Stories about Economics & Business from October, 2010
Malaysia: Universal Service Provision fund
Bloggers from Malaysia demand an accounting of the Universal Service Provision fund which is being collected from telecommunication companies in order to improve internet connectivity in the rural areas.
Pakistan: Paypal Denied
Faisal Khan updates the struggle of Pakistani net users to bring Paypal to Pakistan.
CEE: IKEA
Czechmatediary, 20 east, Robert Amsterdam, and The Russia Monitor – on IKEA.
Trinidad & Tobago: Approaching Storm
aka_lol says that an approaching tropical storm “doesn’t look good for a population that had to put up with extremely bad weather for the rainy season and continues to weather the Clico financial crisis with desperate threats from formerly-rich policyholders.”
China: Debate on Rare Earths Export
With the rise of nationalistic sentiment in China, a majority of mainland Chinese support the government's policy in restricting the export of rare earths to Japan and other western countries.
China and the U.S: Fuss about rare earth
Adam Minter from Shanghai Scrap looks into the data of China agricultural trade and points out that the recent intimations of a ban on the rare earth elements has been overstated. On the other hand, the Chinese experts have underestimated the importance of low-cost soy beans and wheat to social...
Bangladesh: The Importance Of Tea And Singara
Shehzaad Shams at Bangladesh Corporate Blog describes the importance of tea and Singara (snacks) in doing business in Bangladesh.
Cuba: Restricted Access
“In Cuba, access to the internet is restricted and very expensive for citizens, but it is also is controlled by state institutions”: Laritza's Laws explains.
Bahamas: Set a Better Example
The last time Weblog Bahamas‘ Jerome Pinder checked, things were “pretty grim” in the Bahamas: “If the behavior of our Parliamentarians is any reflection on us as a people, then you don't have to wonder why social values are crumbling around us.”
Cuba: Standard of Living
“Nobody on the island may have a high standard of living if it is not authorized by the regime”: Iván García explains that he “aspire[s] to live better. But above all [he] consider[s] [him]self a free man. And that is where a person can be dangerous in Cuba.”
Barbados: Another Fire
The Bajan Reporter posts footage of yet another fire in Barbados, saying: “Something is going on… Apart from Campus Trendz…in the last 21 days there was the Lighthouse in Silver Sands…Cafe Sol…then Sam Lord’s Castle…and now in Bridgetown with a business in broad daylight…is the DPP going to make a...
Bermuda: Ahoy There!
Elaborate plans are afoot for the development of “a pirate-themed waterpark”; New Onion asks: “Who has deep pockets and is that bad of a businessperson other than the Bermuda Government?”, while Vexed Bermoothes says: “There has not been a well thought out business plan…there should be limited development on this...
Guyana: Entrepreneurship
“Tell a Guyanese that something can make money…right away, dollar signs does pop up and paste on to them eye-balls like in cartoons”: Guyana-Gyal has big plans for when she becomes “a Poh-Poh Magnate.”
Peru: Thousands of Indigenous People Block Rivers in Protest
Globalizado reports [es] that thousands of indigenous people in the Amazon are blocking the mouth of rivers Marañon and Tigre. The communities are protesting the constant contamination of the rivers by oil company Pluspetrol, which they accuse of neglecting those affected by a recent oil spill [es] and of not...
Trinidad & Tobago : Fix the Floods
The Undisputed Truth thinks it “laughable” that taxpayers’ money has been spent on things like summits “when we have such stupid problems, i.e. 20-30 mins of rain and the entire capital city is crippled.”
Trinidad & Tobago: CLICO Policyholders
Bloggers continue to comment on the CLICO bailout…aka_lol thinks that the policyholders are “trying to flex its hot-air inflated muscle[s] to bully the rest of the citizens of the country to get back all the toys it freely loaned to Clico to play with”, while Plain Talk has a “simple...
Puerto Rico: Reactions to the Tax Reform
“Twittericans” use the hashtag #mensajegobernadorpr to react to governor Luis Fortuño's message on the tax reform.
Bahamas: It's Time
Nicolette Bethel thinks “it’s time to build our own declaration of democracy”.
Trinidad & Tobago: “Anansi Antics”
“Is not policyholders we bailing-out, is the richest, smartest characters in the country”: Afra Raymond is tired of the “Anansi antics” when it comes to the CLICO bailout and says he expects better from the country's “elected rulers”.
Trinidad & Tobago: Odd Choice of Decor
“JUST ABOUT when you thought there was little more that could be said about the million-dollar Port-of-Spain National Academy for the Performing Arts, the building’s unusual decor this week raised eyebrows”: Tattoo explains.
South Africa: Musings on Inequality vs. Poverty
Andries du Toit muses on inequality vs. poverty in South Africa: “The central and most urgent issue facing South Africa is not poverty but inequality… our economy, while generating wealth for a few, is also a poverty machine, perpetuating and exacerbating steep and deeply rooted inequalities that threaten the basis...
