Stories about Economics & Business from March, 2010
Trinidad & Tobago: On Corruption
“On the day the Uff Report was submitted to a happy looking President, the Prime Minister suddenly realized the people needed more hospitals and Summits”: This Beach Called Life takes a tongue-in-cheek look at Trinidad and Tobago's political landscape.
Bermuda: Overspending
“It’s so simple that only a politician could miss it”: Vexed Bermoothes says that the Bermudian government must reduce its budget.
Laos and the drying of Mekong River
Gretchen Kunze writes how the drying up of the Mekong River is affecting Laos, the only landlocked-country in Southeast Asia
Indonesia: Sony vs Sony
Sony Arianto Kurniawan from Indonesia has a personal website which displeased Sony Corporation because the latter claims it has legal ownership over the trademark Sony. Sony the corporation initially charged Sony the person in the court but dropped the charges later.
Indonesia: Anti-smoking Fatwa
An Islamic organization in Indonesia has issued a fatwa (edict) which named smoking cigarettes as haram or forbidden.
Chile: The Process of Earthquake Reconstruction
Exactly a month after the devastating earthquake in Chile, President Sebastián Piñera announced a reconstruction plan for the country’s infrastructure and housing, prompting Chileans to provide opinions about how this process should be implemented and monitored.
Bangladesh: Aktel Becomes Robi
Aktel, one of the leading cell phone service providers in Bangladesh, has renamed its brand as Robi in an attempt to ‘localise’ its branding. Bangladesh Corporate Blog analyzes consumer reactions through netizens’ eyes.
Jamaica: Responding to HIV
Repeating Islands reports that with funding support from the World Bank, the Jamaican government “aims to curb the spread of HIV, improve treatment, care and support for persons living with HIV/AIDS, and strengthen Jamaica’s capacity to respond to the epidemic.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Food Prices
“The basket of items you bought in the grocery in Jan 2010 is just over three times the price of the same basket bought in Jan 2003…Is your salary today three times what you earned in Jan 2003? If not, then, at least for food, you're not winning”: KnowTnT.com looks...
Africa: Will France Telecoms dominate East Africa?
Rebecca's advice for France Telecoms whose plans are to dominate the East African telecommunication market.
Tajikistan: Bargaining over dams and shipments
Tajik and Uzbek officials traded barbs during the security conference in Dushanbe. The argument concerned freight train shipments for Tajikistan that have been stalled on Uzbek territory, but as neweurasia’s Dushanbe explains, the real reason is the Roghun dam project.
Afghanistan: Where all the donor money went
Nick Fielding analyzes the Afghan Finance Ministry's latest Donor Financial Review. The really interesting question is how much of all those billions is still in Afghanistan, he says.
Japan Government: On the Fall of the Employment System
A think tank for Japan's Cabinet, the Economic and Social Research Institute (内閣府 経済社会総合研究所) (ESRI) published a study that quantified the present status of lifetime employment and seniority-based wage (i.e. the Japanese employment system). They used the data (1989-2008) from Basic Survey on Wage Structure (賃金構造基本統計調査) (BSWS) of the Ministry of...
Ukraine: Fire Destroys 20% of Hosting.ua Servers
Some 20% of the servers at Odessa-based Hosting.ua data center – one of the biggest in Ukraine – are reported to have been destroyed in a fire on March 27. UkrainianWatcher writes (UKR) that “tens of thousands of Ukrainian and a number of Russian sites are currently offline” and re-posts...
Dominican Republic: Opposition to Barrick Gold Mining Operations
There is increased opposition to the Barrick Gold mining operations in the Dominican Republic because of the terms of the contract and benefits for the State, as well as concerns about environmental impacts.
Trinidad & Tobago: Money Done
“I yawned last night when the news on all local TV stations reported that the police, famous for being loyal to our incorruptible leader, raided UDeCOTT offices, Sunway International’s offices and the home of Calder Hart, possibly looking for remnants of The Treasury”: This Beach Called Life says that Trinidad...
Sri Lanka: The Economics Of Being A Rice Farmer
Rajaratarala at Perceptions blog discusses the challenging economics of the production cost of a rice farmer in Sri Lanka and the price they get for their produces.
Fashionalism in the Philippines
Andang Juan blogs on “fashionalism,” a term invented by a Filipino fashion designer from the words “fashion” and “nationalism,” as a means by which capitalists translate the abstract concept of nationalism into the logic of consumerism and profit.
East Timor: Economic data
The Lost Boy questions the accuracy of some positive economic indicators cited by East Timor officials.
Ghana: Do Ghana's oil fields belong to Ivory Coast?
A dispute that could break out between Ghana and neighboring Ivory Coast. Ivory Coast is reportedly laying claims to portions of the huge oil wealth in the deep waters of the Western Region of Ghana.
Rio Tinto and Chinalco Sign a Joint Deal with Guinean Junta over Mining Project
Baldeabdoulaye explains that mining companies Rio Tinto and Chinalco have come to an agreement on jointly developing an iron ore project in Guinea. The opposition criticizes the signing because they perceive the deal as a way for the military junta to take advantage of the current obscure political circumstances to...
