Stories about Economics & Business from December, 2007
Belarus, Russia: $1.5-Billion Loan
TOL's Belarus writes about the possible reasons behind Russia's $1.5-billion loan to Belarus.
Russia: “(Chimerical) Stability”
Streetwise Professor criticizes Time Magazine's coverage of Putin's Russia: “The touting of the (chimerical) stability of Russia under Putin is another example of the superficiality that passes for incisive journalism.”
Ukraine: Yanukovych Privatizes State Residence
Ukrainiana translates a video in which Victor Yanukovych is threatening to sue a journalist for questions on murky privatization deal.
Russia: Frozen Gas, No Diesel on Sakhalin
White Sun of the Desert discovers that no gas station in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is selling gas “before lunchtime” – because it is frozen until then.
Kazakhstan: Crisis Has Gone?
Arseny provides excepts from the interview to Bloomberg, given by Kazakhstan’s top banker, saying the country has got rid of the crisis.
Ukraine: Yulia Tymoshenko and Coal Miners
Yulia Tymoshenko returned as Ukraine's prime minister on Dec. 18. Five days later, she was in Donetsk region, visiting the site of Ukraine's worst coal mining accident, the troubled Zasyadko mine. While there, she declared: "We'll be working on it and will make it so that in our country both young people and children would want to become coal miners." Below is a discussion of Tymoshenko's promise that took place at Korrespondent.net, a Ukrainian news site.
Russia: Putinism; Putin's Fortune
Sean's Russia Blog writes about “Putinism” and Putin's alleged personal wealth.
Antigua, U.S.A.: Copyright Rights
Both Talk Antigua and Caribbean Free Radio blog about Antigua being awarded the right to violate copyright protections on goods like films and music from the United States.
Kazakhstan: Construction Crisis Gains Sharper Traits
Zhanna Zhukova reports on recent developments surrounding one of the major construction companies of Kazakhstan.
Bahamas: Go Slow?
Rick Lowe at WeblogBahamas.com wonders if the island's air traffic controllers are on a go-slow.
Zimbabwe: Currency fiasco
Kubatana blog on the Zimbabwe's currency fiasco: “So, I’m not sure what it says about the Reserve Bank Governor Gideon Gono’s attachment issues, that he’s not willing to let go of a few zeroes in our currency and make all of our lives a whole lot simpler by introducing some...
Japan: Economics of the “Illegal” Download
Following on recent moves by the government to regulate the Internet, plans for regulation in other areas of online communication have been moving ahead apace in Japan. Among these is the plan to revise article 30 of Japan's Copyright Law to make it illegal for individuals to download copyrighted material for personal use, something which up until now had been considered legal. Blogger and economist Ikeda Nobuo delves into the economics of the "illegal download", strongly criticizing the proposed revision.
Saudi Fatwa Against the US Dollar
Window into Palestine comments on a new Saudi fatwa (religious edict) on the US dollar. Click here to read about it.
Russia: Christmas Tree Decorations
Here is a holiday season story that's got very little of the traditional holiday spirit in it. Posted by LJ user souffrante and accompanied by Valeriy Leushev's photos, it's as much about Russian bloggers' childhood memories as it is about globalization, consumer nationalism, bad management, labor rights and the power of blogging.
Chile: A Gathering of Entrepreneurial Minds
Webprendedor, a gathering of entrepreneurs and those that want to find how they do it, took place in Santiago earlier this year. Many of the topics focused less on the technical aspects of internet businesses, but rather on vision, customer care and fundraising. Bloggers wrote about their experiences are presenters and as attendees, indicating their excitement about the future for these types of projects in Chile.
Ukraine: PM Tymoshenko, Pro & Con
Kiev Blogger believes “Tymoshenko as PM is probably the worst thing that could happen to Ukraine at the moment”: “The only positive thing about it (and it's only positive from a very strategic point of view), is that Ukraine really does have real political competition, backed up by the competition...
Environment: How would Green Tax in SA be implemented?
Carl of Greencars asks ‘South Africa’s Green Tax – how’s it going to be implemented?’, saying “Government needs to apply the carrot AND the stick when persuading car buyers to purchase cleaner cars.”
Hong Kong: Currency Peg
As Hong kong Currency is pegged with U.S, the economy in U.S has leaded to negative interest rate and inflation in Hong Kong. Kaie pointed out that such economic pain is unnecessary and against economic logic (zh).
China: Xiamen PX
ESWN translated an article from Southern Weekend which described in detail the negotiation among governments, Xiamen people and business over the Xiamen PX project.
Albania: On Corruption and Bribery
Kolin of Living in Shkoder writes about corruption in Albania and answers a reader's question: “As a foreigner, have you ever bribed an Albanian official?”
The troubled pasts of Burkina Faso
The United Nations Development Programme recently released its 2007/2008 Human Development Index. Burkina Faso dropped from the world’s fourth poorest country to its second poorest. Burkina Mom found it sadly ironic that development indicators are falling while the government throws itself a huge party for National Day, replete with a huge parade and many festivities.
