯t nurse. Today, I¡¯m Switzerland¡¯s largest industrial company, and the world¡¯s largest food and beverage company, employing more than a quarter of a million people. My brands include Taster¡¯s Choice, Poland Spring, Deer Park, Carnation, Libby¡¯s, Coffee-Mate, Dreyer¡¯s/Edy¡¯s, Lean Cuisine, Stouffer¡¯s, PowerBar, Hot Pockets, Toll House, Kit-Kat, Smarties, Butterfinger, Purina, Friskies, Fancy Feast, Alpo, Beneful and Tidy Cats. Sales of my instant coffee more than doubled during World War II. Who am I? Answer to last week¡¯s trivia: I was born in 1932 as the Baumritter & Co. housewares distributor. My name later changed to reflect the commander of the Green Mountain Boys in the Revolutionary era. In 1962, I pioneered the concept of showing furniture in realistic room settings. I operate nine manufacturing plants in the U.S. and an international network of more than 300 design centers. I offer free design consultations and free local delivery. Nearly 100 percent of Americans know my brand. My dividend has increased tenfold over the past 10 years. Who am I? Answer: Ethan Allen.
Hasbro is tapping into a multigenerational market, since the love for Skee-Ball crosses a wide range of ages. The game provides a sense of nostalgia for grandparents, while kids enjoy the thrill of earning more prize tickets by hitting the 100-point center ring just as much as their parents did decades ago. The game has even made several appearances on ¡°The Simpsons¡± ¨C evidence that it¡¯s still popular. Given the number of toy recalls lately, well-known brands need to restore a sense of safety to parents. Can a partnership with a popular game bring back childhood memories and help Hasbro get past its own recall woes? Perhaps, though it won¡¯t be anytime soon. The company won¡¯t be releasing its first Skee-Ball products until 2009. More than 80 percent of the toys sold in the United States are made in China. And while Hasbro hasn¡¯t revealed where Skee-Ball products will be produced, let¡¯s hope it¡¯ll be a safe haven from recalls. The Motley Fool is written by Tom and David Gardner for Universal Press Syndicate. Reach the Gardners at , or by regular mail to Motley Fool, PO Box 19529, Alexandria, VA 22320-0529. HOW TO ASSESS OLD STOCK CERTIFICATES So you say you found some old stock certificates, and you¡¯re wondering whether they¡¯re worth anything? That can be hard to determine, because many companies merge with and split from other companies, changing their names along the way. Some end up out of business, with their stock worthless, while the stock of other obscure companies might now represent ownership in the stock of thriving businesses. Old bonds can present similar puzzles. A good first step is to see if you can find the company listed in your newspaper¡¯s stock listings, or at one of many sites such as Fool.com where you can look up companies and their stock quotes. Failing that, give your brokerage a jingle and see if it can tell you anything. Next, contact either the secretary of state for the state in which the shares were issued or the ¡°transfer agent¡± listed on the stock certificate. The transfer agent might not be in business anymore, but if it is, it should be able to help you value the security and determine how many shares you own (due to splits, mergers, etc.). Here are some additional resources suggested (but not endorsed) by the Securities and Exchange Commission:Great Wall At , for a fee, you can have your stock or bond certificate researched. (Even if your company has gone belly-up, the certificate might be worth something as a collectible. Scripophily might buy it from you, or you could try hawking it on eBay.) china arts and crafts Financial Stock Guide Service is an annually updated directory of actively traded stocks and obsolete securities. You can have Financial Information Inc. research your certificate by calling 1-800-367-3441.WOW Gold R.M. Smythe & Co. publishes the Robert D. Fisher Manual of Valuable & Worthless Securities and will research old certificates for a fee. Visit .china toys | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
The Chinese government is rallying support from Tesco and other multinational retail groups as it tries to head off the deepening crisis over the reputation of the country's consumer products. Tesco growth weakest since 2000 advertisement Tesco is understood to have been asked for advice relating to its sourcing practices amid signs that foreign chains operating in the world's most populous country have enjoyed a boost to sales from the "Made in China" crisis as Chinese consumers turn to reliable multinational brands.Great Wall The issue has been most pronounced in the toy industry, where Mattel, the world's biggest toy maker, has been forced to withdraw millions of toys from sale around the world in recent months. While some of the recalled products had been coated with potentially dangerous lead paint, Mattel conceded in an extraordinary public admission earlier this month that the bulk of the problems had been the result of a design flaw in many of the toys.WOW Gold A string of other products emanating from China, including car tyres, seafood, pyjamas and jewellery, have also been recalled, prompting Beijing to set up a powerful government task force led by Wu Yi, the vice-premier.china arts and crafts Tesco is the latest British company to have been enlisted by the Chinese government in its efforts to restore the reputation of its exports juggernaut. WPP, the marketing services group headed by Sir Martin Sorrell, has also been lending support through Ogilvy Public Relations, one of its subsidiaries, which has been working with officials from the State Food & Drug Administration on its response to the crisis.china toys | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
BENTONVILLE, Ark. - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, is lowering prices on popular toys more than two weeks earlier than last year to win shoppers hit by higher fuel and housing costs. Wal-Mart is marking down items by as much as 50 percent, the company said Monday. Wal-Mart has re-emphasized its lowest-price message, marking down 16,000 items for the back-to-school season in July, as its customers grappled with higher expenses. The retailer posted a same-store sales gain of 2.1 percent for the year ended in January, its slowest pace on record, and an increase of 1.5 percent through August.china gifts "This is the time of year when our customers are really scouting for the best toys," said Laura Phillips, Wal-Mart's chief toy officer.china toys
The National Retail Federation last month predicted U.S. retail sales during November and December would increase 4 percent, the smallest gain in five years.welding wire Wal-Mart has increased orders of American-made trucks and riding toys by MGA Entertainment Inc.'s Little Tykes Co. and American Plastic Toys Inc. to meet anticipated demand from U.S. shoppers following the recalls of millions of toys made in China. Most toys still come from China, Phillips said, though Wal-Mart has stepped up safety testing. The bulk of its orders were made early this year, before the recalls.export from yiwu "It's quantities we could get our hands on late," Phillips said of the American-made toys.
| ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
If this were happening in the United States, it would be unremarkable. But since the backdrop is China, the latest twist in the Great Mattel Toy Imbroglio is shrouded in suspicion, fear, and political grandstanding. After several recalls this year involving millions of toys, Mattel is making headlines once again—this time, for the outrageous act of apologizing to its Chinese manufacturers. In a high-profile meeting with Chinese business and political officials, the head of Mattel's global operations, Thomas Debrowski, said that the company "apologizes personally to you, the Chinese people, and all of our customers who received the toys." An American apologizing to the Chinese? He must have had a gun to his head, right? Or be part of some big conspiracy that will ultimately lead China to world domination? "It would not be beyond the realm of possibility," one blogger fretted, "to think that the Chinese pressured Mattel into its statement." So now the Chinese have become so powerful that they call the shots at America's biggest companies....china daily use articles Whoa. Look, I'll readily acknowledge that corporate execs often have ulterior motives and tend to say things that serve the company's bottom line. But if we Americans can swallow our national pride for a moment and get over the notion of an apology to "lesser people" from other countries, we can learn a few important things from Debrowski's remarks: • First, he attributed a big part of Mattel's recent problems to a design flaw that came from America—not from shortfalls on assembly lines in China. For all of our import-bashing, it's worth keeping in mind that we are capable of screwing up here, too.export agent in yiwu • Mattel, he said, had recalled more toys than necessary, which made it seem as if there were more problems among its Chinese suppliers than there actually were. Isn't that what we want a company to do when it discovers that its products pose a risk—go overboard to fix the problem?yiwu export agent • Finally—Debrowski accepted blame! "Mattel takes full responsibility," he told the Chinese officials. Sure, maybe heads should roll at Mattel, and he might be kowtowing a bit with a lavish public apology witnessed by a roomful of reporters invited by Mattel. But compare that to drawn-out disputes like the Ford-Firestone scandal over disintegrating tires on SUVs, which erupted in 2000 and went on for years as the two companies threw bombs at each other—while consumers wondered which side to believe. Which approach is better? Taking the blame now lets Mattel fix the problem, move on, and start cleaning up its reputation. Just as important, it helps consumers know what went wrong and who's responsible for fixing the problem. That's the only outcome that will allow them to feel comfortable, once again, buying Mattel products.yiwu yiwu market The Chinese toy recalls have highlighted many of the things that Americans find scary about the so-called global economy: It's hard to know where products come from or what's in them, and it turns out that government and industry both aren't paying enough attention to the safety of imports. But the recalls are also an opportunity to help explain and clarify how products get from far-flung factories into the homes of Americans. Mattel messed up, but now the company is bringing a welcome degree of transparency to an issue that seems complex and murky to most of us. So hurry up and pay attention, before the politicians and fearmongers muddle it up. | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
As Cheryl Marckel prepared to enter Toys R Us on Monroe Street, she admitted to being in a quandary as the Christmas buying season approaches. Recalls of China-made toys because of high levels of lead were muddling her toy-buying choices. "I will try to avoid toys made in China, but it's so hard to do," she said with a sigh. "Everything's made in China, it seems." Not everything, but 80 percent of toys Americans buy are made in that country. The recall of 21 million toys since August, including 900,000 Chinese-made Barbie and Fisher-Price products, has left shoppers wondering what toys will be left on shelves this year. "It might be difficult finding some things. It won't be difficult finding something," said Sean McGowan, toy industry analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities. Jim Silver, editor in chief of Toy Wishes magazine, said about 2 billion toys normally would be headed to retailers' shelves. That will be cut by about 100 million but still leave plenty to fill the shelves."I don't think you'll see empty shelves, but with the top 100 items there'll be a slowdown in resupplying them," Mr. Silver said. Disrupting those supplies will be added inspections and certification. Toy Wishes magazine suggests these will be the 12 hottest toys this year:yiwu export agent American Idol Talent Challenge DVD game; Aqua Dots Super Studio bead activity set; Barbie Girls doll-shaped MP3 player; Eye-Clops handheld electronic magnifying glass; Guitar Hero 3 video game; Hannah Montana singing doll; Nerf N-Strike Disc Shot disk shooting game; Rubik's Revolution electronic game; Smart Cycle bicycle game; Spotz electronic picture toy; Swypeout Online Battle Racing car racing game, and Transformers Arm Blasters and Ultimate Bumblebee transforming toys. Come December, some of these popular items, costing $20 to $100, will be hard to find because of supply-chain disruptions, Mr. Silver said. Most of the recent recalls are Mattel products, including Barbie, Polly Pocket, Batman, and Doggie Day Care toys.china daily use articles The U.S. retail value of recalled China-made toys rose to $313 million in the past quarter, from $6 million a year earlier, according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. Still, the recalls represent just 1.4 percent of annual toy sales of $22 billion. The industry typically records 80 percent of its sales in November and December.Since June there have been 21 recalls - including three this last week - involving children's jewelry or play items with lead paint hazards, according to the safety commission. All of the items recalled were made in China. In August, Mattel had four recalls related to loose magnets on China-made toys, which the company said were a result of its own faulty designs.export agent in yiwu This month, more than half a million toys ranging from key chains to Winnie the Pooh bookmarks and Baby Einstein color blocks are among the latest recalls for excessive lead levels.yiwu yiwu market | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
