Stories about Economics & Business from October, 2009
Bhutan: End Tobacco Ban
I am Drukpa brings to our notice “the rising insane and inhuman prices” of freely available smuggled cigarettes in Bhutan because of a outright tobacco ban in the country. The blogger advocates for “ban-free legalized tobacco that is reasonably taxed and regulated”.
Trinidad & Tobago: Truth or Dare
“We are a society that publicly cries corruption but privately upload mega-project photos on Flickr with misguided pride”: This Beach Called Life uncovers “the hidden truth” about Trinidad and Tobago.
Barbados: New Hospital?
Barbados needs a new hospital, but Barbados Free Press wonders whether people understand “how much commitment and effort this will require.”
Bermuda: Economic Pinch
“The critical mass of tourism facilities continues its tailspin of decline. The Government may spin all it wants, but the facts are dismal”: Vexed Bermoothes says Bermuda is feeling the economic squeeze.
Social divide in Singapore
Liau Chuan Yi and Norvin Cha write how and why social divide in Singapore seems inevitable.
Puerto Rico: Money & People
Gil the Jenius blogs about money and self image as it relates to Puerto Rico.
Bangladesh: Difficult Time For Journalists
Mahadi Hasan Talukder reports that the Bangladeshi journalists are passing through a difficult time because local corporates, non-profits and multinational companies have gripped the Bangladeshi media sector and are exploiting their influence on them.
Armenia: Oligarch's staff allegedly implicated in animal cruelty scandal
Facebook users today posted links to a video shot at what is alleged to be the private zoo of a local oligarch and MP. No stranger to controversy, the latest scandal reportedly linked to members of his entourage saw the light of day via Twitter.
Trinidad & Tobago: Who's to Blame?
As the Trinidad and Tobago government is criticized over the sub-standard living conditions of Chinese labourers brought in to work on state construction projects, Survivein’ Trinidad says: “If a private company offers me a fully loaded contract (housing, travel allowance, etc.) to work in Germany and I get there only...
Little Bangladesh In Los Angeles
Taz at Sepia Mutiny informs that the 3rd Street between Alexandria Ave and New Hampshire Ave in Los Angeles, USA will be officially called as ‘Little Bangladesh’ from now on.
Bangladesh: No Business Channel
Ten new private TV channels have been approved by the media regulators of Bangladesh but none of the 21 channels in operation in the country are business channels. Bangladesh Corporate Blog wonders why the Bangladesh business sector “would be deemed so negligible so as not to deserve any attention in...
United Kingdom: ‘Super injunction’ lifted on Côte d'Ivoire waste dumping report
Trafigura, the British oil trader, has finally released The Guardian newspaper from a secret injunction preventing it from reporting the so-called Minton Report, after an extraordinary week of online activity.
Guadeloupe: The Water Days
In The French-speaking Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, also dubbed “the Island with Beautiful Waters”, water is vital. Bloggers share their thoughts on the recently concluded les Journées de l'Eau en Guadeloupe (Water Days in Guadeloupe) conference.
Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados: Salt
“Things must be bad in Trinidad when Chinese (from China) workers, who seem to constitute the government’s entire economic stimulus plan, don’t get paid…the most visible indicator of what we have taken to be prosperity in Trinidad has simply collapsed”: B.C. Pires provides interesting commentary.
Morocco: Praise for Islamic Finance
In a recent blog post, Paris-based Moroccan blogger Larbi (Fr) takes a closer look at Islamic finance. He writes: “While global finance has collapsed and the world was plunged into a financial crisis like no other, a little village still resists to this wave. It is called: “Islamic Finance”. Crisis?...
Morocco: Banking fees uncovered
In a recent post, moroccan blogger Omar El-Hyani [Fr] explores banking fees in Morocco. He conducted a comparative review of major banks in Morocco based on the most common operations a bank customer is likely to perform.
Puerto Rico: Reflections on the National Strike
On October 15, thousands of Puerto Ricans flooded the streets to protest the government's lay-off of around 17,000 government employees. Flows of information, opinions, videos and images traveled through the Puerto Rican blogosphere and twittersphere like lightning. Here are some of their reflections.
Israel: Charitable Giving at Every Level
“The difference between being charitable and being a philanthropist is having a strategy,” writes Richard Marker in eJewish Philanthropy, explaining why “You Don't Need to Be Rich to be a Philanthropist.”
How the recession has affected motherhood
When the economies of world plummeted late last year, that “motherhood” would be a victim of the spiraling trend might not have been foremost in the minds of most. However, mothers are as much a casualty of the recession as the stock markets.
Puerto Rico: The National Strike (update)
Early this morning thousands of people began to flood the main avenues and highways of San Juan, the capital of Puerto Rico, as part of the national strike that aims to paralyze the country for one day. Citizen media covered its developments.
Anguilla: Construction Transparency
Inspired by a speech from the Chairman of the Trinidad and Tobago chapter of Transparency International, Corruption-free Anguilla is concerned that “fair play, transparency, and accountability will continue to be unknown in the Anguillian public sector construction sector.”
