Global Agenda articles from December 2008

Global Agenda archives from December 2008

Green army; Environmental monitoring; Many eyes make light work.
December 1, 2008... Many eyes make light work THE rich world abounds in environmental ideals but lacks biodiversity. The number of animals and plants that thrive in Europe and much of North America is only a fraction of those found in tropical regions. Too...

Currency collapse in Ukraine.
December 1, 2008... The battle in Ukraine to stop the currency plummeting Ukraine's currency is plummeting in response to the country's declining economic prospects and financing difficulties. With the IMF now having a major say in policy decisions, non-market...

The shock of the new; Rediscovered Old Masters; Nothing excites the art market like finding what was lost.
December 2, 2008... Nothing excites the art market like finding what was lost THE highlight of the Old Master sales in London this summer was a lovely little fete galante depicting a guitarist and an amorous couple painted by Jean-Antoine Watteau, a master of...

The urge to merge; Mergers and acquisitions; M&A could boom again next year.
December 2, 2008... M&A could boom again next year LIKE every other business activity nowadays (except bankruptcy-advisory work) merging and acquiring companies (M&A) is in a deep slump. Last week BHP Billiton, a mining giant, withdrew from its planned...

The urge to merge; Mergers and acquisitions; Mergers and acquisitions could boom again next year.
December 2, 2008... Mergers and acquisitions could boom again next year LIKE every other business activity nowadays (except bankruptcy-advisory work) merging and acquiring companies (M&A) is in a deep slump. Last week BHP Billiton, a mining giant, withdrew...

The Pakistan connection; Terrorism in India; Where the terror trail so often leads.
December 3, 2008... Where the terror trail so often leads IT MAY have been a slip of the tongue. But there was something very revealing about a remark that Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, made in an interview with an Indian television channel on...

Harsher times for Chile.
December 3, 2008... Chile's outlook has darkened as commodity prices drop In the light of the international economic turbulence since September--which has brought sharp drops in commodity prices, the value of the peso and in investment expectations--the...

Power, money and principle; Damian Green’s arrest; Defending political freedom in Russia and Britain.
December 4, 2008... Defending political freedom in Russia and Britain IMAGINE the outrage if the Russian police raided the Duma and arrested a leading opposition politician on the grounds that he had obtained leaked information embarrassing to the Kremlin. It...

Funding Argentina's "New Deal".
December 4, 2008... The president is seeking funds to boost the economy Faced with slowing economic growth, dwindling reserves and an international financial crisis, Argentina's president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, is resorting to interventionist...

Even pigs can fly; Aviation; Suddenly the skies are open to amateur aviators.
December 5, 2008... Suddenly the skies are open to amateur aviators ONE of your correspondent's all-time favourite movies is "Porco Rosso", a feature-length anime from Hayao Miyazaki's legendary Studio Ghibli in Tokyo. The attraction of the movie--Mr...

Fragile state.
December 5, 2008... India and America want Pakistan to fight terrorism harder It is difficult to overestimate the extent to which the terrorist attack on Mumbai has complicated the outlook for Pakistan's relations with both India and the US. Whether or not...

The joy of cutting; Cyril Power; A British master linocutter gets his moment of glory.
December 6, 2008... A British master linocutter gets his moment of glory "IT HAS become the custom nowadays," wrote Claude Flight, a British artist, in 1926, "to go to a shop for the tools of one's trade." Flight was scornful of shoppers and liked to make...

Look homeward; Sovereign-wealth funds; Why the overseas cavalry can't save the markets.
December 7, 2008... Why the overseas cavalry can't save the markets THE "wall of money" argument is a hardy investment perennial. Back in the 1980s, it was the Japanese who would sweep in and push up stockmarkets. In recent years, sovereign-wealth funds have...

California dreaming; Industry and the environment; Selling green in Detroit and Poznan.
December 8, 2008... Selling green in Detroit and Poznan THE movers and shakers in the world of climate change may have come to Poland this week for the United Nations' annual climate jamboree, but their eyes are on America. At the same event next year, it is...

Aoun's goal; Aoun's goal in Lebanon; The curious political position of Lebanon's christians.
December 8, 2008... The curious political position of Lebanon's christians Michel Aoun, the self-proclaimed political leader of Lebanon's Christians, has been accorded a welcome befitting royalty during a five-day visit to Syria. The Syrian president, Bashar...

Wishing on a tsar; The car industry; A new trend in the era of big government?
December 9, 2008... A new trend in the era of big government? NOTHING symbolised the failure of corporate leadership in the automotive industry more clearly than the sight of the bosses of America's incredible shrinking "Big Three" carmakers (Ford, General...

Back to business in Iraq?
December 9, 2008... Some progress in Iraq, as a deal is struck on the export of oil to Turkey The Iraqi government is turning its attention increasingly towards issues relating to economic development, now that an agreement of sorts has been hammered out on...

Jane's story; The Status of Forces Agreement; Crime without punishment in Japan.
December 10, 2008... Crime without punishment in Japan THIS story is of no material importance to Japan. It is the story of Jane. And it is a story of a very small, dark sliver of 20th century geopolitics that festers still. Jane is an attractive, blonde...