SHANGHAI, Aug. 13 ¡ª The head of a Chinese company that was behind the recall this month of about a million Mattel toys committed suicide over the weekend, China¡¯s state-controlled news media reported Monday. Zhang Shuhong, a Hong Kong businessman and owner of Lee Der Industrial, a company that made toys for Mattel for 15 years, hanged himself in a company warehouse in Foshan, in southern China, The Southern Metropolis Daily said Monday. There was no independent confirmation of the suicide. A person who answered the phone at Lee Der¡¯s office in Foshan City, near Guangzhou, immediately hung up. However, a spokeswoman for Mattel, which is based in El Segundo, Calif., released a statement Monday morning saying, ¡°We were saddened to learn of this tragic news.¡± The death is the latest development in a year filled with prominent recalls and product safety scandals involving goods made in China. Mattel, which makes Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars, recalled about a million toys worldwide after discovering that they were coated with lead paint. The recall was one of the largest this year and included 83 types of toys, among them ¡°Sesame Street¡± and ¡°Dora the Explorer¡± characters made under the Fisher-Price brand and sold worldwide. The string of recalls of Chinese-made products has heightened trade tensions between the United States and China and created a public relations disaster for China, where the economy and the trade surplus are growing at a blistering pace. Experts here say many Chinese factory owners ¡ª often under intense pressure to lower production costs ¡ª cut corners in making products and regularly use cheap and illegal substitutes. And indeed, in several of the recalls involving China this year, the government says companies intentionally used cheap or illegal substitutes. For instance, after the United States announced one of the largest pet food recalls in history, Chinese regulators said they found that two makers of food ingredients here intentionally added an industrial chemical called melamine to the feed to save money and artificially increase the protein count. Instead, they created a toxic brew that sickened or killed thousands of animals.china gifts Faced with growing criticism over the quality and safety of its food, toys, tires and other products, China has vigorously defended the quality of its goods, insisting that products made here are on par with products made in the United States and Europe. But the government has also vowed to overhaul its food safety system, to crack down on companies that counterfeit and sell tainted goods and to punish severely those responsible for damaging the country¡¯s image and its booming exports drive.china toys Just last week, regulators in Beijing revoked the export licenses of two toy manufacturers, including Lee Der, because of their roles in recalls. The other company, Hansheng Wood Products, was a supplier of the RC2 Corporation of Illinois, which recalled 1.5 million Thomas & Friends toy railway sets this year because they were coated with lead paint. Beijing regulators said they revoked Lee Der¡¯s license because it used paint contaminated with excessive levels of lead, which could pose health dangers to children. The government said in an announcement last week that Lee Der¡¯s paint supplier had shipped the company a fake lead-free paint pigment that could be used in producing paint. The government said it was investigating the sale of fake lead-free pigment in China. In an interview this month, Mattel¡¯s chief executive, Robert A. Eckert, said the supplier that produced the lead-tainted recalled toys ¡°is a vendor plant with whom we¡¯ve worked for 15 years; this isn¡¯t somebody that just started making toys for us.¡± That supplier was later identified as Lee Der.welding wire In its report Monday, Southern Metropolis said that Lee Der officials said Mr. Zhang received the leaded paint from a company controlled by a close friend. China now makes about 80 percent of the world¡¯s toys and many of the world¡¯s biggest brand-name companies, including Mattel, Hasbro and McDonald¡¯s, use contract toy manufacturers in China.export from yiwu | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
The Cub Scout Totem Badge is the latest toxic import recalled by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission. It advised parents to rip the 1.6 million lead-poisoned awards off the uniforms of their seven- and eight-year-old Boy Scouts of America. Here's what happened: Kahoot Products Inc. of Roswell, Ga. outsourced the manufacture of the Boy Scout badge to a Chinese firm that coated it with paint containing so much lead that it's poison to the American children who had earned the right to wear it. The stripping of Cub Scout uniforms follows a summer of dogs and cats sickened and killed by melamine-laced pet food from China: o a quarter million defective Chinese-made radial tires pulled off U.S. highways after they were linked to two deaths in crashes involving tread separations; Is this what it is to be an American now? Is this who we are? People forced to routinely search our freezers for toxic shrimp and our bedrooms for toxic toys? People who find Fido dead from tainted pet food? People who must test our toddlers' blood levels for lead because we tied Chinese-made bibs on them? People who must check the Consumer Product Safety Commission web site daily for the latest Mattel, Fisher-Price, Barbie Doll or Thomas and Friends Wooden Railway car recall? Lawmakers have called for more regulation and inspection. Undoubtedly those are necessary steps, but that's a pretty weak response when we're talking about lethal and poisoned imports. And, really, is that the solution? We're going to keep looking for those toxic products after they've reached our shores, poisoned our children, killed our pets? We'll pay more taxes for more inspectors and more scrutiny, check the CPSC and the Food and Drug Administration web sites twice a day for updates, then ransack our refrigerators and medicine cabinets for banned products so we can package them up and return them, hopefully before they've maimed a loved one. That's our plan? That's the American solution to toxic trade? And, really, how much further are we going to let this go? How much are we going to ignore? First we let the jobs go overseas. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics just reported that we lost another 18,000 jobs in September, reducing the total U.S. manufacturing employment to 13,983,000. This was a momentous occasion, the first time since June 1950 when fewer than 14 million people have been employed in U.S. manufacturing. Great Wall In the mean time, manufacturing jobs in Asia, particularly in China, are skyrocketing, as American corporations move their factories there. Don't make those Boy Scout of America badges in the old U.S. of A. Make 'em in China, where the labor is cheap and without those meddling American protections against enslaving people, indenturing servants, and working children and where environmental standards are nearly nonexistent. WOW Gold The pollution created by this Asian industrial explosion does not remain along the banks of the Yangtze River, which some scientists fear will be dead within five years from dumped agricultural and industrial waste. Nor does it remain in a fetid cloud above Beijing. It contributes greatly to global warming, and Chinese pollution has been found in the air in California. china arts and crafts This is the effect "globalization" has had on everyday Americans -- lost jobs, polluted air, global warming, dangerous products like tires and toothpaste, and toxic toys. By contrast, to corporations it has meant boundless profits and for their executives, obscene pay packages and bonuses. For them, there is no down side to globalization. For too long, corporate America has completely controlled the globalization equitation, costing the average American dearly. It is time to put an end to their so-called "free trade" and create a world of "fair trade" in which the rights of workers to fair wages and decent conditions are respected, international environmental laws are obeyed and consumers' basic rights to safe products are protected. china toys | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
