G20, representing 90% of world GDP, will now be the fourth (others being WTO, IMF and GATT) pillar of the world economy and Europe’s voting rights at IMF are cut 5%. A more equal world? Not unless G12 (G20-G8) stop using the developed world economic theories and take a cue from GE and start thinking out of the box.

For example, Moody’s, S&P and Fitch continue to admonish east Europeans and Asians for their large deficits even after US debt has exceeded 80% of GDP, which is the same as the average for G20! Stimulus exit was discussed but nobody asked how does one quit feeding the financial czars who can’t manufacture a safety pin but want to buy the whole world! US is setting up an office to help entrepreneurs convert ideas into companies but the problem is that Americans now want to buy and sell only companies, equities and bonds, in that order. They have no interest in dealing in real goods and services, except in commodity exchanges, where they can deal with faceless buyers and sellers.

The Almighty fell below 1.484 a euro last week, though it recovered to 1.4666 later, oil plunged to $66 and the Dow softened a tad. Mountains of cash are being accumulated by large companies of all hues around the globe, by borrowing and by equity issues, giving rise to speculation about another round of hectic M&As. So far this year, investors from outside the US have bought its treasuries worth more than $600 bn. Put up whatever you can for sale. Macau’s revenue from gambling is running at over a billion US a month.

While US banks are worried about increasing defaults by luxury hotels who owe $25 bn in loans, Savoy of London is ecstatic that its renovation is taking place at a time when demand is at a low ebb. Australian retailer David Jones is earning so much it is planning to return excess cash to its shareholders.

Ikea is relocating its Swedish bookcases unit to Slovak, Magna plans to cut 11,000 jobs after taking over European operations of GM, Daimler is reeling under losses of $3.5 bn in H1, VW is planning capex of $5.8 bn in China, and BYD, China’s largest car producer, aims to be the world’s largest by 2015.

Unilever’s takeover of some businesses of Sara Lee and Cadbury’s bid for Kraft food made headlines last week. HSBC is moving its CEO to Hong Kong, though considering the way Chinese banks are expanding, it is doubtful if it would have much leeway in Asian markets now.

Twitter, with zero revenue, has been valued at $1 bn by investors, Yahoo! is selling its stake in Alibaba.com, and Dell is buying Perot Systems for $3.9 bn. GE is trying to figure out a way of retaining NBC (TV) without losing more money and may sell its Universal Studios to Warner or Vivendi for about $8 bn.

First Solar (Arizona, USA) has landed a contract for the world’s largest solar power project (2GW) that would perhaps keep it busy for a decade. While British Airways has started following its US counterparts by charging a fee for choosing seats in advance, Italian postal service has started offering jobs to children of older workers who take premature retirement, the purpose being to cut wage bill.

Russia’s and South Africa’s retail sales have been declining for over six months, China is buying 400 tons of gold from IMF, East European countries continue to reel under after effects of the massive carry trades their businesses resorted to during the boom, and every fifth Russian is likely to be below poverty line by the end of 2009.

Now that an Indian satellite has spotted water on the Moon, its billion plus people have perhaps started expecting smooth supplies of potable water. Taiwan’s jobless rate has reached over 6%. Japan’s exports have been declining for almost a year now.

The bright news is that ecological issues are finally being addressed at an electric speed. Non-fossil energy is leaping like never before. While China is going after solar energy, Germany is after wind (12,000 mw offshore), and Siemens is expecting to sell high speed trains even to the US.

Increased heroin output of Afghanistan has become a headache for Russia, where 83 die everyday from overdoses. Iran has told retailers not to display curvy mannequins, and mannequins without headscarves. Clothing designers are trying to hawk silk ties with a pocket for holding a MP3 player and underpants designed for left-handed men. Europe is considering later retirement and longer working hours, rather than easing immigration, to cope with skills shortages. A recent survey says less than 10% of executive positions are held by women in Germany, while Venezuela has cut the number of participants in its Miss Universe competition from 30 to 20 because of financial constraints.

S Korea is trying to ensure that its people walk on the right since vehicles drive on the right. Why the whole world insists upon following the Americans, who probably started the tradition simply to be different from the British, isn’t clear. Over 99.99% of human beings are right-handed and they need the steering wheel, not the gear-handle, in their right hands, while driving. Probably the industry (GM, Toyota, Ford et al.) should lobby for changing the direction; it can result in an auto boom that would last at least ten years.

The Far Eastern Economic Review is being closed by owner Dow Jones, and yet China has gone ahead and banned longer ads on prime time TV, signalling its cultural priorities do not revolve around profitability of the media industry. But who can control westernisation of Asian cultures if Obama can kiss Carla Sarkozy’s cheek even at the cost of making Michelle feel uncomfortable. Sarkozy himself is busy exhorting European countries to have their own sovereign wealth funds.

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