TIGblogs TIG | TIGblogs GROUP TIGBLOGS LOGIN SIGNUP
sushil - My Blog
sushil - My Blog
« previous 5


Total issues oil shortage warning
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The head of oil giant Total has told the BBC the world could face a shortage of oil because of underinvestment.

Chief executive Christophe de Margerie warned that too little has been spent trying to tap into new oil reserves because of the economic crisis.

"If we don't move [now] there will be a problem," Mr de Margerie said. "In two or three years it will be too late."

He also said he thought oil prices would rise to more than $100 a barrel, from their current level of around $70.

"The reserves of oil are there, but if you don't invest they don't come on the market," Mr de Margerie said.

"What we have to decide today is production for 2010-2015. So in between we might be faced with insufficient oil to meet demand."

He said the major oil producing countries, which have cut production in the face of falling demand and to protect prices, could not be blamed for the underinvestment.

"You cannot ask those countries who are also facing a crisis to continue to invest for a potential recovery of demand, and to do this for the benefit of the world."

Instead, he called on heads of government to get involved.

"I think it is our role to... force people in charge of our countries to think about this concern we have."


September 21, 2009 | 5:08 AM Comments  0 comments

Tags:


Recession moves migration patterns
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

The global recession has had a marked effect on international migration according to a special report commissioned by the BBC World Service.

Fewer people are moving abroad for work but those who are already abroad are, for the most part, staying put.

And in general, money sent by migrants to their families in their home country, has declined.

The research was done for the BBC by the Migration Policy Institute, an independent agency in Washington.

And you can see the report explained in graphics .

The story is varied, but the general pattern is that fewer people are moving abroad for work.

The number of Mexicans moving to the United States, for example, has fallen sharply - down 40% since 2006.

The drop is even greater in the case of Romanians and Bulgarians moving to Spain. Their numbers have fallen by 60%.

Vulnerable

Migrant workers are more at risk of losing their jobs than native workers as they often work in industries especially exposed to the recession - notably construction and hospitality.

Hence, for the most part, they are also sending less cash home to support their families.
In the case of Turkey, the decline in these remittances was 43% from 2008, the report says.

The impact of Moldova's 37% fall is especially severe, because remittances are equivalent to a third of the country's national income.

Although the general trend is downwards, a few countries including Pakistan and Bangladesh, have enjoyed an increase in the amount of money sent home by its citizens working abroad.

Staying put

But despite the loss of income many face, in most cases there has not been a large-scale return home.
This may reflect the fact that, for many migrants, economic conditions are even worse at home and it would be difficult and costly if they wanted to return to their host country later.

That's especially true for people who have moved illegally.

There are some striking exceptions to these patterns, however.

Many migrants to the UK and Ireland from Central and Eastern Europe have returned home, where economic conditions have not deteriorated as much.

And as nationals of European Union countries, they can legally go back to their host country later.

Country on the move

The main focus of the research was international migration, but it did look at one example of migration within national borders, namely China.

The numbers are extraordinary.

The report says that 140 million have left rural areas in search of work in industrial cities near the coast.

That's the equivalent of the world's tenth largest population.

Every year millions return home for the Chinese New Year. This year, as China's economy weakened, record numbers went back and fewer returned to the cities afterwards.

Protecting their own

A recession often pushes international migration up the political agenda, and governments frequently take action intended to protect employment opportunities for their own nationals.

Several have cut the numbers of work permits for foreigners, including Malaysia, Australia and Russia.

Some, including Spain and Japan, are offering incentives for migrants to return including one-way tickets and lump-sum payments.

The picture the research paints is rich and diverse in detail, but a few things stand out.

Migrant workers have been especially vulnerable to the global economic storms that were created by the financial crisis.

They are more likely to lose their jobs, and their families at home have paid the price in the shape of less financial support.

Many have pulled down the shutters while the storm rages and decided to wait for better times - either at home or, if they have already moved abroad, in their host country.

It is also very plain from the report that migration is an increasingly important part of the global economic landscape.

Investment moves across borders fairly freely in search of the best opportunities. Increasingly, people want to do this as well.

The pattern depends on where the opportunities are. But when the economy recovers, people will be on the move once again.


September 12, 2009 | 12:00 PM Comments  0 comments

Tags:


Follow the money
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Since the markets began to tumble in 2008, governments around the world have spent almost $11 trillion bailing out failing banks and trying to repair the financial system.

Find out how the money was spent and what it means for the taxpayers who have funded it. There are two animated slide shows: scroll down the page to see how the money was spent in the UK.Crisis 'cost us $10,000 each'

As one of the world's major financial centres, the UK has been one of the hardest hit by the financial chaos.
What effect have the bailouts had on the public finances and how has it hit people's personal wealth?


September 12, 2009 | 11:30 AM Comments  0 comments

Tags:


House price rise hits 5-year high
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

House prices in England and Wales rose by 1.7% in July compared with June - the biggest monthly leap in value since July 2004, the Land Registry said.

Every region recorded a monthly rise in prices, with the average home valued at £155,885, the analysis found.

But prices were still 11.7% lower in July than they were in the same month a year earlier and sales were also down.

The annual drop in prices was sharpest in the North East of England but at its most shallow in Wales.

The Land Registry, which records all completed property sales in England and Wales, is widely regarded as producing one of the most authoritative house price reports, although it does lag behind data from lenders.

It compares the price of properties sold now with the price paid when they were sold previously. However, repossessions and property transfers following a divorce are excluded from the sample.

