Jean-Pierre Lehmann, an accomplished trade analyst and professor of public policy at IMD, analyses the situation here: The Collapse of the WTO Doha Round – What does it mean for business?
Category:3 The World of Money
GM safety scandal 10th anniversary – the scandal continues
Here is copied a letter from Dr Arpad Pusztai to GM Watch on the 10th Anniversary of the GM Safety Scandal. GM contamination of nature and our food continues to be covered up by irresponsible people. Dear Claire and Jonathan, I thought that I should write to you on the 10th anniversary of my 150 …
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Ups and downs of the global credit crunch
Here’s a handy summary of how the consequences of the credit crunch have differed around the world. Simply: US and Europe down, Asia up, South America and Africa up. Irrespective of the ups and downs you should still differentiate between players in each market and understand how changing conditions are affecting them. … And here’s …
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Winners from the credit crunch.
As always, some weather downturns better than others, and the credit crunch has benefited those able to take advantage of it: those with cash, those who provide value and those who said it was coming. It is unfortunate that at the top of that list are the rich. In other words, the rich have got …
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The financial meltdown so far …
A succinct summary of the impact of the dislocation of financial markets so far is presented by the BBC here. It summarises the numbers; the losses to banks, homeowners, investors and policymakers. Unfortunately what is also clear is that none of the leaders in these areas have presented a way out. They talk about rebuilding …
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Is the US economy really growing?
Today’s report of 1.9% annualised growth of the US economy in the second quarter is surprising. With virtual stagnation of property markets, dry credit and inflation it seems implausible that this growth is occurring. These numbers from the Department of Commerce are preliminary and may be downgraded. Many analysts, including us, believe that the US …
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The Story of Stuff
A great video and website on our material global society. It is particularly good for education from children to adults. It is simple in its presentation but covers a lot of ground. Its focus is on the US, but its very applicable to all rich consumers. An excellent presentation of the problems with our consumer …
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Climate counts scorecard
A cute website that scores (US) companies on their commitment to fighting climate change. Focuses on the big companies. ClimateCounts.org
Voluntary defaults could solve the US financial problem …
This report from the BBC shows that the more wealthy borrowers who are able to service their mortgages are choosing to default because the negative equity is so large. For example, a borrower might face a 40% drop in marketable value and increasing interest rates, so they choose to walk away from the mortgage suffering …
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World trade talks collapse – because of rich world farmers
It is no surprise that the world trade talks have collapsed. Rich countries tried to retain some protections of their agricultural markets despite their own evident wealth. Their rationale is support of farmers and even talk of “food security” – this is of course ridiculous in today’s world. We in rich countries benefit from what …
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