Analysis Topic: Politics & Social Trends
The analysis published under this topic are as follows.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Uncertainty in the Arab Street and Rising Food Costs / Politics / Middle East
By: HRA_Advisory
Events in Arabia have been sending flutters through the market. Egypt, by far the largest Arab state, has shifted into a virtuous economic growth cycle confirming it as an important emerging market regional centre. That said, it continues to have a high population growth and economic expansion has to be high to maintain current wealth levels. As street demonstrations go, these haven't been all that chaotic given they lack a pro rallying point. It is hard to say just what a growing Arab middle class will want beyond a say in its own governance. It was that middle class that first called for political change, but the poor who are trying to cope with rising food costs have also joined in. Both deserve some consideration.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Egypt Kiss Revolution Good Bye, Bankers Begin Quietly Carving Up North Africa / Politics / Middle East
By: Patrick_Henningsen
Richard Eastman writes: The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is ready to lend one billion EUROS a year to Egypt for reconstruction and “free-market reform”- even as Egypt’s Minister of Finance Samir Radwan has gone begging to the City of London bankers and the British Ministry of Trade and Investment for relief on debt payments that are about to throw Egypt into bankruptcy.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Yes We Can! (Fix Our Trade Mess) / Politics / US Politics
By: Ian_Fletcher
The fashionable despair of America fixing its trade mess is a mistake.For example, the standard objection to taking a stick to America's trade imbalance by levying a tariff is that our trading partners would just shrug it off by increasing subsidies to their exporters. (They do something similar to this already: China, for example, is constantly adjusting its export subsidies to protect its positions in foreign markets.) This would, supposedly, force us into an endless game of matching these moves on a country-by-country, industry-by-industry, and even product-by-product basis.
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Thursday, February 24, 2011
Arab Autocracies and US Inflation / Politics / US Politics
By: Michael_Pento
Civil revolt is currently spreading across the Arab world. What began in Tunisia has now metastasized into Bahrain, Egypt and Libya. Though two dictators have been ousted, the chances that these regimes will fundamentally transform from autocracy to a system of free markets and property rights are also up in the air. An important question is whether or not Saudi Arabia will eventually get into the mix; and, if so, whether the current struggle in Libya would morph into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia (Sunni Muslims) and Iran (Shiite Muslims). It remains to be seen whether the new regime in Egypt-whatever form it ends up to be - will allow Iran to use the Suez Canal to parade warships across the Mediterranean Sea and into Syria. If so, what would Israel's reaction to such a perceived provocation be?Read full article... Read full article...
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Ben Bernanke's Counterfeiting Behind North Africa Revolutions / Politics / Inflation
By: Bill_Bonner
Cereal Wars…and Zombie Wars…
Hey, how ’bout that Ben Bernanke… He’s a freedom fighter! Look what he’s done to North Africa!
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Bahrain Peoples Uprising Against the US-backed Regime Gains Critical Mass / Politics / Middle East
By: Finian_Cunningham
Bahrain’s uprising against the US-backed ruling elite is gathering critical mass, with the Persian Gulf island state seeing the biggest demonstration ever last night. Some 200,000 people took the main highway leading to the financial district in the capital, Manama, shouting in unison for the regime to go.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The Arab Revolutions and the Emergence of a New Global Social Order / Politics / Middle East
By: Submissions
Prof. (Dr.) Raju M. Mathew writes: The Arab Reality - The entire Arab World is in Revolution. It is a spontaneous over flow of the suppressed anger and frustration of the Arab Youth and Women against their Rulers and Regimes and the Rigid and Oppressive Socio-Economic System. The rulers and systems have been making their life more and more miserable, denying them dignity, justice, freedom and opportunities to grow and flourish. They have living in utter frustration and hopelessness without anything to dream.
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Wednesday, February 23, 2011
The Obama Administration's Clueless Trade Diplomacy / Politics / US Politics
By: Ian_Fletcher
Obama clearly doesn't get it yet on trade agreements.Despite the fact that every major American trade agreement since NAFTA has worsened America's trade balance, he actually seems to think he can improve America's export performance by going for more, starting with a free-trade agreement with South Korea.
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Libya Crisis and its Energy Industry / Politics / Middle East
By: STRATFOR
Libya’s political strife has already begun to impact its energy production, and this is just the beginning.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission is Central Economic Planning at its Worst / Politics / Market Regulation
By: Dr_Ron_Paul
Last week, the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) presented its results to the Financial Services Committee. As with most other politically-appointed commissions, the results of the FCIC's investigation were easy to predict. Established by the same congress that gave us national healthcare and with a majority of its members appointed by those who seek to solve every problem with more government intervention, it was no surprise that the commission's findings would favor increased government intervention in the economy. Minority members were not substantively involved in the commission's operations, and the commission attempted to exclude their dissenting views by granting them very limited space to do so.
