Austerity plans threaten “social cohesion” in US, UK, Germany, France, and Spain

Posted by Matt in March 16th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Financial Crisis, Austerity, Bud, Execution, Germany France, Public Finances, Risk, Social Cohesion, Sovereign Debt, Spain, Stimulus, Tightrope, Uk Germany

The world’s five biggest AAA-rated states are all at risk of soaring debt costs and will have to implement austerity plans that threaten “social cohnesion”, according to a report on sovereign debt by Moody’s.
The US rating agency said the US, the UK, Germany, France, and Spain are walking a tightrope as they try to bring [...]

Economy ‘Far too Close’ to Double Dip: Roubini

Posted by Matt in March 10th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Economy, Financial, Challenges, Debt Crisis, Double Dip Recession, Economy, Europe, Financial Crisis, Fiscal Stimulus, Measures, News Headlines, Poor Economic Data, Research Paper, Risk, Roubini, Second Half, Tipping Point

Poor economic data in the US coupled with Europe’s debt crisis are contributing to an increase of the risk of the US economy going through a double-dip recession, Nouriel Roubini, who predicted the 2007 financial crisis, wrote in a research paper.
At best, the US economy is headed for a U-shaped recovery this year, Roubini said. [...]

China’s Hidden Debt Risks 2012 Crisis, Northwestern’s Shih Says – BusinessWeek

Posted by Matt in March 2nd, 2010 | no comment

Published in China, Financial, Businessweek, China Crisis, Evanston Illinois, Factions, Financial Crisis, Government Debt, Government Entities, Gross Domestic Product, Hidden Debt, Interview March, Local Government, March 1, Northwestern University, Phone Interview, Political Economist, Professor Victor, Risk, Slowdown, World Economy, Worst Case

China’s hidden borrowing may push government debt to 96 percent of gross domestic product next year, increasing the risk of a financial crisis in the world’s third-biggest economy, Professor Victor Shih said.
“The worst case is a pretty large-scale financial crisis around 2012,” said Shih, a political economist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, who spent [...]

Misunderstanding Risk: A More Dangerous World – Newsweek.com

Posted by Matt in February 19th, 2010 | no comment

Published in general, Assets, Catastrophes, Concentration, Dangerous World, Earthquake, Haiti, High Risk, Misunderstanding, Natural Disasters, New Decade, Newsweek, Omen, Population, Risk, Risk Areas, Slovic

The earthquake in Haiti is an omen for what the new decade has in store. We will see more natural disasters, and of larger scale, in the coming years. The trend is already accelerating: more than half of the planet’s 20 costliest catastrophes since 1970 have occurred since 2001. Because of the world’s quickly growing [...]

Ratings agency warns on China bank ‘bubble risk’ | The Daily Telegraph

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

Published in China, China Bank, China Daily, ChinaBubbleRisk, Chinese Banks, Daily Telegraph, Economy, Gross Domestic Product, Loan Growth, Misallocation, Ratings Agency, Risk

“The agency views ‘bubble risk’ as greatest for Chinese banks given their 32 percent loan growth in 2009; this looks likely to be followed by a further 20 percent in 2010,” Fitch said in a statement.”Credit growth of more than 50 percent over a two-year period in an economy where bank credit is already quite [...]

Hamas official warns of risk of war – Monsters and Critics

Posted by Matt in February 10th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Middle East, War, damascus, Hamas, Hamas Leader, Jersualem, Monsters And Critics, Risk, Syria

A Syria-based Hamas leader on Wednesday warned ‘there could be war at any time,’ as the row between Damascus and Jersualem continued to escalate.
Hamas official warns of risk of war – Monsters and Critics

Energy Wars: Russia’s Neighbors Get Even – TIME

Posted by Matt in January 25th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Energy, Belarus, blackmail, Current, Face, kremlin, moscow, Neighbors, Oil Prices, Quarrel, Risk, Russia, Soviet Republic, standoff

This January, all eyes are trained on Belarus, which has been having its own quarrel with Moscow over oil prices, threatening European energy supplies once again. But three weeks into the current standoff, there’s been a twist: Kazakhstan, another ex-Soviet republic, stepped in last week to offer Belarus its own oil. Now the Kremlin’s most [...]

Nuclear 9/11: A Failure to Imagine the Worst | Foreign Policy

Posted by Matt in January 25th, 2010 | no comment

Published in Terrorism, 9 11 Commission, Catastrophe, Conclusion, Failure, Foreign Policy, Imagination, Imagine, National Security Establishment, Northwest Airlines, Northwest Airlines Flight, Principal, Risk, Sept 11 2001, Terrorist Attack

The first step toward preventing a nuclear 9/11 is believing it could happen.
…
Thinking about risks we face today, we should reflect on the major conclusion of the bipartisan 9/11 Commission established to investigate that catastrophe. The U.S. national security establishment’s principal failure prior to Sept. 11, 2001, was, the commission found, a “failure of imagination.“ [...]

Top Risk No. 6: Climate Change | The Call

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

Published in Geopolitical, China, climate change, Copenhagen, Global Treaty, India, Likelihood, Presumption, Risk, United States

Before Copenhagen, the prevailing presumption was that 2010 would be the year when a global treaty, including the United States, China and India, really got done. After Copenhagen, we look years away from such a treaty, and there is a growing likelihood that it will never happen.
Top Risk No. 6: Climate Change | The Call

Top Risk No. 5: Japan | The Call

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

Published in Geopolitical, Bureaucrats, Dpj, Industrial Democracy, Industrialists, Japan, New Democratic Party, Risk, Ruling Party, Upper House Elections

What happens when the ruling party loses power in a one-party state? You get a zero-party state. That has effectively happened in Japan, and it’s hard to overstate the importance of the sweeping political change — indeed it’s unprecedented for a major industrial democracy. The new Democratic Party of Japan’s (DPJ) efforts to limit the [...]