Global Agenda articles from September 2008

Global Agenda archives from September 2008

Hedge trimmers; Market.view; Separating beta from alpha.
September 1, 2008... Separating beta from alpha HEDGE funds sound great in theory. They aim for returns that are absolute (making money whether markets rise or fall) and uncorrelated with other asset classes. But many investors are put off by the fees: often...

Every little helps; Green.view; Green shopping without the hairshirt.
September 1, 2008... Green shopping without the hairshirt "NOBODY made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could only do a little." With this quote from Edmund Burke, Good Energy, a British renewable-power provider, launched an online shop for...

KAL at the conventions; Our cartoonist has his sketchbook out.
September 2, 2008... Every day this week, our cartoonist is sending his sketches from the Republican convention in St Paul, Minnesota. You can find up-to-the-minute coverage on our American politics blog. You must have the Adobe Flash Player installed on your...

Viva Vivanno; Business.view; Innovative things to do with a banana.
September 2, 2008... Innovative things to do with a banana "BEHOLD, the atheist’s nightmare," declares Ray Comfort, an Australian evangelist, as he holds up a banana in a hugely popular video on YouTube. The fruit, he says, testifies to God’s...

Labour pains; A construction slump in Ireland hurts workers; A construction slump in Ireland hurts workers.
September 2, 2008... Workers in Ireland are struggling, hit especially by a slump in construction The effects on Ireland's labour market of a deep slump in the construction sector are becoming increasingly stark. Second-quarter data from the Central Statistics...

KAL at the conventions; Our cartoonist has his sketchbook out.
September 3, 2008... Every day this week, our cartoonist is sending his sketches from the Republican convention in St Paul, Minnesota. Sketches from previous days can be found here. You can find up-to-the-minute coverage on our American politics blog. You must...

The valley of despond; Asia.view; But a few reasons for hope in Kashmir.
September 3, 2008... But a few reasons for hope in Kashmir NOT so long ago, Kashmir seemed a rarity among the globe’s interminable, intractable conflicts, in that it actually seemed to be improving. It was no longer cited as the conflagration most likely...

Labour rations; Labour rations in the Gulf; Gulf Arab states are fretting at the rising number of foreign workers.
September 3, 2008... Gulf Arab states are fretting at the rising number of foreign workers Governments in the booming Gulf Arab states are becoming increasingly anxious at the erosion of their national cultures, as their growing economies suck in ever-larger...

The new cold what? Europe.view; Naming the stand-off between Russia and the West.
September 4, 2008... Naming the stand-off between Russia and the West DEFINING the beginning and end of the old cold war--let alone is the issues at stake--is tricky. Did it start with Lenin? With Stalin? Or with the Iron Curtain’s erection in Europe at...

An Orange divorce?
September 4, 2008... Ukraine’s pro-Western coalition is unravelling Ukraine’s government, comprising the allies from the Orange Revolution, is poised to collapse after the prime minister, Yuliya Tymoshenko, allied with the opposition to strip the...

Minds of their own; Tech.view; One day, a machine will outsmart its maker.
September 5, 2008... One day, a machine will outsmart its maker IN ONE of William Gibson’s early mind-bending stories, the protagonist suddenly needs to fly a jump jet. In the cockpit, he finds his employer has thoughtfully stashed a biochip containing...

Aso's bid.
September 5, 2008... Taro Aso is favourite to take over as prime minister in Japan Is Taro Aso the man to rescue Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), and cure the country's political drift, following prime minister Yasuo Fukuda's resignation? With Mr...

Suffering a seizure; America's mortgage giants; America’s government takes control of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
September 8, 2008... FOR many Americans, Sunday is for church, family lunches or catching a ball game. For the country’s financial authorities, it has become the day of the dramatic announcement: the takeover of Bear Stearns; the Treasury’s promise in...

The president's slender chance; Pakistan; Pakistan’s new leader, Asif Zardari, has a bad reputation and an historic opportunity.
September 8, 2008... IT IS a wonder that any sane man would want the job. Pakistan faces economic meltdown, chronic political instability, a war with Islamist extremists and a row with America, its most important ally. An attack on the prime minister’s...

Planning for El Salvador's poll.
September 8, 2008... El Salvador's political scene is dominated by preparations for the legislative election that will take place in January 2009 and the presidential poll set for March 2009. In recent weeks, the opposition Frente Farabundo Martí para la...

A deal, for now; Russia and the West; Europe shores up the Russian-Georgian ceasefire agreement.
September 9, 2008... Get article background HUMILIATION avoided, but hardly a triumph: that is the upshot of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s talks in Moscow on Monday September 8th, where he tried to get the Kremlin to implement in full a French-brokered...

Into the wild blue yonder; Particle physics; The Large Hadron Collider starts up, more or less.
September 10, 2008... THE Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is a machine whose experiments will measure events that happen within a millionth of a billionth of a billionth of a second. What no one seems to be able to measure, though, even to an accuracy of several weeks,...

