Israeli government-owned company Rafael Advanced Defense Systems signs agreement to buy VW plant in Osnabrück, Germany

Good news!

"... The factory will be repurposed for the production of components for the Iron Dome air defense system. Confirmation of the deal came this morning after long months of complicated negotiations.

The deal that has taken shape circumvents the opposition of the Qatar investment fund, which holds 10% of Volkswagen shares, to cooperate with Rafael in the production of defense systems. The deal will save thousands of jobs at the factory, which is scheduled to be closed next year by the car giant. ..."

Rafael signs agreement to buy VW plant - Globes "Rafael, the Lower Saxony government and Aurelius Capital have signed a letter of intent to acquire Volkswagen’s Osnabrück plant and will produce Iron Dome components there."

Volkswagen Osnabrück and Rafael set for Strategic Partnership (original news release) "Aurelius and the State of Lower Saxony, together with Rafael, are planning an initial anchor project in the field of air defense. Further industrial partnerships and project are to follow Strategic Partnership for a Center of Excellence in Security and Defense Technologies"

The day Argentina fell to dictatorship: March 24, 1976

Recommendable, but a partisan and biased documentary! Very little was e.g. reported about the leftist violent guerilla activities during the military dictatorship from 1976-1983.

Very little was also said about the socialist Peronism that preceded the military putsch!

Well, what do you expect from a leftist German state owned public broadcaster like Deutsche Welle!

(1984) The day Argentina fell to dictatorship: March 24, 1976 - YouTube

Österreich AG: Wiener Sozialismus mit Sahne

Empfehlenswert!

"in kaum einem anderen Industrieland der Welt steht ein so großer Teil der Wirtschaft unter staatlicher Kontrolle wie in Österreich. Ein gutes Fünftel der Marktkapitalisierung gehört der öffentlichen Hand, wie eine Auswertung der Agenda Austria zeigt. Es ist der lange Schatten der Verstaatlichten. Was davon übrig ist, ist heute in der Österreichischen Beteiligungs AG (ÖBAG) geparkt. Ihr Portfolio ist knapp 30 Milliarden Euro wert. ...

Die ÖBAG wirft gute Dividenden ab. Trotzdem gibt es gute Gründe, das Ganze zu überdenken. „Das Portfolio der ÖBAG ist historisch gewachsen und aus heutiger Sicht purer Zufall. ..."

Österreich AG: Das teuerste Hobby der Republik

Alles muss raus! Österreich entdeckt die Privatisierung. "Die öffentliche Hand besitzt gewaltige Teile der österreichischen Wirtschaft. Zeitgemäß ist das nicht. Privatisierung ist das Gebot der Stunde. Am Ende gewinnen alle."

Österreich entdeckt die Privatisierung

Mal sehn was draus wird! Der Sozialismus in Österreich!

"... In keinem anderen EU-Land diesseits des ehemaligen Eisernen Vorhangs gehört ein so hoher Anteil der Wirtschaft der öffentlichen Hand wie in Österreich (vgl. Abbildung 1). Ein gutes Fünftel der Marktkapitalisierung ist unter staatlicher Kontrolle; das ist immerhin weniger als im chinesischen Staatskapitalismus, aber fast so viel wie im chronisch etatistisch geführten Argentinien (vor Javier Milei). Vor Österreich liegen fast nur ehemalige Ostblockländer, die in puncto Privatisierung noch Nachholbedarf haben, oder solche, an denen wir uns aus naheliegenden Gründen kein Vorbild nehmen sollten, wie Saudi-Arabien oder Kolumbien. In vergleichbaren EU-15 Ländern (orange dargestellt) stehen meist weit weniger als zehn Prozent der Marktkapitalisierung unter staatlicher Kontrolle. ..."

Alles muss raus! Österreich entdeckt die Privatisierung. – Agenda Austria "Die öffentliche Hand besitzt gewaltige Teile der österreichischen Wirtschaft. Zeitgemäß ist das nicht. Privatisierung ist das Gebot der Stunde. Am Ende gewinnen alle."

Abbildung 1: Staatsanteil

This Property Developer in China Could Collapse Next Week with Palki Sharma

Very recommendable! Will the Communist Party of China let this major state-owned company go bust? 

German support for Israel a 'legal and moral mistake' - Law and ethics professor Janina Dill. Really!

This is presented by German government paid for news media!

Holocaust, never again? What about antisemitism in contemporary Germany? This professor works at Oxford University! She does not even have a Google Scholar profile!

Caveat: I did not watch this video! The headline was enough!

