economy

Price hikes leaving people hungry from Jakarta to Memphis

Julien — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:08:00 +0200

The world's worsening food crisis has finally made the headlines and grim forecasts for the endemic problem are causing widespread panic. We asked our Observers in Cameroon, Indonesia, Haiti and the USA to tell us how they're affected by the crunch.

Google shares fall: is the fairy tale over?

Julien — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:27:06 +0200

Trend in Google's share price from 2 April 08

Google's stock price has fallen 38% from its peak last year. And, for the first time ever, the number of clicks on the California-based company's cash cow, Google Ads, have stopped climbing in the US. For some financial analysts, alarm bells are ringing.

Cristina Kirchner versus the pots and pans

Julien — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 18:21:41 +0200

Bang your pan at Evita!

"I banged my pan at Evita [reference to Eva Peron - allusion to Cristina Kirchner] ...and it felt good!"

Argentinean farmers are objecting to president Cristina Kirchner over tax increases on agricultural exports and her apparent intention to create a rift between the poor and the farmers. After three weeks of severe strikes, which have left the country paralysed, the workers have agreed to start negotiations.

Argentinean farmers are going back to work. The pan banging, road blocks and food shortages are over. And within a month, crop produce will be back on the shelves, giving Kirchner enough time to show her goodwill in negotiations. There's a lot of pressure on the government. The past three weeks have left a country that boasts "the best meat in the world", without any meat at all, never mind fresh produce.

Heckles started in the "campo" (countryside) shortly after Kirchner's government announced a tax increase on the export of soy products - a measure hoped to help curb inflation created by the hike in the price of raw materials on the international market.

Many Argentineans are now branding Kirchner's politics as "populist" because she's pitting the working classes against the farmers, who are presented as privileged, in the dispute. The president is accused of playing on fears created by the food shortages. "You can't be with the people and cut off their food supply" she said when the protests began.

Small shareholders in China fret over tumbling economy

Julien — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 11:50:09 +0100

The Shanghai Composite Index has dropped by 40% in the past five months, with a massive 4% tumble occuring on Tuesday (March 19). The Chinese government promised its people immunity from the worldwide financial slump that grew out of the US subprime crisis, but the stark evidence suggests it has failed. Small shareholders fear the worst, and are expressing their worries online- including in songs.

Hitting an eight month low the Chinese stock market is valued at a third of what it was at its peak in October last year. But central bank governor Zhou Xiaochuan yesterday dismissed the warning signs as "rumours". He shrugged off concern about the possible effects of the US subprime crisis. "America is far away," he pointed out, before telling the Chinese parliament "it's better not to talk about [these issues] here".

Flickr members protest in pictures over looming Microsoft takeover of Yahoo

Julien — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 19:37:49 +0100

Yahoo bought the photo sharing network Flickr in 2005. Now, Yahoo faces takeover from Microsoft, meaning that Flickr would also fall into the hands of the corporate giant. But the photo-sharers are not happy about the move and have created a group called ‘Microsoft: Keep your evil grubby hands off our Flickr' to prove it. Since its creation last month the group has already accumulated 3,615 members and 314 pictures dedicated to the cause.

The cost of war comes as “a total surprise”

Julien — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 17:55:37 +0100

With presidential elections well under way in the United States the cost of war is a sensitive subject for the ruling Republicans. And every penny counts. The Center for arms control and non-proliferation tallies up every cent spent on the main U.S wars and publishes its findings online. And they have just been updated. World War II easily tops the table with a whopping $3.2 trillion (€2.2 trillion). But still climbing and currently in second place, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have almost reached $700 billion (around €500 bln) combined. The centre treats this information as a warning, they predict that if troops remain in both countries until 2018 as Bush said may well happen, the final cost will be over a trillion dollars. We spoke to the creator of the project about why he feels it's important to publish the figures.

Société Générale: ”This fraud was born out of a faulty system”

Julien — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 12:01:13 +0100

Commentary on the fraud that has cost French bank Société Générale five billion euros from our Observer Pierre Hessler, a former member of the board of directors for Capgemini. Hessler, author of ‘Company scandals and the media', worries about the incapacity of big banks to adapt their risk management systems to increasingly more complex markets.

Ahmadinejad is called to order by the almighty one

Julien — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 18:21:04 +0100

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad received a letter from the revolutionary figurehead Ayatollah Khamenei on Monday, urging him to unblock resources that fund gas supplies to isolated villages in Iran. This public disavowal could add to Ahmadinejad's worsening reputation concerning economic policy, which has already come under criticism from the largely dissatisfied population. While Iranians battle through a particularly harsh winter, rising gas and oil prices are a hotter topic of conversation than nuclear power. One of our Iran Observers, Reza Moini, explains why the conflict between the two Islamic leaders flared up this week.

The cost of living in China

Julien — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:08:19 +0100

Grumbling about inflation is nothing new. But now it's time for the Chinese to make a song and dance about it. Despite the Beijing government insisting that rising inflation levels are ‘structural' and a sign of a healthy economy, ordinary people are finding it hard to see through the same looking-glass. Making their voices heard online, they're using the internet to vent their fumes. Sometimes light-heartedly, like in the video ‘The riddle of spending power' (which we've subtitled in English), but also more seriously.