WASHINGTON, Sept. 28 (Xinhua) -- Some experts and media have welcomed Mattel's clarification of its recalls of Chinese toys as concern is growing that the design flaws have damaged the "Made in China" label. Mattel has recalled more than 21 million toys world-wide in recent weeks. Some of the recalls were ordered because of excessive levels of lead paint found in Chinese-made toys. "Flaws in the manufacturing process at Chinese plants have been blamed for the (lead) problem, leading to a cavalcade of negative headlines in the U.S.," said a report carried by the Wall Street Journal last week, noting that the vast majority of the recalled toys didn't have a lead problem. The biggest recall, affecting 18 million toys, involved tiny magnets that can fall off toys and can be deadly if swallowed. The recall of those toys had nothing to do with a failure of Chinese manufacturing but rather stemmed from Mattel's own flawed designs, said the report. The Wall Street Journal report seemed to be more balanced after Mattel made a public apology to China for the damage to the country's reputation stemming from a spate of toy recalls. Thomas Debrowski, an executive of Mattel, apologized last Friday to a senior Chinese official for the inconvenience it has caused to Chinese consumers after recalling millions of Chinese-made toys and pledged to take responsibility. He admitted that the vast majority of the toys were recalled because of design flaws rather than manufacturing errors in China. Mattel, the world largest toy-maker, also admitted that its lead-related recalls were "overly inclusive" as the company was "committed to applying the highest standards of safety for its products," according to a statement released by the company. The recalls have significantly damaged the reputation of the "Made in China" label and led to a series of congressional hearings where China, along with U.S. regulators, were cast in a negative light, said some U.S. media. Some conservative politicians, such as Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, even proposed suspending imports of food and toys from China. "There has been a cascade and that's caused a U.S. consumer perception crisis of China, not all of it justified," Drew Thompson, director of China studies at the Nixon Center was quoted as saying in a recent report by the Washington Post. Dara O'Rourke, an associate professor of labor and environmental policy at the University of California, Berkeley, said that Mattel used China as a scapegoat for its own problems and that the toy maker is now paying the price for that. "There was a lot of scapegoating China, but I would argue that this was caused by a system that is designed to push down costs and speed up delivery. There are root causes and Mattel is behind those," he said. Mattel's apology also gained praise from some parents, including Arianna McRoberts, 41, of Los Angeles, the mother of two boys, 7 and 14. "It's unfortunate China got the bad rap, but I also think China needs to pay attention a little more carefully to their standards so they comply with American standards," McRoberts was quoted as saying by the Associated Press. "China has received a lot of blame for the recalls in the West," said Hari Bapuji, assistant professor at the University of Manitoba in Canada and lead author of the report, "Toy Recalls -- Is China the Problem?" china daily use articles
Of the hundreds of thousands of toys recalled by Mattel in the past month, 80 percent were because they contained small magnets, which is a design flaw, said the report. yiwu export agent china toys china gifts However, all of the media focus has been on the lead paint issue, said Bapuji, who prepared the report with Paul W. Beamish, a professor of international business at the University of Western Ontario. welding wire "Companies like Mattel have a responsibility to ensure that the products that they bring to China to be manufactured are safe and conform to the standards of this part of the world," Bapuji said. "They cannot simply escape the blame by saying 'It's the manufacturer in China'." yiwu yiwu market export from yiwu | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
The European Union and the U.S. must share more information about China's monitoring of toy manufacturing if they are to avoid further safety recalls and restore consumer confidence, the EU's consumer chief said on the eve of a Washington visit with U.S. officials. Meglena Kuneva said the U.S. should more rapidly share findings with European officials that could tip authorities off to potentially dangerous toys and lead to recalls like those involving Mattel Inc. toys over the summer. "I would like to encourage our American partners to open the information flow," the EU's consumer protection commissioner said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday after discussing trade issues with faculty at Harvard University. Kuneva said she will press for greater U.S.-European cooperation on toy safety when she visits Washington on Wednesday through Friday. She is scheduled to meet U.S. lawmakers as well as officials from the U.S. Product Safety Commission and Federal Trade Commission. Kuneva said she believes the U.S. Product Safety Act is overly complex and slows U.S. officials' ability to share information about potentially unsafe toys with parties other than manufacturers and distributors. Kuneva said European officials were too slow to receive information from their U.S. counterparts before three high-profile recalls this summer of millions of toys including Barbie doll accessories and toy cars. The recalls were triggered by concerns about lead paint and tiny magnets that could be swallowed.Great Wall The recalls have focused scrutiny of safety controls in China, which has become a center for the world's toy-making industry with $7.5 billion (€5.3 billion) worth of toys exported last year. By adopting a common stance toward Chinese toy manufacturers as well as foreign toy companies who contract with manufacturers, the EU's 27 member states and the U.S. can better achieve shared objectives, she said. Otherwise, makers of risky toys banned on one side of the Atlantic will shift more of the product to the other side, Kuneva said. In response to Kuneva's comments, the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a statement Tuesday saying the agency "is always gathering information about where products have been sold, and seeks to share that information with the appropriate safety officials." "One thing that the agency does take into consideration are the different laws that govern our agencies," the CPSC said. "We need to make sure whether it is in flow of information or the recalling process the laws that govern the U.S. are being followed."china arts and crafts Last month, Kuneva told a European Parliament Committee that the EU could ban a range of Chinese products that do not comply with the bloc's standards if its health and safety concerns are not addressed by October.WOW Gold Kuneva said Tuesday that she expects this month to receive a report from Beijing responding to the EU's consumer protection worries over products such as toys. "A ban is not my first option," said Kuneva. "My first option is to not have these kinds of goods on the market."china toys | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