Slowing rate

The annual fall in prices eased in July compared with June, when the year-on-year drop stood at 13.8%. This was at the lowest level in July since October last year.
The recovery in the housing market has been revealed in a series of surveys in recent months, including the Nationwide building society's index which is based on mortgage data, which this week revealed prices had risen by 1.6% in August compared with July.

This has proved to be bad news for tenants, who have seen rent levels rise again as former "reluctant landlords" put their homes back on the market.

However, the number of transactions remains relatively low, with some experts suggesting rising prices could stall if there is a surge of properties coming back onto the market.

There were an average of 35,848 sales per month between February and May this year, compared with 61,743 in the same period a year earlier.

Regional breakdown

The housing market slump was more acute for the owners of flats and terraced homes, as revealed in the latest figures.

The Land Registry said that the value of terraced properties fell by 12.9% and flats dropped by 12.7% in July compared with the same month a year earlier.

This compared with an 11.3% fall for semi-detached homes and just a 10.2% drop for detached houses.

On a national and regional level, the biggest month-on-month rise in property values came in Wales, where prices rose by 3.1% in July compared with June.

At the other end of the scale, prices rose by 0.9% during the same period in Yorkshire and the Humber.

The Land Registry analysis is one of the very few reports that maps out house prices changes at a local level.

It found that in the 12 months to July, prices fell the least in Ceredigion (down 8.4%) - where the average price was £161,279 - and fell the steepest in Luton (down 22.5%) - where the average home cost £118,195.

Millionaire row

Those buying and selling some of the most expensive homes in England and Wales were not immune to the slump in activity in the housing market at the turn of the year, the figures also reveal.

The biggest drop in sales in the year to May - the latest figures available - came among properties in the £1.5m to £2m bracket. Some 38 were sold in this price range in May compared with 88 in May 2008, a fall of 57%.

The number of homes sold at more than £1m in the same period fell from 453 to 242, a drop of 47%.

Meanwhile, more of the cheapest homes were being sold. Sales of homes which cost less than £50,000 rose by 50% from 508 in May 2008 to 760 a year later.


August 29, 2009 | 1:58 PM Comments  0 comments

Tags:


China signs deal to sell iPhones
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

Mobile operator China Unicom has signed a deal with Apple to launch the popular iPhone into the world's largest mobile phone market.

The phones are expected to go on sale in China later this year.

State-owned Unicom would be the first Chinese phone company to formally support the iPhone, although many unlocked iPhones are already in use.

China has more than 600 million mobile phone accounts and a deal to introduce the iPhone has been long-awaited.

Apple said the two partners had agreed a "multi-year deal" and expected the launch to be in the fourth quarter of 2009, but gave no financial details.

"We believe China Unicom's high-speed mobile broadband network, coupled with [the iPhone] will create new communication and different experiences for customers in China," said Unicom chairman Chang Xiaobin.

Apple sold 5.2 million iPhones between April and June this year, seven times more than a year earlier.

The sales helped to push quarterly profits at the US technology giant to $1.2bn (£735m).


August 29, 2009 | 1:52 PM Comments  0 comments

Tags:


« previous 5


sushil's Profile

sushil's Friends


Latest Posts
Total issues oil...
Recession moves...
Follow the money
House price rise hits...
China signs deal to...

Monthly Archive
May 2009
June 2009
July 2009
August 2009
September 2009

Change Language


Tags Archive
economy

Filter By Type
Travel
Topics

Friends
katerina
le minh sang
A Better Community for All (ABC4All)
Aare Kornar !
abeer al najjar
Adham Tobail
adji seynabou
ahmed
Ajay Kumar Uprety
alabi babadele
alin love rai
American Credit Card Debt Counseling Services
amira Mostafa
Anand Koti
Aneesa Hussain
Angelina
AnnickP
asad kamoka
ashokgtm
Atta ur Rehman Qureashi
Belal jahjooh
BenRa
bintang arak
buburuza_03
Ca
Calling Earth
caringdevice
Charles
Chinwe
chiyo
ckshya
Connecting volunteers with global projects
D.Deepavannan
Dabal Bista
Deepen Upadhyay
Deji D
Dennis Sloan
diana
DOUMBIA
Elaine Cris C. ("Comitiva Esperança")
Elisa
Emily Briggs
Eric
Francisco Pereira
Frank
Gary Arvay
granthea
Hannah
Hasnat
huongcokho
Idris victor
ilyes
Invisible Youth Network
Ioana Lucia
Ira
Jade Johnston
Jennifer Corriero
Jenny H.
john campbell
Jonah Wittkamper
Justine Castonguay-Payant
K
Katherine Walraven
katri
kippeumoh
Lauren Chender
Leo Viëtor
Leonvde
Liam O'Doherty
Lisa Campbell Salazar
Makita
Malia Valenciano
Manuella Donato
Mariana Ballestero
Marija Antanaviciute
Maryanne C
Max
MD. JAMAL HOSSAIN
Mert Yılmaz
Michael Furdyk
Miguel Cerejido
Mina Akrami
mk
mohamed elkashash
Nibha Joshi
Padam Raj
Pamela Jouven
Pauline Theoret
Pauline Theoret
Pr@su,सूर्य
Quỳnh Diệp Ngô
Ramjee Bhandari
Rebecca Lohman
Rizka Sungkar
Sabrine Herrira
sahr yillia
Saladin
samiirvip
sandy mcmunn
Shorooq
Shreejana K.C
Siddiq
siddiqua
Srecko Stojakovic
Stephen Ojeremen
Sulmaz Ghoraishi
Suran
Thomas Sarmiento
Tih Felix
Umar
upasana khadka
Vinita
Wangchuk Chungyalpa
xxx
Yashoda
yuv raj kumar
দেবশ্রীDebashree


7572 views
Important Disclaimer