Global Agenda articles from June 2009

Global Agenda archives from June 2009

Off the radar screen; Locating lost aeroplanes; Aeroplanes need satellite navigation even more than cars.
June 5, 2009... Aeroplanes need satellite navigation even more than cars DAYS after Air France's ill-fated Airbus A330 plunged mysteriously into the southern Atlantic Ocean four hours after leaving Rio de Janeiro for Paris on May 31st, rescuers were still...

Knock on wood; Art.view.
June 6, 2009... A special moment for collectors of fine English furniture WELL over half of Christie's June 4th sale of important English furniture and clocks--85 lots out of 149--failed to sell or were despatched at or below the low estimate. Only one of...

Hostage to fortune; Trading carbon credits; And avoiding deforestation.
June 8, 2009... Trading carbon credits based on avoided deforestation TREES are one of the most efficient systems of carbon capture and storage on the planet. They breathe in carbon dioxide and breathe out oxygen, locking the carbon into their roots,...

Obama's Trump card; Businessmen as government advisers; Should the president tell The Donald: "You're hired"?
June 9, 2009... Should the president tell The Donald: "You're hired"? "IT'S like Barack Obama putting Donald Trump in his cabinet", assorted British pundits have quipped, after the flailing prime minister, Gordon Brown, appointed Alan Sugar as his...

Thai insurgency; Thailand's deadly insurgency; A deadly attack on a mosque in Thailand.
June 11, 2009... A deadly attack on a mosque in Thailand Over the past few months, as a political power struggle has repeatedly convulsed Thailand's capital, a violent insurgency has rumbled on in the country's Muslim-dominated southern provinces. The...

Oil to spare; Saudi Arabia opens up a new oil field; The oil price keeps rising, even as Saudi Arabia opens a huge new field.
June 12, 2009... A giant new oil field opens in Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia has just announced the start of production at the giant Khurais oilfield, which will push up OPEC's total spare capacity to about 8% of world oil consumption. However, the event has...

The long goodbye; Switching off analogue television; America bids farewell to analogue television.
June 12, 2009... America bids farewell to analogue television ON JUNE 12th television in America will undergo its biggest change in more than 60 years. The last of the big television stations still broadcasting in analogue will turn off their transmitters...

The long goodbye; Switching off analogue television; America bids farewell to analogue television.
June 15, 2009... America bids farewell to analogue television ON JUNE 12th television in America will undergo its biggest change in more than 60 years. The last of the big television stations still broadcasting in analogue will turn off their transmitters...

Fixing Germany's bank system; Germany's banking system is changing; The financial crisis and EU pressure force Germany to restructure its ailing banking system.
June 15, 2009... The financial crisis and EU pressure force Germany to restructure its ailing banking system The financial crisis is forcing Germany to abandon its post-war banking system. The EU is promoting the shake-up. "The German model of three...

Can the spam; The carbon footprint of spam; Spam is not only irritating, it is bad for the environment.
June 15, 2009... Spam is not only irritating, it is bad for the environment ON JUNE 12th a judge in California referred a lawsuit against Sanford Wallace, who styles himself "the king of spam", to the United States Attorney's office for possible criminal...

Coffee and pastries but no debate; The sham of shareholder democracy; Bosses ought to listen to investors' gripes.
June 16, 2009... Bosses ought to listen to investors' gripes THE "2009 version of a show trial" is how Robert Monks, a veteran corporate-governance activist, describes the annual meeting last month of Exxon Mobil shareholders. After being presented with "an...

Coffee and pastries but no debate; The sham of shareholder democracy; Bosses ought to listen to investors' gripes.
June 17, 2009... Bosses ought to listen to investors' gripes THE "2009 version of a show trial" is how Robert Monks, a veteran corporate-governance activist, describes the annual meeting last month of Exxon Mobil shareholders. After being presented with "an...

Summertime blues; Russia and the EU; Will warm weather stiffen European spines?
June 18, 2009... Will warm weather stiffen European spines? WHEN the people who run the Western world go on holiday, bad things happen in eastern Europe. Last August Russia invaded Georgia. Over Christmas its gas spat with Ukraine left millions of European...