I don't know, but it's worth considering. It's worth talking about and debating in this country so people will know the truth about this horrible regime for which you and Bernard Schwartz and Eric Schmidt -- chief executive of Google and another New America Foundation board member -- serve as apologists. In preparing for the Olympics showcase, China has evicted by force more than 1 million residents of Beijing, destroying the homes of more than 350,000 families to make the city more attractive. Is that acceptable to you? Would it be acceptable in any other country? Why the double standard? How about China's open persecution of Buddhists and Christians who don't attend a state-approved church? Is that acceptable to you? Would it be acceptable in any other country? Why the double standard? There are bans on political opposition and dissent. There are sales of organs harvested from prisoners. There are forced abortions. There are threats to Taiwan. There are moves to close the society in "autonomous" Hong Kong along the lines of the rest of China. There are the military threats against the United States. There are the elaborate bomb shelters. Are we supposed to overlook all of this? Are we supposed to keep our mouths shut and pretend there is nothing but progress in China? I don't think so. Ronald Reagan understood that talking about peace doesn't make the world more peaceful. He also understood that peace is fostered by strength -- real military strength, as well as firm convictions. Unfortunately, George W. Bush and most of our political elite do not seem to understand these simple principles. Long ago, the U.S. embarked on a wrong-headed, immoral policy of appeasement of China, adopting as its own official position Beijing's claim to Taiwan as part of China. It is not. It never has been in the history of the world. When China or anyone else talks about "reunification" with Taiwan, it is misleading itself and the world. Taiwan was not part of China before the communist revolution, and it has not been since. Taiwan is an independent, free and prosperous nation that wants no part of "unification" with a closed, totalitarian government. It was a tragic error for the U.S. to say it will not recognize Taiwan as an independent, sovereign nation. It is by every definition. Even if Taiwan had been -- as the Chinese view it -- a breakaway province of China, it would have every moral and legal right to live as a free and independent nation. But that is not the case. It's long past time for the U.S. government to recognize China as an expansionist threat to peace in Asia. It's long past time for the U.S. to recognize it is only a matter of time before China embarks on its military plan of conquest of peaceful Taiwan. It's long past time for the U.S. to recognize that giving China mixed signals on this issue will inevitably only lead to war. I think we would be morally justified in boycotting the Olympics. But I'd settle for insisting that China eat its own fish raised in raw sewage, play with its own lead-paint toys, sleep in its own unsafe cribs and poison its own pets. Joseph Farah is the Washington-based founder and editor of WorldNetDaily.com and the author of the new book, "Stop the Presses! The Inside Story of the New Media Revolution." He is the former editor in chief of the Sacramento Union and served as executive news editor of the Los Angeles Herald Examiner for six years. It's amazing to me that you are still trying to appropriate Ronald Reagan to your side of the argument, disregarding what he did in office. And you are reduced to citing Bill Clinton on the campaign trail, not President Clinton, who had to deal with the real world. And you are reduced to making ad hominem attacks about my professional affiliation because the facts are not on your side.china gifts On the question of the Olympics, part of me does wish the Games could be monopolized by industrialized democracies, but they are not ours to deny to the world's most populous nation. And boycotts never harm anyone but the athletes.china toys Our boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics didn't do the people of Afghanistan any good. Beijing is definitely under an intensified spotlight now, and that is largely a good thing. Reporters from all over the world will be swarming all over the place and reporting about the situation in the country. Some of the brutal overreach in "cleansing" the city is to be deplored, and let's hope the cause of human rights can be raised during the Games without triggering the kind of bloodshed that Mexico witnessed on the eve of its Olympics because its government was too paranoid about appearances.welding wire I am optimistic that the Olympics will be one more step in the gradual process of the People's Republic, once a closed-off pariah state, becoming ever more intertwined with the outside world in a way that will continue loosening its regime's grip on power. I know you want to rekindle the excitement of the Cold War (as the Bush administration seemed intent on doing with China prior to 9/11), but you should ponder why all of China's democratic neighbors -- again, including Taiwan -- believe it's wise to continue investing in China and doing business there.export from yiwu | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
Our return to cooler weather got me thinking about my boyhood and the weeks leading up to Christmas. I'd lay on the living room floor below the driftwood lamp and pore over the toy section of the Sears catalog. My sister did the same. We were doing research for our letters to Santa, so my mom always paid attention, too.
Another year I got a toy chemistry lab and a neat little microscope. My sister got an immense stuffed animal. There always were other toys, too. Toy selection didn't cause any special worries for my mom, other than preventing me from shooting my eye out with a BB gun. Things are different now. Some parents' fears of tainted toys from China could affect the shopping season. I began wondering about the impact after reading a thoughtful letter from Sam Cox, who owns a Carbondale toy store, My Favorite Toys, with his wife Suzanne. Here is an excerpt from Sam's letter: "We've been talking a lot to customers the past few weeks about the various angles of this issue. Yes, 85 percent of toys sold in the U.S. are made in China, and yes, we're compiling a "Made in USA" list of toys and are on the lookout for others for the holidays. Yes, there is one reason, and one reason only, why toys are made in China - cost - and the big-box retailers who squeeze their vendors so hard that safety corners get cut share in the blame ... and even we consumers exacerbate the problem when we apparently choose cost over quality."china daily use articles I visited the toy store Friday. I quickly learned the shopping season has officially started. Sam and Suzanne said they regularly are asked about toy safety and enjoy sharing what they know - even if it doesn't lead to a sale at their store.export agent in yiwu Sam thinks the scares that started over lead in toy paint actually will have a good outcome for holiday shoppers. Manufacturers are taking great pains to ensure they are producing safe products, especially in China.yiwu export agent "For us, it's not really a problem. People are drawn to a place they know they can trust, where they know the people," Sam said. "It's probably going to be the safest Christmas in a long time."yiwu yiwu market | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
SHENZHEN (AFP) ¡ª When the world's children celebrate Christmas this year with their made-in-China toys, their parents probably will be unaware of what Xiao Lei has been through to make them. She rises at 6.30 every morning and works 14 hours or more a day during peak season, churning out stuffed toys, dolls' clothes, handbags and plastic figurines in a factory in the booming southern Chinese city of Shenzhen. Overtime is mandatory. Xiao Lei has one day off every month, sometimes more, sometimes none. Since the lunar new year in February, she has taken a total of 10 days off -- all for little more than 1,000 yuan (128 US dollars) a month. "We have to get up so early every day after working long hours that we often feel tired already before we start work," said Xiao Lei, speaking outside a drab grey factory block where a thousand workers like her are hired to make toys for multinational companies, including US giant Walt Disney. Chinese labour law restricts daily work hours to a weekly 40 hours, with overtime not exceeding three hours a day, but labour activists said many of the manufacturers ignored the law. As the world focuses on the recent massive recalls of China-made toys because of excessive levels of lead and other hazardous