UP Ibalon Bicol: 2009 crisis

Showing posts with label 2009 crisis. Show all posts

Iran election crisis continues as the world watches

6/23/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

Opposition to the recent election which civil society deemed fraudulent continued with thousands of angry protesters clashing with government security officers in Iran. Supporters of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the defeated rival of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continued to spill into Tehran streets to denounce the rigged election last June 12, 2009 in spite of warnings from the Revolutionary Guard to be prepared for a bloody confrontation.

The protesters who were attacked by teargas, truncheons, and guns demanded a rerun of the election that was riddled with irregularities.

Iranian TV reported at least 17 so far were killed and more than 400 were wounded in last Saturday’s riots. One of those who died was Neda Soltani, a young woman whose demise had become the inspiration of more mass actions. A memorial service for the martyred lady was rejected by authorities to prevent her from becoming a flashpoint of continued rebellion.

Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said: “We are worried and particularly saddened over the violence and loss of life that this is creating and we ask the Iranian government to urgently adopt conditions to create a peaceful solution to the internal crisis. The right to safeguard human lives comes before everything else.“---Iran Daily (06/22/09)

US Pres. Barack Obama expressed his support to the protesters, but many criticize him for not speaking strongly for human rights and democratic principles.

In the past few days, the US, Britain, France, and other European countries asked the Iranian leadership to respect human rights, democratic process, and halt all violence against the people. The Iranian government responded by calling these countries “irresponsible and intrusive.”

As the protesters mull on their next move, a demonstration has been scheduled on Thursday, June 25, 2009. In solidarity with the Iranian protesters, similar rallies against the Iranian rogue regime have been staged in London, Hamburg, Paris, Berlin, Istanbul, Washington, Kuwait City, Tokyo, and other major cities of the world. (Photo Credit: PD; AFP; Reuters/ Farhad Rajabali) =0=

RELATED BLOGS: "Protests against Iran’s contested election continue" Posted by mesiamd at 6/16/2009; "Ahmadinejad wins in Iranian election" Posted by mesiamd at 6/14/2009

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Labels: 2009 crisis, election, fraud, Iran, killings, Mir Hossein Mousavi, Neda Soltani, protest, rally, Tehran, Totie Mesia

US jobless rate slows, but still high at 8.9%

5/10/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

Banking on hope that USA is on its way to economic recovery, the Obama administration takes consolation in having less than the expected joblessness for the month of April. The US Labor Department reveals that unemployment rate last month has risen to 8.9%, the highest ever since 1983.

Many of the jobs filled are vacancies in the government bureaucracy and less from employment generated by the private sector. This is in spite of the bail-outs given to shore up the ailing financial health of big businesses. The companies which asked for help from the US government have hardly been rehabilitated.

"This was another bad report. There was a significant deterioration in the labor market again. The job loss is large, it is widespread, it is affecting every industry sector and every demographic group," Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics," Keith Hall said.---Voice of America News.com (08/09/09, Tate, D)

The data showed 539,000 jobs were lost in April, bringing the total number of unemployed to 13.7 million, up from 13.2 million in March. The half a million job loss was lower than what economic experts earlier predicted. It was unclear why the worrisome employment recond didn’t dampen Wall Street which ended in a positive territory as the week ended.

Americans are soberly waiting for the Obama "magic" to take effect. It's too early to say whether the US economy is on the road to recovery. The huge bail-out money infused into the financial market can't be a guarantee. Americans have learned a hard lesson from the reckless spending prior to the recession. Basically, the ordinary US citizen is on his own, just hoping that those who manage the economy of the country will come out doing the right thing. (Photo Credit: Ben Heine) =0=

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Labels: 2009 crisis, Accountability, economy, employment, financial, joblessness, labor, recession, Totie Mesia, unemployment

Iceland’s government fails as the economic crisis worsens

1/27/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post

After attempts to reverse Iceland's financial crisis since October last year, Reykjavik's government has collapsed amid street protests from citizens who set fires and hold noise barrages with pots and saucepans. Having lost trust in government, angry Icelanders protest a mismanaged economy, worsening joblessness, and rising cost of goods.

