The superpower shuts down

Ironically—and perhaps fittingly—members of Congress, with their 10 percent approval rating, will continue to get paid throughout the shutdown. PHOTO: REUTERS

Congratulations to the United States Congress.

It has accomplished something that America’s enemies—including al Qaeda—have long wanted to achieve: Bring the government of the world’s sole superpower to a screeching halt.

We Washingtonians are used to talking about shutdowns. Several times in recent years, Congressional gridlock has threatened to bring the government to its knees. Yet last-nanosecond deals have always averted disaster.

Not this time.

The story is sadly simple. Congress can’t agree on how to fund the federal government beyond October 1, the start of the new US fiscal year. In recent days, the Republican Party (goaded by its ultra-conservative Tea Party wing) has passed several stopgap measures that fund the government for a few weeks. Democratic Party members have rejected each one, because the measures all seek to undermine President Obama’s new health care law—which dares (perish the thought) to expand health insurance coverage in America.

GM alters sales structures to boost Opel’s Russia revenues

A change in GM's in-house sales organization structures should support its European subsidiary Opel to enhance the German auto maker's position in Russia, General Motors said Friday.

The US automotive giant decided that GM's Russia business would in future be organized and supervised from Rüsselsheim in Germany, Opel's and GM's European headquarters.

So far, GM sales in Russia had been managed from General Motors International Operations in Shanghai.

Hoping for a brighter future

It's the right decision at the right moment,' Opel CEO Karl-Thomas Neumann commented, adding that Russia was likely to become the biggest sales market for European auto makers in the years ahead.

Russia is already Opel's third most important European market after Germany and the UK. Last year, the company sold 80,000 units there, thus logging considerably higher growth than the overall market.

Right now, Opel has a market share of 3 percent in Russia and over 6 percent in Europe in general. Opel cars are already produced in a facility on the ground in St. Petersburg. Besides Opel cars, GM also sells Chevrolet and Cadillac models in the country.

China computer giant Lenovo rumored to eye BlackBerry

Chinese computer and phonemaker Lenovo was considering a bid to acquire Canadian smartphone manufacturer BlackBerry, the US business daily Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

Lenovo had already signed a non-disclosure deal to access BlackBerry's accounts, the paper said, citing sources close to the matter. If agreed, it would be one of the biggest purchases of a western firm by a Chinese company.

In August, BlackBerry announced it was establishing a shareholders' committee to decide whether to go on sale or seek other rescue options. BlackBerry is struggling after disappointing sales of its newest line of devices, which it hoped would win back market share from much bigger rivals Apple and Samsung.

In September, Canadian investment fund Fairfax Financial, which owns 10 percent of BlackBerry, offered to buy the rest of the firm for $9 (6.5 euro) per share, valuing BlackBerry at $4.7 billion.

However, the Canadian smartphone pioneer has since linked with a number of potential buyers, including Cisco System, Google and German software maker SAP. In addition, BlackBerry founder Mike Lazaridis, who owns 5.7 percent, is also said to be considering a counter bid.

Chinese takeover to meet regulatory hurdles

A Lenovo bid is reportedly facing tough regulatory reviews in Canada and the United States.

Under the Investment Canada Act, the government in Ottawa had wide ranging powers to veto any foreign takeover, if it found the deal would not benefit the country or posed a risk to national security, Reuters news agency reported Friday.

According to Reuters, BlackBerry's secure network, which handled confidential corporate and government emails in the US and Canada, was likely to be sold to a North American bidder.

Canada's Industry Minister James Moore, however, declined to comment on Lenovo's interest in BlackBerry, Reuters said

Toyota recalls another one million cars

Toyota Motor Company was recalling 885,00 vehicles worldwide over a defect that could prevent airbags from deploying, the Japanese carmaker said Friday.

The recall was affecting primarily its Camry, Camry Hybrid, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid and Venza models made between 2012 and 2013. Some 800,000 of these cars were sold in North America, while the rest was owned by customers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

German customers were not affected by the recall Toyota added, as these models were not sold in Europe's biggest car market.

According to Toyota, the recall was caused by water leaking out from the air conditioning condenser unit onto the airbag control module. The leak could trigger a short circuit so that airbag warning lights turn on or the airbag itself could be disabled and might not deploy in an accident.

