Stories about Economics & Business from July, 2009
Guyana: The CARICOM Circus
Guyana-Gyal says that CARICOM is “just a free lunch”.
Latvia: The one-way street of economic crisis
Nouvelle Europe discusses [FR] the economic crisis in Latvia, with widespread wage cuts and imminent collapse of the financial sector, indicating no apparent way out of the crisis in the foreseeable future.
El Salvador: Decline in Remittances from Abroad
The decline in remittances from Salvadorans living abroad which has been making up 1/6 of the country's economy is a big threat writes Tim Muth.
Alcohol use rises in Cambodia
Vutha cites a study which mentions an increase in number of Cambodians who are drinking beer and alcohol. Majority prefers to drink the locally-produced white rice wine
Cambodia: Ads on three-wheeled vehicles
To save cost and reach more people at the same time, many companies in Cambodia are now placing ads on three-wheeled vehicles which are popular in the country.
Russia: Innovating the newspaper industry
English Russia turns attention to a news novelty by printing regular news editions on the plastic bags you get when shopping.
Ghana: Bloggers Discuss Business Process Outsourcing
Few know that A.T.Kearney rated Ghana as sub-Saharan Africa's number one Business Process Outsourcing destination in 2005 and, as of June 2009, the nation’s achievements in this field look set to continue. Several bloggers reported on an agreement signed in early June between two leading ICT organisations that will provide unprecedented opportunities for ICT students, create thousands of jobs, and underpin the growth of this nascent industry.
Czech Republic: World's first triple hybrid bus
The Reference Frame tells about the first ever serially manufactured triple hybrid bus, made in the Czech city of Pilsen – otherwise famous for its beer.
Kenya: Kenya Revenue Authority, Wake Up!
Thinker's Room discusses redundant procedures required by the Kenya Revenue Authority: “Countless man hours are wasted by taxpayers, accountants all around Kenya and KRA employees to collect data that they already bloody have. Mind numbing repetitive manual work at unnecessary cost to the taxpayer.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Music Piracy
Blogging from Trinidad and Tobago, This Beach Called Life makes the connection between the King of Pop and ethics: “While people mourn Michael Jackson’s death they illegally download his music. We in the dotty Third World crave to be First World and use any means possible to appear to be...
Jamaica: Air Jamaica Sold
Stunner's Afflictions reports that “after months of searching, proposals, negotiations it has finally happened. The pride of the Jamaican skies, the cash strapped Air Jamaica has been sold.”
Trinidad & Tobago: Alutrint Accounts
“We badly want to see…what the State has spent on Alutrint, what it will spend, and what it will gain”: A Trinidad and Tobago-based anti-smelter blog is concerned that “the citizens of the Republic will be paying Alutrint’s costs…this will amount to tens of billions of dollars, not even taking...
Barbados: Travel Questions
“Times are hard and money is too tight to mention. If you can still afford a vacation we really want you to come to our small rock”: Barbadian blogger Ingrid Persaud answers a few travel-related questions which she says “the Tourist Board [has] neglected to address.”
Taiwan: Dell, Caught in the Web
On the late night of June 25, Dell, the brand that sells customized PCs, suddenly became the hottest word on Taiwan's Twitterverse, Plurksphere, and BBS, because all products listed on Dell's homepage are on unbelievable discount.
Kyrgyzstan: Free Market Research Center Officially Launched
Mirsulzhan informs that the Central Asian Free Market Institute opened the doors in Bishkek, capital of Kyrgyzstan. It is aimed at becoming the leading think-tank for the whole region, providing constructive options for economic reforms.
Does Global Financial Crisis Affect Kyrgyzstan?
Slon.ru writes [ru] that global financial crisis started in the February, 2007. That month Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) stopped the buying-out the subprime mortgages. A lot of American and European banks take up the lead of Freddie Mac in Summer, 2007. It leaded to the bankruptcy in...
Belarus: President Pardons Emanuel Zeltser
On June 30, a U.S. Congress delegation visited Minsk to meet with Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko. During this meeting, members of the U.S. delegation asked the president to pardon Emanuel Zeltser, an American lawyer who, in August 2008, was "sentenced to three years in prison on charges of 'attempted industrial espionage' and the use of fake documents." Lukashenko said he could do it and signed the pardon later that day.
India: Question To The Minister Of Railways
Roger Alexander questions the the Minister of railways of India, who presented this year's budget in the parliament today: “why has the cash surpluses of the Railways depleted so rapidly in such a short span of time?”
Bhutan: Ordinary People Are Losing Homes
Passu Diary discusses how the works of the hydro-electric power project at Punatshangchhu (Punakha) River in bhutan has made an impact on the local lives. There are no homes available for rent for the low income ordinary people and the blogger urges “we want our homes back. Please don’t buy...
Haiti: Mourning Met With Violence
Repeating Islands reports that “Haitian police say the demonstrator found slain after the clash with U.N. peacekeepers during the funeral procession for Father Gérard Jean-Juste was killed by a bullet”, while a guest writer at Wadner Pierre's blog calls the situation “an example of a global security apparatus deployed to...
Haiti: Preval Party Wins Senate Seats
Repeating Islands notes that “preliminary results from last week’s run-off elections in Haiti indicate that President René Preval’s party won five of 11 contests to fill open Senate seats”, but adds that “there have been…threats from other senators to block the seating…because of the extremely low voter turnout in the...