chemicals, labour activists are also trying to draw attention to the poor working conditions in the country's southern factory belt. Li Qiang, founder of New York-based China Labor Watch, said toxic toys are not only harmful to children, but also to the workers who are exposed to dangerous chemical substances for prolonged periods, and more frequently, while they are making them. "Workers don't realise that the chemicals they come into contact with are harmful. Factories don't provide adequate training for them," said Li, who was recently in Hong Kong to meet with multinational corporations, urging them to improve working conditions. Because of her long hours, Xiao Lei's colleague Zhang Ting had thought about leaving the job and finding a new one closer to her family in central China's Hunan province, but even that proved too difficult. "They make it so hard to quit because they always hold a month's salary back," she said during her dinner break before rushing back for another four hours of work. "They would keep the money if you quit. Some people are forced to give up the salary," she said and complained about the cramped living conditions where 10 workers are squeezed into a small room that has only one toilet. Complaints to labour departments would be pointless as the company produces fake salary statements making it tough to identify violations, China Labor Watch said in an August report on labour abuse at factories. Walt Disney admitted that some of the claims in the report were true but stressed it is working with the key stakeholders to improve working conditions. The report also said some factories fined workers who arrived a few minutes late for work and many did not offer basic pensions, medical nor work injury insurance. Li said multinational corporations often knew about the labour violations committed by their suppliers but chose to turn a blind eye and generally spread their orders across a number of factories to avoid blame. "Some of these companies admit to knowing the problems, some flatly deny them and some have their excuses," he said. He believes that poor product quality is due in part to the international companies' pursuit of lower prices, squeezing the factories' profit margins in order to maximise their own profits. He said working conditions would be improved if the corporations increased the prices they paid manufacturers for the products. "Only if they pay more money for the products, a lot of problems can be solved." Li is no stranger to the life of a factory worker. He trained as a lawyer and worked in a trading company before spending two years switching jobs between 10 factories in south China's manufacturing cities, for the experience. "My friend told me about the poor working conditions in these places. I wanted to see it for myself. The working conditions there were worse than I thought," he said. He worked 14 hours a day, saw staff being verbally abused and shared a small room and one bathroom with 16 other workers. "You often had to work so late that you didn't have the energy to queue up and wait to take a shower," he recalled. "Life was miserable. It wasn't for human beings." But, he added, workers seldom complained.china arts and crafts "They see it as a way of life because they become numb to the situation, they don't know anything else, they don't know their rights," he said.WOW Gold Li has since become an advocate for workers' rights and built up a network of labour activists in China. Great Wall He said he was forced to leave China after drawing the attention of police and local authorities for encouraging workers to pursue their legal rights. In 2000 he moved to New York and established China Labor Watch.As China's economy grows, Li believes more workers will learn about their rights and seek to protect themselves. Before that happens, he says, his fight will go on. "We are not here to criticise the multinational companies. They have the social responsibility to protect the workers," he said. "At the end of the day, all we want is to see improvement in the working conditions."china toys | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
As an indispensable part of traditional folk art, toys are a unique expression of the long and uninterrupted Chinese history. Religious beliefs, world view, taste, classical works and local customs, especially festivals and the 'Four Great Classical Chinese Literatures', are all represented by the use of various techniques requiring an artisans' deepest wisdom and creativity. The advantage is that the greater majority of people can enjoy the pleasure of toys that are easier to make and more widely available than other artistic works such as jade or silver wares, as they tend to utilize common articles that are readily available, such as cloth, grass, straw, clay, paper, and so on. Even so, it should be noted that these toys are not of a coarse manufacture, but of rustic simplicity and vivacity. Generally, the diverse variety of folk toys can act as decorations to be appreciated or as knickknacks to be played with. As such, the two categories are those for festival decoration and those for daily enjoyment. Toys during festivals are quite flowery and customary. In the Spring Festival, people use firecrackers and fireworks; in the Lantern Festival, there are lanterns in the shape of lotus, monkeys, dragons, etc; in the Pure Brightness kites will be flown in the blue sky; and during the Dragon Boat Festival, people will take sachet with them. Old people's sachet looks like a peach, symbolizing longevity while children's sachets are of lovely patterns, with fragrant herbs inside to ward off evil spirits. In ancient times, they were also a token of love that a girl would give to her beloved. Toys for appreciation and decoration stresses artistic conception. Carvings on root, stone and nut, painted eggshell, modeling with clay, porcelain and wax are all exquisite, especially those of figurines with their natural beauty. Cloth paste pictures (collages) are interesting and distinctive. Most of its artisans are women who are good at needlecraft. Up until quite recently, almost every girl was able to make clothes and shoes out of cloth, with the off-cuts being used as convenient materials for collages. Choosing a large piece of cloth on which to sew or collage into the basic pattern, then adorn it with small pieces of lace. Utilizing color and texture and finished off with butterflies, tigers, children and real flowers are very appealing. The Hairy Monkey was probably invented in Beijing during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). By sticking many shaggy magnolia flower buds color resembles a monkey's fur, the lively posture of a monkey can be presented. As these materials are not readily available, this folk art is a lot rarer. During the very early period of Chinese cultural development, the ancestors had worshiped the immortals. Rope, pronounced as 'Sheng', shared a similar pronunciation with the word for gods ('Shen' in Chinese), and when written, it looked like a dragon, an auspicious animal in Chinese culture; knots, in Chinese 'jie' means vigor, harmony, and unification, Therefore, this unique Chinese knots artwork has been a popular gift for thousands of years and embodies best wishes. People wore it in the beginning as a decorative addition to clothing, and later, used it to decorate their houses. Though the weaving techniques are complicated, ropes, in hands of a deft craftsman appear effortless moving the shuttle in between the rows of ropes. A Chinese knot is usually symmetrical in structure and colorful with jade or porcelain beads. This no doubt adds more jubilation to any festive atmosphere. Sounds can increase the amusement of toys. The main euphonious toys