Moreover, the problem could cause the power-steering system to fail, making it difficult to turn a vehicle, especially at lower speeds.

Toyota said the defect had already caused two minor injuries, but no accidents. The latest recall takes the total number of cars to be repaired by Toyota free of charge to 6 million vehicles this year.

The world's biggest auto maker by sales, has faced a series of recalls in recent year, including one related to unintended acceleration, in which vehicles have raced out of the driver's control.

In the US car market, Toyota had more vehicles recalled than any other manufacturer for four of the last five years. This year the Japanese are well-positioned for the top spot, as well.

Foxconn admits to breaking work rules at China plant

Taiwanese contract electronics manufacturer Foxconn, which assembles products for Apple, Sony and other major technology firms, admitted that allegations of work rule violations at one of its plants in China were true.

'Regarding the internship program at our Yantai campus, we have determined that there have been a few instances where our policy pertaining to overtime and night shift work were not enforced,' the company said in a statement released Friday.

The statement came after Chinese media reported last year that student interns as young as 14 years old worked at Foxconn's Yantai plant during their summer vacations.

Moreover, it became known that the Taiwanese company forced other students enrolled in a Foxconn internship program to work 11 hours a day, doing work not related to their major. Students who wanted to drop out had been told they would lose their internship credits and would be unable to get their diplomas.

Students free to leave internships

Noting that immediate action had been taken to make the campus comply with Foxconn work policies, the firm said it would remind students that they were free to terminate their internship at any time.

'Our priority is to protect the rights of all workers and interns, and we will continue to monitor the program closely to ensure that such infractions are not repeated,' the statement said.

Foxconn, which employs more than a million workers in China, has repeatedly been criticized for its tough working conditions, including massive overtime and poor pay. In 2010, at least 13 Foxconn workers in China died in apparent suicides blamed on factory conditions.

As a result of the criticism, the Taiwanese firm has raised wages by nearly 70 percent recently and has promised to cut back on overtime

Britain opens nuclear market to Chinese investors

 

UK Finance Minister George Osborne announced Thursday that Chinese companies would potentially be able to acquire majority stakes in new nuclear power projects to be launched in Britain.

He confirmed at the end of a trip to China that the two sides had signed a memorandum of understanding on civil nuclear cooperation.

'Today is another demonstration of the next big step in the relationship between Britain and China, between the world's oldest civil nuclear power and the world's fastest-growing civil nuclear power,' Osborne said in a statement. The UK's claim derives from the opening of the world's first commercial nuclear power facility at Calder Hall in 1956.

Not a one-way street

The minister argued closer bilateral cooperation in the field would lead to more investment and jobs in Britain as well as to lower energy costs for consumers in the long run.

Osborne acknowledged that initial Chinese investments in British nuclear power plants were likely to be minority shares. 'But over time, stakes in subsequent new power stations could be majority stakes,' he added.

The memorandum of understanding signed by the two nations also ensures that British companies such as Rolls Royce and International Nuclear Services will be able to get a slice of China's nuclear program.

According to a UK government release, China currently has 17 operating nuclear reactors, with another 28 under construction.

Oprah Winfrey wants to help Lamar Odom

Oprah Winfrey has offered to help Lamar Odom get his life back on track.
The chat show queen has approached the troubled basketball star, 33, about doing a tell-all with her to help him show people he has put his alleged drug problem firmly behind him.
A source told gossip website TMZ.com that Lamar, whose four-year marriage to 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' star Khloe Kardashian has been on the rocks for months amid allegations he regularly used crack cocaine until the start of this month and cheated on her several times, is eager to repair his reputation so he can start playing basketball professionally again.
But he will only agree to the interview with Oprah if the conditions are right. 
Insiders said that if the interview goes ahead, Lamar would discuss his drug use, marriage and career.
It was previously reported that the athlete, who has two children Destiny, 15, and 11-year-old Lamar Jr. with ex-girlfriend Liza Morales, has been sober for more than a week and is desperate to get his 'old life' back.
The unsigned player also reportedly had a meeting with the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday (14.10.13) and hopes to re-join the team, who he won two NBA championships with in the past.
Lamar recently pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanour count of DUI (Driving Under the Influence) and a pre-trial hearing is scheduled for November 8