- How do the Chinese see our economic situation?
- How has trade impacted what multinationals do?
- How has American economic and foreign policy impacted the rest of the world?

Guests include:

Angelina Kwan: Managing Director and COO, Asia Pacific, Cantor-Fitzgerald
The Hon. Mario Mancuso: Partner, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP, Former Under Secretary of Commerce

One of the points that host, Dennis McCuistion, addressed was that by-and-large we as a society do not often talk about China when discussing the American credit crisis and corporate governance, although it does impact them. He asked Angelina Kwan for her perspective.

Ms. Kwan believes that,

“The US is China’s best past and present trading partner. China wants a strong dollar. China really thinks that America has a great entrepreneurial spirit and it will get out of the current trade deficit.”

Ms. Kwan states that China will continue to work with the US and not in an adversarial role, but first and foremost as trading partners.

Dennis agrees, “We, the US and China, need each other. China is the largest creditor of the United States. We need to both figure out how they [China] will get paid.”  Angelina Kwan tells us that the US needs to look at how it’s dealing with their dollars and its fiscal policy. China and the US are having serious discussions about China exporting less and the US having less dependency on exports and not relying so heavily on Asia and China.

The guests agree that trade is good for both partners. Mario Mancuso adds,

“A prosperous China is in the best interests of the United Sates and vice versa. Both being prosperous is in the global interest. These are the two largest economies in the world, and we agree on our ultimate objectives. We just can’t figure out how to implement those objectives- that’s the irony.”

He tells us, 95% of our customers are outside the US and if we build a wall, we close competitors out.

“A rules-based trading system is advantageous to competitive parties and the US is the most competitive in the world.”

US consumers benefit with better products at cheaper prices…

“An additional point, I take a backseat to no-one in terms of levying criticism, at the same time I don’t think the final chapter has been written on US economic leadership.”

And a special thank you to the Institute for Excellence in Corporate Governance,University of Texas at Dallas, School of Management, (http://som.utdallas.edu/iecg/) for providing the guests for this 4 part series on Corporate Governance.

Tune in for the rest of the story as continue to talk about things that matter with people who care…

Niki Nicastro McCuistion
Executive Producer/Producer

***

1809 – 11.22.09

China surpassed Japan as the world’s second-largest economy last quarter, capping the nation’s three- decade rise from Communist isolation to emerging superpower.

Japan’s nominal gross domestic product for the second quarter totaled $1.288 trillion, less than China’s $1.337 trillion, the Japanese Cabinet Office said today. Japan remained bigger in the first half of 2010, the government agency said. Japan’s annual GDP is $5.07 trillion, while China’s is more than $4.9 trillion.

Fed plans mortgage payment disclosure rule

The provision, which is an interim rule that would take effect on Jan. 30, 2011, seeks to make sure borrowers are alerted to the risks of payment increases before they take out mortgage loans with variable rates or payments, such as adjustable rate mortgages.

Gates to Leave Pentagon by End of 2011

Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced Monday he will retire by the end of 2011, Fox News confirmed.

Gates, the only Bush holdover in President Obama’s Cabinet, made the announcement in an interview conducted at the Pentagon with Foreign Policy magazine on July 12 that was published Monday.

Gates has been expected to leave the administration before the 2012 election.

South Africa: Govt Launches Massive HIV Prevention and Treatment Campaign

Johannesburg — President Zuma today launched an ambitious campaign that could alter the face of the AIDS epidemic, in South Africa and globally. The campaign aims to test 15 million people for HIV by the year 2011, up from 2.5 million in 2009 – a six-fold increase in just two years. Through the campaign, 1.5 million people will receive antiretroviral treatment by June 2011, up from about 1 million in 2009.

Economic clout rising, China takes No. 3 seat on World Bank

Beijing – China has earned a new degree of recognition for its growing influence on the global economy, after members of the World Bank decided Sunday to increase Beijing’s voting power behind only the United States and Japan in the international lending body.