Commerce Sec Howard Lutnick signals Intel deal has been completed: US 'now owns 10%' of company

Government (partial) ownership of a private company in a Western country is odd if not problematic particularly for the US! And this deal has been kept secretive so far.

One hopes this is only a temporary government ownership!

"... President Donald Trump and Lutnick have been teasing the deal this past week, which the U.S. hoped would give the government a nonvoting, equity stake in Intel in exchange for CHIPS Act funds. ..."

Commerce Sec Howard Lutnick signals Intel deal has been completed: US 'now owns 10%' of company | Just The News "Lutnick said the agreement is beneficial to both parties but no details on the arrangement have been released so far."

Trump White House to Buy Stake in Intel? with Palki Sharma

Concerning!

Südkoreas Frauen – Widerstand durch Sex-Verzicht | DW Reporter. Wirklich!

Deutsches Staatsfernsehen präsentiert ultra feministisches Video!

Die Verweigerung von Sex ist eine uralte Forderung von Feministinnen!

Hinweis: Habe mir nicht das ganze Video angeschaut.

Why has the US' Greenland female military base commander been fired in conjunction with the Vice President's and his wife's visit?

An awful report by German state owned news media. Trump Derangement Syndrome? Piece of junk journalism!

Was this base commander also one of those DEI firsts?

How many female U.S. soldiers are stationed in Greenland? The report failed to mention. The commander is the first woman next to Vance.

The American migrants heading for Mexico to flee Trump • FRANCE 24 English. Really!

What an April 1st Joke! What a junk journalism! Where did France 24 find these three individuals featured in this video?

"France 24 is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris."

German Chancellor Scholz 'Hostile takeovers not good for [German state-owned Commerzbank]' opposing takeover by Italian UniCredit. Really!

The German government holds a 15% stake in and is the largest single owner of the Commerzbank!

Political interference in mergers & acquisitions is in many cases not advisable!

Maybe Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni should have an adult conversation with Scholz!

"German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday said "unfriendly attacks, hostile takeovers are not a good thing for banks", replying to a question on Italian lender UniCredit raising its stake in German bank Commerzbank on the sidelines of a visit to NEw York. The chancellor said the German government had made its position clear: "We believe that it is not adequate in Europe and in Germany to proceed with unfriendly methods, without any spirit of cooperation and without agreeing on anything, to participate in a company", he concluded. (ANSA). ..."

'Hostile takeovers not good for banks' - Scholz

Pakistan moves to sell national airline in test case for privatization drive

Good news!

"Pakistan International Airlines has been thrust into the spotlight as a test case for the government's ambitious plan to sell off state-owned enterprises as Pakistan seeks a multibillion-dollar package from the IMF to bail out the economy.

 

The national airline, which has lost over $3.6 billion in the past 20 years, is one of more than 80 state-owned companies on the auction block -- ranging from power plants and utilities to a women-focused bank and a hotel in New York."

Is Pakistan's national airline ready to go private?

Blockade von Flughäfen: Lufthansa will Schadenersatz von Klimaextremisten. Endlich!

Bravo! Endlich! Wahrscheinlich zu spät, zu zaghaft, zu wenig! Kein Wunder bis letztes Jahr war der Staat an dieser Fluggesellschaft signifikant beteiligt.

Wo kein Kläger – da kein Richter! Gewalttätige, oder deutlichen Schaden anrichtende Fanatiker gehören schnell in den Knast oder Vorbeugehaft do das z.B. andere Fanatiker nicht verführt werden oder in Versuchung kommen zu weit zu gehen.

Blockade von Flughäfen: Lufthansa will Schadenersatz von Klimaextremisten Der Fluggesellschaft ist durch radikale Klimakleber ein Millionenschaden entstanden. Nun will sie klagen. Strafrechtliche Ermittlungen laufen ebenfalls. Verbinden lässt sich beides nicht.

Chinese state firms spent about $20 bn buying into private ones in 2019

Let this number sink in! It appears to be a reversal of the more lenient, more pragmatic reform policies of the Deng Xiaoping era, when small, small private businesses were rather tolerated. 

"[$20 billion] The approximate amount of money spent by Chinese state firms buying into private ones in 2019, more than double the amount spent in 2012. Under Xi's leadership, state enterprises have moved to curb the influence of China's private sector, in part by absorbing smaller companies and restructuring their strategies to serve state interests. A recent central-government plan has called for more mergers between state and private companies in the next three years, saying "state-owned enterprises must play a leading role and important influence on the healthy development of private enterprises.""

Wall Street Journal Notes on the News (2/27/2021)