Stories about Economics & Business from February, 2008
Bermuda: Silo Situation
The fact that “the cement company at Dockyard would not be required, at least for now, to relocate the contentious silos” should be raising political questions – at least in...
Ukraine, Russia: A Gas War, Again
Leopolis reports on what looks like yet another Russian-Ukrainian gas war.
Montenegro: Milo Djukanovic
A Fistful of Euros writes about Milo Djukanovic, prime minister of Montenegro: “By 1991 he was the youngest Prime Minister in Europe. By 1998 he had squeezed out various rivals...
Ukraine, Russia: “An Octopus of Cash and Gas Flows”
Ukrainiana sums up the results of Yulia Tymoshenko's recent visit to Moscow: “It’s still unclear when and to what extent the current matryoshka system will be redesigned in favor of...
Ukraine: Yanukovych's Real Estate
Ukrainiana translates and comments on Victor Yanukovych's controversial statements about the state-owned real estate he is allegedly attempting to privatize at “at a discount price.”
Burkina Faso: teachable moments, missing bathrooms and road rage
Pity the school teachers of the Peace Corps. While their compatriots toiling in health clinics or with micro-credit programs pretty much work loose hours and come and go from social events in the capital city at their leisure, teachers are stuck at home with a inflexible schedule, classrooms full of hundreds of students and loads and loads of homework to correct each night.
Vietnam: Virtual Worlds for Business
Saigon Nezumi points to a press release from the Spanish Embassy in Vietnam where they are trying to network Spanish and Vietnamese businessmen using a virtual world platform.
Kazakhstan: The State Will Continue to Rise
KZBlog reports that Kazakhstan's Prime Minister Massimov assured the cabinet of ministers that work to renegotiate contracts with foreign investors will continue and that abrogations will be made on new...
Tajikistan: Energy Crisis Is Not Enough to Lose Patience
The continuing energy crisis is, probably, the worst problem that Tajikistan ever faced since the end of civil war. Neweurasia reports that most of the population is barely surviving this...
The groundswell of opposition to AFRICOM from African bloggers
At the tail-end of U.S. President George Bush’s six-day, five-country farewell tour of Africa came the announcement the Pentagon’s plans for a second U.S. military base on the continent of Africa is dead. Questions from the blogshpere flew: What exactly are U.S. interests in Africa?
Kuwait: A Dusty but Profitable Week
Dust storms are wreaking havoc in Kuwait. But amid the dust, there is a silver lining, with a Cabinet decision to grant an extra KD120 (US $435) monthly bonus for Kuwaitis employed in the public and private sectors. Abdullatif AlOmar has more.
Hindi: No smoking and Cricket Auctions
Amit Gupta takes us on a tour of the latest from the Hindi blogosphere, including bad news for male smokers, good news for cricket fans in Hyderabad, and hopeful news regarding the effort to curb the spread of AIDS.
Kazakhstan: Govt Threatens to Delicense Arcelor Mittal
Zhanna Zhukova reports that after series of tragedies, when dozens of miners were killed in blasts on the coal mines of Arcelor Mittal’s Kazakh subsidiary, the government took a firm...
Uzbekistan: Tycoon Buys English Football Club
Libertad writes that Alisher Usmanov, a businessmen born (and held in custody) in Uzbekistan, currently a mining tycoon and Russia’s 18th richest man, decided to increase his share in the...
Venezuela: Falling Profits for PDVSA
The Venezuelan blog Otra Expresión [es] writes that profits for the state oil company (PDVSA) has fallen in the past year.
Afganistan: Story Behind Pictures
Mohammad posts a number of pictures of Afghanistan's children in “schools” in remote areas, and says that the current authorities spend billions of western aids on luxurious houses, top model...
Ukraine: Fancy Cars
Foreign Notes writes on how Ukrainian officials’ fancy cars don't really belong to them.
Syria: The Changing Face of Syria
Syria, is a country that is still "officially" considered a Socialist country. The socialist policies in Syria date all the way back to 1958, when Egypt and Syria formed the United Arab Republic, under the leadership of Gamal Abd el-Nasser. It was a very short lived republic that ended in 1961 but marked the turn of Syrian politics and economy into the socialist thinking. That continued after the Baath party took power in the March 8th coup d'etat. But all that is changing now.
Georgia: Patarkatsishvili Dies
TOL Georgia comments on the death of Badri Patarkatsishvili in London at the age of 52. The blog remembers Georgia's richest man who in recent years has been synonymous with...
Kazakhstan: Clinton's Kazakh Affair Is Spinning
Zhanna Zhukova provides an update on the scandal around ex-president of the United States Bill Clinton, his friend Frank Guistra (a Canadian financier & businessman) and Kazakhstan, where Guistra got...
Tajikistan: Five Star Hotels, No Electricity
Ian reflects whether or not the general population of Tajikistan loses its patience with the leadership amid continuing energy shortages, water purification problems, bread-price inflation, and more.