Brazil nuts; Business.view; A housing boom has investors swooning.
September 11, 2008... A housing boom has investors swooning INTERNATIONAL investors have grown less excited recently about emerging markets. But despite all the talk about the "decoupling" them from America’s economy, it turns out that when America has a...

The weakness of the West; Europe.view; Russia is on the front foot now--but not forever.
September 11, 2008... Russia is on the front foot now--but not forever EVEN the most sanguine political observers would concede that dealing with a resurgent Russia may require a bit of a rethink. But George Friedman, the founder of Stratfor, a consultancy...

A tentative embrace; Ukraine has been promised closer EU ties but not eventual membership; Ukraine has been promised closer EU ties but not eventual membership.
September 11, 2008... Ukraine is promised closer ties with the EU The Ukraine-EU summit has concluded with the EU promising a deeper relationship and the conclusion of an association agreement by March 2009. Crucially, the communique did not offer Ukraine a...

The weakness of the West; Europe.view; Russia is on the front foot now--but not for ever.
September 12, 2008... Russia is on the front foot now--but not for ever EVEN the most sanguine political observers would concede that dealing with a resurgent Russia may require a bit of a rethink. But George Friedman, the founder of Stratfor, a consultancy...

Gassing up for less; Tech.view; Natural gas could be a better choice than petrol.
September 12, 2008... Natural gas could be a better choice than petrol THE inmates at Mayhem Manor need a new set of wheels. The three-ton kidmobile acquired when petrol cost around $2 per gallon has mercifully gone back to its maker. After careful...

The rising cost of crime; The rising cost of crime in Mexico; The rising cost of crime in Mexico.
September 12, 2008... Worsening crime is weighing heavily on Mexico's government Mexico’s security crisis is weighing heavily on the government of President Felipe Calderon, as the incidence of crime and violent deaths continues to rise, and Mexicans...

Stamp acts; Art.view; A collector divests and rebuilds.
September 13, 2008... A collector divests and rebuilds WILLIAM GROSS started collecting stamps because his mother made a mistake. When he was small, she had bought sheets of newly issued stamps in the belief that when young Bill was 18, they would be so valuable...

Home again; Green.view; Why video conferencing won't save the world.
September 15, 2008... Why video conferencing won't save the world ONE of the most firmly held beliefs of the green-minded is that we will all need to change our habits if the world is to be saved from global warming. Some of the shifts that these visionaries...

Sympathy for the boss; Business.view; Even chief executives are human. Really.
September 16, 2008... Even chief executives are human. Really "IT’S lonely at the top. But at least there is something to read," observed a tongue-in-cheek billboard advert for The Economist in 1990. Little did we know how lonely. Strip away the huge...

Renewables push; The EU is closer to adopting a target for 20% of its power to come from renewables by 2020; The EU is closer to adopting a target for 20% of its power to come from renewables by 2020.
September 16, 2008... The EU gets closer to a target for renewable energy The European Parliament’s industry and energy committee has voted to approve an amended version of the draft directive aimed at stimulating investment in renewable energies and (more...

Field v factory; Asia.view; Finding a truce between industry and agriculture.
September 17, 2008... Finding a truce between industry and agriculture IN HIS 1891 novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy lamented the depopulation of the English countryside. To him urbanisation was not a natural tendency. It was instead "the...

Keep calm and carry on; Europe.view; Giant spiders will not attack Estonia--official.
September 18, 2008... Giant spiders will not attack Estonia--official THE Baltic states are full members of NATO. In theory, that means they need worry about external threats no more than any other NATO member. If they come under threat from, say, Russia, they...

Firm action; Officials give warning of a zero-tolerance approach to corporate malfeasance in Dubai; Officials give warning of a zero-tolerance approach to corporate malfeasance in Dubai.
September 18, 2008... A crackdown in Dubai after a string of corruption scandals The string of corruption scandals rocking Dubai since April have led to a broad government campaign against corporate malfeasance, with more than a dozen executives detained in...

Blind man at the brake; Preventing train crashes; A little automation could save lives.
September 19, 2008... A little automation could save lives TIME and again, evidence shows computer-controlled vehicles have fewer accidents than those driven by people. Still, we have a pathological reluctance to surrender control. We seem to find...

Premier-in-law; Thailand elects a new prime minister; Thailand elects a new prime minister.
September 19, 2008... Thailand's parliament elects a new prime minister Thailand's legislature elected a new prime minister, Somchai Wongsawat of the People Power Party (PPP), on September 17th. Somchai overcame divisions within the PPP and between the ruling...

Winds of change; Contemporary-art sales; Art.view.
September 20, 2008... Damien Hirst and the future of auction houses "AUCTION rooms are democratic", Damien Hirst told The Economist just before the two-day sale of 223 of his new works at Sotheby’s London branch last week. "That’s what I like about...

Bright spot; Bullish news from the FTSE; Market.view.
September 21, 2008... British equities look promising BARGAIN hunters in equities will have noticed an encouraging sign last week. On September 17th, the yield on British equities, as measured by the FTSE All-Share index, was higher than the yield on 10-year...

