Economy Archives - Page 2 of 3

COVID-19: Venezuela faces outbreak with almost no defences

March 13, 2020 Sergio Held

BOGOTA. Venezuela is a country just waiting to die. As the world braces for the impact of the coronavirus, Venezuela continues to deny it has any cases of COVID-19 in its territory. The governing regime claims it has a drug to deal with the virus should the need arise. “I

COVID 19: Beijing struggles to return to normalcy

March 10, 2020 Anticentric

The outbreak of COVID-19 is rapidly slowing in China but, at least in the capital of Beijing, any kind of normalcy will take time to return. Even though some of the city’s 20-plus million residents are beginning to venture out, the streets are far less busy than they once were.

Bangladesh on track to pull off a multi-decade economic miracle

March 6, 2020 Alfred Romann

Bangladesh has been undergoing a significant shift that could have a dramatic impact on global supply chains and secure an economic miracle. COVID-19 could put a damper on growth by shutting down factories en masse. Bangladesh has tapped into global supply chains. HONG KONG – Bangladesh is not known as

Chile: An exhausted country plunged into chaos

March 5, 2020 Sergio Held

Chile is witnessing vandalism, crime and even terrorism and the country has been plunged into chaos. Protestors appear dissatisfied by the president’s offer of a vote to change the constitution. The economy is set to suffer a decline. Many Chilean cities have not seen a day of calm for months.

COVID-19: In Canada, quarantines and precautions are the concern for many

March 3, 2020 Alfred Romann

The fear that the coronavirus outbreak has caused can be difficult to understand in places where the outbreak has been relatively small. And yet, it is right there and impossible to ignore. For some of us, it is not so much fear as the understanding that it makes very little

Colombia’s armed strike raises stakes on Lat Am social unrest

February 25, 2020 Sergio Held

BOGOTA, Colombia. It had not happened in decades, maybe a lifetime. Then, in mid-February, the National Liberation Army (ELN) called for an armed strike across Colombia. An armed strike is a unique form of social protest. An armed group, in this case the ELN, threatened to retaliate against any business

Inequality, logistics, waste leave millions hungry

February 14, 2020 Anticentric

It is unlikely the world will be able to meet its goal of eliminating hunger by 2030. Progress has been made on tackling world hunger but food insecurity started rising in 2014 (see chart here).. Hunger and undernutrition has a real impact on the global GDP. There are 7.8 billion

In Bolivia, farmers are setting forest fires and the government is encouraging them

October 4, 2019 Alfred Romann

The government’s role in Bolivian fires cannot be understated. Laws have been tweaked to prioritize agricultural production at the expense of the environment. Global attention on man-made fire activity centers on Brazil but it’s also happening in other places. Countries are making public claims to preserve rainforests but a lot

Crypto significant but unlikely to move mountains

October 29, 2018 Alfred Romann

Cryptocurrencies have a long way to go before they live up to the potential that true believers claim they have. They are worth an impressive amount but do not have widespread awareness nor any clear use-case among users. Financial regulators around the world are beginning to look at the market

China’s pivot to America could overshadow the US’s pivot to Asia

December 5, 2016 Alfred Romann

China is improving ties with the rest of the world in what is a late start compared to other countries. Its efforts to do so are being overshadowed by an increasingly insular world outside its borders. It remains to be seen if China can pick up the baton of globalization,