Stories about Economics & Business from July, 2011
Nigeria: Challenges of Shopping Online
David explains the challenges of shopping online in Nigeria: “Trust is a very rare commodity, especially in Nigeria. There are multitudes of stories about scams and betrayals. Since trust is in short supply, many find it impossible to sit behind a computer to buy online by sending money to a...
East Timor's Strategic Development Plan
The East Timor government has drafted its Strategic Development Plan which envisions a double digit annual GDP growth in the next two decades. La'o Hamutuk gives an initial analysis and some suggestions to improve the plan.
Macedonia: Media Allegations Against George Soros
Filip Stojanovski of Razvigor reports on disinformation in Macedonian media allegations that American businessman and philantropist, George Soros, would have sponsored the Albanian side during the Kosovo war to exploit new business opportunities.
Hungary: Times to Spend and Times to Save
Eva Balogh of Hungarian Spectrum takes a critical look at governmental investments in the energy industry, and asks whether they are wise, looking at the country's increasing economic reliance on foreign lenders.
Russia: Defence Paradoxes
Streetwise Professor discusses development of Russian military technology and weapons procurement and the paradoxes they pose to the Russian Armed Forces.
China: NetEase's business
iChinaStock.com has written a post and some slides for introducing a Chinese web-portal company, NetEase’s business model, financials, management, and user experience. NetEase was listed on the Nasdaq in 1999 and its market cap was $6.1 billion in July 2011.
South Korea: Class Action Lawsuit Against Apple Draws About 20 Thousands
Around 20 thousand South Koreans have joined a class-action lawsuit against Apple via Sue Apple Korea [ko] website. Apple faces allegations that it violated local laws by tracking and storing iPhone user's location information without consent.
Nepal: Budget 2011/12
Nepal Blogs provides a roundup of reactions of Nepali Twitter users on Nepal’s budget for fiscal year 2011/12 which was presented in the parliament today.
Bermuda: Out of Sync Development
Of the controversial Bazarian development, Vexed Bermoothes says: “We have some screwy priorities in this country. We refused to plan for housing that our international executives could buy…and then we give concessions in order to develop the same thing under the guise of tourism.”
Cuba: Interview with Palacios
the voice of el morro interviews Hector Palacios, a name associated with “the internal opposition in Cuba.”
Peru: Transportation Strike in Lima: A Campaign Against the Mayor?
The mayor of Lima, Susana Villarán, has experienced an outpour of all kinds criticism at the six month mark of her term. A strike by transportation carriers on July 13 is the Mayor's most recent challenge. Bloggers and Twitter users shared reactions, reports, images and analysis throughout the day of the strike.
Russia: Illusory Economic Stagnation?
Anatoly Karlin of Sublime Oblivion argues that the view of Russian economic stagnation is illusory, if taking demography, development level, etc into account.
Brunei International Defence Exhibition 2011
EmmaGoodEgg blogs about the Brunei International Defence Exhibition or BRIDEX 2011, a bi-annual defence exhibition. It's also the premier defence and security event in Southeast Asia
Russia-Middle East: Comparing the Fall of the Wall and the Arab Spring
Dr. Sean's Diary compares the difficulties of area studies in handling the fall of the commnist bloc in Central and Eastern Europe in the 1990s with that of the current Arab spring, against the backdrop of a recent Foreign Policy article.
Trinidad & Tobago: FIFA Report
Globewriter posts what he believes to be FIFA's preliminary report on the Jack Warner and Bin Hamman controversy, which led to Warner's resignation as vice-president.
Cuba: On Queue
“The queue in Cuba…is our music, our magic, our politics. It is the place where we philosophise…the campfire around which we perform our daily routines: conversing, falling for and out with people and, quipping”: A Cuban in London says you haven't seen a real line until you line up in...
Uzbekistan: World-known brands to denounce child labor
Wal-Mart, Macy’s, Eileen Fisher, Nautica, Gear for Sports, The Jones Group, Liz Claiborne and Nike are among the first companies to sign a pledge boycotting the use of Uzbekistan-sourced cotton until the International Labor Organization determines that forced child labor is no longer an issue in the country, reports Abulfazal.
Chile: 40 Years of Nationalized Copper
As Setty writes in his blog, July 11 marked “the 40th anniversary of Chile’s nationalization of the copper industry.” Codelco, (Chile's state-owned copper mining company) workers went on strike that day “to protest the ‘undercover privatization’ of the company”, Setty explains.
Russia: Infrastructure Falling Apart
Yuri Mamchur of Russia Blog argues that Russian infrastructure is literally falling apart due to desperate lack of reinvestment, while profits continue to go abroad, making much critical functions of society rely on things made half a century ago.
Cuba, U.S.A.: About that Embargo
Iván García contends that despite the general pragmatism of U.S. policy, “regarding the Cuban embargo, the Americans show a notable stupidity”, calling it “an authentic mirrors game…of course, the ones who blame the embargo for all the misfortunes that have been happening are also lying.”
Cuba: The Challenges of Agriculture
Iván García blogs about the experience of a farmer who is convinced that “the main responsibility for the scarcity of agricultural and cattle products is the Cuban government.”
