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EmergingFrontierMarkets.com

emerging and frontier markets:

the unofficial field guide

Site Owner/ Publisher:  Sta. Romana, Leonardo L.
        Based in:  Manila, Philippines


Posted on Fri, 23 July 10:


M Baily, M Slaughter and L Tyson:  The global jobs competition heats up--For generations, coal miners gauged the health of their workplace w/ a critical indicator: canaries. Any buildup of carbon monoxide and other gases would silence the singing canaries before reaching levels toxic to humans. US multinationals are now the canaries in the econ coal mine. Will lawmakers pay attention?, ask Inst senior fellow, Dartmouth U prof, and fmr UC-Berkeley biz dean,  Wall St J (courtesy Brookings),  1 July 10


Talent seen as key to success in manufacturing competitiveness - report:  A recent report indicates that access to talented workers capable of supporting innovation is the key factor driving global competitiveness at manufacturing cos.- well ahead of 'classic' factors, such as labor, materials, and energy. It identified the emergence of a new group of leaders in the competitiveness index over the next 5 yrs, incl Mexico, Poland, and Thailand - nations not always considered alongside Brazil and Russia. Not unexpectedly, China, India, SKorea are projected to dominate the index in 5 yrs, as they do now,  Deloitte/ US Council on Competitiveness,  23 June 10

Posted on Thu, 22 July 10:


Obama signs sweeping Wall Street overhaul into law:  US Pres Obama signed into law on Wed. the most comprehensive financial regulatory overhaul since the Great Depression, vowing to stop risky behavior on Wall St that imperiled the US economy. Influential biz groups lined up to criticize the new law, underscoring Obama's uneasy relationship w/ the biz community. Some on Wall St, however, welcomed the clarity offered by the law after mths of wrangling in Congress over what should be in the legislation,  Reuters,  22 July 10 UTC


Multidimensional poverty index - A progressive approach to poverty:  At an extremely optimistic policy forum, the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative revealed its new poverty measure, MPI. It features 3 deprivation dimensions - health, educ and standard of living, and will supplant the 'human poverty index' used in UNDP's Human Devt Reports (HDR) of the past. Half of the world's poor as measured by the MPI live in South Asia (51% or 844 mil.) and one quarter in Africa (28% or 458 mil.). MPI will be featured in this yr's HDR to be published in late Oct,  New Statesman's Web log,  14 July 10  (Oxford, UNDP launch a better way to measure poverty)

Posted on Wed, 21 July 10:


China overtakes US to become world's largest energy consumer:  IEA calculations based on preliminary data show that China has now overtaken US to become the world's largest energy user. China's rise to the top ranking was faster than expected as it was much less affected by the global financial crisis than the US,  Intl Energy Agency,  20 July 10  (China dismisses IEA analysis of it being world's top energy user,  Xinhua News,  20 July 10)


Robert Skidelsky:  Why markets need govts--The recent econ meltdown was at root not a failure of character or competence, but a failure of ideas. Behind the cupidity of bankers, the weakness of regulators and the myopia of macro-policy stood a set of dominant ideas about the proper relationship bet. the state and the market, says member of UK House of Lords/ author of a prize-winning biography of John Maynard Keynes,   OECD Observer,  May '10


Posted on Tue, 20 July 10:


Afghan govt to get more control over aid money:  The intl conference on Afghanistan ended Tue in Kabul w/ around 70 intl representatives agreeing to give more control over aid money to the govt. The Afghan finance minister said the participants, incl 40 foreign ministers, agreed to channel through the govt over the next 2 yrs 50% of nearly $13 bil. pledged,  Deutsche Presse-Agentur (courtesy M&C),  20 July 10  (In Afghanistan and India, low-tech approaches to aid monitoring,  World Bank,  1 June 10)


Time to unwind policy stimulus w/ emerging East Asia's V-shaped recovery firmly on track - report:  The strong econ recovery in emerging East Asia means it is time to unwind monetary and fiscal policy stimulus across the region, says the July edition of the Asia Economic Monitor released today. Emerging East Asia comprises the 10 economies of the Assn of SEAsian Nations, plus China, Hong Kong, SKorea, and Taiwan,  Asian Devt Bank,  20 July 10  (Bank upgrades forecast for developing Asia as broad recovery continues,  ADB,  20 July 10 | Asia - Launching pad for tomorrow's emerging markets,  IMF Survey Mag,  1 July 10)


Posted on Mon, 19 July 10:


Hall of Fame:  UN honors fmr anti-apartheid leader on 1st-ever Nelson Mandela Day--UN is marking Nelson Mandela Intl Day for the 1st time this yr in honor of the fmr SAfrican leader's contribution to the struggle for peace and freedom. The General Assembly overwhelmingly decided in Nov '09 to declare 18 July, Mr Mandela's birthday, as the 'Nelson Mandela Intl Day' to commemorate his long-standing commitment to promoting conflict resolution, race relations, human rights, reconciliation and gender equality,  UN News,  16 July 10  (Gen. Assembly gathers to honor Mandela's life and legacy)


Grading our policy makers:  Blame for the Great Financial Crisis can be laid on many causes. Some argue that the crisis stemmed from severe global savings imbalances that led to the under-pricing of financial risk. Others attribute the crisis to a lack of transparency in the asset-backed securities markets, while some attribute the crisis to an overly accommodative monetary policy. How effectively have our policy makers dealt w/ the root causes of the Great Financial Crisis? A symposium of views from 2 dozen experts,  Intl Economy Mag,  Mar-May '10 [pdf]

Nook & cranny:  Luigi Zingales--Wall Street 2015:  In the 15th and 16th centuries, Florence, Genoa, and Venice were the financial capitals of the Western world. When they declined, financial leadership shifted to Amsterdam, then to London, and finally to New York, whose supremacy went unchallenged from '45 until the end of the 20th century. In the new millennium, however, it is showing cracks, says U Chicago finance prof,  Manhattan Inst's City Journal, July '09


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