Stories about Economics & Business from December, 2006
Haiti: High Prices of Flights
Reacting to news of a new airline to offer Haiti-Dominican Republic flights, Collectif Haiti de Provence complains about the cost of flights to Haiti(Fr): “It is always flabbergasting how expensive flights to Haiti are whether via all powerful American Airlines who holds an unwavering monopoly or via the lines that...
Serbia: Video on CNN
In the next four months, a “travel to Serbia” commercial will be broadcast on CNN over 500 times (Serbia has paid half a million dollars for this) – but the country's secretary of tourism hasn't seen the ad yet, reports Belgrade 2.0. Also, Belgrade is updating its tourist maps but...
Mexico: Christmas Bonus
Lee Iwan describes Mexico's annual aguinaldo: “This puts added strain on cash flow and accounts payables for Mexican organizations during the month of December. At the same time it creates a huge burst of economic activity throughout the country.”
Malawi: declining Internet cafe rates
Mangaliso's World writes about Internet cafe rates in Malawi.
Russia, U.S.: Medical Insurance; Paid Vacation.
Everybody I Love You seems to have found a way to get medical insurance for his Russian wife through Blue Cross of California – and have discovered that in Russia a four-week paid vacation is the law, while in the United States it is not.
Barbados: Fair Trade Bananas for Sainsbury
Sainsbury, the popular UK supermarket chain, has made a decision to stock Fair Trade bananas only. Gallimaufry applauds the move, saying, “Small-scale banana farmers in Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to benefit substantially.”
Bermuda: Christmas Trading Rules & Church
Bermuda's Finance Minister Paula Cox has announced that the island's Sunday trading rules “will not be waived in the run-up to Christmas, because of a conflict with the time that many people attend church”: A Limey in Bermuda wonders if there can't be a compromise.
Nepal: Anti-feudal masquerade
Nepali Netbook on the Maoist anti-feudalism masquerade. “It took a formerly pro-Maoist writer and platform to point out the incongruity of Nepal’s much-hyped anti-feudalism fight.”
Indonesia: Editing Indonesia Information on Wikipedia
Rasyad A. Parinduri at Sarapan Ekonomy blog is urging readers to think of a better entry for Indonesia's economy on Wikipedia. The blogger feels that the current entry is “lame and outdated!”
Ukraine: Car Stats and Driving
Michelle Knisley writes about driving habits of Ukrainian drivers. Petro of Petro's Jotter provides this info in a comment: “Ukrainians are registering 35,000 cars per month […]. 33% of those are in Kyiv and 30 days in an avg month yields, incredibly, 385 cars registered in Kyiv each day. This...
Ukraine: Baby-Trafficking
Michelle Knisley writes about yet another horrible case of healthy newborns being stolen from the mothers after delivery in Kharkiv: “In a culture where everything can be bought for a price, it seems as if children are paying the ultimate price.”
Ukraine: Nestor Shufrych
Foreign Notes writes about Ukraine's new minister of emergencies: Nestor Shufrych, a man “described as a walking ‘Emergency Situation’ himself.”
Belarus: Oil Export Quotas
TOL's Belarus Blog reacts to the newly-introduced Russian export quotas for oil shipped to Belarus – and to the U.S. State Departments response.
Serbia: Belgrade Blog Roundup
From portraits of the city soul that abound in details of daily life to corruption allegations and the latest riots that occurred at a basketball game, find out more about this Balkan metropolis. Belgrade, Nov. 2005 – by seriocomico Dule Nedeljkovic writes about an ordinary morning in Serbia's capital (SRP):...
Puerto Rico: Craven?
Gil the Jenius wants his “Craven” theory to be proven wrong in light of James O'Malley's post about recent changes in Puerto Rico's tax code.
Jamaica: Anti-Service Culture
“…Sales people often seem to be actively working against closing the deal; in this sense, we can call it an ‘anti-service’ culture,” writes Stet as she offers fascinating examples of this Jamaican phenomenon.
Guyana: Palm Oil Plant
According to an article by Tim Slinger in The Nation newspaper, a Barbadian company has struck a deal with the Guyana government to use over 400,000 acres of land for a palm oil plant project to produce bio-diesel. This could herald cheaper fuel prices in Barbados, but MediaCritic wants to...
Cuba: Musical Cubans
“Cubans and music go back a long way”: Luis M. Garcia examines the Cuban connection to singing and dancing in light of an article from The Economist.
Trinidad & Tobago: NP Strike
Francomenz reports on a strike by workers of Trinidad and Tobago's major petroleum supply company.
Ukraine: Waiting For Election?
LEvko of Foreign Notes believes that Ukraine's president Victor Yushchenko “is strengthening a team around himself in anticipation of early [parliamentary] re-elections next year.”
US, Russia: Medical Insurance (Lost in Translation, Sort Of)
Everybody I Love You reports on how difficult – or even impossible – it is for his Russian wife to get a Blue Shield of California medical insurance – because they require copies of her “medical records”: “And what, Dear Sir, Mr. Senior Underwriter, constitutes medical records? Can't say, can...
