United States: Start of Negotiations on the International Services Agreement but Impact Could be Limited
Services liberalization – long a pillar of the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Doha Round – made a comeback earlier this month when the US Trade Representative (USTR) announced it would … Continue reading
Technology: Microsoft’s Windows 8 Presents Unrealized Opportunities but Challenges Remain
Despite the underwhelming sales of its new Windows 8 Operating System (OS), Microsoft Corporation’s (MS) vast dominance over the global personal computer (PC) market is unlikely to abate anytime soon. … Continue reading
United Kingdom: Recent Example of the Failure of an Austerity-Only Policy
Austerity is a popular word among a number of politicians but there is increasing and consistent evidence that a government policy based exclusively on austerity just doesn’t work. This is … Continue reading
India: Increasing Investment in Government Debt Unlikely to Pay Dividends without Structural Changes
Global financial markets reacted positively to New Delhi’s announcement that it was raising the limit of foreign investment in government debt. As part of its efforts to spur capital inflows … Continue reading
Algeria: Government Shuts Militants Down and Sends Message to Terrorists in One Fell Swoop
Algeria’s military action against those who had taken over the British Petroleum (BP) facility at In Amenas has been much discussed recently. These conversations have centered around the fact that, … Continue reading
Technology: Facebook’s Untapped Potential Fast Reaching its Zenith
Facebook (FB) is scheduled to announce its 4th quarter and fiscal 2012 results on January 30, and analysts are optimistic that the social-networking behemoth will beat expectations. Based on these … Continue reading
Afghanistan: Karzai Playing Short Game Under the Guise of a Lengthy Strategic Plan
In order to understand the reasons behind President Karzai’s policy initiatives, one must first recognize his two motivations. Since Hamid Karzai’s presidential term is scheduled to end in 2014 following … Continue reading
Japan: LDP Implements Spending Measures Taking Country Into Deeper Debt Hole
One of the primary goals of the newly elected Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) government is to reverse Japan’s long-standing economic woes. However, given the scale of this problem, its unlikely … Continue reading
Technology: Dell Lacks Strategic Outlook and Purchase Expensive at Current Price Levels
Over the past few days, Dell Corporation’s return to the news cycle has caused the company’s stock price to rise to levels not seen in years. This unprecedented news – … Continue reading
Technology: Google continues its Advance on Apple’s valuable Mobile Customers
Sales of Apple’s iPhone5 do not seem to have matched the company’s expectations forcing it to significantly reduce orders of components from its suppliers and hurting its stock price and … Continue reading
All Sorts of Things 