Posts of November 2009

China Lashes Out at Its European Currency Critics

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in China,Europe,Trade at 11/30/2009 04:14:00 PM

There's this saying that those who are reflective begin to ponder their actions when many begin to complain about them. Then again, there's another saying about there being a genius in the midst when the dunces start gathering against him. Which of these two it is in the case of new complaints by the European Union against China on the never-ending trade front is likely somewhere in between.Tensions have been building up between the European Union and China for quite some time now. For one thing, China re-pegging the dollar and the dollar in turn depreciating against the euro means that the single currency has borne the brunt...

LSE Students: Proto-Commies or -Capitalists?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Education at 11/26/2009 03:45:00 PM

Whenever you log into your computer here at the London School of Economics, there pops up this message board thingamajig with current goings-on: announcements, seminars, conferences, events, job fairs...you know, the regular stuff of school life. As most people know, LSE was founded by Fabians, folks with a socialist disposition. Among the notables who have worked at this august institution is no less than William Beveridge, the man commonly known as the founder of the modern welfare state. If you want to debate states and markets, you know where to go.As with many big name institutions, however, ideals often give way to the...

Asia Moving Up World University League Tables

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Education at 11/23/2009 07:15:00 PM

A while ago, I featured a World Bank publication concerning how to create institutions of higher learning. While there are still strenuous debates about whether creating universities with high international standing should be a goal for developing countries, there is no doubt that many Asian ones have made significant strides in competing with the best of the best in the world. Singapore has always been notable in that its highly educated workforce has been the envy of the region if not the world in propelling development via "human capital."There is, however, a rapidly rising newcomer to the scene that you all know of - China....

Out Now: America's Blueprint for Bashing China

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in China,Trade at 11/19/2009 05:04:00 PM

As you can probably tell, I pretty much got it right when I said that nothing much would come from Obama visiting China. Trade, human rights, climate change...there wasn't much assent between these two budding antagonists. Most of the interaction was highly scripted and the broadcast limited. So much so that I didn't even bother to post since I found nothing newsworthy. As Morrissey once sang, "Why do I smile at people who I'd much rather kick in the eye?" applies equally to both parties outside the dog-and-pony shows of diplomatic meetings.However, something has just come out that is far more interesting and possibly broader-reaching as far as the mock-happy relationship of these two in concerned. Every year, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission comes out with its report to Congress that typically bashes China over trade, human rights, and its relations with Taiwan. This year is no different. My colleague here at the LSE from the PRC Foreign Ministry says he...

...And Now for Weak Dollar Policy

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Cheneynomics at 11/19/2009 04:37:00 PM

I am somewhat surprised that regional Fed presidents would go against the grain in not objecting to a characterization of the US following anything but a strong dollar policy, but here it is. Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher didn't go into the rigmarole of stating that the US had such a policy. Nor did the Philly Fed President Richard Plosser.However, we begin with last Monday when the foreign exchange markets were somewhat surprised that the Fed chairman mentioned the dollar's value when it's traditionally been the Treasury secretary's role to do so. Here was Bernanke addressing the Economic Club of New York:We are attentive to the implications of changes in the value of the dollar and will continue to formulate policy to guard against risks to our dual mandate to foster both maximum employment and price stability. Our commitment to our dual objectives, together with the underlying strengths of the U.S. economy, will help ensure that the dollar is strong and a...

Obama's Quite Pointless ASEAN [Mis]Adventures

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Southeast Asia,Trade at 11/16/2009 04:37:00 PM

And so it has come to pass: the American president made his way to Singapore in order to enlighten its leaders in the ways of peace, freedom, and democracy. However, things haven't gone as convincingly as they could've been IMHO. Let's go about things in order.First was Obama getting together with the heads of the ASEAN member countries, including Thein Sein of Myanmar--the man chosen by the military junta to be its prime minister. This meeting provided the US with an opportunity to reaffirm its joining of the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation (TAC)--which it signed on to rather late but did so anyway during the Obama administration....

