Emirates Orders 32 Airbus A380

The United Arab Emirates is tiny -- Dubai's population is only 3.5 million. So why would the state-owned airline Emirates order 32 more giant double-decker A380's, making it the sole operator of roughly 40% of A380's worldwide? The answer is that Emirates is taking aim at traffic from other countries' traffic rights. Its latest target is Lufthansa and the huge German market -- by placing the order with Airbus (Germany is a huge shareholder in the Airbus parent company), Emirates is daring Germany to open the market and stop protecting Lufthansa. In doing so, Emirates may be re-writing the rules of open competition in the airline industry.


Emirates Orders 32 Airbus A380 - WSJ.com

Will T-Mobile Become Independent?

T-Mobile, the fourth largest wireless carrier in the U.S., is owned by German telecom giant Deutsche Telekom. The company has been underperforming in the U.S. for years, unable to gain any traction with consumers in spite of rock-bottom pricing and aggressively carrying phones operating Google's software. Now, Deutsche Telekom is exploring ditching the unit through an IPO. My question is, who's going to buy this?

Deutsche Telekom Weighs IPO for T-Mobile USA - WSJ.com

China Dethrones Germany as Top Goods Exporter

In 2007, China replaced Germany as the world's third largest economy. Soon, it will become the world's second largest economy, replacing Japan. It'll probably be a while before it replaces the U.S. as the world's largest economy, but that could happen too.

In another major milestone, China has now officially become the world's largest exporter, replacing Germany. China exported $957 billion worth of goods in the first 10 months of 2009, overtaking Germany's $917 billion.

China Dethrones Germany as Top Goods Exporter - WSJ.com