India and China: A Tale of Two Giants
BEIJING | By Andy Xie via Caixin Magazine | India and China, the elephant and the dragon, are entering a new chapter, and the main question they both face is whether they will reform before a crisis or after.
World economy
Why the IMF’s last report on Spain doesn’t make the cut
MADRID | By Luis Martí | Spaniards are not slim quite yet. Or that’s how the IMF’s last report sees it. While admitting that reforms have gone quite far, the IMF wants wage earners to run an extra mile. But there are a few reasons why the institution’s proposal doesn’t make the cut.
G20 summit: Poor Damasco, congrats Istambul!
MADRID | By A.A. | Saint Petersburg, G20 summit. Forget fiscal havens and banking regulation: the only relevant issue seems to be the eventual operation in Syria. Should it take place before Saturday, many would regret it. The only positive collateral effect in the author’s view is that it would help Istambul to host the 2020 Olympic Games.
G-20 meets poisoned by acrimony
MADRID | By JP Marin Arrese | When G-20 leaders meet tomorrow, discussions will be exposed to bad feelings and deep-rooted bitterness. Since the Cold War relations between the US and Russian presidents had never sunk to such low levels of mutual understanding. The unilateral intervention in Syria is poisoning bilateral relations, Mr Putin considering it as sheer trespassing in his own backyard. His latest offer to envisage a green light should Damascus responsibility be fully substantiated amounts to a time buying tactic. Should the US rebuke this overture, it could lead to an open clash.
U.S. recovery’s 5th Labor Day… and still counting
SAO PAULO | By Marcus Nunes | Unfortunately, there´s not much to celebrate on this Labor Day. I start by showing what to me is the most telling chart of all concerning the labor market and which I believe contains the “seeds of destruction” in so much as it destroys skills and the likelihood of a return to meaningful employment in the future.
WEEKEND READ: Should we worry about Indian economy’s slow down?
BANGALORE | By Srikanth Vasuraj | Is India headed back to 1991 crisis? It’s true that the country’s economy is slowing to dangerously low levels, although for PM Manmohan Singh the rupee’s sharp decline is partly due to the U.S. Federal Reserve closing the liquidity tap. The author analyzes the main drivers of the world’s largest democracy.
China on track to surpass US, EU as world’s biggest oil importer
By Ray Kwong | China is on course to surpass the United States and the EU as the world’s largest importer of oil as soon as October. According to a report issued by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the imminent emergence of China as the world’s largest net oil importer has been driven by steady growth in Chinese demand that outpaces energy consumption in the EU and increased oil production in the United States. It’s also a reminder that China’s largest oil fields are mature and production has peaked.
Greek government spends less than the Netherlands’
Denmark has the highest projected government spending as a percentage of GDP, with 58.4 percent. France and Austria also have notably high expenditure percentages, even above Nordic countries Finland and Sweden. Greece doesn’t have that high government spending after all with 48.3 it is around the average, according to Economics in Pictures.
Syria is too close to Israel to miss the target
MADRID | By J.P. Marín Arrese | When you blow the war trumpets any back-pedalling proves hopeless. You are forced to step in. Mr Obama has crossed the Rubicon once the news on a planned attack against the Syrian regime has been leaked. Having warned chemical weapons to stand as a red line he was already under bitter criticism for failing to swiftly react to the massive killing of civilians, victims of that awesome and atrocious devices. Any faltering on his side was bound to be regarded as a blatant lack of leadership.
Iceland-EU talks: How to say “no” without quite saying it
LONDON | By Sigrún Davíðsdóttir (Icelandic State Broadcaster Rúv correspondent)| How to break up a relationship? Do you say you need a break, yet making it clear it’s finite – or do you make a clean cut and say it as it is, that you really don’t want to stay in this relationship? The Icelandic government is having a major difficulty in breaking up with the European Union although the relationship was only that of negotiating a further relationship. Saying “no, it’s over” seems difficult – and that is exactly what foreigners often say about Icelanders: they find it difficult to commit themselves to final decisions.