Wall Street Journal (May 7)
“Good political news is scarce in Latin America these days, so it’s worth noting the upset victory on Sunday by Vice President Juan Carlos Varela in Panama’s presidential election.” This anti-corruption underdog prevailed against the former mayor of Panama City, the incumbent’s hand-picked successor who had already made moves to subvert the constitution. “The real victor is Panama’s young democracy.”
Tags: Anti-corruption, Constitution, Democracy, Incumbent, Juan Carlos Varela, Latin America, Panama, Politics, Presidential election, Underdog, Upset, Victory
5/07 Issue
The Wall Street Journal reports good news from Latin America where Juan Carlos Varela, the anti-corruption underdog, clinched Panama’s presidential election. Strike one for good government. The New York Times, however, strikes one against meddling French officials intent on scuttling G.E.’s acquisition of Alstom’s energy business.
That deal is just one example of booming M&A. According to the Economist, that boom can either be a good sign (businesses are making bold moves in a strengthening economy) or a bad sign (businesses can’t grow organically so they’re merging to create growth, minimizes taxes or cut other costs). Take your pick.
Pfizer is looking to reduce taxes through its proposed acquisition of AstraZeneca, which USA Today asserts provides a warning: “You know something is wrong when major U.S. companies are fleeing to Europe to pay less in taxes.”
The Financial Times notes that globalization is reaching a new stage. No longer is it confined to manufacturing and production. Knowledge intensive flows have now expanded to $12.6 trillion, accounting for half of all cross border flows.
In the U.S., states jockey to attract businesses. Though California recently lost the headquarters for Toyota and Occidental Petroleum to Texas, the Los Angeles Times observes that Golden State continues to create more jobs than almost any other state.
REITs are often thought of as real estate investments providing flexibility and diversification benefits. According to Real Estate Investment Today, they do much more. A recent study has shown that REITs help stabilize the commercial realty market by providing transparency and liquidity.
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To see the media’s takes on these and other developments from around the globe, you can browse Global News highlights below and also at http://www.irken.jp/gn/. Links to the original sources are provided above, but please note these are frequently updated. Links that were valid at publication may later be broken.
