Stories about Economics & Business from September, 2006
Kenya: land grabbers become millionaires
Report: Land grabbers become millionaires in Kenya, via Kenyan Pundit.
India: Agriculture and the Government
Recursive Hypocrisy on what really ails Agriculture in India. “To start with, there simply isn't any real investment in technology or innovation in this area. Farm credits, crop insurance and support prices are only measures to help those in misery. What about solutions that result in yields which would make...
Hungary: Economic Problems
Edward of A Fistful of Euros writes that the Hungarian prime minister “is now in a double bind”: “If he goes through with a hard set of reforms the Hungarian economy will shrink […] and his government will tremble, while if he doesn’t reform as stated […] then the economy...
Estonia: Reaction to a Headline in the Economist
Edward Lucas, the Central and East European correspondent of The Economist, writes about Estonia and other “small” countries: “Small countries are often more interesting than big ones, and size may be one reason that the Baltic states and Slovenia have done rather well in the past 16 years. Politics works...
Morocco: 5000 micro companies
Samir says that the Moroccan Minister of the Social Development, Family and Solidarity, has come up with an innovative plan that addresses both needs of unemployed and handicapped people who need work and communication technology. One of the projects is to create 5,000 small companies providing moving “publiphones” on behalf...
Jordan: Poverty in Jordan
Wael Attili has a sample story of poverty in Jordan. Imagine living on a monthly income that is less than US$ 110 [ar]. Wondering how these people are living between us, unnoticed!
United Arab Emirates: Etisalat obstructing business
Going back to the early seventies, companies left Beirut because of the civil war and re-located largely to Cyprus, Athens, Dubai, Bahrain. Many of those which had gone to Cyprus & Athens re-re-located because telecommunications were so bad. Many came on to Dubai because telecommunications were so good. A lesson...
Hungary: Budapest's “Watergate”
As the first week of the Budapest protests ends and what seems to be “the Watergate case of Hungary” hasn't been resolved, Henrik of Hungarian Accent writes about “the violence, the lies, the media and the path ahead.”
Tashkent's Supermarkets Closed?
The Tashkent-based All-Knowing-Blog reports of many supermarkets remaining closed during the past couple of days (RUS).
Serbia: Belgrade Taxis
Belgrade Blog writes about the city's taxis: “Its a sad fact (or happy depending on your perspective) that educated taxi drivers are increasing in numbers.”
Notes on Montenegro and Transnistria
In his yesterday's Balkans Blog Roundup, Ljubisa Bojic quoted this passage on Montenegro by a Serbian blogger: […] I know how things operate down there. Its also a privatised state – I wonder how long it will be before the Europeans become intolerant of all those Russian businessmen who own...
China: listen to the movie producer
The latest movie “The City of Golden Armor” directed by Zhang Yi-Mou was released on September 20, but reporters had not been invited to the movie preview. Buchimifan in Bullog quotes the movie producer Mr Zhang Wei Ping's advice to the reporters: “if you criticise our movies, we won't let...
Russia: Photos of Miners and Old Soviet Cars
English Russia reposts Alexander Schekmenev's photos from a miners’ village in Russia and the netwinds.ru's photos of old Soviet cars.
Russia: Countering Media Stereotypes
Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog, in an attempt to provide “accurate and fair reporting and analysis—without fear or favor” – of Russia, comes up with a list of “10 Western Media Stereotypes About Russia” and offers alternative views on each item.
Russia: LukOil in the U.S.
Russia Blog writes about LukOil gas stations in the United States.
Balkans Blog Roundup
On September 11, Viktor of Belgrade Blog writes: […] [Serbia] just won the water polo European championship, and here's a short video with the atmosphere from the streets of Belgrade (Kolarceva street, more precisely). It's like this, after all major successes in sports, but this is the first time we...
Belize: US dollars
Lee Vanderwalker — who, like most other Belize residents, hoards US dollars — wonders why two visitors to her store in recent times have refused to accept change in US currency.
Trinidad & Tobago: Farewell, BWEE
Barbados Free Press says farewell to BWIA — or Bwee, as it's familiarly called — as the Trinidad and Tobago airline prepares to wind up its operations and make way for a new entity called Caribbean Airlines.
Ukraine: News Roundup
Foreign Notes covers the following subjects: investigation of the “allegedly illegal discriminatory” value-added tax reimbursements; Party of the Regions anatomy; Vladimir Putin's thoughts on Ukraine; former speaker goes into opposition.
Russia: Svetlana Bakhmina's Appeal
David McDuff of A Step At A Time writes about Svetlana Bakhmina's appeal “to have her sentence deferred for nine years, until her youngest child reaches the age of 14.” Bakhmina used to be a YUKOS lawyer and was sentenced to six and a half years of imprisonment in a...
Sri Lanka: Apollo Hospital and Business
Pradheep's Blog laments the takeover of an Apollo Hospital in Sri Lanka, implying that the hospital would lose its USP and the negative impact it could have in terms of an investor friendly business environment. “Needless to say this will have a negative impact on the confidence that investors have...