· December, 2007

Stories about Economics & Business from December, 2007

China: Ant Farmers’ Open Letter to Hu Jintao

  31 December 2007

Zoula has reposted Luliang Ant Farmers’ Open Letter the State president Hu Jintao (zh). The farm said that local government had to be responsible for the bankruptcy of Yilishen and they demanded for throughout investigation on the issue and the return of guarantee fund.

Malaysia: Getting The Page Rank Back

  31 December 2007

5xmom is happy to get her google page rank back and swears to stay off paid posts. “No more selling text links, no more paid posts on the these three blogs until Google define what I am allowed to do.”

Japan: Web visionary Umeda Mochio

  30 December 2007

While famous in Japan as a web visionary, Silicon Valley resident Umeda Mochio, president of Muse Associates, co-founder of Pacifica Fund and board member of the Japanese bookmarking and diary service Hatena, is little-known overseas. His recent book "Web Shinkaron" ("Theory of Web Evolution") sold 370,000 copies and become a national besteller in Japan. Umeda was recently interviewed by the Japanese magazine Central Review (Chuo koron), portions of which are introduced and translated in this post.

Poland: Bhutto's Tractor Scam

  29 December 2007

the beatroot writes about a 1990s Polish-made Ursus tractors scam, in which Benazir Bhutto was allegedly involved: “Benazir had launched the Awami Tractor Scheme for the welfare of poor farmers in Pakistan and allegedly received 7.15 percent commission in the purchase of tractors through their front men – Jens Schlegelmilch...

Ukraine: Tymoshenko's Budget

  29 December 2007

Foreign Notes reports on the article in a Ukrainian daily that accuses Yulia Tymoshenko of going against her election promises and approving the 2008 budget that includes “a multimillion INCREASE in the money provided for the maintenance of deputies, kabmin ‘big-knobs’, and the President and his secretariat.”

Burkina Faso Soon a Biofuel Producer

  28 December 2007

Last month, Burkina Faso and the French company AgroEd signed a framework agreement for developing a biofuels industry. Netizens express their skepticism about whether Burkina can become a competitive producer of biofuels, and whether ordinary people, in particular the farmers, will benefit.

Jamaica: Qualified Unemployment?

  28 December 2007

Francis Wade republishes a letter to the editor by a returning Jamaican national who can't get a job in order to make a point about why educated Jamaicans remain abroad.

Barbados: Issues with LIAT

  28 December 2007

“Considering the massive investment the Barbadian taxpayer has made in LIAT, its difficult to understand why our Minister of Tourism does not represent ‘our’ interests on the board”: A reader writes in to Barbados Underground, drawing attention to the inefficiencies with one of the major regional carriers.

Russia: Ded Moroz Ad Banned; Yolki in Moscow

  27 December 2007

James of Robert Amsterdam's blog writes about the government's ad on “a TV ad from an electronics retailer which poked fun at the existence of this mythical gift giver on the grounds that it broke a rule discrediting parents and teachers.” Lyndon of Scraps of Moscow posts his 2005 pictures...

Iran:”A Weak Government”

  26 December 2007

Digital Klashinkov,Iran based blogger and journalist, says[Fa] that Ahmadinejad's government is a weak one and is in trouble for its economic policy. The blogger adds, recently, for the first time, Iranian president accepted economic problems exist in country.

Latvia, Estonia: Valka and Valga

  25 December 2007

Valka is in Latvia, Valga – in Estonia. Until 1920, they used to be one town, Walk. “The Latvian side faces a back door of an Estonian supermarket.” But, as All About Latvia reports, “town officials from both sides plan to take [the metal fence] down altogether to allow pedestrians...