What about NATO? NATO; How the alliance should move forward.(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
December 11, 2008... How the alliance should move forward BETWEEN the new American administration getting going and the NATO summit in Strasbourg in April lie a few short perilous months. The story since the war in Georgia has been that NATO proved reluctant to...

Shrinking giant; Japan is a shrinking giant; The Japanese economy is sliding into a painful recession.
December 11, 2008... The Japanese economy is sliding into a painful recession When will Japan emerge from its recurrent economic nightmare? Certainly not this year nor perhaps next year, if the country's latest GDP numbers are any indication. The world's...

Flipping the video; Digital video; A tiny camcorder shakes up the market.
December 12, 2008... A tiny camcorder shakes up the market IT HAS been a gloomy autumn for retailers selling television sets, audio gear and other consumer electronics. Demand for such goods, according to Retrevo, a search and shopping site, has headed steadily...

That sort of bear; Winnie-the-Pooh; A fine collection of British storybook treasures up for sale.
December 13, 2008... A fine collection of British storybook treasures up for sale CHRISTMAS is the season of great gifts for little people. Last year J.K. Rowling, the creator of Harry Potter, raised [pounds sterling]1.96m ($2.9m) for a children's charity when...

Finding the gaps; Arbitrage; Why arbitrage opportunities are being spurned.
December 15, 2008... Why arbitrage opportunities are being spurned WHEN will the arbitrageurs return? A look across the financial markets at the moment reveals all sorts of potential anomalies that are not being exploited. One example is in the corporate...

Welcome to the NASQUACK; Biodiversity; A stock exchange for trading species.
December 15, 2008... An exchange for species rather than stocks IMAGINE for a moment that you own an acre of valuable land in California and you'd like to build some houses on it. But, to your horror, the government tells you that your land is home to several...

Abhisit's chance; Abhisit's chance in Thailand; Thailand gets a new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party.
December 15, 2008... Thailand gets a new prime minister, Abhisit Vejjajiva of the Democrat Party Thailand's next prime minister will be Abhisit Vejjajiva, leader of the opposition Democrat Party (DP), according to the results of a parliamentary vote on...

The swimming naked awards; 2008: The year in business; A year of embarrassment when the financial tide went out.
December 16, 2008... A year of embarrassment when the financial tide went out "YOU only find out who is swimming naked when the tide goes out", Warren Buffett famously observed. In 2008, the financial tide went out further than anyone expected, revealing a...

Hard times in South Africa.
December 16, 2008... South Africa's economy is coming under pressure South African growth is slowing sharply, while the rand appears vulnerable to further devaluation. The picture isn't entirely gloomy--inflation appears to have peaked, for example--but...

Six-party standstill; Asia.view.
December 17, 2008... Talks with North Korea overlook one small problem: the country has no intention of giving up its nukes IMAGINE playing chess without kings on the board. One might perform stunning strategies and exquisite exchanges. Bishops sail to snatch a...

Economic slowdown; China's economic slowdown; Do the economic problems of Guangdong province show where China is headed in 2009?
December 17, 2008... Do the economic problems of Guangdong province show where China is headed in 2009? Guangdong may no longer be at the vanguard of China's economic reforms, but the province's economic slowdown since the start of 2008 showed that...

Time to change the rules.
December 18, 2008... The EU is asking too much of the ex-communist states that want to join the euro MOST people who give the matter any thought agree: one of the main rules for countries wanting to join the euro is perverse. Yet adopting the common currency...

In need of support; Spain's economy needs support; Spain's government has countered earlier claims of inaction with a flurry of initiatives, but recession in 2009 is unavoidable.
December 18, 2008... Spain's government has countered earlier claims of inaction with a flurry of initiatives, but recession in 2009 is unavoidable Government policy has undergone a marked shift in focus over the past two months, in response to the escalating...

O Tannenbaum.
December 19, 2008... How green are your branches? CHRISTMAS, as all who celebrate it know, is a season of cares and woe. There are expensive presents to be procured, elaborate meals to be cooked, over-excited children to be entertained and tiresome relatives...

Year of the ox; China in 2009; Economic woes and key anniversaries portend trouble.
December 22, 2008... Economic woes and key anniversaries portend trouble FOR China's leaders, a perfect storm is brewing. Economic growth, which has helped keep the Communist Party in power, is faltering. The new middle class, hitherto a pillar of the party's...

The incredible shrinking saleroom; The art market in 2009; Bad days behind us, worse days ahead.
December 24, 2008... Bad days behind us, worse days ahead THE moment the art market plummets is almost always signalled by a sudden catastrophic sale. This time was quite different. The top of the market can be narrowed down to the two-hour cocktail slot on...

What Santa can bring Eastern Europe; Eastern Europe in 2009; Radek Sikorski for NATO chief.(appointment of Radek Sikorski for North Atlantic Treaty Organization chief)
December 27, 2008... Radek Sikorski for NATO chief THE reindeer are harnessed, the sledge laden. So what will Santa Claus bring the ex-communist countries for Christmas? Desirable presents are easy to think of. A respite from the economic downturn. A less...

Company woe; The markets in 2009; To look ahead, look back to 2002.
December 30, 2008... To look ahead, look back to 2002 NO MATTER what happens in 2009, financial markets can surely not be as turbulent as they have been in 2008. The virtual demise of the independent investment bank, the rescue of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,...