are whistles made of clay, porcelain, and bamboo. The simplest way is to blow directly along the edge of a leaf or blade of grass. Shadow puppets, displayed on the screen and steered by people behind, and the rattle-drum which can make the rattling sound by shaken are also favorites amongst children. china toys china gifts For Chinese who attach a great importance to the development of children's wisdom, jigsaw puzzle ('Qiqiaoban') might be the most ideal choice. Composed of 7 pieces in a certain shape, this toy requires one's brain exertion to join those pieces into a given pattern without leaving any gaps. The puzzle ring is another well-known game. It is said to originate from the Warring States Period (476¨C221 BC). Appearing to be one of the most incomprehensible games in the human history, it even aroused the attention of Western mathematicians. To separate the nine rings which are buckled together or to join separated nine rings together is quite intricate indeed.welding wire Besides being for play, folk toys can also be of practical use, as part of finery, bedding and foodstuff. Children love animal-shaped pillows or hats. Today, the mascot of Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing is the lovely panda hat to numerous zealots. For the foodstuff, flour's plasticity helps people's imagination come true. In Shanxi Province, people are still experts at steaming flour figures. Suppose how pleasant they will be when seeing vivid edible flour rabbits and pigs!export from yiwu | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
ESAB Welding and Cutting Products (Shanghai) Co Ltd today announced the opening of its first welding consumable factory in China. As an innovative leader and leading global manufacturer of welding and cutting equipment and consumables, ESAB aims to strengthen its position in Asia, and sees China as a key market. Zhangjiagang Welding Consumable Factory The new welding consumable factory in Zhangjiagang draws upon ESAB’s existing strengths in Europe and the Americas. The welding wire will be produced with the latest technology from Europe, using the latest technology production equipment and lean manufacturing systems. Of the annual anticipated output of more than 40,000 tones, a significant proportion will be for the China domestic market. ESAB plans to sell products from the new factory with a sales team that will help the customers increase their welding quality and productivity. In addition to the new factory, ESAB has established a trading company to sell both the local product and other products sourced from ESAB’s global network in China, including welding equipment and other consumables. ESAB also established a new cutting machine factory in Jiading, Shanghai, last October with automated cutting systems that are sold to domestic and international customers. Jon Templeman, Chief Executive, ESAB Global, said: “As the Chinese welding market develops, the demand for higher quality and standards will increase, creating an increased market for high technology welding products. This trend will lead to customers seeking more assistance from their suppliers and a greater use of mechanized welding and automation. This creates excellent opportunities for ESAB in China. We regard Asia as a very important market for ESAB, and China is definitely the key market.” China’s Heavy Industry Provides Big Opportunities China is the single largest market for welding consumables in the world with about 20% of welding consumables. The market is growing substantially and will continue to do so for a number of years. ESAB aims to participate in this growth with excellent products and a strong distribution network. ESAB’s leading new products OK AristorodTM and Marathon PacTM manufactured in the Zhangjiagang factory represent the quality and reliable performance of ESAB’s full range of products. New OK AristoRod™ with ASC technology is created to take your MAG welding operations and systems to new levels of performance and all round efficiency in both robotic and mechanized welding. ESAB focuses on improving productivity not only with advanced consumables but also by saving costly downtime. ESAB Marathon PacTM bulk wire system can solve the two biggest causes - wire spool change and feed problems - to reach our goal: endless feedability. This reform is anticipated across Heavy Industrial, Shipping, Pipeline, Energy and Construction segments of the domestic steel market. China is demanding higher standards in manufacturing and ESAB offers solutions to meet these new demands. Key Market Focus in China ESAB is drawing on existing strengths in Europe and the Americas to focus on key market segments in China: automotive and transport equipment, construction machinery, power generation and ship building. ESAB will expand its China presence by manufacturing welding wire and using the trading company to sell to the Chinese market. ESAB will be in China for the long-term. The new consumable welding factory in Zhangjiagang marks a milestone in ESAB’s history and strengthens ESAB’s commitment to supporting the domestic manufacturing and construction industry through world class welding technology. Robert Wiseman, ESAB Managing Director, China said: “ESAB is one of the few truly global brands in the welding industry and our goal is to build strong brand recognition in China. Local and international buyers of Chinese produced products should know that the welding process used is not only from an internationally respected company, but is also cost competitive through local manufacture.” Global solutions for local customers - everywhere ESAB’s total worldwide sales are approaching USD 1.5 billion annually. Throughout the world, ESAB has 26 manufacturing locations and established sales offices in more than 50 countries which distribute products and services to more than 80 countries. ESAB aims to participate in the growing Chinese manufacturing and construction market by establishing both local manufacturing and a supply chain from its other global manufacturing locations. About: ESAB Group As a logical step forward, following his invention of the covered welding electrode back in 1904, Oscar Kjellberg founded ESAB. Since then, the company has constantly improved on existing methods and materials. At the same time, ESAB has developed new methods to meet the challenge presented by technological progress.yiwu hotels Today the company produces consumables and equipment for virtually every welding and cutting process and application.china stationary 100 years of continuous research, development and manufacture have made ESAB the world leader in welding and cutting as well as an international supplier for products and unmatchable know how and services.yiwu agent ESAB's subsidiaries and distributors worldwide are ready to handle your requirements - large and small alike.WOW Gold
| ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
