In the New Year, all media outlets rush to make their predictions for the coming year. In reality, it is hard to predict the several natural disasters that characterised 2010, or the economic crisis that surprised the global economy in 2009 and 2008 and even recent tragedies like those in Arizona this past weekend which […]
On December 26, Bolivia’s vice president announced a gas subsidy cut, saving the government $380 million, but meaning a rise in fuel prices of 57-80 percent. Massive protests and street demonstrations followed, but the Morales government insisted that the move would be mitigated by cost of living subsidies to families and public employees. In the meantime, […]
Overview Brazil has long seemed poised to join China, Germany and the US as one of the few nations with influence that stretches far beyond its borders. Years from now, many historians may look back on 2010 as the year that Brazil at last turned the corner in its ascent as a global power. Brazil’s […]
Struggles over ever-more scarce natural resources are likely to be a theme in our future. The NYT recently posted a photo-essay documenting six topos affecting growth and climate change. The sixth deals with Brazil, and it is the most positive trend of the lot: Brazil is curbing deforestation. Government policies, put in place since 2004, […]
International headlines focused on Mexico yesterday as an attempt at stealing oil from one of PEMEX’s pipelines resulted in 28 deaths and a town being covered in petrol and flames. According to sources, an organised gang made an attempt at stealing fuel directly from the pipeline in Puebla state, damaging 115 houses, and destroying completely […]
Wikileaks has dominated international headlines with information haemorrhaging out of secret US files with an often muted result, some bad results and in some cases, even positive developments. While much of the information are things that journalists and analysts likely knew already, the interest in seeing secret documents in their original form has captured the […]
After the latest G8/G20 meetings in Korea and the recent thumping Mr. Obama received in the latest elections, the importance of China, its exchange policy and the rest of the BRICs are being relied upon to keep the global economy moving, while Ireland is saved, the US sorts itself out slowly and the young Ms. […]
A piece in this week’s Economist begs caution on regulation of for-profit microlenders. The article mainly concerns the sprouting number of microfinance institutions (MFIS) in Bangladesh and India, but Peru also warrants mention. Many MFIS’ in India, like the ones in Mexico, charge seemingly high interest rates on their small loans. The Economist generally defends […]
An emerging pop culture fad? Hardly. As the death toll rises from the cholera outbreak in Haiti, the handshake, involving all those potentially unwashed digits, is being replaced by the elbow bump as the preferred greeting among Haitians. Practitioners include President Rene Preval, who has been spotted knocking ‘bows with his staff. It is a […]
When assessing economic problems in modern economies, there are always anomalies to the norm that are usually overlooked by policymakers or are addressed after an overwhelming example that brings attention to solutions that were previously not recognised or simply ignored. SME’s, or Small and Medium Sized Enterprises often create grassroots solutions or work between economic […]
After a runoff election at the beginning of this month, Dilma Rousseff and Jose Serra take their campaigns to a final vote in order to capture the support and become the successor to one of Brazil’s most popular Presidents, Ignacio “Lula” da Silva. The October 3rd runoff election surprised some as Jose Serra gained enough […]
Nestor Kirchner, 60, has died from a massive heart attack while at his home in El Calafate, in the Patagonian region of Argentina. President from 2003-2007 is often credited with stabilizing Argentina in the wake of its financial crisis in 2002, and restoring growth to the country. His wife, Cristina Fernandez Kirchner, the current president […]
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