THE DEMOCRATS WAY OF RUNNING THE ECONOMY WITH LOWER EXPECTATION SINCE THE POTUS BHO THESE 8 YEARS- THE FAR GONE DECADE OF CLOSE TO ZERO GROWTH - AS THE GDP HAS BEEN ON AVERAGE 2% IN THE LAST 8 YEARS IN OFFICE, A DISMALL RECORD OF A LEGACY - THE NO BUSINESS SENSE EXPERIENCE IS TOO MUCH REVEALING AND NOW THIS RUN UP TO THE NEW POTUS 2016 ARE WE TO EXPECT ANYTHING DIFFERENT FROM THE SAME LEFTIST DEMOCRATS WHO WANTS THE REIGN OF POWER AGAIN

The U.S. economy expanded less than forecast in the second quarter after a weaker start to the year than previously estimated as companies slimmed down inventories and remained wary of investing amid shaky global demand.
Gross domestic product rose at a 1.2 percent annualized rate after a 0.8 percent advance the prior quarter, Commerce Department figures showed Friday in Washington. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for a 2.5 percent second-quarter increase.
The report raises the risk to the outlook at a time Federal Reserve policy makers are looking for sustained improvement. While consumers were resilient last quarter, businesses were cautious -- cutting back on investment and aggressively reducing stockpiles amid weak global markets, heightened uncertainty and the lingering drag from a stronger dollar.

“We’re just muddling through," said Joseph LaVorgna, chief U.S. economist at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. in New York, who had forecast a 1 percent gain in second-quarter GDP. “Consumer spending looks good, but the problem is that the rest of the economy is soft. The economy remains vulnerable to downside risks. The Fed is right to be cautious."


http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-07-29/u-s-economy-grew-a-less-than-forecast-1-2-in-second-quarter

http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NY.GDP.MKTP.KD.ZG?end=2015&locations=US&start=1961&view=chart

MCDONALDS IN SINGAPORE AND MALAYSIA TO BE SOLD TO LOCAL FRANCHISE FOR A $400 MILLION WINDFALL TO THE CORPORATION AS THE 20 YEAR OLD ASIAN GOLDEN ARCHES WHICH CATERS TO THE ASIAN TASTE BUD BECOMES ONE OF THE STEPS TO TURN AROUND THE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS

McDonald's Corp is planning a sale of 20-year franchise rights in Singapore and Malaysia that could collectively fetch at least US$400 million (S$542.8 million), according to a Bloomberg report.

The fast food chain is seeking local franchise partners to run its restaurants in Malaysia and Singapore as it pursues an international turnaround plan put in place after chief executive officer Steve Easterbrook took over last year.

According to its website, McDonald's currently has more than 120 restaurants in Singapore, staffed by around 9,000 employees.......

......
Catering to Asian taste buds, McDonald's fare in the past have included durian and mango milk shakes, the Samurai burger which features a teriyaki sauce, spicy nuggets and pineapple pies.


Last month, it rolled out (to mixed reviews) a salted egg yolk chicken burger, twister fries with salt and pepper crab-flavoured shaker and gula melaka McFlurry with layer cake (kueh lapis) bites.......


http://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/mcdonalds-singapore-franchise-to-be-sold-a-history-of-the-golden-arches-here

THE POPULARITY OF KPOP AND ITS CHINESE MEMBER GROUP FROM MISS A, EXO, SUPER JUNIOR, FIESTAR COMES OUT FOR THE PRO CHINESE MAINLAND TO CLAIM THAT CHINA OWNS THE SOUTH SEA EVEN WHEN THE COAST OF VIETNAM, PHILIPPINES, AND MALAYSIA COAST IS BUT A STONE THROW AWAY AND THE INTERNATIONAL COURTS HAVE DEEMED NOT SO AFTER THE PHILIPPINES FILED THE COMPLAINT

Chinese members from Korean pop groups are expressing dissent over the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s ruling in favor of the Philippines, which concluded that China has no legal basis to claim rights to a bulk of the South China Sea.
The international tribunal had reached the verdict on Tuesday.


Victoria, a Chinese member of Korean girl pop group f(x), posted on Instagram and Weibo an image that had the following words in Mandarin: China cannot become smaller. The image also depicts the South China Sea as China’s waters.

Fei from Miss A, Zhou Mi from Super Junior-M, Lay from Exo and Cao Lu from Fiestar also posted the same image on Instagram or Weibo.





http://kpopherald.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=201607140922118910245_2

MICROBEADS IN COSMETIC PRODUCTS THE SIZE FROM 10 MICROMETERS TO 5 MILLIMETERS MAY FIND ITS WAY INTO THE FOOD CHAIN VIA FISH

......Microbeads are tiny plastic pieces normally found in toothpastes, facial cleaners, scrubs and other cosmetics, often marketed for exfoliation.

These beads are from 10 micrometers to 5 millimeters in diameter, compared to a human hair that is normally a size of 100 micrometers in diameter.

Too small to be filtered, they pass through water purification systems and flow into oceans where marine life can eat them, mistaking them for food.

The composition of microbeads often includes polyethylene (PP), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethlyl methacrylate (PMMA) or nylon, which are not degradable and take at least several decades to dissolve.

Approximately 360,000 microbeads particles are contained in an average 170ml facial cleaner sold in the market, while at least 20 million tons of these plastic pieces end up in the ocean each year, according to United Nations Environment Program data in 2014.

The dangers are not just exclusive to human life who can find these in their food sources.

A 2015 study listed on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America found that nine out of 10 seabirds around the world are likely to have tiny plastic pieces in their stomachs.

Data from the Korea Women’s Environmental Network also showed that every 2.5 in 10 fish -- such as planktons -- here were found to contain plastic wastes inside their stomachs.

“These plastic pieces find their way through sewers and into the sea where they are easily eaten by all sorts of marine animals,” said Park Tae-hyun, a campaigner at Greenpeace Korea......

http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20160724000333