Institutional Investor (October 19)
“Thursday saw a palpable sense of relief in global markets that China’s rather gentle slowdown is coming to an end.” There does, however, remain “the problem of finding a sustainable growth model.” China’s past growth was largely based on “heavy direct investment by the state, or by entities that enjoy strong state support.” This growth model is unsustainable. What will come next?
Washington Post (October 19)
“Not a word has been said in the presidential debates about what may be the most urgent and consequential issue in the world: climate change.”
Tags: Climate change, Obama, Presidential debates, Romney, U.S.
Forbes (October 18)
“Nike dropping Lance Armstrong as a product endorser has begun to (and will continue to result in) a mass exodus of corporate support that will eventually cost the former cycling champion over $150 million in career endorsement earnings potential.” When the USADA’s report of doping was first released, Armstrong’s endorsers stuck with him. That has changed.
Tags: Lance Armstrong, Nike, Product endorsments, USADA
Institutional Investor (October)
“China is making it easier for more foreign institutions to buy domestic securities in a fresh attempt to deepen institutional presence in the country’s lackluster stock markets.” The Qualified Foreign Institutional Investor (QFII) program is being nearly tripled to $80 billion from $30 billion. In addition, the minimum requirement for international investors to directly purchase locally listed securities has been lowered to managed assets of $500 million from $5 billion.
Tags: China, Institutional investors, QFII, Requirements, Stock market
Financial Times (October 15)
The relationship between Tokyo and Seoul is “on the rocks.” The two countries made tremendous progress in recent years. But now the territorial spat over the Takeshima islands threatens “to undermine a recent improvement in relations between Japan and its former colony.” The rift between the two U.S. allies also risks undercutting the Obama administration’s shift toward Asia. With elections approaching in both countries, there is a possibility that new leaders could reset the relationship, “but a true rapprochement remains distant.”
Tags: Japan, Korea, Rapprochement, Takeshima, U.S.
USA Today (October 15)
When the U.S. unemployment rate fell from 8.1% to 7.8%, some alleged conspiracy. Former GE CEO Jack Welch suggested the numbers had been manipulated to improve Obama’s reelection odds. These suggestions are frankly “a little nuts.” Eventually Welch “admitted he had no evidence that anyone was manipulating the jobs numbers, or that the respected numbers crunchers at the Bureau of Labor Statistics and other agencies were engaged in a plot that would be cause for terminating their professional careers.” Calculating the unemployment rate is not an exact science. The initial numbers often go up and down more than expected, but they get subsequently revised twice. Welch’s suggestion is among the “dumbest and most irresponsible things said by people who ought to know better.”
Tags: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Conspiracy, Dumb, GE, Jack Welch, U.S., Unemployment
The Economist (October 13)
“The decision made on October 10th by Britain’s BAE Systems, the world’s third-biggest defence firm, and EADS, the Franco-German owner of Airbus, to call off their proposed €38 billion ($50 billion) merger is a bitter blow both to the two companies and to hopes for the emergence of a more integrated European defence and aerospace industry.” Ultimately, it was Angela Merkel who blocked the deal and this was unfortunate. “Germany was wrong to stand in the way of a more integrated European defence and aerospace industry.”
New York Times (October 12)
“Bank bailouts were supposed to be followed by financial reform to limit the banks’ destructive power. Instead, bailed-out banks are bigger than ever and have resisted reforms to limit their size and complexity.” Fortunately, there are some promising signs of change. The most recent arrived in a report from a committee led by Erkki Liikanen for the European Commission. Should the recommendations be approved “the lack of progress, however, may yet give way to change.”
Tags: Bailouts, Banks, Complexity, Erkki Liikanen, European Commission, Reform, Size
Time (October 11)
The “USADA’s case against Lance Armstrong is compelling.” Time only has one more question for the Tour de France winner. “Why lie about it all these years? In a grueling competition like the Tour de France, in a sport filled with dopers, using stuff like testosterone and EPO is almost understandable. And America forgives users who come clean. Armstrong’s failure to see that is a mystery.”
Tags: Cycling, Doping, Lance Armstrong, Tour de France, U.S., USADA
Wall Street Journal (October 11)
“Jordan last month amended its already restrictive press-and-publications law to include Internet firms and organizations. The move risks chilling business development in what had been a promising site of economic progress in a changing region” The new restrictions are bad for Jordan. “Emerging markets have a unique opportunity to embrace the Internet as their central business platform. Singapore, South Korea and Israel did so and became world-class technology players.” By embracing “open, globally competitive access to technology,” these countries could get ahead in ways that Jordan will not be able to under the new restrictions.
