USA Today (May 29)
The work of U.S. federal prosecutors “will not be done until they find a way to force the soccer governing body to enact meaningful reforms and get rid of leaders who, at the very least, tolerated the corruption.”
Tags: Corruption, FIFA, Governing, Leaders, Prosecutors, Reforms, Soccer, U.S.
Bloomberg (January 27)
“Debt forgiveness tied to pro-growth economic reforms would help” both Greece and Germany. Europe’s most powerful nation would actually stand “to gain a lot. Its refusal to countenance further debt relief is economically damaging and politically dangerous. For its own sake, Germany should think again.”
Tags: Debt, Europe, Forgiveness, Germany, Greece, Pro-growth, Reforms, Relief
Wall Street Journal (January 26)
While the Greeks are likely to remain in the eurozone, “the Syriza victory is nonetheless a rebuke to European leaders. Greeks believe, not unreasonably, that the conditions imposed by the troika have been disastrous.” Rather than “promoting pro-growth reforms,” the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund imposed measures focused on “draconian fiscal tightening.” The result was predictable: “falling wages and pensions and rising taxes, with no growth in return for the pain.”
Tags: Draconian, ECB, European Commission, European leaders, eurozone, Fiscal tightening, Greek, Growth, IMF, Pensions, Reforms, Syriza, Taxes, Victory, Wages
New York Times (December 6)
“Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria and Turkey — the so-called MINT economies — along with the more developed South Korea,” could surpass Italy, the world’s eighth largest economy, to each contribute 3-5% of global GDP. The MINTs may even give some of the BRICs a run for their money. Jim O’Neil, who coined the term BRIC to refer to Brazil, Russia, India and China, thought each had potential to produce 5% of global GDP. China’s already there and India will be soon, but it’s becoming apparent that Brazil and Russia will struggle without reforms. While the MINTs “have many challenges, they all have exciting potential, and could become mini-giants, if not quite on the scale of some of their well-known BRIC colleagues.”
Tags: Brazil, BRIC, BRICS, China, GDP, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jim O’Neil, Mexico, MINT, Nigeria, Reforms, Russia, South Korea, Turkey
Wall Street Journal (May 18)
“Indians put their faith in a party promising economic opportunity and better governance over the traditional Indian formula of welfarism, patronage, corruption and hostility to foreign competition. Mr. Modi will be the first Prime Minister to govern without a coalition in nearly 30 years, and he has a rare mandate to enact market-opening reforms.”
Tags: Coalition, Corruption, Foreign competition, Governance, India, Mandate, Modi, Opportunity, Patronage, Prime minister, Reforms, Traditional
Euromoney (February Issue)
In Mexico, “cheaper electricity will lower manufacturing costs across the board, and the country could become a competitor in energy-intensive industries such as aluminum and steel production.” President Enrique Peña Nieto introduced sweeping reforms to liberalize the electricity and oil and gas sectors, prompting analysts to add “an extra 1.5% to future GDP growth rates as a direct consequence of the scope of these reforms and many say the risks are on the upside. Suppliers, contractors and a whole host of other industries will benefit.”
Tags: Aluminum, Analysts, Competitor, Contractors, Costs, Electricity, Enrique Peña Nieto, Gas, GDP, Manufacturing, Mexico, Oil, Reforms, Risks, Steel, Suppliers, Upside
Wall Street Journal (January 26, 2014)
As the Federal Reserve begins tapering, we’ll see which emerging markets have “been swimming naked.” During the days of easy money, nearly anybody could enjoy the party. Now we’ll see which countries squandered the opportunity and left themselves exposed. “The end of Ben Bernanke’s Fed tide will have its uses if it spurs the kind of tax, trade and investment reforms that have been put off in too many places. The question is how much damage will be done as this global adjustment takes place.”
Tags: Ben Bernanke, Damage, Easy money, Emerging markets, Exposed, Federal Reserve, Global adjustment, Investment, Opportunity, Reforms, Squandered, Tapering, Tax, Trade, U.S.
The Economist (October 5)
“The prime minister is right to raise the consumption tax, but must do more to boost Japan’s growth.” It is time for the third arrow. These major reforms should “include radical proposals to consolidate farmland, increase competition in the provision of health care and ease the rules on hiring and firing.”
Tags: Competition, Consumption tax, Farmland, Firing, Health care, Hiring, Japan, Prime minister, Reforms, Rules, Third arrow
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
LA Times (May 7, 2013)
“The deaths of more than 600 garment workers in Bangladesh’s Rana Plaza factory collapse April 24 is a tragedy that highlights widespread problems in the global apparel industry. But will it be the spark that finally leads to much-needed global reforms?” Not until we quit looking for smoking guns and, instead, look in the mirror. Only then, will we see “the real culprits: the global apparel industry and ourselves for being complicit in supporting or ignoring a system of trade and offshoring largely designed to bypass regulatory policy of every stripe, while putting maximum profit before people.”
Tags: Apparel industry, Bangladesh, Garment workers, Offshoring, People, Profit, Reforms
