Libertarians and many common citizens in the US have protested against comprehensive spying to the NSA on ordinary citizens. But the outcry in the US in no way matches the profound disappointment and even disgust of other nations around the world. The prompts vary from country to country. This article in Propublica discusses Germany. Why NSA Snooping Is Bigger Deal in Germany Sadly, around the world, the US has been diminished by this fundamental invasion of privacy.
Aneesh Srivastava, chief investment officer at IDBI Federal Life Insurance, says “For a long-term impact we need to increase the attractiveness of India as an investment destination.” In the meanwhile, policy makers’ moves since July to tighten cash supply, restrict currency derivatives and curb gold imports have failed to arrest the rupee’s slump to record lows as they struggle to attract capital to fund a record current account deficit. The rupee has weakened 28 percent in the past two years, the biggest tumble since the government pledged gold reserves in exchange for loans from the IMF in 1991. India Seeks to Buoy Rupee
Egypt had been growing at reasonable rates of 5 and 6 percent a year, but those rates did not provide enough jobs for the rapidly growing population. Before the revolution, there was 10 percent unemployment and 25 percent youth unemployment.
Political uncertainty following the revolution put investors on hold. Tourism, which has traditionally been 10 percent of Egypt’s GNP, plummeted. The economy has taken a hit at a time when people already felt there were not enough opportunities.
In the past the government used public sector jobs to keep the people happy. But the government was not able to expand quickly enough to employ everyone. This upset the population. Private sector jobs were not desirable, because they are not rules-based. Education did not prepare people for the good jobs in manufacturing and technology.
Fuel prices had been kept artificially low to make the people happy. That encouraged too much fuel consumption, smuggling. Benefits eventually skewed to the wealthy.
Political uncertainty is holding back any progress now. This in depth article from Foreign Affairs gives a clear a picture of that situation. Egypt
The Commodities Futures Trading Commission has issued subpoenas to Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and other companies as it investigates the warehousing of metals to drive up prices. Fixing Metals Prices
