Washington Post (June 20)
Iraq’s unraveling poses a “confounding” challenge for the U.S. “Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has put sectarian interests above national goals, so to join him in beating back the terrorist challenge might only widen the country’s divide. But… an al-Qaeda-style ‘caliphate’ stretching from Syria into Iraq would be too dangerous for the United States and its allies.” By sending aid and military advisers, President Obama’s modest steps toward engagement “represent a judicious start.”
Tags: Advisors, Aid, Al-Qaeda, Challenge, Engagement, Iraq, Judicious, Maliki, Obama, Sectarian, Syria, Terrorists, U.S.
Institutional Investor (June 19)
“Income potential and low interest rates are fueling pension fund interest in commercial real estate.” Fund managers struggling to find “investments that can match long-term liabilities and fight inflation” are finding “some measure of calm” in real estate.
Tags: Fund managers, Income, Inflation, Interest rates, Investments, Liabilities, Pension funds, Potential, Real estate
Financial Times (June 18)
Two of Shinzo Abe’s “arrows have hit their targets, jolting the Japanese economy back into life…. By contrast, Mr Abe’s third arrow promising structural reforms has been stuck in the prime minister’s quiver.”
Tags: Arrows, Economy, Japan, Shinzo Abe, Structural reforms, Stuck, Targets
New York Times (June 18)
“President Obama has, so far, struck the right note on Iraq…. He has been cautious— emphasizing the need for political reform in Iraq and reaching out to other countries that could have an impact on its fate.”
6/18 Issue
Trouble seemed to be the week’s common thread as the World Cup kicked off to less than stellar preparations, prompting the Los Angeles Times to note that Brazil’s troubles won’t end with the tournament. The nation still needs to change “from one of the world’s most unequal societies into a thriving democracy.”
Putin tried to put trouble in the rear view mirror with his petro deal with China, but Forbes notes the relatively small deal only calls attention to what’s wrong with Russia.
Things look even worse in Karachi, where the New York Times questions whether the deadly attack on the airport will finally persuade “Pakistan’s government and its powerful military to acknowledge the Taliban’s pernicious threat and confront it in a comprehensive way?”
Leaders in Iraq were also left reeling after the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) seized control of major cities. The Wall Street Journal lamented that “an extended civil war seems to be the best near-term possibility.”
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the African Development Bank, many leaders looked ahead to how increased investment in infrastructure could remove physical barriers and unite the continent. However, Euromoney points out that non-physical barriers, such as bribes and other forms of rent-seeking, are a bigger source of trouble. Regulatory harmonization could conceivably result in substantially lower barriers.
With no country unscathed, climate change is said to be the crisis uniting the world, but the Los Angeles Times points out some politicians still claim it’s a hoax. Risk adverse insurers are, however, speedily taking measures to factor in climate change. The insurers probably provide a more accurate barometer of reality.
And The Economist notes the rise of golf can be taken as a “barometer of change” in China. In little over two decades, the number of golf courses has mushroomed. The trouble, aside from environmental impact and the disruption to those displaced from their homes and livelihoods, is that in most cases the construction of the courses “was technically illegal.”
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To see the overseas media’s takes on these and other developments, you can browse Global News highlights below or 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.
Los Angeles Times (June 17)
Despite the politicians who still deny climate change, major insurers are taking steps to manage the potentially costly reality created by climate change. “As insurers begin to shift the costs of that reality through rate increases, exclusions, lawsuits and market retreat, consumers can ask such politicians, ‘Why, if climate change is a hoax, are we paying for it?’”
Tags: Climate change, Consumers, Costs, Exclusions, Hoax, Insurers, Lawsuits, Market retreat, Politicians, Rate increases
Forbes (June 16)
Putin’s oil deal with China should hardly rate a footnote. It amounts to “an annual average of $13 billion.” And rather than being a groundbreaking strategic alliance, “the deal with China underscores Russia’s core weakness. Despite its immense resources and highly educated population… Russia has a shockingly small economy that is amazingly dependent on the export of oil, gas and a few other natural resources.”
Tags: China, Deal, Dependent, Economy, Export, Gas, Natural resources, Oil, Putin, Resources, Strategic alliance, Weakness
Euromoney (June Issue)
The African Development Bank’s 50th Anniversary brought much introspection, but infrastructure is only one problem hindering “meaningful continental integration.” Non-physical barriers present another. “Rules and regulations have not been harmonized within regions. Generally speaking, African countries trade more with Europe than they do with each other; even where roads are good, rent-seeking opportunities widely plague popular trade routes, with officials hoping to benefit from bribes at the expense of their neighbours.”
Tags: African Development Bank, Bribes, Europe, Infrastructure, Integration, Non-physical barriers, Officials, Regions, Regulations, Rent-seeking, Rules, Trade
The Economist (June 14)
In China, golf is “a barometer of change.” Banned under Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping allowed a few golf courses for foreign investors. Then, with rising affluence, “more locals wanted to try the sport. Suddenly more golf courses were being built in China than anywhere else, despite the fact that their construction was technically illegal.”
Tags: Affluence, Barometer, Change, China, Construction, Deng Xiaoping, Golf, Golf courses, Illegal, Investors, Mao Zedong, Sport
Wall Street Journal (June 13)
“The magnitude of the debacle now unfolding in Iraq is becoming clearer by the day.” The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) has seized control of Mosul and Tikrit, and is “marching ever closer to Baghdad….An extended civil war seems to be the best near-term possibility.”