ESAB now has three wire feeders in their extensive range of products for use with step-controlled welding power sources - the Origo¢â Feed 302, Origo¢â Feed 304 and Origo¢â Feed 484. All three are ruggedly constructed, with galvanised steel housings to cope with harsh industrial environments. In addition, electronic controls and grooved-wheel feed mechanisms give superior welding characteristics. A choice of feed roller diameters means that the units can be used with welding wires up to 1.2, 1.6 or 2.4mm diameter. While the smallest rollers are installed in a two-wheel configuration, the two larger rollers are in four-wheel configurations. The Origo¢â Feed 302 is fitted with the M11 control panel and the Origo¢â Feed 304 and 484 have the M12 panel. Both panels give the user access to settings for feed speed, 2/4 stroke, creep start and burn-back timer. Furthermore, inching/purge gas is offered as an option on both. Another benefit of these new wire feeders is the ESAB LogicPump (ELP). When the feeders are used with a water-cooled gun, the ELP automatically starts the water pump to prevent overheating of the gun - which might otherwise lead to costly repairs being required. Flexible mounting options mean that the feeders can be used for a wide variety of Mig welding applications; they can be mounted on a mast with a counterbalance, on wheels or on a hanging bracket.Great Wall The feeders can also be connected to ESAB's Miggytrac and Railtrac kits through a remote outlet, enabling them to be for simple mechanised welding.Ù£ìÑÙ£åë To help keep the cost of ownership as low as possible, ESAB has designed the new Origo¢â Feed units to be easy and quick to maintain. For example, a single device is used to adjust the feeding pressure, and the feeding mechanism is readily accessible so that wear parts can be exchanged. Customers can purchase adapters to allow wire spools of 440mm diameter to be used, or the feeders can be used with ESAB's Marathon Pac bulk cable drums. Quick-connect cables also help to reduce the time spent preparing for welding.import from yiwu Interconnection cables are available in lengths ranging from 1.7 to 35m. Other options include a steel spool cover, a strain relief for the welding torch, a lifting eye and an adapter for 5kg spools.yiwu Translation Service
| ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
Koike Aronson has been a supplier of Kobe welding wire for many years. The welding wire products can be used for welding tanks, ship hulls, vehicles, bridges, chemical plant machinery as well as other welding applications. yiwu Translation Service Kobelco wiring supplies have been manufactured with unsurpassed quality and consistency for many years. yiwu china Kobelco offers a variety of welding wire to meet your specific needs. Kobelco Welding of America Inc yiwu market Kobe wire has excellent deposition rates, efficiency, and consistent quality. Kobelco is industry-acknowledged for superiority. Call Koike Aronson to discuss your welding wire needs or to place an order. export from yiwu yiwu
| ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
promotional employee gifts, and give aways before you buy. Avoid disappointment in promotional products that fall short of the promotional items you imagined. Our professionals assist you in customizing your promotional items and logo merchandise, or any promotional gifts you choose from the site. View photo images of promotional gift. Make changes to your promotional give aways before they are made. Producing photos of your china daily use articles finished business promotional items before manufacture allows you to involve your entire marketing team in decisions about promotional items and marketing products. Be assured of the quality of your promotional products and give aways before making an investment. Great Wall Use fun promotional give aways and logo merchandise as corporate gifts to establish goodwill in your company. Business promotional items and marketing products build corporate identity. Promotional products convey your company's image. Use our expertise in producing logo merchandise and marketing products to create the right business promotional items which reflect your corporate identity. Good promotional give aways create exposure and positive recognition for your organization. yiwu export agent uses advanced technology that enables you to upload your logo on to any of the logo merchandise and promotional marketing products in our catalog. Choose color, location and design treatments for your promotional items. View all promotional marketing products before purchase. Our clients appreciate designing their own business promotional items, promotional employee gifts and give aways. Whether promotional marketing products are used as corporate gifts or promotional giveaways, personalized business give aways that reflect the personality of the company are more meaningful than promotional items and logo merchandise produced by ad agencies alone. Design the most effective business promotional marketing items with our sales associates, promotional merchandisers, and graphic artists. Our marketing experts assist you in creating corporate employee gifts and give aways to fit your every requirement. export agent in yiwu | ||
| Permanent Link |
| ||
It's brilliant: The Economist has said for the last few years, to anyone who'll listen, that the problem with our balance of payments deficit with Asia is not primarily because of the Yuan's exchange rate, but more because the Chinese save much more in private savings, while in America, we neglect to save privately. However, our politicians have hit on the exchange rate as the issue. China and Japan have both stopped propping up the dollar; China has mostly stopped buying our Treasury Bonds over the last year, and Japan has actually divested themselves of 10 billion dollars' worth. Other countries are following suit. Strangely, the Caribbean Islands and some London insitutions have stepped up to massively support the dollar, or the dollar would be sinking now. Strengthening the Yuan against the Dollar is brilliant: our politicians clamour for it, to pretend they're getting tough with China. But it will do little to bolster our economy against China; China and Japan's divestment from the Dollar, on the other hand, will make our interest rates rocket sky-high; our housing market fall; and the spending from our homeowners, and hence spending from those retail businesses they would have patronized, will dry up. Our economy will suffer because of this "fix." Only if it happens too fast. Clearly, the divestiture of U.S. Treasuries on the part of China and Japan so far hasn't had any measureable effect. A crash comes when people start panicking that something is going to lose a lot of value, and all start selling at once. But if the dollar were to lose some value -- say, fall 5% -- then every kind of investment a foreigner can make in the U.S. becomes more attractive -- Treasuries, stocks & bonds in U.S. companies, etc. This fosters a negative feedback effect on changes in the dollar's value, not a positive one. As long as there is general confidence that the U.S. economy will do ok, and not experience significant inflation, people will take any opportunity to invest more. Look up "global savings glut" on google. Yes, the articles are still alarmist (articles on the economy generally are), but the keys are there if you look. Take this Washington Post article: Towards the bottom, it posits that the danger of the global savings glut comes from: Foreigners may tire of investing in the United States...china arts and crafts ... if countries with savings surpluses didn't consume or invest more at home, world growth would suffer.welding wire Ok, but if foreigners "tired" of investing in the US... er, what else are they going to do with this money? Hide it under a mattress? No, they'd invest it elsewhere, and the world economy would adjust. In fact, that's the only reason why anyone would "tire" oF investing in the US -- that a better opportunity shows up elsewhere.china gifts The article goes on to list why the US is so attractive: Asian countries favor export-led growth, deemphasizing local consumption. Latin America's volatile politics deter investment. Europe's heavy taxes and regulations do likewise. This is something that can certainly change over the coming years -- but it's very unlikely to be a sudden shock. There's nothing that will suddenly scare away all the investors. Well, of course, I'm sure Bush could find a way to arrange for something...china toys | ||
| Permanent Link |