· February, 2009

Stories about Economics & Business from February, 2009

Egyptians on the verge of insanity

  25 February 2009

Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Egyptians are struggling to maintain their sanity, faith, and stability. Marwa Rakha presents the following selection from Egyptian blogs which discuss dreams, suicide, unemployment and the gruesome murder of a woman and her children - at the hands of her husband.

UAE: Selective Surveys

  23 February 2009

Measured PR, at the UAE Community Blog, questions the results of HSBC Bank International's Expat Exploreer Survey, published at Forbes on the World's Friendliest Countries, in which the UAE ranked least friendly.

Thailand: Alternative local currency

  23 February 2009

Al Jazeera reports how residents of a remote town in northeast Thailand are using an alternative local currency to encourage fellow villagers to become more self-sufficient.

Kazakhstan: Politics and Society in Times of Crisis

  23 February 2009

Politics remain the major topic of the online discussions in Kazakhstan – much more frequently and intensely than in public life. One of the most recent events, widely discussed by the bloggers, was the establishment of the new state award – the title of the Kazakhstan's Hero of Labor (an...

Taiwan: The cost of investment

  23 February 2009

There has been a huge amount of Taiwanese investment in China over the past two decades. Michael Turton discusses the human cost of that investment.

Ukraine: Obstacles and Hope for Museums

  23 February 2009

Linda Norris of The Uncataloged Museum lists legal and other obstacles that Ukrainian museums are facing, but concludes her post on a positive note, writing about some of the museum employees she has met: “They make minimal salaries, work in conditions that are hard to imagine (no heat, for instance,...

Russia: Cherkizovsky Market in Moscow

  23 February 2009

Moscow Through Brown Eyes writes about an article (RUS) on Moscow's Cherkizovsky Market that appeared in the latest issue of Bolshoi Gorod: “Each of these bewilderingly diverse stories could be the subject of its own article, if not an entire book. Taken together, however, these portraits add up to something...

Poland: The Problem With “CEE”

  23 February 2009

Polandian writes about the problem with the term “Central & Eastern Europe”: “I’m all for people reporting on Poland and even highlighting its problems, whatever they may be, but let’s please keep it specific to Poland. What I don’t like is people suggesting that Poland, Latvia, Ukraine, Hungary, Romania et...

Japan: Agriculture the latest trend among celebrities

  22 February 2009

The Japanese economy is facing one of the worse slowdowns in its modern history, with a GDP that has declined at a rate of 12,7%. Nonetheless, TV programs and lifestyle magazines are doing their best to inspire hope among their viewers and readers that not everything is lost. Recently, a new trend has been spreading among Japanese celebrities: farm work.

Trinidad & Tobago, U.S.A.: Change? Really?

  20 February 2009

“He has taken several steps back from the openness he once showed, the willingness to talk to anyone without preconditions. He proposes to send 17,000 more troops into Afghanistan…dampening down one war only to refuel another”: Notes from Port of Spain is “still cynical about Barack Obama.”

Bermuda: Budget Day

  20 February 2009

Vexed Bermoothes has been following the Bermuda's budget presentation and says: “It doesn’t seem so far to be a change from ‘business as usual'”.

China: Expectations of Xinjiang people

  20 February 2009

An article now popular in Chinese cyberspace depicts the sufferings and expectations of the people in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. The post suggests that “all the friends across the country” owe an apology and a big “Thank you” to the Xinjiang people [zh].

Caribbean, USA: Where in the World is Allen Stanford?

  19 February 2009

It's one thing for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to lay fraud charges against Texas billionaire-cum-Caribbean cricket magnate Allen Stanford - but first, authorities have to find him. As panicky investors flock to Stanford-owned banks from Antigua to South America to try and withdraw their funds, speculation is rife as to where Mr. Stanford might be.