Protectionism has a track record of harming economies. It is harmful to those that implement protectionism and those that are targets of protectionism. It is contrary to the beneficial lessons of the past decades. It is the ideology of failed regimes such as North Korea and former Eastern Block countries. Protectionism exacerbates a downward spiral, …
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Category:2 Geopolitics
The markets were up, but the news was bad, bad, bad
Simply, … Because Citigroup (now owned by the US government) posted a profit FTSE 100 3715.23up 172.83 4.88% Dax 3886.98up 194.95 5.28% Cac 40 2663.68up 144.39 5.73% Dow Jones 6926.49up 379.44 5.80% Nasdaq 1358.28up 89.64 7.07% BBC Global 30 4342.34up 182.62 4.40% BUT Worst crisis since 1930s says Fed IMF predicts a global recession And …
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Legalisation is the least bad solution: stop the drug wars and save money.
How to stop the drug wars – An unusual leader for The Economist, and perhaps a bit surprising in this economic crisis. But the arguments are sound. In a nutshell, prohibition doesn’t work, it rewards criminals, penalises poor farmers, and costs governments much money. Legalisation, though imperfect would save billions and allow governments to focus …
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China’s NPC opens with some interesting indicators
China’s National People’s Congress opened today with a speech by Premier Wen Jiabao. While these presentations are usually quite unrevealing and perhaps a bit propagandist, some interesting things were said. There will be a continued push to stimulate the economy including a € 0.5 trillion investment package. But part of the bdget includes an increase …
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Nationalisation, deglobalisation … Communism?
Not yet. But the hasty reaction to economic problems may become more self-destructive than necessary. Certainly moves to nationalise banks have been necessary to hold the global financial system “together”. And there has been a fall in trade as consumption has faltered. But the increasing popular call for government involvement and deglobalisation is dangerous and …
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Is a food crisis looming? Can solutions be implemented fast enough?
The cost of food remains high. The UN is addressing the issue as a matter of urgency. While energy prices have halved over the past year, the cost of food remains high, particularly for people who spend most of their wealth on food. The buoyancy of trade also hinders access to food. Though the financial …
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Destruction and massacre in The Middle East- the embarrassment of the rich world
A cease fire in Gaza has allowed the full scale of death and devastation to be be seen. Hundreds of people killed and wounded, mostly civilians in a few short weeks. Buildings and utilities destroyed. For what? For pride. There is no doubt that the conflict in Palestine is complex. There is no easy solution. …
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World Economic Situation and Prospects 2009
The United Nations released part of their World Economic Situation and Prospects 2009 today. The chapter Global Outlook is available here (pdf) and the slide show summarising the Outlook is available here (pdf). I strongly recommend reading the slide show which should take about 5 minutes, and then continue to the chapter if you like. …
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Save the banks, but let the biosphere die.
The planet is now so vandalised that only total energy renewal can save us is a passionate article highlighting the urgency of changing our consumption patterns by George Monbiot in The Guardian. The article outlines the accelerating climate change that has now reached beyond the modest changes discussed a decade ago. Today the volatility in …
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Don’t believe you can trust these people …
Its a small thing. Not a big deal you might say. The Pentagon altered a photo of the newly appointed 4 star general for media release. General Dunwoody is the first female to reach that top rank. Not only was the photo’s background edited, but the general’s features were tidied up. It was a well …
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