Prime Minister Geir Haarde couldn’t quell the public’s disappointment after Iceland’s currency lost its value and banks failed that mirrored the financial troubles in Wall Street and many countries in Europe.

“The IMF announced in November it would pump about $827 million into the Icelandic economy immediately, with another $1.3 billion coming in eight installments. Iceland's Nordic neighbors -- the governments of Finland, Norway, Denmark and Sweden -- announced they would lend Iceland another $2.5 billion.”---CNN.com/europe (01/25/09, Nyeberg, P)

Calling for an earlier election in May, Haarde, who had been afflicted with cancer, resigned and announced he wouldn’t run for another election. Fearing national bankruptcy, he dissolved the coalition government he headed--- formed by the Social Democrat party and Independence party.

With the government’s future uncertain, the island-country’s figurehead President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson said he would consult with Iceland's four main political parties before asking that an interim government is formed.

Similar economic and political troubles are happening in many parts of the world as well. Hard hit are the economies of the United States (USA) and Great Britain which have embarked on their respective financial remedies. The outlook of the crisis at this time is grim even if economic bail-out packages at the expense of taxpayers have been laid out. Nobody seems to know how and when the financial mess will end. Ordinary citizens are left confused and fearful of what next will happen. (Photo Credit: Nele en Jan; Jon Palma)=0=

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Labels: 2009 crisis, economy, financial, Iceland, IMF, International Monetary Fund, Prime Minister Geir Haarde, protest, Reykjavik, Totie Mesia, trust

The Coming Crisis of 2009: Some Thoughts (Part 1)

1/02/2009 | Posted by myty555 | Edit Post

I do not know if my title is passe, that is, should it be termed as the crisis of 2008? Anyway, what the Philippines is experiencing so far is an economic downturn. There is no full crisis yet. But like the rest of the world Filipinos are worried about the spill-over effect of the US crisis.

Will there be a full-blown crisis? I don't know either. Nobody has a perfect crystal ball on this crisis. One thing, there is no denial complex like in the other crises so looking for solutions came earlier. And the host country of the crisis can possibly marshall up to a trillion dollars of intervention fund to soften the blow. And the world, tickled properly, will probably respond to multilateral efforts in order to stave off a greater conflagration.

How do the Philippines stand in this crisis? Firstly, electronics parts imports have dived indicating that this sector of the economy won't be a good performer this year. But that sector is no longer the country's biggest sector. The biggest is now the OFW market and this sector is not dependent directly or indirectly in the US since it caters mainly to the Middle East and this region doesn't produce a lot of goods and services for the US and other highly-industrialized countries (HICs).

A major sector, the natural-resources extraction sector including metals is primarily China-driven now. Will this suffer? Actually it will depend on how China handles this crisis since their number one market is the US. But being the cost and price leader worldwide they still have plenty of option regions. But of course these regions economic size and purchasing power cannot match the US'.

Our agri-business sector can probably ride out the storm since more and more it is not dependent on the US market. Instead it relies more on Japan and increasingly the Korea, China, Hongkong and other markets are being developed.

Meanwhile, our traditional agriculture market, though still big had become more of a non-factor in the last few years. Our coconut, abaca, tobacco markets is no longer that important while we are importers in our other agriculture needs like cereals.

An emerging BPO sector, which include call centers probably ranks second in importance now. This sector is putting up a brave face but its primary market is the US. Will enough US firms cut cost and outsource abroad so that previous demand cuts here will be negated? I cannot speculate on this since this is a US response area.

I point all of this out since I do not want to say that this impending crisis will just be a replay of the 2001 crisis spawned by the 9/11 NYTC attack. The world changes fast and underlying dynamics do change.

[photo credit:bigapple212]

Labels: 2008 crisis, 2009 crisis, 9/11, agri-business, BPO, call centers, denial complex, electronics parts imports, HIC, Middle East, natural resources extraction sector, OFW market, trillion dollars

UP Ibalon Bicol

Iran election crisis continues as the world watches

US jobless rate slows, but still high at 8.9%

Iceland’s government fails as the economic crisis worsens

The Coming Crisis of 2009: Some Thoughts (Part 1)

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