May 1, 2012

Ah Hindsight

“Greece should not have joined the euro"

After several years of conjecture, political wrangling and detailed analysis by experts and amateurs alike – over the reasons for and resolution of the credit crisis and subsequent recession – it’s nice to hear a pithy encapsulation. Ernst Welteke, who was the head of the German central bank from 1999-2004, and was instrumental in the policy making at the time of the single currency’s formation, has now said in a BBC interview that, “Greece should not have joined the euro.” Isn’t hindsight nice? What I like about this and the further comments of Mr. Welteke isn’t a humble “we made a mistake” apology (it doesn’t happen), but rather the way in which ministers now not in the line of fire seem able to problem-solve much better than those in office. Continue reading →

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April 29, 2012

The Figures Don’t Lie

economic-decline

It’s official: Britain has had “two or more quarters of economic decline,” meaning that it’s now technically in a dreaded double dip recession. The months of tough austerity measures that David Cameron and co. have been implementing on the public won’t stem the tide of this new dollop of bad news. But what does it really mean? After all, nations around the globe have been terrified for years to have their ratings dropped by organizations like Moody’s, when in reality their misguided system was instrumental in perpetuating the credit crisis we’re now living through. No matter. Bad press like this seems to form a cyclone around the public, engulfing any optimism that there might be. Continue reading →

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April 26, 2012

More Contested Money for the IMF

Donating Money

The International Monetary fund has been passing the hat to better endow the “firewall” fund, and thus have greater protection for nations in trouble in the future. Donating billions, for any country at this time, is problematic. And yet many politicians and financial ministers see this as a necessary insurance against further calamity.

How much are we talking about? Well, around $7bn from the smaller countries like Denmark, Australia and Singapore – to $60bn from Japan and $15bn from a begrudging UK. In fact, UK Chancellor George Osborne has been getting stick from most sides about the donation, his defense was pithy: “It’s in Britain’s interest that we have a stable and strong world economy – that creates jobs in Britain.” The reaction ran the gamut from cabinet ministers – support from some and one calling him “bonkers.” The fact of the matter is, that if one country falls, they all have the potential to fall – that is the set-up, not just for the eurozone but also most nations, globally. This is the interconnected world we live in.

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April 22, 2012

Conundrums of the Music Business

Having friends involved in quite high-ranking positions in music publishing and artist management, I’ve heard them lament on countless occasions, “Well, it’s a funny old time in the music biz.” I know that that really means it’s a terrible time. Everybody wants music – the market and desire for artists and new sounds and songs is limitless  – but the paradigm in the last decade has changed beyond recognition, and the industry is lost. And all they do is constantly tell us they’re lost – we know! Digital music is the “future” but the few major record labels left don’t even know how to market that properly. Continue reading →

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April 19, 2012

Can London Handle the Olympic Games?

After spending almost half of my life living in the great city of London – along with San Francisco, New York and Stockholm – I’ve come to expect its shortcomings and foibles and am greeted with surprise when they don’t occur. The old stereotypes about the capital of England being disorganized, dysfunctional and painfully expensive, well, largely apply. And so it was that these adjectives were brought to bear by watching the torch being handed over to the Brits in Beijing a few years ago. The sight was a comic horror, with the Chinese elegance and efficiency cruelly trumping the frumpy English dancers trying to get on a double decker bus – whilst Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page was aloft it, wearing god-knows-what? Not a good start, London. Continue reading →

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April 17, 2012

Instagram = Instacash!

instagram

Before the expected flotation of Facebook on the stock market later this year, company commander and chief, Mark Zuckerberg, has once again made the headlines for shelling out big bucks for…an app. Not just any app, mind you, but a photo sharing ‘network’ called Instagram. This, say analysts, has come with unbelievable speed and promises unbelievable riches ($1bn to share) for the thirteen employees who work for the company.  Continue reading →

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April 15, 2012

Will the Dutch eat humble pie?

Netherlands Greece

last two-year European financial crisis – but the time has now come for the Netherlands to implement their own rules or face penalties from the eurozone Belgian central office. The government of Dutch PM Mark Rutte are apparently in hiding, trying to discuss a way out of losing face on policies they helped instigate – it doesn’t look good, and now the “garlic eating countries” they’ve been disparaging may have the last laugh. Continue reading →

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April 12, 2012

Debt default by any other name

greek debt

."Greece will continue implementing the measures needed to achieve the fiscal adjustments and structural reforms to which it has committed, and that will return Greece to a path of sustainable growth." Evangelos Venizelos

“Restructuring,” “Voluntary haircut,” “Managed default.” The terms being applied to the write-off of Greek debt go some way to showing the amount of face-saving and politicking needed to inch the country back from a default precipice. But, make no mistake, Greece now has a potential re-birth AND is still part of the eurozone, as well as going down in the books as the largest “private debt restructuring in history” according to analysts. Continue reading →

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April 10, 2012

Boom time in Brazil

News that Brazil’s economy has just overtaken the UK’s as the world’s sixth largest doesn’t come as much of a surprise.

Brazil

Boom time in Brazil

But it’s great to see a country with so much vigour and with such a sense of renewal and purpose. And the near future looks very bright indeed. The country is getting used to its commodity-rich landscape (and a better use of it to generate money) with massive new oil reserves found off the coast of Rio, a countryside rich in minerals and metal ore and also cultural changes that keep adding fuel to the fire. The country will host the World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics two years after, creating even more global interest and revenue. But, innovation in the tech sector and the creative media industries – advertising, IT and of course environmental planning and architecture, are also on the rise, creating a real renaissance feel to the country, and particularly Rio. A recent article in the Guardian newspaper quoted a Brazilian news magazine claiming that, “of the 200,000 professionals who had abandoned Rio’s stagnant economy between 1980 and 2000, 70% had returned home since 2009. The magazine attributed the reversal to three factors: a fledgling oil boom off the Rio coastline, the upcoming 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics and improved security.”

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