IMF Sees US-Led Global Growth Slowdown

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 1/29/2008 10:17:00 PM
The uber economists at the IMF are forecasting global growth to slow down as the effects of the US subprime mess affect other parts of the world. It goes back to the same argument that US consumption represents $9.6 trillion in demand annually, whereas Chinese and Indian consumption represents only $1.6 trillion combined. At the end of the day, who'll buy all this stuff if Americans don't? We'll see...it's good to note that the IMF believes African growth will increase this year despite it all. What follows are a table of IMF predictions and a blurb on emerging economies:Emerging markets and developing countries Despite some...
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The New International B-School Order

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 1/29/2008 09:34:00 PM
The times are a-changing: the Financial Times has just released its latest business school rankings. It is notable that four out of the top 20 schools are now in the developing world whereas only 2 were in 2007 and only 1 was in 2006. INSEAD (with joint campuses in Switzerland and Singapore), the China Europe International Business School, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Business School, and the Indian School of Business are adding diversity to the previously Western-centric list. 25% of the top 20 business schools are now in the developing world; who would've guessed this thing could happen? It's a good deal, I think: business educators are going to where the students are--in Asia--instead of the other way arou...
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Philip Morris Sees Death Sticks' Growth Outside US

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,,, at 1/29/2008 03:32:00 PM
Like oil and water, tobacco companies and corporate social responsibility don't seem to mix. As sales of cigarettes have stalled in the developed world, the marketing focus of tobacco products has moved to the developing world where there are so many more lungs to foul up. While I am not a smoker, I am sometimes wary of the excesses of the nanny state with regard to tobacco. By all means, do ban smoking in public areas given the deleterious effects of secondhand smoke. But, leave people free to smoke in private--if they are determined to kill themselves, it's their choice and there's not much you can do about it. To evade...
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Bono on the Davos Question

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 1/28/2008 09:01:00 PM
In brief: make sure industrialized country governments live up to their aid commitments so that the Millennium Development Goals can be met come 20...
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Latin Migrants Seek Work--as Rent-a-Cops in Iraq

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 1/28/2008 08:21:00 PM
This is globalization for you (and perhaps exploitation for Marxist readers): Latin migrants are now being recruited to work as security guards in Mess-o-potamia. While they do not get quite the same perks as ex-US armed forces mercenaries working for private contractors, their pay is relatively good judging by the standards of their home countries. Doesn't it make you want to take out a lifetime subscription to "Soldier of Fortune" magazine? (Don't bother answering that; it's a rhetorical question.) From the LA Tim...
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Yo Blair Warns Against US Protectionism

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 1/28/2008 01:58:00 AM
Former British PM Tony Blair has come out warning against US isolationism, particularly on trade matters. The newly-appointed JP Morgan advisor [nudge-nudge, wink-wink] suggests that there is much to lose if the US retreats from the world stage and more or less walks away from the international institutions it has helped set up over the years. From the Wall Street Journal:Tony Blair cautioned U.S. presidential candidates not to lock themselves into damaging protectionist or isolationist policies they could have a tough time walking away from once in office. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal yesterday at the World Economic Forum here, the former British prime minister expressed concern that a suddenly more gloomy outlook for the global economy could lead the U.S. and other nations to close themselves off. "I understand all the protectionist pressures in the U.S.," Mr. Blair said. "On the other hand, I think it would be extremely unfortunate if people bolt themselves...
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The World According to Obama's Advisor

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 1/27/2008 03:37:00 AM
Guilty of taking cheap shots at America myself, I am amazed that even Barack Obama's foreign policy advisor Parag Khanna is doing the same in today's edition of the New York Times Magazine. He too says American hegemony is dead. You will not be surprised that I think the USA is becoming the Britney Spears of world politics: bloated, overindulgent, and in need of rehab to cure its excesses. However, Khanna's prescriptions are strange indeed for helping America adjust to a post-hegemonic existence. As you would expect from an advisor to a politician, he does not suggest the sensible route of belt-tightening and sacrifice to cure fiscal ailments. Instead, we get this:Given our deficits and political gridlock, the only solution is to channel global, particularly Asian, liquidity into our own public infrastructure, creating jobs and technology platforms that can keep American innovation ahead of the pack.Unfortunately, our man's grasp of economics leaves something to be desired; America...
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Martin Wolf Chairs Panel of Superpundits @ Davos

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 1/26/2008 06:20:00 PM
If you've got the scratch, head over and see the Financial Times' Martin Wolf chairing a panel featuring some of the financial world's most-watched figures. These are:Dominique Strauss Kahn, Director-General of the IMFPalaniappan Chidambaram, Indian Finance MinisterYoshimi Watanabe, Japanese Financial Services MinisterChristine Legarde, French Finance MinisterJohn Thain, Chairman of Merrill-LynchLarry Summers, former US Treasury SecretaryThe main topic for discussion is the possibility of the developing world decoupling from the subprime-led slowdown in the US. Interesting stuff. Chidambaram predicts an 8-8.5% growth rate for India in 2008, so you can say he's an optimist on decoupling. As they always say, we'll see...
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Sarkozy Asking the Impossible?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 1/25/2008 06:09:00 PM
I got a chuckle while reading an Associated Press writeup of rogue trader Jerome Kerviel managing to lose $7+ billion at Societe Generale, or SocGen to those in the biz. This staggering sum is, by far, the largest single loss at the hands of a single trader. When asked to comment on the incident, Sarko had this to say:Sarkozy said he will announce new proposals at a Tuesday dinner in London with other European leaders on how to boost transparency in the financial sector and encourage the "moral improvement of financial capitalism."The "moral improvement of financial capitalism"?! I am laffing so hard...
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CNET Reviews One Laptop Per Child

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 1/22/2008 09:02:00 PM
Now that the One Laptop Per Child XO-1 should soon be commercially available under the Give 1, Get 1 scheme, the folks over at CNET have given it a rundown. It earned a score of 7.5 or "Very Good." Currently running is this soap opera [1, 2, 3] of Intel withdrawing from the OLPC project's board of directors over the OLPC folks supposedly wanting Intel to discontinue selling its low-cost Intel Classmate model. True or not? Regardless of that saga's outcome, favorable reviews like CNET's should help make the OLPC a more commercially viable unit:What is it: Ultraportable for children in developing countries What we think:...
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Answering the "Davos Question"

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 1/20/2008 07:29:00 PM
With the 2008 Davos summit to be held soon from 23 to 27 January in Switzerland, YouTube has asked its viewers to submit entries concerning what the "Davos Question" is. Above is an entry set to music that I thought was comprehensive and interesting if relying too much on standard anti-globalization rhetoric. BTW, you can scan the other submissions on YouTube. On the World Economic Forum site, you can also see various bigwig CEOs like Nissan-Renault's Carlos Ghosn address this question. The Holy See also chimes in with a message about the need for peace-development-environment.A lot of fine talk, yes, but what about acti...
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Can you search R-E-C-E-S-S-I-O-N?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 1/20/2008 06:07:00 PM
I was visiting the Yahoo! site when I came across this interesting graphic care of those search engine folks. With outspoken CNBC commentator Jim Cramer yelling his head off about Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke having "no idea" about how things bad are, Joe Sixpack has gone in search of news about the impending economic slowdown Stateside. What are the areas most concerned about a further economic slowdown in the land of the free? The amount of hits coming from various states may give some clues. What follows is a bit of Yahoo! commentary and the relevant chart:Over the past seven days, searchers propelled queries on "economic...
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