18 August 2010. By David Caploe PhD, Chief Political Economist, EconomyWatch.com
At this particular time, one of the fabulous things for a Westerner living in Asia, or, indeed, anywhere outside the “developed” world,
is the opportunity to see concretely the rise of what is often called “the new global middle class.”
To a very real extent, this is an entirely new phenomenon in the history of the modern world,
17 August 2010. By David Caploe PhD, Chief Political Economist, EconomyWatch.com
Many lifetimes ago, I had the pleasure of advising the Master’s Thesis of a brilliant young man named Andres Edwards,
The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it would overhaul a unit devoted to scrutinizing large corporations and wealthy individuals,
a shift that would bolster the agency’s growing focus on international tax evasion.
The I.R.S. said that it would centralize operations at the core unit, which will now be known as the large business and international division,
16 August 2010.
Israeli business executives here in Istanbul like to point out that
most of the angry Turks who protested Israel’s deadly raid on a Turkish-led flotilla to Gaza this past spring
do not know that their cellphones, personal computers and plasma televisions were made using parts and technology from Tel Aviv.
For Menashe Carmon, chairman of the Israel Turkey Business Council, such ignorance is a blessing for Israelis and Turks.
The battle to curb public deficits has forced EU member states to cut back on investments, and in particular on infrastructure projects.
The Spanish government has announced it would reduce the rate it pays for photovoltaic electricity by 45%,
a decision that will pose serious difficulties for the 600 solar operators in the country.
With the recent announcement of a post-unification “record” for German economic growth this past quarter – on which we will have more next week – and the equally bad news from Spain and Greece –
we thought it appropriate to consider some of the revelations contained in the 2009 regional yearbook of Eurostat, the EU’s official statistical agency.
Overall, the yearbook indicates the danger of a two-speed recovery across the 16-member euro zone
13 August 2010. By David Caploe PhD, Chief Political Economist, EconomyWatch.com
We wrote yesterday about how India has been engaging in an “infrastructure confrontation” with China in the Himalayan region near Rohtang Pass.
Today, we see how India’s “other” – much more long-lasting and, in the more recent past, sporadically explosive – major “front” –
12 August 2010. By David Caploe PhD, Chief Political Economist, EconomyWatch.com
We have often said one of the most important conditions for a positive future in both Asia and the world in general
is a good relationship between India and China.
Unfortunately, we’ve already documented the competition between the two countries that has been going on
To many outsiders, South Africa has long been an unstable business environment with an economy overly dependent on natural resources.
Now, the government and a new breed of entrepreneurs are optimistic that they can change perceptions and climb the industrial ladder.
A group of companies is working in sectors like clean energy, aviation, engineering, military contracting and mining, hoping to benefit from positive growth forecasts for the region.
New Delhi is famous for its snarled traffic and infamous for its unruly drivers —
aggressive rule-breakers who barrel through red lights, ignore crosswalks and veer into bicycle or bus lanes to find open routes.
Now, the city’s overburdened traffic police officers have enlisted an unexpected weapon in the fight against dangerous driving: Facebook.
The traffic police started a Facebook page two months ago,