China Overdose: PBoC Hints at Refloating Yuan

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Cheneynomics,China at 11/12/2009 05:14:00 PM

OK, this Sinocentric focus is getting a bit too much even for my tastes. (The fine fellow working next to me, BTW, is from the PRC foreign ministry. The LSE is, if nothing else, the real deal.) However, since keeping IPE Zone readers better informed than your average blog reader is one of my goals--ignorance and stupidity always gnaw--I thought I should relay the following news. US administration officials has been making noises about asking China to follow "currency flexibility"--official speak for letting the renminbi or yuan revalue. Since June of 2008 to the present time, the PRC has maintained its currency at the $1/6.83...

Is PRC Net Censorship a Trade Barrier? Revisited

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in China,Internet Governance,Trade at 11/12/2009 03:32:00 PM

Sometime ago our colleagues over at the International Economic Law and Policy blog posed the question of whether the infamous "Great Firewall of China"--manned by an alleged 30,000 censor prevented capitalist filth like what you read here from polluting the minds of the Chinese people--constituted a trade barrier. This argument for censorship being a trade barrier stems from an earlier case the US filed and has subsequently won against China concerning state-owned entities being given exclusive rights to distribute Western media (books, magazines, movies, TV programmes, etc.) This victory at the WTO has thus emboldened those...

Obama Said Knock China Out

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in China,Trade at 11/11/2009 12:02:00 PM

Some folks think I exaggerate US-China quarrels. Well, perhaps this will give me more breathing space as US President Barack Obama talks trash prior to embarking on a tour across Asia extolling the virtues of the American way of life (or not). Something all of us are undoubtedly excited about is "China Currency Coalition" Obama visiting Beijing as both try to stare each other down in a game of chicken. Of course, America's champion Obama is seeking to placate domestic audiences by showing the burghers of Beijing who's boss (cue YouTube clip above) -Don't call it a comebackI've been here for yearsRockin' my peers and puttin' suckas in fearMakin' the tears rain down like a monsoonIn an interview with Reuters, Obama is warning China that strains may become more obvious between the antagonists if global economic imbalances aren't resolved. (Read: China must allow the renminbi to revalue or face the consequences):The United States sees China as a vital partner and competitor, but...

BNP: The Hard Bigotry of Terrorist Expectations

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Europe,Migration at 11/11/2009 10:08:00 AM

There was a media firestorm here in Britain a few weeks ago when Nick Griffith, head of the far-right British National Party, was invited to speak on the popular political programme Question Time [1, 2, 3]. The argument was that, having placed two European members of parliament, the BNP had a right to represent its views in this public forum. (The BBC famously charges all UK TV viewers £139.50 or about $230 annually.) I suppose it's the equivalent of the Ku Klux Klan--which he is unsurprisingly supportive of, by the way--appearing on Nightline. Naturally, he tried to backtrack from his racist views practically all programme...

White Man's Burden 2009: "Enlightening" SE Asia

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Southeast Asia at 11/09/2009 04:43:00 PM

There is an inbuilt streak which dies hard in many Anglo-Saxons to enlighten us backward coloured people who haven't seen the obvious advantages of capitalist liberal democracy. Nevermind, of course, rather contradictory episodes of subrime frivolity and Guantanamo Ghraibing misadventures as not-so-shining examples of both. While the date on the calendar says 9 November 2009, it might as well be 1899 as far as the FT's Asia correspondent Kevin Brown is concerned--the year in which Rudyard Kipling wrote of "The White Man's Burden: The United States and the Philippine Islands" in the pages of McClure's. Then, as now, the Great...

I'm a Sucker for $ Doom Stories Episode 5,341

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Cheneynomics at 11/09/2009 03:57:00 PM

A few days ago I questioned the empirical basis for determining whether dollar shares of global reserves were falling as the currency once again entered a full-on swoon. Lo and behold, it seems that there are more folks coming out of the woodwork with even more outre stories. Again, I would very much like to believe that countries around the world no longer believe in the usual American "strong dollar" hypocrisy. Kick those Yankee econocrusaders and greenbackjihadists where it hurts, I say. Drive interest rates stateside to kingdom come. Punish them for fouling up the world economy with the largest deficits it has ever seen. Bad behavior should be punished with extreme prejudice.Anyway, that rant aside, the latest round of dollar kicking today which has seen the euro rise above $1.50 is being attributed to two things. First, the bad jobs numbers last Friday when unemployment in the US climbed into double digits likely means American near-zero interest rate policy will remain...

