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New York Times (May 20)

2012/ 05/ 21 by jd in Global News

“The major powers have imposed increasingly strong sanctions aimed at Iran’s banks and oil trade. It is crucial to maintain that cohesion as a second round of negotiations opens this week in Baghdad.” The Iranians want the sanctions to end. This would be premature. “If Iran makes credible gestures, sanctions should be eased, but not significantly until it takes irreversible steps to roll back its nuclear activities.”

 

The Economist (May 19)

2012/ 05/ 20 by jd in Global News

“Public companies built the railroads of the 19th century. They filled the world with cars and televisions and computers. They brought transparency to business life and opportunities to small investors.” And now they are endangered. “The number of public companies has fallen dramatically over the past decade—by 38% in America since 1997 and 48% in Britain. The number of initial public offerings (IPOs) in America has declined from an average of 311 a year in 1980-2000 to 99 a year in 2001-11.” More demanding regulations have been the main cause many have chosen to go or stay private. “Because public companies sell shares to the unsophisticated, policymakers are right to regulate them more tightly than other forms of corporate organisation. But not so tightly that entrepreneurs start to dread the prospect of a public listing. The public company has long been the locomotive of capitalism. Governments should not derail it.”“Public companies built the railroads of the 19th century. They filled the world with cars and televisions and computers. They brought transparency to business life and opportunities to small investors.” And now they are endangered. “The number of public companies has fallen dramatically over the past decade—by 38% in America since 1997 and 48% in Britain. The number of initial public offerings (IPOs) in America has declined from an average of 311 a year in 1980-2000 to 99 a year in 2001-11.” More demanding regulations have been the main cause many have chosen to go or stay private. “Because public companies sell shares to the unsophisticated, policymakers are right to regulate them more tightly than other forms of corporate organisation. But not so tightly that entrepreneurs start to dread the prospect of a public listing. The public company has long been the locomotive of capitalism. Governments should not derail it.”

 

Wall Street Journal (May 18)

2012/ 05/ 19 by jd in Global News

“South Korean President Lee Myung-bak deserves praise for one accomplishment above all others: He has put human rights in North Korea on the world’s agenda.” North Korea’s network of labor camps has been exposed. The suffering of the approximately 200,000 political prisoners should convince other nations against trying to improve North Korea through engagement. “Sustaining Pyongyang with aid only extends the misery of those imprisoned in the North’s gulag.”

“South Korean President Lee Myung-bak deserves praise for one accomplishment above all others: He has put human rights in North Korea on the world’s agenda.” North Korea’s network of labor camps has been exposed. The suffering of the approximately 200,000 political prisoners should convince other nations against trying to improve North Korea through engagement. “Sustaining Pyongyang with aid only extends the misery of those imprisoned in the North’s gulag.”

 

Washington Post (May 18)

2012/ 05/ 18 by jd in Global News

“America’s complexion is changing, literally.” Unlike Japan and many European countries, America’s population has continued to grow, largely thanks to immigrants. As a result, “minorities now account for more than half the babies born in America, a milestone in the path toward what demographers forecast will be an overall majority-minority population in 30 years.”

 

The Guardian (May 14)

2012/ 05/ 17 by jd in Global News

“Europe’s ruling elite is now openly talking about whether Greece might leave the euro, breaking a two and a half year taboo. German chancellor Angela Merkel and EU president José Manuel Barroso were among those saying that if Athens could not abide by the rules, Greece would have to leave.” But of what would ensue, no one is sure. It could lead to “collapsing banks, soaring inflation, but possible salvation.”

“Europe’s ruling elite is now openly talking about whether Greece might leave the euro, breaking a two and a half year taboo. German chancellor Angela Merkel and EU president José Manuel Barroso were among those saying that if Athens could not abide by the rules, Greece would have to leave.” But of what would ensue, no one is sure. It could lead to “collapsing banks, soaring inflation, but possible salvation.”

 

Financial Times (May 13)

2012/ 05/ 16 by jd in Global News

Japan, South Korea and China generate nearly 20% of global GDP and now they’re working toward a free trade agreement. They all have a common interest in this. China is “the biggest trade partner of Japan and South Korea.” Xinhua has estimated a treaty could boost each country’s GDP between 0.5% (Japan) to 3.1% (South Korea). An agreement may not, however, come easily as the three nations “are divided by political distrust, trade barriers and diverging investment policies.”

Japan, South Korea and China generate nearly 20% of global GDP and now they’re working toward a free trade agreement. They all have a common interest in this. China is “the biggest trade partner of Japan and South Korea.” Xinhua has estimated a treaty could boost each country’s GDP between 0.5% (Japan) to 3.1% (South Korea). An agreement may not, however, come easily as the three nations “are divided by political distrust, trade barriers and diverging investment policies.”

 

Boston Herald (May 13)Boston Herald (May 13)

2012/ 05/ 15 by jd in Global News

“The failure of any party to form a new government following Greek national elections means the end of the euro currency there is almost a certainty. Thus dies the illusion that a common European currency would cure all ills…. Greece faces a grim future.” For Italy, Spain, Portugal and the rest of Europe “nothing is certain.”

“The failure of any party to form a new government following Greek national elections means the end of the euro currency there is almost a certainty. Thus dies the illusion that a common European currency would cure all ills…. Greece faces a grim future.” For Italy, Spain, Portugal and the rest of Europe “nothing is certain.”

 

The Independent (May 12)

2012/ 05/ 15 by jd in Global News

“The Franco-German elite which rules the euro is still in denial about the failure of its core project,” but the “Euro’s day of reckoning looms.”

 

Wall Street Journal (May 11)

2012/ 05/ 14 by jd in Global News

In the 1980s, they were called “corporate raiders” and frowned upon. Things have changed. “Warren Buffett is financing an unsolicited takeover bid for Avon Products” and the reaction is calm. There is now uproar. This is progress. “A thriving open market for corporate control imposes discipline on managers and can provide relief for long-suffering shareholders.”

 

The Economist (May 12)

2012/ 05/ 13 by jd in Global News

“Amid growing risk of a Greek exit, the euro zone has yet to face up to the task of saving the single currency itself…. The idea of a chaotic Greek departure from the euro at a time of Franco-German disunion should terrify everyone it touches…. Like some dreadful joke, the euro needs French reform, German extravagance and Italian political maturity.”

 

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