Originally published in the Houston Chronicle on Mar 11, 2010 by Vikas Mittal and Utpal Dholakia
Toyota's recall of more than 6 million vehicles is a hot topic of discussion in business circles these days. The recalls are for defects that have been associated with 52 fatalities so far. By and large, industry and business experts have lambasted Toyota's managers, criticized the National Transportation Safety Board and made dark prognostications about...
Originally published in the Daily Nation on Mar 08, 2010 by Mwaniki Wahome
The government has summoned the Kenya Bureau of Standards and oil importers to a meeting on Monday next week to sort out the controversy over a multi-million oil inspection tender. This emerged even as the Industrialisation...
Originally published in the AdAge.com on Feb 24, 2010 by James Treece
Toyota Motor Corp.'s current mess is not the safety-related recall of a defective product. The mess is how the auto maker has mishandled the investigation and publicized its defect and the related recalls. Humans, and human creations such as companies, are fallible. The "relentless pursuit of perfection" (Lexus' tagline) is possible, but attaining perfection all of the time is not. Every car maker...
Originally published in the th Wall Street Journal on Feb 08, 2010 by Yun-Hee Kim
Among the questions still swirling around Apple Inc.'s new iPad is whether the tablet computing device will boost the memory-chip market this year as much as many in the industry hope. If the iPad creates the buzz that the iPhone and iPod did several years ago, leading rival companies to launch similar products to compete, that could be...
Originally published in the the Reuters on Feb 04, 2010 by Lisa Richwine and Andre Grenon
U.S. border inspectors nationwide will soon start using a new computer system to identify risky food and medicine from abroad, the head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said on Thursday. The project follows recalls of tainted toothpaste, pet food, seafood and other products from China, as well as a contaminated blood thinner blamed for dozens of deaths in 2008. About 20 million of shipments of food, medicine, medical devices and cosmetics are expected to arrive at U.S. ports this year, FDA...
Originally published in the AlterNet on Feb 02, 2010 by Christopher Moraff
With the nation slowly recovering from the worst economic sucker punch in more than 50 years, consumers are finding they need to be ever more vigilant in protecting themselves from businesses that may not have their best interest at heart.
Be it in banking, credit services, utilities, insurance, or any number of other industries, ethically questionable practices -- and the legal loopholes that make them possible -- continue to anger and frustrate Americans on both sides of the political divide...
Originally published in the CNNMoney.com on Jan 27, 2010 by Julianne Pepitone
The debut on Wednesday of Apple's long-awaited tablet sent the company's stock on a wild ride. Apple shares fell 4% immediately after CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the Apple iPad, a touch-screen tablet computer that runs apps from the iTunes store and boasts a 10-hour battery life. But shares recovered a little over an hour later and rose 1% after Jobs announced that prices would start at $499. The volume of trading was more than three times the normal daily average, reaching 61 million versus the typical daily...
Originally published in the Treehugger on Jan 25, 2010 by Jaymi Heimbuch
The Internet is abuzz with talk about the next BIG thing. Really big. Really, really, really big. The announcement of Apple's tablet device which is expected to happen on Wednesday, January 27th. With the amount of hype this event and device is getting - I mean really, it's Apple, coming out with a brand spanking new, second-try-at-something-awesome...
Originally published in the Globe and Mail on Jan 12, 2010 by Campbell Clark
Forget the Old World animal ethics of Europe. Canada is taking its seal hunt where the money is - to China. Despite all the hubbub about the European Union's sanctions on the seal hunt, Europe is a relatively small market for Canadian seal products. But China is a big buyer, with greater potential and none of the uproar about animal rights that has made the seal industry a pariah in the Western world. That's why Fisheries Minister Gail Shea and executives from five Canadian seal-industry...
Originally published in the Cleveland.com on Jan 05, 2010 by Janet Cho
The Longaberger basket company is laying off 125 manufacturing workers at the end of the week and outsourcing its packing and shipping services to another firm, which will eliminate another 100 jobs. This news comes less than four months after the nation's largest basket maker temporarily recalled 50 workers to help fulfill orders for its popular new National Football League- and collegiate-themed baskets during its busy holiday season...
Originally published in the Monterey County Herald on Dec 25, 2009 by Ed O'Keefe
Americans direct their ire at the Internal Revenue Service during tax season and might critique the Transportation Security Administration while passing through airport security. This time of year, however, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is the agency drawing additional scrutiny as holiday shoppers buy toys and other household...
Originally published in the Sacramento Bee on Dec 20, 2009 by Gavin Newsom and Robert Morales
Increasingly, local and state governments are adopting "zero waste" goals to counter the real dangers of climate change and worldwide resource depletion. But what does "zero waste" mean? Simply put, it means nothing goes to landfill. From China to Italy, and even in California, there is a vigorous debate raging on which road to take to zero waste. Fortunately, when you consider the big picture, the right course...
Originally published in the The Missoulian on Dec 20, 2009 by Michael Moore
The rumor-and-blame mill roared within hours of the announcement that Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. would close its Frenchtown pulp mill at year’s end. Some blamed President Barack Obama. Republican underlings blamed Montana Sen. Max Baucus and the health care bill. Others went after environmentalists and the U.S. Forest Service...
Originally published in the Bloomberg.com on Oct 09, 2009 by Shobhana Chandra
The U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly narrowed in August as exports climbed to the highest level of the year and oil imports plunged. The gap fell 3.6 percent to $30.7 billion from a revised $31.9 billion in July, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The 0.2 percent increase in demand for American- made goods abroad would...
Originally published in the Jamestown Foundation on May 16, 2009 by Dennis Wilder
Engagement between Beijing and Washington operates on many levels but none is more critical than a regularized mechanism for strategic discussion by the top officials in economics and foreign policy. While Presidential summitry is extremely valuable, it is too infrequent and too brief to...
