South China Morning Post (February 5)
“Thousands of Hongkongers camped out overnight in the cold after a company said it would release 6,000 boxes of surgical masks for sale during citywide shortages caused by the coronavirus outbreak.” After the crowd surged to 10,000 people, the company decided “to sell its entire stock of 11,000 boxes, each containing 50 masks.”
Tags: Coronavirus, Hong Kong, Shortages, Surgical masks
Financial Times (February 19)
“The best news on Japan’s economy is coming from the jobs market, where there are signs of labour shortages, and organic pressure for higher wages.” The real test of “whether Abenomics is working” will come from the annual “shunto” labour talks. “If wage growth is not higher than last year it will be a worrying sign.”
Los Angeles Times (March 28)
“California ought to learn from the experience of Australia, the driest continent on Earth, with a broadly similar economy.” California has been reeling from perpetual water shortages: the result of a flawed water policy. California “uses enough water in an average year to support, in theory, 318 million Californians (and their lawns and dishwashers), more than eight times the actual population of 38 million.”
Tags: Australia, California, Dishwashers, Dry, Economy, Lawns, Policy, Population, Shortages, Water
Wall Street Journal (February 16, 2014)
“It’s getting ugly in Venezuela.” The economy is crumbling with inflation north of 56% and wide-spread shortages, which have caused some factories to close. Amid growing protests, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is consolidating power using deaths at recent protests “to justify a government crackdown on growing civic unrest directed at his leadership and a deteriorating economy.” A natural “strongman,” President Maduro is now following “the Cuban model.”
Tags: Crackdown, Cuba, Economy, Inflation, Leadership, Nicolas Maduro, Protests, Shortages, Strongman, Unrest, Venezuela