Bank Shares Show Little Reaction Premarket To Senate Deal On Swaps

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Financial shares were showing little reaction in premarket trading Monday to news that key Senate Democrats have reached a tentative deal on sweeping new rules for the derivatives market that is expected to force major Wall Street banks to spin off their swaps desks.

Under the deal, between Senate Banking Chairman Christopher Dodd, (D., Conn.) and Agriculture Chairwoman Blanche Lincoln (D., Ark.), the derivatives portion of the bill will include a controversial provision that would force banks to spin off their swaps desks to be eligible for federal financial assistance from the Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Rescuers Seek Survivors of China’s Earthquake

SHANGHAI—Rescuers used shovels, pry bars and their bare hands to dig through the rubble of collapsed homes and schools as they raced to find survivors of a severe earthquake that authorities said killed about 400 people and injured roughly 10,000 in a remote, predominantly Tibetan community in western China.

The quake hit shortly before 8 a.m. Wednesday, jolting mountainous Yushu prefecture, part of the Chinese province of Qinghai on the Tibetan plateau, and flattening most of the town of Jiegu, one of the area’s main population centers. About 97% of the people in Yushu are ethnically Tibetan. Many earn their living raising yaks, sheep and horses.

Alzheimer’s and Diet: Good for Heart May Be Good for Brain

A diet rich in fruits and vegetables as well as omega-3 fatty acids may not only be good for your heart — it may also reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

Looking at more than 2,000 dementia-free adults ages 65 and older, researchers revealed that persons who consumed a Mediterranean-type diet regularly were 38 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease over the next four years, according to Dr. Nikolaos Scarmeas of Columbia University in New York and colleagues.

The findings were published online in the journal Archives of Neurology.

States May Give Nurse Practitioners More Authority

With the U.S. facing a shortage of primary care physicians, several states are considering giving more authority to nurse practitioners, according to an April 13 article by AP Medical Writer Carla K. Johnson.

By definition, a nurse practitioner is a registered nurse who has completed an advanced medical education program, usually resulting in a master’s or doctorate degree. They are trained in the diagnosis and treatment of most common medical conditions, and are currently allowed to treat a limited number of mental or physical ailments and provide other health care services.

Obama’s banking proposals: The impact on Europe

“If these folks want a fight, it’s a fight I’m ready to have,” Mr Obama vowed on Thursday.

The president’s opening salvo, designed to stop banks taking too many risks in the future, comprises a four-punch combination:

• To limit the overall size of banks
• To ban banks from buying and selling assets with their own money, a practice known as proprietary trading
• To ban them from dealing in hedge funds
• To ban private equity trading, or buying and selling whole companies.

But these wide-ranging activities are undertaken by big banks across the world, and not just in the US.

Haitian Government to Relocate 400,000 Displaced by Quake

Haitian government officials say an estimated 400,000 residents displaced by last week’s earthquake will be moved to new villages to be set up outside the devastated capital, Port-au-Prince.

Officials said Thursday they will provide transportation for the residents and hope to begin moving them as soon as possible. The 7.0 magnitude quake left an estimated 1.5 million people homeless, and earthquake survivors have been living outside in overcrowded camps with little or no sanitation.

China Says U.S. Internet Accusations Harm Ties

BEIJING — The Chinese Foreign Ministry lashed out Friday against a speech on Internet censorship made the previous day by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, calling on the United States government “to respect the truth and to stop using the so-called Internet freedom question to level baseless accusations.”

2nd UPDATE: GE 4Q Profit Drops 19% On Finance-Arm, NBC Weakness

General Electric Co. (GE) on Friday beat expectations with a 19% drop in fourth-quarter earnings, with an upbeat outlook that foresees a return to growth in 2011.

Orders have improved since its investor update in December, with delinquencies in its problematic finance unit also trending down, though commercial real-estate remains a key concern.