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Tuesday, February 22, 2011
American Manufacturing Slowly Rotting Away: How Industries Die / Politics / US Politics
By: Ian_Fletcher
I wrote in a previous article about why America's manufacturing sector, despite record output, is actually in very deep trouble: record output doesn't prove the sector healthy when we are running a huge trade deficit in manufactured goods, i.e. consuming more goods than we produce and plugging the gap with asset sales and debt.
Monday, February 21, 2011
CNBC Presenter Gets Slapped as Chip Stocks Race Higher / Politics / Mainstream Media
By: Investment_U
Steve McDonald writes: Have you seen the movement of chip stocks recently?
The sector is on the march, with stocks like Micron Technology (NYSE: MU) blasting 60% higher over the past three months.
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Monday, February 21, 2011
Libya Red Alert: Unrest and the Libyan Military / Politics / Middle East
By: STRATFOR
Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi has ordered the Libyan air force to fire on military installations in Libya, according to what the BBC has characterized as a reliable source. Al Jazeera has suggested that air force fighters have opened fire on crowds of protesters.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Real Crisis That Will Soon Hit the U.S. / Politics / Food Crisis
By: Chris_Kitze
Phoenix Capital Research writes: Forget stocks, the real crisis is coming… and it’s coming fast.
Indeed, it first hit in 2008 though it was almost entirely off the radar of the American public. While all eyes were glued to the carnage in the stock market and brokerage account balances, a far more serious crisis began to unfold rocking 30 countries around the globe.
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Monday, February 21, 2011
Wall Street Capitalism: A Love Affair / Politics / US Politics
By: Submissions
BATR writes: What once was a mercantile world has become a global playpen for moving hot money to squeeze out the highest return on investment. Replacing nation states with international capital is now sport. Undermining the sovereignty of countries by an elite club of financial manipulators is the purpose for the grand game.
Monday, February 21, 2011
Fed New Accounting Change Means its Impossible for the Fed to go Bankrupt! / Politics / Central Banks
By: Robert_Murphy
Back in early January, the Federal Reserve made an obscure announcement in its weekly report. It appeared to be an inconsequential accounting change in the treatment of earnings, and was sold as a step toward greater transparency.
The change was buried in such jargon that it took weeks for the financial bloggers to fully digest what had happened — the new move made it effectively impossible for the Fed to go bankrupt! In this article I'll explain the rule change and speculate on the Fed's motives.
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Monday, February 21, 2011
Bahrain State’s Lethal Crackdown Backfires on the Regime / Politics / Middle East
By: Finian_Cunningham
There was an uneasy calm in Bahrain’s capital, Manama, last night following nearly a week of lethal repression by state security forces which has left eight civilians dead and hundreds injured.
But the appalling violence inflicted by state forces seems to have now galvanized the protest movement and radicalizing its calls for the entire regime to go.
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Monday, February 21, 2011
Libya Red Alert: Clashes in Tripoli / Politics / Middle East
By: STRATFOR
Emerging reports early Feb. 21 indicate the unrest in Libya is spreading from eastern Libya to the capital of Tripoli. According to initial reports, heavy gunfire was heard in central Tripoli and in other districts with Al Jazeera reporting 61 people killed in Tripoli on Feb. 21. Other unconfirmed reports say protesters attacked the headquarters of Al-Jamahiriya Two television and Al-Shababia as well as other government buildings in Tripoli overnight.Read full article... Read full article...
Monday, February 21, 2011
Madoff Talk Excuses From Crimes, Says Banks Didn’t Want to Know About His Ponzi Schemes / Politics / Scams
By: Danny_Schechter
Thank you Bernie for breaking your silence, even if you are still clinging to that cover-up mode you adopted since your guilty plea took all the blame for your crimes on yourself.
What is clear is that ripping off the rich is punished far more severely than ripping off the poor. The lengthy sentence you were given has spared who knows how many other greedsters and goniffs from facing the music, what music there is.
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Monday, February 21, 2011
Saif Gadaffi's TV Speech Full Text as Libyan Regime Collapses / Politics / Middle East
By: Submissions
SultanAlQassemi writes: I saw that I had to speak to you. Many Libyans asked me to speak. I don't have a paper or a document to read from.I will not speak in classical Arabic, I will speak in Libyan, I don't have any papers, this is a talk from the heart & mind. We all know that the region is passing through an earthquake, a hurricane or change. If this change does not come from the govts it will come from the people, we have seen this in other Arab countries. Today I will tell you only truth only. We know that there are opposition figures living abroad who have support in Libya. There people try to use Facebook for a revolution to copy Egypt. These people want to bring Libya to what happened in Egypt & Tunisia.