William J. Holstein

About this blog:

I believe that the most important thing Americans have to do is secure their economic well-being in an increasingly challenging, complex world. All the arguments about culture (school prayer, the flag, etc.) are fine for other Americans to have—and they are a healthy sign of democracy. But they are beside the point.

What I have written about all these years is the process of creating wealth, not for any one individual, but for the United States as a whole. Ever since I was a young correspondent witnessing the emergence of China, just after the country opened in 1979, I've held the opinion that we have to get more serious about increasing the wealth of the U.S.

That means focusing not only on how our corporations are run (governance), but also on innovation and productivity/competitiveness. Despite the predicament in which we find ourselves today (and I think we face a tough five-year economic restructuring, not a mild recession), I retain faith in the resiliency of the U.S. economy and the enterprise of American people. If Americans have the right facts, and focus on the task at hand, we can once again get serious about creating wealth, not just playing funny money games.

So come with me on this journey as I explore the complicated issues involved in maintaining the economic health of the U.S

Japan’s Hatoyama--I Told You So
J JUNE 2--In this blog post on the website of the Overseas Press Club, http://opcofamerica.org/blogs/blog/american-media-goes-crazy-over-japan-again, last December 5, I predicted that the Japanese government of Yukio Hatoyama would be short-lived. Despite all the ...
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The U.S. Case for China’s Revaluation is in Trouble
MAY 21--Some 200 top Obama administration officials are arriving in China including Secretary of State Hillary Cliniton and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. It is excellent that the Americans are spending this much time and money to understand what is happening in ...
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The Next Scam from Goldman--China’s AgBank IPO
MAY 10-- Would you buy a Chinese bank from Goldman Sachs? Goldman is one of 10 banks fighting over $200 million in bank underwriting fees to take the Agricultural Bank of China public. That means raising $20 to $30 billion in July from world capital markets for a ...
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What Would Goldman Do To Win?
May 7-- In a word, Goldman Sachs would do anything to deflect the investigation by the Securities & Exchange Commission and efforts by Congress to rein in its free-wheeling ways. Would it tank Greece to deflect attention? I just heard Goldman CEO ...
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My Article in Chief Executive on America’s Idea Factories
May 5, 2010--Chief Executive magazine has published the following article, based on my book research, and posted it on its website, http://www.chiefexecutive.net. The Next AMERICAN ECONOMY Can America’s idea factories save the day? BY WILLIAM J. HOLSTEIN ...
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Whoopee! 32,000 jobs
MAY 5-- The private sector added 32,000 jobs in April, according to a report by payrolls processor ADP Employer Services today. Economists had expected a rise of 30,000 jobs, based on a Reuters poll. Clueless economists are crowing that this is big, really ...
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Guess Who Is Producing This Greek Drama?
APRIL 28--The same institutions that created the mortgage mess in the United States seem to be whipping up hysteria over a possible Greek financial default. The media is meekly playing along. I suspect that there are fortunes being made at the expense of the ...
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Reinventing The Multinational
APRIL 27--Here is an article I wrote that has just been published by KPMG's Agenda magazine. (http://www.kpmg.com/agendaonline) Reinventing the multinational If you haven’t debated how emerging economies have revolutionized your industry, your business model ...
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The New York Times and Elliot Spitzer: What Are The Editors Smoking?
APRIL 25-- Eliot Spitzer engaged in one of the most shocking betrayals of the public trust imaginable--at the same time that he was helping enact laws against prostitution and human trafficking, he was flying call girls around and transferring funds across state ...
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The New Business Week
APRIL 25--Bloomberg has now carried out a thorough redesign of Business Week magazine, where I worked for 11 years onstaff and then later as an online contributor. So I have fondness and respect for the franchise that Business Week has traditionallyl enjoyoed. The ...
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CEO Pay--What About Sports, Entertainment?
APRIL 23--I recently went to a New York Yankees baseball game with my wife, Rita. We paid $90 per seat plus some minor processing fees, then paid to take a train to the stadium and paid more money for $7 beers and such. Let's say we spent $250 (for a bad game, by ...
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Interesting Article on General Electric--But Where Is The Role of Jack Welch?
APRIL 19--Diane Brady has written an interesting article about General Electric in the latest issue of Bloomberg Business Week: http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/10_17/b4175026765571.htm?campaign_id=magazine_related Essentially, CEO Jeff Immelt has ...
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Goldman Doing “God’s Work?”
APRIL 17--I suspect that the SEC's case against Goldman Sachs for misleading investors in one particular investment fund is just the tip of the proverbial ice berg. The culture of Goldman Sachs encouraged its employees to think that they were smarter than everybody ...
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What Are They Doing to GM’s Board?
APRIL 14--I've been quiet lately about General Motors, but the latest board appointment gets me. The government's auto czar, Steve Rattner, stacked the board with telecommunications and private equity people, including Chairman and CEO Ed Whitacre. The lead ...
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China Watch: Profound Changes in Taiwan-Mainland Relations
APRIL 9--I've been watching relations between Taiwan and China since I was posted to that part of the world when Jimmy Carter "normalized" relations with Deng Xiaoping. Although there has been a gradual engagement between the two arch-enemies, now the stage is set ...
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