Bloomberg BusinessWeek, June 29, 2015

choi

(1) Shruti Date Singh, Old Man River Needs Some Work Done.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/ar ... eeds-some-work-done

Quote:
"The US has 242 locks in operation on 12,000 miles of navigable waterways. In 2013, $216 billion in freight moved along them, including the Mississippi, Ohio, and Illinois rivers. Moving oil, coal, soybeans, and cement by barge is much cheaper than by rail or highway: Without the locks, such low-cost shipping would be nearly impossible [view the last graphic and you will comprehend]. * * * The US Army Corps of Engineers [] manages the system

"The US faces a serious rival in Brazil, which since 2007 has been investing in its transportation infrastructure, including river ports to ship soybeans and other commodities for export from large farms in the interior. It has become a top soybean exporter.  US market share of soybean exports dropped from 71 percent in 1992 to less than 50 percent today, according to a February 2015 report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The US share could drop further, according to the report. * * * Lower transportation costs rather than production costs have kept US soybeans competitive globally, says Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition.

Note:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: Locks keep US inland waterways navigable--but they're falling apart.
(b) The phrase "Old Man Winter" is more common.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Man_Winter

(c) I lived in Chicago for four years (that is how long it took me to get a PhD), so I know the map of Illinois River in the report is wrong.
(i) Illinois River
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Illinois_River
(The Illinois River is formed by the confluence of the Kankakee River and the Des Plaines River in eastern Grundy County, approximately 10 miles (16 km) southwest of Joliet)
(ii) To make the last graphic (of this report) possible--thereby connecting Lake Michigan and Mississippi River through Illinois River, Chicago River’s flow must be reversed. View maps in Chicago River,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_River

(d) Peoria, Illinois
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peoria,_Illinois
(the largest city on the Illinois River; Established in 1691 by the French explorer Henri de Tonti, Peoria is the oldest European settlement in Illinois, and is named after the Peoria tribe; headquarters for Caterpillar Inc)

choi

(2) Yaacov Benmeleh and David Wainer, Israeli Hotels: Don’t Deport the Africans.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/ar ... deport-the-africans
("More than 45,000 African asylum seekers * * * reside in Israel, up from 3,000 in 2006, according to government statistics. * * * The migrants, mostly from Sudan and Eritrea, work in all manner of service jobs and account for about half of Israel’s 7,000 hotel maids and dishwashers, according to the Israel Hotel Association"

Note:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: As expulsions increase, hoteliers ponder where they’ll find workers
(b) quotation underneath the title in print: “Behind every fancy dish, every clean hotel room, there is” an African
(c) There is no need to read the rest. Israel’s quandary results from its policy banning Palestinians to work inside Israel proper after Intifada.

(3) Alexandra Ho, Tesla’s Most Excellent Adventure, China Edition.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/ar ... nture-china-edition
("The major cities on the journey to the Chinese capital—Nanjing, Xuzhou, Jinan, Cangzhou 河北省 沧州市, and Tianjin—all have Superchargers, but they can be pretty far from highway exits. * * * The other wild card is Huai’an 江苏省 淮安市, hometown of former Premier Zhou Enlai, where I’ve figured we need to charge up on Day One. The city of 5 million lies between Nanjing and Xuzhou and has only a destination charger")

Note: summary underneath the title in print: The electric carmaker has high hopes in China. But anxiety about availability of power hurts sales

(4) Salma El Wardany and Whitney McFerron, Brace Yourself for Scratchy Sheets.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/ar ... ing-as-farm-aid-cut

Note:
(a) summary underneath the title in print: Egypt cuts back on subsidies for its prized cotton
(b) "Egyptian cotton once dominated the colonial economy in the age of Queen Victoria, eventually becoming the gold standard for the world’s finest linens and clothing."
(i) Sa'id of Egypt
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sa'id_of_Egypt
(When the American Civil War brought a cotton famine [qv], the export of Egyptian cotton surged during Sa'id's rule to become the main source for European mills)
(ii) cotton
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton
(section 2.1 Industrial Revolution in Britain: During the American Civil War * * *)

Egyptian cotton is neither native to Egypt -- colonists brought it to Egypt, that's all -- nor a species. It is Gossypium barbadense, for which see section 1 Types in the Wiki page.