Whew! EU-Canada FTA [CETA] is a Go

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 10/30/2016 12:45:00 PM
In this year of Brexit 'n' Trumpism, the globophobes have been defeated. Wonders never cease. Perhaps the Europeans are not dead in the FTA negotiation sweepstakes after all: After the Walloons in Belgium held up the Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement [CETA], this EU-Canada FTA is set to go ahead after all after the Walloons were assuaged. It is only a matter of hours before the Canadian PM Justin Trudeau arrives in Brussels to finalize the deal: After several rounds of talks late into the night Belgium formally gave its endorsement on Saturday morning. Smaller than the U.S. state of New Jersey, Wallonia region...
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Mrs Clinton's New E-Mail Investigation Hits Mexican Peso

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 10/28/2016 09:35:00 PM
There's an interesting article on MarketWatch on how the FBI issuing a recent statement that it would look further into Hillary Clinton's e-mails--here we go again--has affected various markets. Earlier in the day, it looked like US stock markets would end a three-day losing streak, but the uncertainty reintroduced into the American presidential elections put paid to that as understandable fears of a Trump presidency returned. More interestingly from an international perspective, the Mexican peso hit the skids once more as "Build a Wall" Trump and his NAFTA-canceling xenophobia were given a lifeline: Just when you thought...
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Duterte and the "People's Republic of the Philippines"

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in , at 10/23/2016 03:55:00 PM
Duterte claims the Philippines is now in the PRC's ideological flow. Take it with a whole heaping of salt. Friends abroad have asked me how to make sense of the bombastic and oafish Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte. My answer is always the same: Watch what the Philippine government does and not what he says since the latter is a completely unreliable guide to national policy. A case in point is his most ridiculous statements yet during a state visit to China. Apparently overwhelmed by the welcome granted to him that tinpot dictators the world over have also been given, Duterte began rambling incoherently as is his habit: In...
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Venezuelan Oiler PDVSA: Debt Swap or Bankrupt

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in ,, at 10/19/2016 04:25:00 PM
"Delay when we need to pay you back...or we'll default on Oct. 28!" Investor relations, Venezuela-style. When oil prices were at $100 or higher, Venezuela was flying high, using oil revenues to fund "socialist" PR stunts such as selling subsidized heating oil for poor Americans. As the price of oil tanked, however, the Venezuelan government has been less able to mount such extravagant displays of "generosity." After years and years of low oil prices, we instead have a situation in which state-owned oil company PDVSA is now threatening its creditors with default by next week if they do not accept the swap of bonds due in...
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From Busan to LA, Bankrupt Hanjin Hits World

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 10/18/2016 04:18:00 PM
"Busan, we have a problem." The oversupply of shipping vessels in the wake of world trade slowing down in recent years has resulted in the bankruptcy of one of Korea's most venerable firms, Hanjin Shipping. For years it has brought Korean-made goods to the rest of the world, but that didn't stop it from declaring bankruptcy earlier this year as its financial position became untenable. Its ships have not been able to dock at the world's major ports--those large enough to accommodate these large ships--over legal complications. What's more, shipments meant for the Christmas season have been stranded at sea together with these...
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Yo Blair! Can ex-PM Tony Save Britain from Brexit?

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 10/11/2016 03:35:00 PM
Him again? Blair, Labour, and preventing a "hard Brexit." There was an interesting story which came out over the weekend concerning former British Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair returning to (presumably) Parliament due to his concern over the UK's imminent decline in its global standing from Brexit. In particular, Blair is wary of the danger of a so-called "hard Brexit" being favored by the current Conservative PM Teresa May--a nasty divorce from all EU institutions. Being out of office giving Blair little voice in the whole sordid business, there appears to be only one recourse... Former Prime Minister Tony Blair could...
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Worst Branding Deal Ever? "Trump Tower Manila"

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 10/08/2016 09:25:00 PM
Is getting your private parts groped part of the deal if you buy a unit at this Trump-branded Manila condo? In psychology, there is a term "colonial mentality" referring to those living in former colonies adopting an inferiority complex towards their former colonizers. This phenomenon is particularly acute in the Philippines, where American-sourced things are typically regarded as superior to their local equivalents. If it has a whiff of the US, then it must be better by virtue of the association. Yippee, America #1! Philippine developer Century Properties certainly exudes this thinking by pandering to American celebrities....
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The Never-Ending Quest to Replace GDP

♠ Posted by Emmanuel in at 10/03/2016 07:19:00 PM
Maybe the Bhutanese show us the way by adopting "Gross National Happiness"? I've often featured these sorts of articles concerning how we would be better off moving past gross domestic product (GDP) as a measure of economic welfare. But, what is becoming interesting is that many of today's mainstream economists seem to be agreeing instead of the left-leaning crowd which dominates this discussion. Take former IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard: “The single focus on GDP or GDP growth in many policy discussions is misleading,” Olivier Blanchard, a former International Monetary Fund chief economist who’s now a...
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