China is pushing hard towards becoming a trailblazer when it comes to automation and intelligent

engineering. Already the biggest market for industrial robots, the Chinese government has clearly
identified its goals of becoming one of the pioneers in robotics and automated machinery. It will lead
a major overhaul in how the Chinese industry functions and, amidst its robotic ambitions, the
domain of driverless trucks is not far behind. Last year, the Chinese internet giant Baidu unveiled its
self-driving truck, made in collaboration with Foton Motor Group, a step forward in revolutionizing
not only the 300 billion Chinese transportation industry but also in boosting competitiveness in a
slowing economy that aims to become the worlds largest within the next decade. Chinas economic
growth has slowed down in recent years and in 2015, its exports fell for just the second time since
1978, when China formally opened its borders. The Made in China 2025 plan unveiled by the Chinese
government has outlined Chinas urgency to revamp its industrial sector and lead the charge with
indigenous innovation. Currently, just 30 of Chinas technological innovations in the labs make it to
the marketplace, compared to 70 in technologically advanced economies. One of the areas that
China believes it can improve this ratio is in the logistics sector - by introducing driverless trucks on a
massive scale. Driverless trucks are currently subject to massive commercial interest. TuSimple, a
Beijing-based company which is also in the process of developing an automated truck in
collaboration with an unnamed large Chinese truck manufacturer, revealed that drivers wages
comprise 40 of costs incurred by transportation companies in China, with long distance trips across
the huge country usually requiring more than one driver. These extra drivers and costs - could be
substantially reduced if companies like Baidu and TuSimple could make their technology
commercially viable. But this technology-led growth would come at an economic cost. There are
more than 16 million people in China who work as truck drivers and haul 76 of the freight volume
across the vast length and breadth of the country, all while serving a 300 billion industry. Made in
China 2025, unveiled by Chinese leaders, highlights Chinese aims to push development in the field of
indigenous robotics and strengthen its automation sector. If this goes as planned, automation would
reduce the number of workers required to do the same task meaning that there will fewer jobs
available for the Chinese workforce in the future.

Citigroup Chairman and CEO Sanford Sandy Weill reflected on a long, successful career in which he
built one of the built one of the largest and most profitable financial service companies in the world.

His strategy had always been growth through acquisition, consistently increasing his firms size,
product scope, and geographic range.

But now he wondered Should he continue to expand, or should he follow the lead of many of his
competitors and focus on Citigroups most successful businesses Citigroup and Its Precursors
Citigroup, with its coveted single-letter ticker symbol C, is the result of the 1998 merger of Citicorp
and the Travelers Group.

The merger broke new ground in combining commercial banking, investment banking, and insurance
under one roof for the first time in the US since federal legislation forced their separation in the
1930s.

Citicorp was incorporated as the City Bank of New York in 1812, became National City Bank of New
York in 1865, and was renamed Citicorp in 1974.

At the dawn of the twentieth century, the bank followed its corporate customers abroad, opening
branches in Europe London in 1902, Genoa in 1916, Petrograd in 1917, South America Buenos Aires
in 1914, Rio de Janeiro and Montevideo in 1915, and Asia Shanghai and Singapore in 1 The result was
the most extensive international branch network of any American bank at the time.
The banks president wrote to the chairman at the close of 1915 We are really becoming a world bank
in a very broad sense, and I am perfectly confident that the way is open to us to become the most
powerful, the most serviceable, the most far-reaching financial institution that there has ever been
Cleveland and Huertas, Citibank 1812-1970, p 88.

This vision was fleshed out during the 1920s, when the bank built what historians Cleveland and
Huertas termed a financial department store Citibank 1812-1970, chs 7 and 8.

It offered retail bank branches, corporate underwriting and lending, retail brokerage services,
international banking, and trust administration.

The plan unraveled, however, in the 1934, when new financial regulations in the US forced the
liquidation of the banks underwriting and securities distribution affiliate, the City Company.

Travelers Group was the holding company for Weills financial services conglomerate at the time of
the Citigroup merger.

Weill had built retail brokerage firm Shearson Loeb Rhoades before selling it to American Express in
1981.902.

Thats not a far-fetched question. As The Wall Street Journals Tripp Mickle wrote last year, Anheuser-
Busch InBevs BUD, -1. 07 108 billion takeover of SABMiller included the latters considerable hop
holdings in South Africa, SAB Hop Farms. South Africa produced 1. 81 million pounds of hops last
year, more than the U. S. when excluding Oregon, Washington and Idaho. And its all gone to
Anheuser-Busch InBev ABI. Shortly after that readers message arrived on Twitter, I received an e-mail
from Paul Reiter, co-owner of Great Notion Brewing in Portland, Ore. , containing a discouraging
message from one of his suppliers. Greg Crum, a U. S. -based brewer, consultant and hop vendor
through Fort Collins, Colo. -based ZA Hops, informed Reiter that he wouldnt be able to give him any
hops from this years harvest. ABI refuses to let U. S. craft brewers buy any calendar year 2017 hops,
believing this will afford them a competitive advantage in an increasingly competitive marketplace,
Crum wrote. Crum didnt respond to a request for further information, and Anheuser-Busch InBev has
offered some insight into why its making this move. At a workshop in George, South Africa, earlier
this month as reported by African business publication BizCommunity ABI noted that it wants to
increase South African hop production to more than 2. 2 million pounds grown on 1,235 acres. By
bringing SAB Hop Farms hops into the fold, Anheuser-Busch InBev has enclosed its ecosystem and
gained more ground on competitors. Do you like the South African hops youre tasting in Wicked
Weed, Goose Island or Elysian beers You can get them exclusively at Norther Brewer for 9. 99 a
pound. Like those obscure-hop IPAs, but dont want to walk to a store you dont know for them Let an
Anheuser-Busch InBev distributor take them to a national grocery store chain right near your
suburban home. Live in the city Then try those proprietary hops at a Goose Island or 10 Barrel
taproom near you. Willy Buholzer, ABIs global hops procurement director, said this years recent
harvest season in South Africa produced a low yield. More than 90 of this years South African hops
will go into local brands Castle La astle Lite. He also says that much of the rest will go to South African
craft breweries, leaving just 5 for ABI brewers throughout the world.ger and C