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Slightly Optimistic
|  05 Sep '10 15:05 : 0 recs
Jean-Claude Trichet, the head of the European Central Bank, called for a "quantum leap in terms of surveillance" to ensure that the financial crisis is never repeated.
Mr Trichet said it would be extremely difficult to change the Lisbon treaty in the current climate but called on EU leaders to "exploit all possibilities" in the sub-clauses of existing legislation to advance policing tools.
The EU institutions agreed last week on the creation of three super-regulators covering banking, markets, and insurance, each with powers to impose decisions by majority vote.
Mr Trichet said there should be a second surveillance mechanism to cover broader imbalances and the gaps in unit labour costs that lie behind the North-South divide. "We cannot go on as present," he said.
Brussels plans 'treasury' for EU
The EU has many crucial projects in limbo. [Europe forum, 26 Aug '10 12:41] Is the hugely expensive European External Action Service really the answer? |
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Slightly Optimistic
| 16 Aug '10 16:59 : 0 recs : edited 2 times : last edit 16 Aug '10 17:11
Regulatory theft?
See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bf5Frx1lZk&feature=player_embedded |
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zorro
| 10 Aug '10 09:22 : 0 recs
Rice yields down by 20% in global warming |
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Slightly Optimistic
| 04 Aug '10 09:19 : 0 recs : edited 2 times : last edit 04 Aug '10 10:00
Some developments. [property rights around the world are not guaranteed,13 Jul '10 22:39]
"And the chronic problem [state capitalism] is getting worse. Why haven't the G20 or the United Nations attended to this?" Into the breach steps the US:
The Obama administration is working to establish a formal legal process to resolve disputes between Asian nations over claims in the South China Sea, a move that could raise new tensions with China.
Mrs. Clinton said the U.S. has grown increasingly concerned about the competing claims for territory in the South China Sea. China and Southeast Asian countries like Vietnam, Malaysia and the Philippines have historically tussled over the region's waterways, islands and atolls.
Mrs. Clinton said Washington is seeking to work with Asean nations, China and other countries to develop an international mechanism to resolve the disputes. She said the process should be institutionalized through Asean and based on the international law of the sea.
WSJ |
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Slightly Optimistic
| 23 Jul '10 11:32 : 0 recs
How to Make an American Job Before It's Too Late: Andy Grove
the imperative for change is real and the choice is simple. If we want to remain a leading economy, we change on our own, or change will continue to be forced upon us. |
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Hoog
| 23 Jul '10 10:01 : 0 recs
Slightly Nazi,
I note that you are trying to gag Hoog.
Here is some advice from one of your heroes, Herr Goebbels:
“The most brilliant propagandist technique will yield no success unless one fundamental principle is borne in mind constantly - it must confine itself to a few points and repeat them over and over”
Go for it, Jackboots! Jump on their faces!
Rgds,
*Hoog*  |
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Slightly Optimistic
| 22 Jul '10 16:14 : 0 recs
'No ideas' Hoogstraten strikes again.
General Advice
"By definition, a stalker is a coward, like all bullies, like all who attack from behind, or in the dark. Be sure to mention this in every attack." |
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Hoog
| 22 Jul '10 15:51 : 0 recs
Presumably Jackboots favours building autobahns...
Sieg Heil,
*Hoog*  |
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Slightly Optimistic
| 21 Jul '10 13:46 : 0 recs
"Doubling U.S. Exports" Not a Sufficient Jobs Policy: Not Even Close
Unsustainable globalisation - rumblings from across the Atlantic. |
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Slightly Optimistic
| 20 Jul '10 22:03 : 0 recs
The current debate on unsustainable globalisation is raising intriguing points.
For example, when will the people in the seriously declining, but strong, states stop transferring [voluntarily] their employment to emerging economies. Unlikely this is a constitutional obligation.
The market will find it difficult to factor in the collapse. As Chuck Prince of Citigroup once said: "But as long as the music is playing, you’ve got to get up and dance. We’re still dancing". |
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Slightly Optimistic
| 14 Jul '10 09:53 : 0 recs : edited 1 time : last edit 14 Jul '10 10:15
The FT has an article on the global economy by Ian Bremmer and Nouriel Roubini. In the past Bremmer has focused on the serious threat to the global economy of state capitalism [see 13 July, 22:39].
In the article they say we shouldn't expect much now from the G20; the next meeting is in Seoul in November.
This questions whether the G20 should be disbanded and responsibility for economic oversight returned to an effective UN system. [background in Markets forum, 08 Oct '09 13:32 ] There is no longer international consensus on where tomorrow's true dangers lie, they write - but is there even a national consensus, prudence? |
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prudence
| 13 Jul '10 21:54 : 0 recs
Marketwatch has a great headline tonight.
Intel back fabricating profit. |
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Slightly Optimistic
| 13 Jul '10 21:39 : 0 recs : edited 1 time : last edit 13 Jul '10 21:48
property rights around the world are not guaranteed [30 Jun '10 16:33]
And the chronic problem [state capitalism] is getting worse. Why haven't the G20 or the United Nations attended to this?
