Japan’s New PM Yoshihiko Noda Names Key Aides
Newly appointed Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda revealed yesterday key party appointments, as he attempts to rebuild unity after a bruising leadership fight.
Category: Markets
Melbourne Dethrones Vancouver as World’s Most Liveable City
Melbourne is now the world’s most liveable city, according to the 2011 Economist Intelligence Unit Global Liveability Report.
The Australian city usurped Canada’s Vancouver for the top spot in the rankings this year, after Vancouver had previously occupied or shared the top spot for nearly a decade. To add insult to injury, Vancouver’s score was also not good enough for the runner-up slot, which went to the Austrian city of Vienna.
Unprecedented US Consumer Weakness Encapsulated By Just One Number: Stephen S. Roach
30 August 2011.
The US economy – and the global economy – cannot get back on its feet without the American consumer. But never before in the post-World War II era has the American consumer been so weak for so long. One number, in particular, highlights the problem.
Life After Gadhafi – The Challenges Ahead : Scott Stewart
29 August 2011.
As the remnants of the Gadhafi regimes is slowly washed away, the National Transitional Council (NTC) now faces tough decisions and challenges in order to rebuild the country from scratch. While it is too early to predict the future of Libya, the NTC must address fault lines that have already emerged.
With the end of the Gadhafi regime seemingly in sight, it is an opportune time to step back and revisit one of the themes we discussed at the beginning of the crisis: What comes after the Gadhafi regime?
Key Economic News To Watch This Week
A series of economic data will be released this week which would determine if the world’s largest economy, the United States of America, is about to enter another round of recession.
Monday, 29th August
Fasting, Not Fighting, For Change: The Case of Anna Hazare
Late last year, a little known man from Sidi Bouzid in Tunisia set himself on fire in protest of the mistreatment he suffered from municipal government officials. The death of 26 year-old Mohamed Bouazizi sparked off a huge public outcry and violence in Tunisia, and several other Arab countries, including a similarly successful mass revolution in Egypt where then-President Hosni Mubarak was removed from office after 29 years in power.
US$1.7 Million Bounty For Muammar el-Qaddafi: Dead or Alive
Libyan rebels have offered a 2 million dinar (US$1.7 million) bounty on the head of Muammar el-Qaddafi, with his whereabouts remaining unknown despite Libyan rebels claims that 95 percent of Libya was under their control.
In a public move designed to entice members of el-Qaddafi’s inner circle, the chairman of the National Transitional Council (NTC) Mustafa Abdel Jalil, announced that any individual from within the colonel’s camp would be granted amnesty or pardon if he/she killed or captured the former Libyan leader.
Premature Speculation: The Arab Spring Cannot Be Considered as Democracy’s Fourth Wave. Yet.
24 August 2011.
The Arab world is changing. It began in the Tunisian city of Sidi Bouzid on 17 December 2010 when a simple street vendor named Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire to protest the alleged mistreatment that was inflicted on him by a government official. Few would have guessed at that time that Bouazizi’s act of self-immolation would eventually spark a socio-political revolution that would sweep across the Middle East and North Africa; bringing down numerous dictators and autocratic regimes, many of whom had been in power for decades.
Marx was Right – Capitalism is on a Self-Destructive Path: Nouriel Roubini
23 August 2011.
Karl Marx was right, it seems, in arguing that globalization, financial intermediation run amok, and redistribution of income and wealth from labor to capital could lead capitalism to self-destruct. However, socialism is clearly not the answer as well. With the world seemingly destined for another economic crisis, what can be done to prevent a Great Depression 2.0?
10 Truths About the Libyan Conflict
The oil markets celebration over Libya was short lived. A day after news headlines were abuzzed over the apparent victory of the people of Tripoli, the future of Libya looks uncertain. With no clear plan ahead, Libya is left without a government, constitution and leaders.
