Stories about Economics & Business from September, 2008
Czech Republic: EU Presidency
Dr. Sean's Diary writes about the Czech Republic’s forthcoming Presidency of the EU.
Cape Verde: Fuel prices on the rise – why?
The price of crude oil is plunging, but the population of Cape Verde has been faced with price rises of every sub product of oil, and the news ahead is not optimistic. Bloggers want to know why and provide the Government with some suggestions.
Montenegro: Independence, 2 1/2 Years On
A Fistful of Euros re-visits the issue of Montenegrin independence: “But, you know: it’s not an economic basket case. Independence was not a disaster.”
Kuwait: Benefiting from the Meltdown
From Kuwait, Don Veto explains how he actually made money in the US market meltdown.
Bermuda, U.S.A.: Political Slander
Vexed Bermoothes is “glad that the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers is taking an active role in lobbying in the United States to slow down the political slander facing Bermuda.”
Dominica, U.S.A.: Financial Crunch
Dominica Weekly thinks that the current U.S. financial crisis “will seriously affect financial markets around the worldwide and there will almost certainly be a trickle down effect on the already weak Dominican economy and throughout the Caribbean.”
Japan: Internship at Hatena
University student and blogger id:suztomo describes (with many photos) their experience in September doing an internship [ja] at Hatena in Kyoto, Japan. The blogger had two objectives with the internship: to learn how to set up a server that can withstand many users, and to learn about how web services...
China: PR-ing Poisonous Milk
David Bandurski from China media project wrote a detailed article about Sanlu's public relation strategy in creating the high-quality image of its milk products and showed how the media is conspired in relaying the lie.
India: Recent bombings and economics
Pass The Roti On The Left Side comments on the second bombing incident in Delhi in recent times: “While you can pitch this in communal terms or identity terms of various kinds.., ultimately, this is driven in my opinion by economic factors which are understood in politics through communal and...
Kazakhstan: Measures to Support Banks
KZBlog says that Kazakhstan’s government is considering raising $6 billion in funds to bail out domestic banks, should they be unable to pay back their loans.
Japan: The psychology of prostitution, and why it should be legalized
id:fromdusktildawn delves into the the roots and social context of prostitution [ja], arguing that by looking down on women who work in the sex industry, men offload feelings of guilt about their lust for prostitutes onto the prostitutes themselves. The blogger claims that by legalizing the 5 trillion yen prostitution...
Trinidad & Tobago: Spiraling Murder Rate
“The excuses ring hollower than ever, and no longer do we buy any of them…the Government has failed us! The Prime Minister would rather have this country citizens sink hundreds at a time into 6 feet holes of earth than admit failure”: Trinidad and Tobago girls, politics, sports, technology, carnival,...
Japan: MIRAI brings together gadgets and the Internet
Alpha Bloggers announces a free event [ja] in Tokyo entitled, “Mirai: synthesis of gadgets and the net” (MIRAI：ネットとガジェットの融合), to be held on October 20th from 7pm to 10pm near Kudanshita station (see map [ja]). The event will discuss the possibilities of a future in which gadgets and the Internet are...
Japan: Fluctuations in Yen-Dollar rate
Japanese blogger kawase_oh [為替王] analyzes recent fluctuation in exchange rates [ja] between the yen and the U.S. dollar, and also between the yen and other major currencies. The blogger says to look out this week for the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey [日銀短観] on Oct. 1st, and to the announcement...
Japan: Group Bookmarking with 4dk
Osamu Higuchi at Higuchi.com introduces a free bookmarking service [ja] (in Japanese) called 4dk [ja], where bookmarks are visible only to those within a closed group. Higuchi refers to this idea as “group bookmarking”, explaining that it is different from the “group catharsis” of open bookmarking services like del.icio.us and...
Angola: A new African El Dorado for foreign workers
Since the end of the civil war in 2002, Angola has been home to many foreigners coming to find work. It is estimated that there are over 70,000 foreigners living in the country, mostly coming from South America, China, Portugal and other African countries. Find out how this melting pot is evolving through the view point of Angolan and immigrant bloggers.
Indonesia: Breastfeeding campaign
Everything Indonesia blogs about a breastfeeding campaign in Indonesia
Haiti: More than Charity
Haiti Reborn reports that the country's president is calling for “more than just ‘charitable’ contributions to Haiti's recovery.”
Cuba: Back to Normal?
Things appear to be getting back to normal in Cuba post-Hurricane Ike, but Generation Y questions the definition of “normalcy”: “I do not believe that a month ago we had anything resembling ‘normal.’ Furthermore, in the three decades that I have under my belt I do not think I have...
Sierra Leone: No money, no doctor
No money, no doctor, writes a Sierra Leone based blogger, Sandra: “Last week I saw a little boy who was moderately sick. He had lost weight, had many palpable lymph nodes and a chest infection. I decided to treat as outpatient with a strong antibiotic and see the child again...
Nigeria: Impressive Branding
Impressive branding in Nigeria, “Etisalat Nigeria witnessed an influx of visitors to its web site as Nigerians sought to reserve special numbers on Etisalat’s network. The website apparently had over 8 million hits in less than one week with thousands already reserving their special numbers on Etisalat’s network. It is...
