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Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Over the past year we have examined some of the less-obvious casualties of the credit crunch. Add two more to the list.
The Argentine Football Association has delayed the start of its season because many of its clubs are so loaded with debt that they cannot pay the salaries of their players.
Elsewhere, it is widely being reported that America's Arena Football League, coming off a suspended 2008 season, will fold and declare bankruptcy.
The explosion of debt-financing in the Prem is well-documented and lamented (Platini I am looking in your direction), but the Prem's owners are hardly alone in financing their club purchases, new stadiums, and expensive transfer policies through debt. I am admittedly unfamiliar with the business of Argentine or Arena football, but it seems these are two further examples of the de-leveraging of sport.
As an ex-pat twice over, I appreciated this FT article on the 'call of home'.
A recently destabilizing, but positive in the long-term, trend has been the flood of ex-pats back into emerging economies. While it has caused short-term increases in unemployment, strained public finances, and cut remittances, it has brought money, skills, entrepenuership, and productivity.
Emerging markets' great gain is developed economies' great loss.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
I know that when I am roughing it in the wilderness I always travel with my photographers in tow. Nothing says 'macho father of the Russian nation' like arranged shirtless photo-ops.
Your move Obama...
Not impressed by the sportiness of your Honda Insight hybrid? Well, let Japan’s Exclusive Zeus help you out. The Japanese tuner is offering a body kit for the Insight that offers a lowered suspension, a new front apron, side skirts, a blacked out grille, a new rear apron and a diffuser.
You also get a set of new alloy wheels wrapped in low-profile tires.
No performance upgrades are being offered, so you’re stuck with your 98-hp 1.3L SOHC i-VTEC engine mated to a CVT transmission. However, you’ll probably still enjoy 40/43 mpg (city/highway). [Source: egmCarTech]
Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced plans to begin sales in Japan of the CR-Z sporty hybrid model in February 2010 and Fit Hybrid before the end of 2010. By combining these two models with the currently available Insight and Civic Hybrid, Honda will further enhance its lineup of compact hybrid models, which leverage the unique characteristics of Honda's Integrated Motor Assist (IMA), including compact size, lightweight and high efficiency. In addition, Honda is currently developing a new hybrid system which is intended to be installed on mid- to large-size vehicles.
Honda also announced that, in addition to the No. 1 line at its Suzuka Factory, the production of Insight also began on Suzuka's No. 3 line in mid-June 2009, leveraging Honda's flexible production system.
In order to continue contributing to the global effort to reduce CO2 emissions, Honda will continue to focus on research and development of technologies which improve fuel-efficiency and strive to deliver products with improved environmental performance to as many customers as possible by making such products more accessible to all people. [Source: Honda Media Website]
Honda Fit and Honda Jazz becomes Japan's best selling vehicle for the first half of 2009 with 65,589 vehicles being sold between January and June 2009.[source: ホンダのWebサイト]
Following media speculation, MUGEN EURO Co., Ltd has confirmed the development of a highly-tuned Honda Civic Type R 'MUGEN' concept prototype road car, using the same powertrain as the Civic MUGEN RR saloon launched in 2007 in Japan.
The car is being developed in Japan by MUGEN EURO – the Northampton-based subsidiary of Honda’s long standing tuning partner MUGEN – and will be brought to the UK for testing later in the year. At this stage, the car is being prepared purely as a prototype model.
To enhance the performance of the already-impressive Civic Type R, MUGEN EURO will tune Honda’s 2.0-litre i-VTEC engine to produce more power and torque, as well as developing the brakes, exhaust and suspension. Externally, the Civic will take on an even more aggressive appearance, with a new aerodynamic package including a larger rear boot spoiler.
“In standard trim, the Civic Type R is a thrilling machine to drive,” said Hiro Toyoda, Vice President of MUGEN EURO. “It is a fantastic base model from which we hope to develop one of the quickest point to point front-wheel-drive road cars in the country.”
There are currently no plans for a production model. [Source: Newspress]
The latest issue of Honda Malaysia's 'With Dreams' newsletter has a feature on the CR-Z. Inside, it quotes a speech by the Honda Motor Co. Ltd. CEO in December 2008 that says that the CR-Z will be 'available for purchase by the end of 2010'. This suggests that the original target of a JDM launch at this year's Tokyo Motor Show has been cancelled and postphoned.
Source: Vtec.net
Monday, August 3, 2009
Should Lord Mandy lead Labour into the next general election? Could he be exactly the figure to keep Labour relevant (read: united and centre-left) in opposition?
You can almost feel the left shuddering...
NOTE: I meant 'united' in a disciplinary sense, clearly his leadership would cause a fracture between left and centre in the party, but his masterful job of diffusing the move on Brown displayed his ability to command the loyalty of the bankbenchers)
