Crocs Inc. (CROX), a leading manufacturer of footwear, faces a lawsuit from Porsche Automobile Holding SE for alleged infringement of trademark. In its lawsuit, Porsche has alleged that Crocs has used its widely popular sports car brand name Cayman for a line of footwear. With a starting price of about $51,000, Porsche Cayman is a two-seat hard-top sports car (and has won accolades such as "Best New Sports Car" by Auto Express). Crocs Cayman, on the other hand, is a rubber footwear with thick soles with a starting price of about $30 a pair. Porsche has claimed that by using the Cayman name, Crocs has violated its trademark rights. Consequently, Porsche has asked Crocs to stop using the disputed name for its product line in its lawsuit and simultaneously pay compensation charges for the legal costs incurred. Although Crocs has not commented on the legal spat ...

Pundits greeted Angela Merkel’s convincing election win in Germany Sunday with a collective yawn. Commentators think the German economy is sluggish and over-dependent on exports, and believe that a change in the German government from a grand coalition to a center-right coalition will make little policy difference.

I think that’s wrong. It’s an erroneous viewpoint that’s symptomatic of the short memories of the chattering media. It’s also one that could cause investors to miss out on one of the best profit plays in the global marketplace today.

I’m talking about Germany – the real powerhouse of Europe.

The “New” Germany

From the 1950s to the 1980s, West Germany consistently delivered high growth rates and low inflation. West German engineering proved superior to any other on the planet. And West German living standards rose far above anywhere else in Europe.

Then came 1990.

East and West Germany were reunited and an

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A BBC News article reports that Volkswagon (ETR:VOW) is backing away from merger talks with Porsche (ETR:PAH3).

I first told you about this merger, which would consolidate company operations, back on May 8, here on the Emerging Markets Blog. The BBC reports that VW is suspending talks with Porsche saying that, “constructive negotiations were not possible at the moment.” Porsche has a significant amount of debt, and VW wants the luxury car company to reduce that debt. Ironically, Porsche took on about $12.2 billion in debt so that it could increase its stake in VW… The history between these two companies is long and complicated, and while VW says its backing away from the table, the two own stakes in each other and were founded by the same family. Porsche says the talks are

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Ask U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-CA, about credit default swaps and she’ll offer this warning: Ban them now or expect a reprise of the ongoing global financial crisis – which the derivative securities helped create. When it comes to elected officials, Congresswoman Waters is not one I would typically feel that I have a lot in agreement with.

A representative of a low-income district in Los Angeles, Waters is a senior member of the House Committee on Financial Services and has distinguished herself in the past by her sharp attacks on the financial sector and capitalism in general – what her own Web site describes as her “no-holds-barred style of politics.”

However, Congresswoman Waters’ bill to prohibit credit default swaps – introduced last Friday (July 10) – is strangely appealing, even for a crusty old capitalist like myself.

If you want a more pro-capitalist confirmation of Waters’ view (and

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Reuters reports that US businessmen will press Barack Obama to urge for less corruption and greater openness towards foreign companies during his visit to Moscow.  French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Bank of France Governor Christian Noyer have joined in the debate stoked by China and Russia about global coordination of currencies.  Troika Dialog has suggested that the Economic Development Ministry's forecast of an 8.5% contraction of GDP this year may be 'too cautious'.  The corporate sector's foreign debt has grown to $436.8 billion as of July 1, from $420.7 billion as of April 1, suggesting that borrowing has begun again.  It appears that a Russian sovereign wealth fund may be interested in buying a stake in car maker Porsche.  Despite reports of stalling, Magna's deal with Opel is apparently nearing completion.  US farm machinery maker ...

BEIJING, The People’s Republic of China - At a time when the rest of the global auto sales are experiencing their biggest declines in decades - and are set to drop at least 8% globally - the burgeoning China auto market may grow by 10% or more this year.

With steeply rising disposable incomes and savings rates that approach - and in some cases exceed - 35% a year, it isn’t difficult to see why the China auto market is zooming along. But what may be tough for U.S. consumers to picture - especially as they deal with rising unemployment and a nagging economic malaise - is the intensity with which domestic demand is growing here in China.

Autos are more than just transportation here. They’re a symbol of wealth and success - a sexy status symbol. One’s social position can be determined by the type of vehicle one owns and

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BEIJING, The People’s Republic of China – If there’s a recession here in China, I don’t see it. Granted, I just stepped off the plane here in Beijing a few hours ago, but already the city feels much more vibrant than I expected, given the dire reports that keep appearing in the mainstream Western financial-news media. The Beijing economy appears strong.

Consider the airport. While more subdued than it was just prior to the 2008 Summer Olympic Games, it’s still humming. And the airplane on the flight over here was packed, with nearly a vacant seat in sight. Of course, having my luggage actually beat me to the carousel was a big plus – just like it always is. There’s a policy that all bags are unloaded in 12 minutes.

From my hotel room in the Beijing Central Business District, I can see

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Aspire Misery Index for the Week Ended, February 6, 2009 (as of Wed. a.m. 2/4/09)

February 4, 2009 ndash; As of Wednesday morning our Misery Index has been accumulating a stream of data points that reflect, in our opinion, further erosion in the U.S. economy. The biggest concern we have, near term, is the labor market which is the key metric for the U.S. economy. After all, consumers represent more than 70% of GDP. The common theme right now is that businesses are reigning in their costs, cutting budgets and jobs and lowering expectations as much as possible right now with hopes that the bars have been set sufficiently low going forward. There is little confidence in the near term that credit markets are going to free up for businesses so they will have to get by on operating cash flow:

Profit Warnings ndash; ADC Telecom, Rockwell Automation, Hologic, CEDC, …

German unemployment extended its decline in November, withstanding the worst recession in 12 years, as employers continue to retain and even recruit staff even as orders slump. The number of people out of work, adjusted for seasonal variations, dropped a further 10,000 in November to reach 3.15 million, following a 26,000 fall in October, according to data from the Federal Labor Agency out today (Thursday). The adjusted unemployment rate held at 7.5 percent, a 16- year low. br /br /br /a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ngczZkrw340/SS6dZ5gWymI/AAAAAAAALlE/9UbfR71hm14/s1600-h/germany+unemployed.png"img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ngczZkrw340/SS6dZ5gWymI/AAAAAAAALlE/9UbfR71hm14/s320/germany+unemployed.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5273325281956252258" //abr /br /The German labour market normally follow broader economic trends only with a time lag - sometimes of as much as nine months, according to research by the Cologne-based IW economic institute. Since Germany’s recession began in the second quarter we may well only see the unemployment numbers begin to respond at the start of ...

‘What’s the difference between a hedge fund manager and a pigeon? A pigeon can still place a deposit on a Porsche.’That joke rings true after Porsche impoverished many of its prospective clients, creating the most outrageous single stock squeeze in history last week by ruthlessly cornering the market in VW stock. This left only a 6% free float, causing the price to soar almost five fold in a couple of days as hedge funds and bank trading desks scrambled to close their 12% short position at any price. They were mostly playing a supposedly ‘low risk’ long preference/short ordinary strategy, and many reputable funds were involved. It looks like they lost far more money in VW (up to $10bn) than on the orderly Lehman CDS settlement, fears of which had propelled the market crash in recent weeks, and is another nail in the …