“The world we look at really has improved,” said chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt on a conference call with analysts.

Net profits for the December quarter of $3.01 billion, or 28 cents a share, compared with $3.72 billion, or 35 cents, a year earlier and a 26-cent consensus forecast among analysts. Revenue dropped 10% to $41.44 billion.

China Pledges Support for Economic Recovery, Urges Free Trade

China’s President Hu Jintao says his country is working hard to increase domestic demand and that Asia-Pacific economies must work together to open up trade.

In a speech at the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore, the Chinese president listed his country’s efforts at fighting the global economic crisis.

PENPIX-A look at Fed voters this year and next

Nov 13 (Reuters) – The voting lineup on the Federal Reserve’s policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee is about to shift once again.

Every year, four regional Fed bank presidents rotate out of voting seats, making way for four others. The current voting lineup will hold for the FOMC gathering on Dec. 15-16 before the new voters come in at the Jan. 26-27 meeting.

2010: Health care hurting Dems?

“The healthcare battle appears to be helping Republicans running for the Senate,” The Hill notes. “Two Quinnipiac polls released Thursday show the leading GOP candidates in Connecticut and Ohio growing their leads. Former Rep. Rob Simmons (R-Conn.) leads Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), 49-38, and former Rep. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) has opened his first leads over two potential Democratic opponents.”

U.S. Budget Gap Exceeds $1 Trillion for Fiscal Year (Update3)

The shortfall for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 totaled $1.1 trillion, the first time that the gap for the period surpassed $1 trillion, Treasury figures showed today in Washington. The excess of spending over revenue for June was $94.3 billion, the first deficit for that month since 1991, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Health

Dr. Regina Benjamin is surgeon general choice

WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Obama announced Monday his choice for surgeon general — Dr. Regina Benjamin, a 52-year-old family practice doctor who has spent most of her career tending to the needs of poor patients in a Gulf Coast clinic in Alabama.

Technology

2nd UPDATE: Microsoft To Offer Office Software On Web

SAN FRANCISCO (Dow Jones)–Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) said Monday it would offer a free, Web-based version of its Office tools, the company’s most significant acknowledgment that it needs to alter a decades-old model of selling boxed software as it battles competitors like Google Inc. (GOOG).

World News

China Agrees to Sanction of North Korea Officials (Update2)

July 13 (Bloomberg) — China has agreed for the first time to punish senior North Korean government officials for the nation’s defiance of United Nations resolutions barring nuclear and missile tests, China’s deputy ambassador said.

The late Larry Abraham was the Founder and Chairman of PanAmerica Capital Group, Inc. and editor of Insider Report. He joined Dennis McCuisition to discuss his somewhat controversial views of China and what some refer to as the “China threat”.

There has been no parallel throughout history for China’s economic situation. They went from almost zero economic opportunity to a powerhouse opportunity and increasing in strength. This growth directly affects the United States.  Larry Abraham discusses his views on China’s military ambitions, trade surplus and the outsourcing of US jobs.

Military Ambitions – China is increasing its army.  Larry Abraham explains how China’s traditional enemies play into that. Being highly exposed to China’s culture, environment and history, he explains the viewpoint that China views America with and offers his answers.

Trade Surplus – With America buying a surplus of Chinese products, it has left American trade at a deficit and China with a surplus.  Dennis McCuistion and Larry Abraham discuss in detail the opposing thoughts regarding this situation and what this could mean for the future.

Exporting - McCuistion and Abraham discuss the effects of exporting American jobs overseas.

With China’s impoverished history, Larry Abraham explains the changing economic environment and its affect across the classes.  He also discusses the changing environmental situation. With 70% of the water in China being contaminated, the government is making changes regarding air and water and other environmental issues.

We are seeing a new China. Larry Abraham’s perspective offers answers as to whether the China threat is something to be concerned about or not.

***

01.13.08 – 1705