Debt crisis unsettles European economy – washingtonpost.com

Posted by Matt in February 6th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Economy, Europe, Asia, Crises, Debt Crisis, Economic Woes, Euro Debt, Europe, European Economy, Eurozone, Germany, Greece, Latin-America, Neighbor, Parallels, Turmoil, Value Of The Euro

The crisis unfolding in Europe has some parallels to the debt crises that hit Latin America and Asia in the past, particularly in how Greece’s problems have spread so quickly to other countries in the region with similar economic woes.
But there are major differences. Analysts said the healthy, large economies of the “eurozone” — namely, [...]

Democracy’s decline: Crying for freedom | The Economist

Posted by Matt in January 31st, 2010 | no comment

Published in general, America East, Countries In Africa, Decline, Declines, Democracies, democracy, Economist, Erosion, Freedom In The World, Global American, honduras, Latin-America, Leaves, Lobby Group, Madagascar, Maldives, Middle East, Mozambique, Niger, Soviet Union

In its report entitled “Freedom in the World 2010: Global Erosion of Freedom”, the American lobby group found that declines in liberty occurred last year in 40 countries (in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and the ex-Soviet Union) while gains were recorded in 16. The number of electoral democracies went down by three, to [...]

BusinessWorld Online: Will China rule the world?

Posted by Matt in January 13th, 2010 | no comment

Published in China, Africa, Astonishing Level, Borders, Business World, Businessworld, China, Chinese Government, Competitor, Economic Power, Financier, Footprint, Global Economy, Globe, Investor, Latin-America, Military Relationships, Research And Development, Thirty Years, Trillion

Thirty years ago, China had a tiny footprint on the global economy and little influence outside its borders, save for a few countries with which it had close political and military relationships.
Today, the country is a remarkable economic power: the world’s manufacturing workshop, its foremost financier, a leading investor across the globe from Africa to [...]

Latin America’s New Cold War? | Foreign Policy

Posted by Matt in December 8th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Americas, Accusations, Bad Faith, Cold-War, Colombia, Cooperation Agreement, Decades, Drug Trafficking, Foreign Policy, Global Arms Race, Imperial Ambitions, Latin-America, Military Cooperation, Military Standoff, Oct 30, Tensions, Terrorism, Venezuela

Nearly two decades after the global arms race of the Cold War ended, many Latin America watchers today are worried about a new military standoff: between Colombia and Venezuela. As before, Washington is integral to the debate.
Tensions on both sides of the border have run high for several years, but a joint U.S.-Colombia [...]

U.S. Faces Rising Resistance to Its Latin American Policy – WSJ.com

Posted by Matt in December 1st, 2009 | no comment

Published in Americas, Brazil, China, Clout, Dominant Player, Economic Growth, Faces, Latin American Policy, Latin American Resources, Latin-America, Led, Regional Power, Resistance, Several Factors, Venezuela, Wsj

While the U.S. remains the dominant player in Latin America, its clout is curtailed by several factors, including Brazil’s rise as a regional power, the influence of a clique of anti-American nations led by oil-rich Venezuela, and the growing muscle of China, which sees Latin American resources as key to its own economic growth.
U.S. Faces [...]

Land Rush in Africa – BusinessWeek

Posted by Matt in November 28th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Africa, Acreage, Agribusinesses, Agriculture, Arab Oil, Businessweek, Crops, Developing Countries, Farmland, Fascination, Fear, Goldman Sachs, Homelands, Investor, Land Rush, Latin-America, Morgan Stanley, Oil Countries, Sachs Gs, Tracts, Water Land

Farmland in developing countries has become an unlikely object of investor fascination. Goldman Sachs (GS), and Morgan Stanley (MS) are each raising hundreds of millions of dollars for agriculture funds aimed at Africa and Latin America. Agribusinesses in the U.S. are leasing vast tracts of African land from which they expect to export crops and [...]

Blackouts darken Brazil’s 2 largest cities – Yahoo! News

Posted by Matt in November 10th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Brazil, Blackouts, Brazil Cities, Brazil News, Hydroelectric Dam, Largest Cities, Latin-America, Massive Power, Power Failure, Yahoo, Yahoo News

A massive power failure blacked out Brazil’s two largest cities and other parts of Latin America’s biggest nation for more than two hours late Tuesday, leaving millions of people in the dark after a huge hydroelectric dam suddenly went offline. All of neighboring Paraguay also lost power, but for only about 20 minutes.
Blackouts darken Brazil’s [...]

Israel accuses Hugo Chávez of turning Venezuela into Americas base for Iran

Posted by Matt in November 3rd, 2009 | no comment

Published in Venezuela, Africa, Ayalon, Hugo Chavez, Iran, Iranian Regime, Israel, Latin-America, Middle East, Peace, Scope, tehran, Venezuela, World Security

“The scope of the Iranian regime does not end in the Middle East. It is global, and also reaches Africa and Latin America,” Ayalon said. He also warned of the “implications and the danger to world security and peace” posed by the “fanatical regime” in Tehran.
Israel accuses Hugo Chávez of turning Venezuela into Americas base [...]

Is Panama to be Latin America’s Diamond Smuggling Hub?

Posted by Matt in November 2nd, 2009 | no comment

Published in Americas, Diamond Center, Diamond Exports, Diamond Smuggling, Diamonds, DiamondSmugging, Fellow, Hub, International Assessment, Kimberley Process, Large Scale, Latin American, Latin-America, Money Laundering, Panama History, Producers, Rich History, SmugglingDiamonds, Strategy Center, Transparent, Venezuela

“Given Panama’s rich history as a center for both money laundering and smuggling on a very large scale, coupled with Venezuela’s demonstrated unwillingness to be transparent in its diamond exports and withdrawal from the Kimberley Process, I am very concerned about the smuggling of diamonds through Panama,” Doug Farah, a senior fellow with the International [...]

Will Brazil pursue nuclear weapons? / LJWorld.com

Posted by Matt in October 20th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Brazil, Benedito, Brazil, De Barros, Defense Ministry, Headlines, International Relations, Jose Alencar, Latin-America, Moreira, Nuclear Weapons, Respectability, Undersecretary, Vice President, World Affairs

Latin America has long prided itself on being the world’s most populated nuclear weapons-free region, but recent statements by top Brazilian and Venezuelan officials are making many of us wonder for how long that will be the case.
Brazil’s Vice President Jose Alencar made big headlines late last month when he stated Brazil should have the [...]