China has an astounding economic growth in the past 50 years and many of its exponential growth is a result of its immense work force and capital.  People’s republic of China (PRC) is under the rule of the single political party, but the economy is nothing like other communist countries.  China is under free-market economy that encourage freedom of  private businesses to maximize economic growth . The market is always open to foreign markets and it is unbelievable to think that around 95% of our commodities are made in China.

In  Nicholas R. Lardy’s  book about private business and state own business, it is clear that the Chinese government owns a majority of the Fortune 500 List Chinese companies, but we can not underestimate the power of private companies,and many of them are even larger corporation than the state own business. One of the successful private business will be Luoyang ltd, my dad’s factory: the factory that focus on mining and steel-making of Molybdenum Metals that was an essential raw material for airplanes, sports cars and many other vehicles. The market of Molybdenum Metals  maintains a steep revenue margin and  is not very competitive due to the high entrance barrier.  His company operate at a not sustainable rate but the business is highly ethical. His main factory alone in Henan province provided more than 500 job opportunities, and my dad can reduce cost for the cheap and  extensive labor market. I am always amazed for what his company can accomplish and I wish I could start a private company just like him but better and more sustainable. China is slowly but surely transitioning into a highly effective market economy, and the free private companies induce the most profit and generate the highest economic growth.

Ottawa, the capital of Canada, is one of the most secure and protected city in Canada. The city is known for its high living standard, education, and the low unemployment rates. It is unthinkable that the city will become the target for the next surprise assault.

Locations of Gunshot

The RCMP always have to prepare for the worst. October 22nd, 2014, a gunshot erupted at the national war memorial, and soon two more gunshot broke the city into cluttered chaos.  The police force recognized the severity of this attack has launched a full lockdown immediately surrounding the downtown area near the parliament including the University of Ottawa. The suspects are still neither apprehended(1 assailant shot), and such attack was a national offense that is directly targeted toward the canadian government.

Canada is a close neighbor of the United States, but it has never initiate any war actions. However, due to the recent ISIS crisis and rising tensions in afghanistan, Canada, an ally of the United States, also may as well fall victim as one of the terrorist attack.  Police officers are still investigating on what the criminals’ incentive or why they planned the attack. Everyone has believed that Canada is safe and secure, but now it just seem so fragile. Just like the tragedy of September-11 , this event raised alarm all across the country, and remind us that the unstable situations around the world. War can occur at any moment, and it is important for the government to protect its citizens through politics and military forces.

Police officers taking cover new Parliament Hill

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/breaking-news-oct-22/article21217602/?click=sf_globe#dashboard/follows/

One of the leading technological pioneer, Hewlett-Packard, has made the decision to split into two companies, separating the PC and printer business from its cooperate hard drive and services operation. Hewlett-Packard has a long operating histories and they are looking for a way to maintain that statute while become more nimble to keep up with the fast and competitive technology companies. However, in recent years, hp has been defeated in many ways by the dominating apple and microsoft, no matter it is the research and development or the marketing campaign, apple and microsoft always hold the comparative advantage against Hewlett-Packard. The demand for hp PC dropped drastically within 10 years. Many people questioned, why doesn’t the company just sell the less profitable PC and printer sector, and focus on the computer servers. I don’t agree on the decision to solve sells decline problem by splitting into two. The company really need to focus on developing a strong market segment and but overshadowed by other dominant PC companies, and it is their last attempt to save their fortune. The company’s declining sells really concerned Meg Whitman, the CEO of hp, and she has launched a restructuring plan to layoff thousand of employee and eliminate other costs and try to deviate into the a more rewarding and specialized cloud software. If hp wants to stay in the market of pc they will have to develop something new and appealing to the public.

http://fortune.com/2014/10/05/hewlett-packard-to-split-into-two-companies/

http://online.wsj.com/articles/hewlett-packard-plans-to-break-in-two-1412530028

The Saskatchewan’s new carbon-capture facility

Canada is well known for its sustainable environment and its largely undeveloped natural resources. In the prairies especially, the Tar-Sand or other energy project has become the center of controversy; energy companies have to make a difficult choice between efficient, profitable means of operations or sustainable yet uneconomic use of natural resource.

In October 2nd 2014, Saskatchewan has taken initiative to create a large coal-fired power plants that can retrofit more than 1 million tons of carbon dioxide per year, which in comparison, the whole power plants can absorb as much carbon dioxide as almost 40 million trees. Maria van der Hoeven, from the international energy agency, asserts that the power plant is “historic milestone on the path to a low-carbon future,” and the technology can create environmentally sustainable resources. However, we should not discount the fact that the whole power plants require more than 1.4 billion canadian dollars, and electricity will rise drastically by 80% in order to cover the expense.  Even though the power plants can effectively decrease carbon dioxide emission and generates green energy, the power plants is funded on taxpayer’s money and should be used in an economical way and really create positive externalities within the community. The power plants is a very expensive investment, and my analysis shows that the power plants is costing too much and creating little public utility despite the effort to create a sustainable environment. The government of Saskatchewan need to find new ways to decrease greenhouse gas emission, and the simple yet best alternative would be to raise awareness in the public and encourage a more sustainable lifestyles.

http://www.economist.com/news/business-and-finance/21622238-although-saskatchewans-new-carbon-capture-facility-start-technology-still