Euromoney (October Issue)
“As investors lament the unsustainable credit boom and reform inertia that has blighted China, India and Indonesia, in particular, in recent years—raising the spectre this summer of a repeat of the 1997 Asia crisis—Singapore has consolidated its status as the region’s competitive dynamo, thanks to a flurry of supply-side reforms, backed by judicious fiscal and monetary policies.” Singapore’s economy is now “the most competitive in the world, according to the World Bank, with the highest income per capita in southeast Asia, outpacing the US in recent years.”“As investors lament the unsustainable credit boom and reform inertia that has blighted China, India and Indonesia, in particular, in recent years—raising the spectre this summer of a repeat of the 1997 Asia crisis—Singapore has consolidated its status as the region’s competitive dynamo, thanks to a flurry of supply-side reforms, backed by judicious fiscal and monetary policies.” Singapore’s economy is now “the most competitive in the world, according to the World Bank, with the highest income per capita in southeast Asia, outpacing the US in recent years.”
Tags: Asia crisis, China, Credit boom, Fiscal policy, India, Indonesia, Investors, Monetary policy, Reform, Singapore, Supply-side reforms
The Economist (August 24)
Since the U.S. Federal Reserve intimated that it would begin tapering its quantitative easing program in 2013, “there has been a great sucking of funds from emerging markets. Currencies and shares have tumbled, from Brazil to Indonesia, but one country has been particularly badly hit.” India is looking less like “an economic miracle” and more like a country teetering on the verge of a full-blown crisis. “The rupee has tumbled by 13% in three months. The stockmarket is down by a quarter in dollar terms. Borrowing rates are at levels last seen after Lehman Brothers’ demise. Bank shares have sunk.”
Tags: Banks, Brazil, Crisis, Currencies, Emerging markets, Fed, India, Indonesia, Lehman Brothers, Miracle, Quantitative easing, Rupee, Shares, Stockmarket, Tapering, U.S.
Washington Post (July 17)
With China’s economy decelerating, “ the world waits to see if it will make hard reforms. “Most big developing countries — China, India, Brazil, South Africa — have slowed down in the past few years. In almost all cases, the cause was the same. When their the economies were booming, these countries’ leaders avoided tough decisions. China had been the exception to this rule. But now it faces its biggest test…. If it fails, well, China becomes just another emerging market with a model that worked for a while.”
Tags: Boom, Brazil, China, Decelerating, Decisions, Developing countries, Economy, Emerging market, India, Leaders, Reforms, South Africa
Wall Street Journal (July 15)
“India’s state-run telephone company delivered its last telegram on Sunday. We are told an era is ending, as if mankind’s desire to communicate isn’t ageless.” For 163 years, telegrams served a purpose in India, but e-mail, SMS and Twitter are increasingly filling the need. Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited had been losing approximately $23 million annually on telegrams since volume dropped to 5,000 daily “from 160,000-odd before smart phones and email.” In the U.S., Western Union eliminated telegrams in 2006 for similar reasons. Ironically, the short Twitter format of “140 characters pushes the limits of verbosity in a telegram,” but of course at greater speed and zero cost.
Tags: Cost, E-mail, End, Era, India, Smart phones, SMS, Speed, Telegram, Telephone, Twitter, U.S., Volume, Western Union
The Economist (June 29)
“Over the past few weeks, in one country after another, protesters have risen up with bewildering speed. They have been more active in democracies than dictatorships. They tend to be ordinary, middle-class people, not lobbies with lists of demands. Their mix of revelry and rage condemns the corruption, inefficiency and arrogance of the folk in charge.” Whether it’s Brazil, Turkey, Sweden, Bulgaria, India or elsewhere, politicians should beware.
Tags: Brazil, Bulgaria, Corruption, Democracies, Dictatorships, India, Inefficiency, Middle class, Politicians, Protesters, Rage, Revelry, Sweden, Turkey
Financial Times (May 28, 2013)
The visit of China’s Premier Li Keqiang to India brought progress on trade agreements and a new goal to achieve $100 billion in bilateral trade during 2015. The visit helped restore relations, overwrought since territorial incursions, between the two nations which account for nearly two-fifths of global trade. “It will take more than a few trade deals to overcome the suspicion with which India regards its eastern neighbour… But deeper economic ties are a good place to start, as long as both sides play fair. The greater the trade, the better the chance that trust will follow in its wake.”
Tags: Bilateral trade, China, Economic ties, India, Li Keqiang, Suspicion, Trust
Time (May 12, 2013)
“While people in some parts of India continue to battle malnutrition, many residents in the wealthier states have, during the past two decades of the nation’s boom, faced a menace of excess. Rising incomes paired with sedentary lifestyles and starchy, sugary diets have helped diabetes spread furiously.” Now the crisis is spreading to rural areas and the poor. It’s hard to even get a grip on the size of the problem, let alone move towards a solution. “Researchers believe there are nearly five times the total of undiagnosed patients and diabetes-related deaths in India than in the U.S.,” but nobody knows for sure.
Tags: Diabetes, Diet, Income, India, Lifestyles, Malnutrition, U.S.
The Economist (March 30)
“India is often spoken of in the same breath as China because of its billion-plus population, economic promise, value as a trading partner and growing military capabilities.” Yet, in the common view, India remains a near power, rather than a great power. Despite shortcomings, India has much to offer and deserves a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. “Although poorer and less economically dynamic than China, India has soft power in abundance. It is committed to democratic institutions, the rule of law and human rights. As a victim of jihadist violence, it is in the front rank of the fight against terrorism.” India would be “a force for stability and an upholder of the rules-based international system.”
Tags: China, Democracy, Human rights, India, Permanent seat, Security Council, Terrorism, UN
Time (January 7)
The gang rape of a female student on December 16 has kept India on edge. Protests have been held demanding social change and “swift justice” for the woman who died on December 29. “The upheaval of the past three weeks has exposed other deep fractures, raising difficult questions not only about the status of women in India but also about increasing violence, widening class divides and the delivery of justice in the world’s largest democracy.”
Wall Street Journal (September 25)Wall Street Journal (September 25)
India is “taking steps to protect itself from Chinese encroachment, part of which involves the military. Like China, India too is launching a new aircraft carrier and there’s the danger the two navies will increasingly rub against each other. It’s an open question whether the two nations can manage these tensions and avoid spilling over into armed conflict.”