China has reacted with unprecedented strength over a planned United States-South Korean joint naval maneuver. . . the possible involvement of a US aircraft carrier in any Yellow Sea naval exercises irks China. Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang has said in Beijing that China is firmly opposed to any foreign warship coming near the Yellow Sea or other waters close to China's territory to conduct activities that would have consequences for China's national security.
a PLAN [People's Liberation Army Navy] officer told two visiting senior US officials in Beijing in March that China regarded the South China Sea as its territorial water and core national interest - the first time this has been said.
geopolitical conflict in the area. In Beijing's view, the most controversial islands in the South China Sea, especially the Nansha (or Spratly) islands, have been occupied by neighboring countries. . . Mostly due to Beijing's weakness on the issue, these countries became more ambitious [.] and built military infrastructure to lay greater claim to sovereignty.
Until about a quarter of a century later, no country, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, expressed dissent over this situation, until two events occurred. First, geologists declared in 1967 and 1968 that they had discovered oil and gas in the South China Sea; second, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted in 1982.
China takes new tack in maritime diplomacy |
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ssaines
| 11 Jul '10 17:55 : 0 recs
I think Microsoft might lose market share on Office -
Lose share? They're giving it away. For someone who claims to be a software developer, you're pretty slow on the uptake.
Maybe if you resort to Monty Python you'd be more on the ball? |
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Slightly Optimistic
| 11 Jul '10 16:30 : 0 recs
A G20 working group is said to be looking into rebalancing the global economy, for what it's worth. [21 Jun '10 18:40]
What sort of rebalancing does Washington, for example, have in mind?
Last week, the US president suggested there should be no global rule change - instead, adjustments within the United States would be necessary.
The White House is shifting the focus of its job-creation efforts away from appeals for more federal spending and toward expanding exports and persuading business leaders to invest more.
The new approach, which President Barack Obama is highlighting in appearances this week, reflects a recognition by the administration that it can no longer sell government stimulus as an antidote to the nation's 9.5% jobless rate.
Among the new initiatives is a renewed effort to get big corporations to unlock some of nearly $2 trillion in cash they are holding as a hedge against uncertainty over the economy and government policy.
"Ninety-five percent of the world's customers and fastest-growing markets are beyond our borders. So if we want to find new growth streams, if we want to find new markets and new opportunity, we've got to compete for those new customers."
On Wednesday, Mr. Obama said the economy was on track to double exports in five years, as he promised in January. But some business leaders and economists criticized the president's claim. . .
Wall Street Journal |
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Slightly Optimistic
| 30 Jun '10 15:33 : 0 recs
Offshore investments? There is a growing threat.
Gold Confiscation: A Real Risk?
In fairness, property rights around the world are not guaranteed. National governments have a habit of not respecting such rights - energy company Yukos is just one example. It therefore seems unlikely that investors will put what the IEA reckons is the necessary $trillions into energy producing countries. |
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3dc
| 30 Jun '10 05:01 : 0 recs
Microsoft article was presented to my mailbox by one of the premire Microsoft Coding groups - The Code Project - See this link |
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Warren BuffetCar
| 29 Jun '10 13:57 : 0 recs : edited 3 times : last edit 29 Jun '10 14:01
I don't see Microsoft collapsing anytime soon.
Windows market share seems fairly steady around 90%. Windows 7 was a success - people like it. Piracy is getting harder too - in the past they had 95% market share, but how many of those copies of XP were paid for? These days, I would imagine the proportion of licensed windows machines is much higher.
I think Microsoft might lose market share on Office - I rarely use it now (we have it licensed on just one shared machine) - I use Open Office - which the article didn't even mention.
People aren't going to start replacing a good desktop/laptop with the cloud just yet. But if they do, MS has Azure, an excellent cloud technology that lets developers like us relatively easily port .net code we have for more traditional web products to the cloud. No one else can offer a large existing base of developers and code, combined with a range of software development tools, plus the infrastructure to offer cloud hosting. If the cloud is the way to go, MS has everything in place to be the biggest player.
The chap writing this article goes on about how Apple have a lead in mobile apps (iphone etc). But Apple is going to lose that to Android. Android is open and backed by Google. Apple offers a closed Stalinist world where Steve Jobs decides not only what code you can run on your device, but even decides what tools it must be written with. Just like Apple did in the 80s - they have a great product with great software at its key, but their refusal to license it to other people will see their market share shrink to perhaps 5%. They did this with the mac too.
MS might struggle to make profits it did in the past, but it has plenty of great tech like .Net and Azure, and Windows will be around and dominating for a good while yet. Google has great online services and Android (which is free, so won't earn them revenue). Apple has a small PC (Mac) market share, and the iPhone, that is going to wither under and onslaught of open flexible competitive Android phones. Steve Jobs will attempt to keep iTunes nailed down to prevent Android and other platforms taking off, and will instead kill iTunes.
And of course there is gaming - at present the best way to do that is Windows.
WBC |
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3dc
| 28 Jun '10 21:36 : 0 recs
The Odds Are Increasing That Microsoft's Business Will Collapse |
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Slightly Optimistic
| 24 Jun '10 11:11 : 0 recs
Yet another sign of disunity in the G20.
Paris Club watch out. An Asian Monetary Fund is getting nearer.
East Asian Unity |
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