Tuesday, February 1, 2011

I heard today on the radio that the King of Jordan has released (fired) the entire cabinet (prime minister etc...) as a result of the grumblings of the citizens about the increasing cost of food. It was suggested that the King, having an eye focused on events in Egypt and Tunisia wanted to avoid mass protests and made the move in order appease the people.

Despite the fact that these are countries that don't buy into the democtratic freedoms we're afforded here in the U.S., clearly the voice of the people does count for something, right?

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Globo-Mart

COSATU, South Africa's largest labor federation, threatened the "mother of all boycotts" in opposition to the deal for Wal-Mart to buy South African retailer Massmart.

A few years back a similar event took place in Europe when Wal-Mart sought to purchase Asda, a large chain of stores similar to Wal-Mart, though that deal went through without any issues.With the lobbying power of such a large corporation is there any way to stop them from doing what they want?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41121412/ns/business/

Food, glorious food. Hot sausage and mustard!

I was having a conversation with my mum recently. She told me she had been grocery shopping but had not been able to buy fresh fruit or vegetables because there weren’t any on the shelves.
There was a recent fuel tax increase in England. It has hit the trucking industry quite hard and in turn this has hit the stores and then on down to the consumer.

That alone is not it. Strained by rising demand and battered by bad weather, the global food supply chain is stretched to the limit, sending prices soaring and sparking concerns about a repeat of food riots last seen a few years ago.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41023317/ns/business-world_business/

Did they have brains or knowledge? Don’t make me laugh!

With a touch of blush and some judiciously applied eye makeup, France's main unemployment agency is trying to lure jobless women back into the workforce by offering them a taxpayer-funded day of pampering.
Is this not a step back a few decades? I mean I think most people are aware of the realities of the world. Research has shown that the better looking you are, the more opportunities come your way, teachers are more lenient on better looking students, more attractive job applicants are likely to get a job over less attractive equally qualified applicants etc.. However, the topic is kind of taboo.Is France is really coming out and saying , if you weren’t so ugly, maybe you’d be able to get a job. Nice!

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41023317/ns/business-world_business/

Saturday, January 8, 2011

Corporate Espionage?



I read in the WSJ recently that allegations had been levelled at China for instigating some corporate espionage at French car manufacturer, Renault. I had to laugh. If you're not familiar with Renault, they are renowned for being the most unreliable cars in the European market. So the thought of some Chinese manufacturers stealing secrets from Renault just mean that the market would be flooded with crappy Chinese cars as well as French ones! It urns out that Renault are partnered with Nissan, who have shared their electric battery technology with Renault. Whoops!