While the world has seen quite a few economic crises, both global and local, the current situation is different to all of them, triggered as it has been by a pandemic. COVID-19 has meant that a number of small businesses … Read the rest
Tag: economy
No Brains In Washington
Washington’s IQ follows the Fed’s interest rate — it is negative. Washington is a black hole into which all sanity is sucked out of government deliberations.
Washington’s failures are everywhere visible. We can see the failures in Washington’s wars and … Read the rest
British banks most exposed to Chinese market instability
Disclosures from two of Asia’s largest lenders showed that British banks are among of the most vulnerable to the current market troubles in China.
In its latest report, HSBC said outstanding loans to China grew 12 percent in the past … Read the rest
Zim state broadcaster fires hundreds
Zimbabwe’s state broadcaster said on Thursday it has laid off nearly 300 workers as it battles financial woes.
The Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC) board of directors has “so far terminated the contracts of some 282 staff members on three months’ … Read the rest
South Africans face tough times
Economic growth in the first quarter is expected to have slowed mainly due to the electricity supply constraints.
Most economists have projected that gross domestic product (GDP) will decline sharply from 4.1% to 1.4% quarter-on-quarter.
On Tuesday, Statistics South Africa … Read the rest
Ramaphosa calls for closer Asian ties
Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa told delegates at the Asia-Africa Business Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia on Tuesday that Afro-Asian economic and cultural ties needed to be strengthened.
Ramaphosa said Asia and Africa could collaborate in a number of areas, such as … Read the rest
China comes to the Free State
The Free State province in South Africa aims to hold China Week in April with the intention of strengthening business relations and to draw more investment opportunities into the province.
Spokesperson Makalo Mohale says China is well advanced in terms … Read the rest
Outsourcing in America
You’ve spent twenty plus years loyally working in Information Technology (IT) for Southern California Edison, and eighteen months ago your boss tells you that they are going to study outsourcing but not to worry, “your position is safe.” On the … Read the rest
US attacks London’s ‘constant accomodation’ of China
The Obama administration accused the UK of a “constant accommodation” of China after Britain decided to join a new China-led financial institution that could rival the World Bank.
The rare rebuke of one of the US’s closest allies came as … Read the rest
The neoconservative threat to international relations
This week I was invited to address an important conference of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow. Scholars from Russia and from around the world, Russian government officials, and the Russian people seek an answer as to why Washington … Read the rest
Whatever became of economists and the American economy?
According to the official economic fairy tale, the US economy has been in recovery since June 2009.
This fairy tale supports America’s image as the safe haven, an image that keeps the dollar up, the stock market up, and interest … Read the rest
US, EU companies say ANC legislation a cause for concern
European and US businesses with operations based in South Africa said legislation coming from the ANC was a cause for concern.
The compulsory black ownership element in the new broad-based black economic empowerment codes were weighing on US companies in … Read the rest
Delusional America
Robert Parry is one of my favorite columnists. He is truthful, has a sense of justice, and delivers a firm punch. He used to be a “mainstream journalist,” like me, but we were too truthful for them. They kicked us … Read the rest
Elite fear Ferguson-style riots
Davos economist Robert Johnson, who made headlines this week for revealing that the wealthy are buying secret hideaways as a hedge against global instability, warned in a subsequent interview that the elite are also afraid of more riots in the … Read the rest