Debt threat in Italy; Italy attempts to avoid a debt spiral; Italy's government, so far, has reassured credit rating agencies.
June 19, 2009... Italy's government, so far, has reassured credit rating agencies The current economic crisis is expected to have a severe impact on Italy's already fragile public accounts, which will present major challenges for government policy in the...

Old Masters and maestros.
June 20, 2009... An historic week for London's Old Master dealers CHRISTIE'S and Sotheby's quite sensibly plan their major sales according to a pre-set calendar. If it's April it must be Chinese art being auctioned in Hong Kong, in May it is Impressionist...

Avoiding catastrophes; Ecosystems at tipping point; It is easy to destroy an ecosystem but difficult to rebuild it.
June 22, 2009... It is easy to destroy an ecosystem but difficult to rebuild it WHEN John Cabot dropped anchor off the coast of Newfoundland in 1497, his crew reported that they needed only to dip a bucket into the water to catch cod. For centuries the fish...

Back to basics; Uganda tries to boost its economy through agriculture; Uganda uses agriculture to boost its economy.
June 22, 2009... Uganda tries to boost its economy through agriculture Uganda will focus on commercial agriculture as a means of boosting economic growth this year. However, it is set to remain dependent on donor financing, which could prove problematic as...

The Jack Welch MBA; Management lessons from the Welch era at GE; Online, straight from the gut and politically incorrect.
June 23, 2009... Online, straight from the gut and politically incorrect HERE is a qualification to conjure with: the Jack Welch MBA. At last, you too can manage like Neutron Jack, thanks to the legendary former General Electric boss's $12m investment in...

Trouble in the Caucasus; Parts of the Caucasus remain violent; Chechnya has quietened down, but bits of the Caucasus remain troublesome.
June 23, 2009... Chechnya has quietened down, but bits of the Caucasus remain troublesome An assassination attempt on the president of the Russian republic of Ingushetia, Yunus-Bek Yevkurov, is a serious blow to the federal government's attempts to...

Hippie Picasso; Impressionist and Modern Art auctions.
June 27, 2009... Why is late Picasso enjoying a surge in demand? In London this week, Sotheby's and Christie's held their regular June auctions of Impressionist and Modern Art. Christie's evening sale realised a total of [pounds sterling]37m ($60.4m), while...

All shook up; Detecting earthquakes; Getting earlier warnings before quakes strike.
June 29, 2009... Getting earlier warnings before earthquakes strike YOU never really get used to earthquakes. In 1994, your correspondent's home in southern California was badly shaken by the Northridge earthquake, which delivered a wallop of magnitude 6.7...

The not-so-great outdoors; Barbecues and climate change; How to green your grill.
June 29, 2009... How to green your grill SUMMER has arrived in the northern hemisphere, and with it one of the traditional rituals of languid, warm evenings: the barbecue. How pleasant to cook and dine al fresco, as the sun casts long shadows across the...

Election woes in Japan; Japan's government may change; Heavy defeat is looking increasingly likely for prime minister Taro Aso.
June 29, 2009... Taro Aso, Japan's prime minister, faces electoral trouble ahead After a modest and short-lived revival in popular support in March and April, Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is once again looking into the political abyss....

Billy Mays, the infomercial king; Death of a great American salesman; Want to know the secret of America's innovation edge? Call now!
June 30, 2009... Want to know the secret of America's innovation edge? Call now! MICHAEL JACKSON was not the only famous 50-year-old to meet an untimely death in the past few days. On June 28th it was reported that Billy Mays, America's "infomercial king",...

A vote for change in Argentina; Argentina's ruling party suffers defeat; Argentina's president is dealt a blow in congressional elections.
June 30, 2009... Argentina's president is dealt a blow in congressional elections President Cristina Fernandez's Peronist ruling party suffered a major defeat, losing its legislative majority, in the nationwide June 28th congressional elections....