The greening of gardening; Gardening and global warming; Horticulture will change as the climate does.
September 22, 2008... Horticulture will change as the climate does GARDENS are more than just yard decorations for the green-thumbed: they also express a worldview. As concern over climate change grows, environmentally sensitive gardens are becoming more...

Now the hard part; Now the hard part for Tzipi Livni; Tzipi Livni has some way to go to become prime minister of Israel.
September 22, 2008... Tzipi Livni has some way to go to become prime minister of Israel Tzipi Livni lost no time in knuckling down to the tough task of coalition-building, following her narrow victory in the leadership primary of Kadima, currently Israel's...

Virtuous in New York; Philanthrophy at the Clinton Global Initiative; Giving while Wall Street burns.
September 23, 2008... Giving while Wall Street burns IT IS not just the financial system that is melting down in New York. Traffic in the city will also grind to a halt. While the after effects of misdirected greed paralyse Wall Street, an influx of...

A slowing Mexican economy; Slower economic growth for Mexico; America's weaker economy causes pain over the border in Mexico.
September 23, 2008... A weaker American economy weighs on growth in Mexico Few Latin American countries are as dependent on US demand as Mexico, which sells 80% of its exports to that market and some of whose industries are closely linked to those north of the...

Devil's bargain; The politics of food aid; Hunger once again stalks North Korea.
September 24, 2008... Hunger once again stalks North Korea IN RECENT weeks, the list of unknowns about North Korea has shot up. Kim Jong Il, the country's 66-year-old dictator, has been out of sight since early August. Is he dead? Paralysed with a stroke? Or is...

Seeking reform in Argentina; Argentina's government seeks reform, and access to international capital; Argentina's government seeks reform, and access to international capital.
September 24, 2008... Argentina seems ready to address its longstanding problem with "holdouts" In the midst of deteriorating international economic and financing conditions, Argentina's government appears ready to address its longstanding problem with...

Frontlines and backtracks; Russia and the Council of Europe; Laying down the law, or just laying down?
September 25, 2008... Laying down the law, or just laying down? WHETHER you look at soft or hard power, Europe's ability to defend itself appears wobbly. A poll in the Financial Times this week showed that German public opinion strongly opposes the use of force...

Smugglers' tale; Explaining why Syria has deployed troops on the border with Lebanon; Syria claims that its troops on the border with Lebanon are to combat smuggling.
September 25, 2008... Why had Syria deployed troops on its border with Lebanon? The appearance of several thousand Syrian troops setting up camp on their side of the border with northern Lebanon has aroused concern in Beirut that the regime of President Bashar...

From toilet to tap; Water recycling; Thank Prince Albert for clean water and drains.
September 26, 2008... Thank Prince Albert for clean water and drains FEW would imagine that Queen Victoria's consort, Prince Albert, is one of the fathers of public health and modern technology. And yet the industrial world--and Britain, in particular--owe this...

Japan's new government; Japan gets a new government; A new government and an expected stimulus plan for Japan.
September 26, 2008... Taro Aso forms his cabinet Taro Aso, Japan's new prime minister, has appointed a less-than-progressive cabinet that includes right-wing nationalists and a prominent advocate of public-spending increases. This broadly reflects Mr Aso's own...

Her little paradise; A sale of rare trees; Selling a garden from root to blossom.
September 27, 2008... Selling a garden from root to blossom THE auction taking place on October 4th in a nursery garden in rural France, 60km from Angers and the Loire, is almost certainly unique. There will be 210 lots of rare and collectible trees from the...

Oiling the system; Why banks cannot fail; It may seem unfair, but a bailout is essential.
September 28, 2008... It may seem unfair, but a bailout is essential SUSPICION of banks is a recurrent historical theme, from President Andrew Jackson's opposition to "money power" in the early 19th century, to the British Labour party's suspicion of the...

Testing metal; Aluminium smelting in Iceland; When thinking globally requires unpleasant action locally.
September 29, 2008... When thinking globally requires unpleasant action locally LAST Thursday, at a conference on aluminium smelting in Germany, environmental activists tripped the fire alarms. Later, they set off a deafening rape alarm in the main auditorium,...

India's future; As India grows it will reshape the world around it; India's growth and stability in the future.
September 29, 2008... As India's clout grows it will reshape the world around it India's growing power will reshape the world as we know it. India's real GDP has surged by an annual average of nearly 9% in the past five years, and across all measures of...

The first law of banking; Deposit insurance and your savings; Don't ask if your money is safe.
September 30, 2008... Don't ask if your money is safe GIVEN that you should never shout "fire" in a crowded theatre, it was perhaps unwise of your correspondent to walk into his local branch of JPMorgan Chase and ask, "Could somebody please explain the deposit...

Austria's right turn; The far right does well in Austria; The rise in support for rightist parties in Austria.
September 30, 2008... Voters punish centrist parties in Austria Austria's two largest political parties, the Social Democratic Party (SPO) and People's Party (OVP), which had ruled in a coalition since early 2007, both performed poorly in the general election...