| Debtor Nation
"News Dissector" Danny Schechter edits MediaChannel.org, where this article first appeared. His film "In Debt We Trust," is now in release. Comments to Dissector@mediachannel.org Well over a year ago, I wrote an article for Harvard's journalism journal Nieman Reports complaining about deeply flawed media coverage of credit and debt issues in America. "There is a credit divide in America that fuels our economic divide," I wrote, warning of a potential economic implosion because so many Americans are trapped by a debt squeeze. I was not alone in projecting a crisis, although my focus was more on the failure of many media outlets to track the problem and ask deeper questions. "Ours has become a nation in which the carrot of instant affluence is quickly menaced by the harsh stick of bill collectors, lawsuits, and foreclosures," I argued.
Overseas markets rebound
Remember that 9 percent decline in China's domestic stock markets that set off a worldwide rout in equity prices on Feb. 27? Like a toddler who fell off a swing and clambered back on, the young Chinese market recovered quickly from the tumble. The Shanghai Shenzhen CSI 300 index has posted a string of new highs over the past week and a half and is now 5.3 percent above its Feb. 26 close. Other developing markets have also bounced back. The MSCI emerging markets index is just a hair below its Feb. 26 close. It's the mature U.S. market that's still aching from the fall. The Dow Jones industrial average, which lost a hair-raising 416 points on Feb. 27, is still 250 points or 2 percent below the Feb. 26 close. Economist Edward Yardeni notes that the Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 1 percent in March, ranking only 25 out of 35 among the global stock markets he monitors.
Once Called the 'Sick Man' of Europe, Germany Is Showing New Signs ...
Talk about good timing. With Germany assuming the rotating presidencies of the European Union and the Group of Eight (G8) developed nations, the country is enjoying an economic resurgence. It remains a formidable exporter of goods worldwide, its unemployment rate has eased and a recent major tax increase has not dampened economic activity as much as many had feared. Still, there is some question whether the recovery is sustainable and whether Germany is up to meeting such long-term challenges as an aging population and a declining birth rate, according to faculty members at Wharton and German business schools, as well as other experts. The country continues to grapple with labor market issues that inhibit corporate flexibility at a time of increasing pressures from globalization.
CryoCath receives FDA approval to expand STOP AF trial to full ...
MONTREAL, March 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CryoCath Technologies (TSX:CYT), the global leader in cryotherapy products to treat cardiovascular disease, today announced it has received notification from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allowing the Company to expand its pivotal Investigational Device (IDE) STOP AF trial for Arctic Front(R) to the full cohort of patients in all 20 centers. The trial is designed to demonstrate Arctic Front's clinical and therapeutic effectiveness in treating paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation (AF) when compared to traditional medical therapy. "FDA approval for final and complete expansion of our STOP AF trial enables us to continue executing our enrolment strategy with a definitive outlook on centers and patients," said Jean-Pierre Desmarais, Chief Scientific Officer.
Bohol poverty shrinks
With the stir caused by the recent self-rated poverty (SRP) and hunger survey across the country and the yardstick with which to measure it, Bohol says by using technology: poverty incidence at least in its pilot areas has shrunk. As to the Poverty Database Monitoring System (PDMS), a software used here to accurately measure households economic uplift-ment in line with the Medium Development Goal of beating poverty by 2015, Bohol is taking great strides in poverty alleviation, this as based on 2004 and 2006 data surveys in Local Poverty Reduction Action Program piloted areas. The PDMS is a process that involves development of household questionnaires focusing on 12 poverty indicators, the conduct of scientific household surveys and the use of a software that makes accurate targeting of households for projects and other interventions for poverty reduction, says Dr.
Egypt in Books
Although its glory days may be past, Egypt remains an important player in regional politics. With almost eighty million people, it has by far the largest Arab population. While there may be twenty-two members of the Arab League, one in three Arabs is Egyptian. And although Islamists question the legitimacy of many Arab states formed in the wake of World War I, Egypt has a recognized legacy going back millennia. Because Egypt is one of only three Arab states to have full diplomatic relations with Israel, it retains an elevated position as a diplomatic intermediary. Despite its importance, though, recent literature on Egypt is scarce. Since the 1952 Free Officers' coup which brought Gamal Abdel Nasser (r. 1952-70) to power, the Egyptian government has grown more opaque. Scholarly access is limited.
TAG Unveils Landmark Study of State's Technology Industry
In the midst of the “dotcom" bust, Georgia was experiencing a boom in technology entrepreneurship, experiencing a significant upsurge in new technology-based companies as most of the nation saw a decline in tech businesses. That data was one of the more startling discoveries in the first ever comprehensive study of the state's technology industry unveiled recently by the Technology Association of Georgia (TAG). The study, which analyzed the tech industry back through the late 1990s, found that Georgia grew its technology commercial establishments by 4.4 percent in 2003 – the height of the aftermath of the tech bust – while the rest of the country saw a nearly 1 percent decline in tech businesses. “The State of the Industry report confirms what many of us have always known, technology entrepreneurship is alive, well and growing in Georgia," said TAG President Tino Mantella. “In fact, from 2002 through 2005, we have grown technology establishments in every year from over seven percent growth in 2002 to nearly three percent in 2005." Commissioned by TAG, along with leading sponsors - the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Georgia Research Alliance and the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce - the report looked at a wide variety of indicators over the period including job growth and investment capital.
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