Super Turkey Punchers: China, US Trade Blows

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in China,Litigation,Trade at 11/06/2009 04:10:00 PM

Well, well, well, this latest joint Sino-American hypocrisy over trade is interesting. Those of you who've played Doom 3 know what I'm talking about in the title. Prior to blasting aliens to kingdom come, the protagonist in Doom 3 has the opportunity to play an in-game arcade feature called Super Turbo Turkey Puncher 3. As you can gather from the video above, it is entertaining in a dumbly morbid way. The same holds true here with China and the US feigning trade amity.Let's first set the stage for some prime time fowl play. At the end of last month, China and the US pledged that they would no longer engage in tit-for-tat combat on the trade front at the 20th China-US Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade. There was US Trade Representative Ron "Cap'n" Kirk and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke doing the diplomatic equivalent of kumbaya. Also there was Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming vowing that "Both sides agreed on not introducing any new trade protection measures against...

Euroskeptics, Lisbon Treaty's Wonderful Tonight

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Europe at 11/05/2009 04:37:00 PM

With a slight delay due to computer woes, it brings me a great deal of pleasure to announce that the Lisbon Treaty has finally been inked by all 27 member states of the European Union. Hallelujah! The Czech Republic's Jurassic Euroskeptic (and global warming denier, naturally) Vaclav Klaus received enough sweeteners so that all he could do was mutter something about how he's had to sign due to an unfavourable ruling. The road to this momentous occasion has certainly been a rocky one. Lisbon's predecessor, the EU Constitution, was turned down in referenda by both France and the Netherlands in 2005. These events prompted a...

Holy War Lite: Pope Poaches Anglican Priests

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Religion at 11/05/2009 03:08:00 PM

I have a massive backlog of possible posts I haven't been able to attend to due to not having an Internet connection at home. Lest I pay highway robbery rates to have my British Telecom line activated, this will have to continue for a while. Nonetheless, the ongoing brouhaha between the Anglican and Catholic churches certainly merits attention. Tonight being Bonfire Night which Britons celebrate by burning effigies of Catholic conspiracist Guy Fawkes is certainly appropos. Why exactly are they damning whwat is now Britain's largest religion when the one Fawkes was trying to dismantle is self-destructing?It is no secret that the Catholic church has eclipsed its Anglican counterpart in terms of attendance here in Britain. Once more, this is no mean achievement in that the former has shrunken at a slower rate than the former. Heck, Tony Blair's even become my co-religionist. The Anglican church has been riven by internal conflict these last few years over efforts at "modernization"...

Are They Dropping Dollars for Euros as Reserves?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in IPE 101 at 11/02/2009 04:23:00 PM

This is a wonky post that I believe needs to be made anyway. I have made it plenty clear that I am no fan of the dollar and that anyone dumb enough to hold it--including myself, of course--should not complain when the Fed decides to "create some inflation" as now-chairman Ben Bernanke (AKA B-B-B-Bennie of the Feds) puts it. Recently, I've come across articles that make noises to the effect that reserve holding countries are shifting in a significant way towards the euro. Let's start with Bloomberg:While the dollar dropped in global currency reserves, holdings of euros rose to a record, the IMF report shows. The U.S. currency’s...

US Intrafirm Trade: When MNCs Rule the World?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in Anti-Globalization,Trade at 11/02/2009 03:58:00 PM

Sometime ago I read an exceptionally bad anti-globalization book by David Korten entitled When Corporations Rule the World. Ridden with factual errors such as the corporate revenues versus GDP apples-and-oranges fallacy, it was, to say the least, a laborious read. The anti-globalization movement claims to be environmentally friendly unlike the folks they criticize, but all I can say is that I am hugely appalled that so many trees were cut to print this amateur nite rubbish. At any rate, I was reminded of this amateurish screed while reading the latest summary statistics from the WTO's annual International Trade Statistics...