BrianBooker

In the United States bilking people for tens of millions of dollars results in time behind bars. Just look at Nevin Shapiro, who stole tens of millions of dollars and received a 20 year sentence. In China, however, mass fraud can result in the death penalty. Lin Haiyan, a 39-year-old woman from Wenzhou, was recently sentenced to death for running a 70 million dollar Ponzi scheme. Does China have the right idea, or is the judicial system taking it too far? It appears that Ms. Lin did legitimately try to start an investment company. After soliciting investments from friends, former classmates, relatives, and other people in her extended network, she invested in a variety of high risk investments, including futures and high-risk stocks. Unfortunately for her and her investors, these investments turned sour and she began to rack up huge losses. Instead of pulling the plug and refunding investors, however, Lin continued to solicit new investments, and when old clients pulled their assets, she simply handed out the newly invested money. As with every Ponzi scheme, this proved unsustainable and in October of 2011, the whole thing came crashing down. Death Penalty In China Now, Ms. Lin may well find herself
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Often we perceive that there is a constitution debate around whether or not the American government can limit or restrict the ability of people to bear arms. This is ironic, because after even a cursory glance at the constitution, it’s easy to see that there is no debate. Take a look at the actual wording of the Second Amendment: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” There are numerous interesting pieces of vital information that can be taken from this short and sweet sentence. Let’s look at the first half of the sentence first: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state,” There are two essential points of this statement. First, the right to bear arms is directly tied to the “security of a free state” and second that the best way to ensure this security is through a militia. To understand this statement one needs to understand the general conditions at the time of writing the Constitution. The Founding Fathers did not envision the United States as maintaining a huge standing army, for the
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When the European Union, or its successor, the European Economic Community, was created, it had the most noble of goals in mind. To end centuries of war and bring about economic prosperity for every country within the Union.  And on the whole the European Union has largely succeeded in achieving many of its main objectives. Still, if there is one black spot on the European Union’s resume, and that is the creation of the Eurozone and the single currency of its members, the Euro. This is a controversial topic, to say the least, and the Euro currency has a long list of defenders. From renowned economists, respected politicians, able technocrats, and a whole list of other people, the Euro has enjoyed a broad range of support. Unfortunately, the economic prowess of these individuals is questionable, regardless of the PhD’s or prizes they hold. The simple fact is that many of these people have forgotten the true purpose and functioning of a currency. A currency is created to facilitate trade. At the microlevel, currencies facilitate trade between individuals and organizations. You go down to the store and buy some eggs by giving some money to the cashier. The store then takes
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Time and time again various markets inflate into bubbles before eventually popping and causing investors to lose huge sums of money. It doesn’t matter how often a bubble pops, many investors simply seem to never learn. Now, the Singaporean government is trying to deflate a housing bubble that has seen home prices skyrocket, in some cases to more than 50 years worth of rent! Housing Sector In Singapore Is Vital The housing sector in Singapore is especially vital to the nation. As a small city-state with limited space, managing housing and the housing market has long been one of the chief concerns of the ruling People’s Action Party. Housing has now become the largest personal expense for most people living on the island. The government does support a massive public housing sector that is estimated to supply housing for some 80 percent of Singaporeans. While a Westerner might conjure up images of dilapidated slums at the mention of public housing, in Singapore such “projects” can rival luxury condo estates. Still, supply has not yet sated demand, but with major public and private housing projects being launched in the next three years,  with prices having already dropped by about 20 percent.
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China is now less than a month away from completing a 2.5 billion dollar pipeline in Burma that will pump oil and natural gas into the so-called Middle Kingdom. State owned China National Petroleum Corporation is heading the project and has been pouring millions into local communities to fund schools, hospitals, and other local development projects. With a combination of aggressive economic projects and donations for local development projects, China may now be able to swing Myanmar into its sphere of influence. China Enters Burma While the United States has only recently begun to normalize relations with Burma (also called Myanmar), the Chinese have been on the ground for decades. America must now play catch up, and with markets just now opening up, there is plenty of room for growth and expansion. Swinging Burma into the American sphere of influence could help the United States increase pressure on and encircle China. At least ensuring Myanmar’s neutrality in diplomatic affairs would help ease pressure in Southeast Asia. This is especially important as China has already forged close relationships with Laos and Cambodia. If China brings Myanmar over to their side, it could tip the balance of power in the region. While Myanmar is
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Emerging FDI appears to be increasing. Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, and now India are seeing increasing investments from the United States as investors take advantage of low interest rates to raise capital for investment. In India local investors are selling off stocks in favor of property and gold, but a flood of money from the United States is helping to stave off a major decline in local stock markets. What does this mean for Asia? And perhaps more importantly, what does this mean for the United States? Low Interest Rates Functions Low interest rates are supposed to spur business investments. Ask many of America’s working and middle class people and even after years of low interest rates, conditions on the ground seem almost as dire as during the Great Recession. Businesses are ramping up investments, however, it’s just that a huge amount of the capital is flowing overseas. India is now emerging as a favorite for foreign institutional investors. Such investors now control just over 21 percent of the stocks for India’s Fortune 500 companies. Foreign investors tend to focus on consumer oriented companies and financial services firms. Of course, foreign investors may want to take note that locals are growing
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Prime Minister Najib managed to hold onto the parliament in a hotly contested election that saw the opposition party Pakatan Rakyat (PR) take the popular vote but incumbent Barisan Nasional (BN) took a majority of the seats anyway. There have also been widespread reports of voting irregularities committed on BN’s part, though some of these reports have already been discredited by external outsiders and opposition leaders as false rumors. Now tensions are at an all time high. In the aftermath of the elections tens of thousands of Malaysians packed the Kelana Jaya Stadium in a show of force that must be making BN leaders nervous. Indeed, Anwar has promised more rallies and is increasing pushes for reform. The police have responded with threats to charge speakers at the last rally with sedition, which PR quickly condemned. Tensions are now rising and for the first time in decades there is a serious risk of protests erupting into major confrontations and perhaps even riots reminiscent of the 1969 “race riots” that nearly tore Malaysia apart and resulted in heavy handed security laws and tactics being implemented. While BN has tried to paint the election as a Chinese vs. Malay/India battle, labeling it
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Energy starved and cash strapped India will press ahead with plans to bring online a nuclear power plant in spite of wide spread protests. India’s Supreme Court has approved of the project and will allow its operation to go forward. This comes nearly two decades after the project was originally planned and 2 years after the first reactors were completed. Nuclear Power Project Details The project will be a joint development between India and Russia and will be built in Tamil Nadu, one of the poorest regions of India. Two of the generators in the plant have already been ready to go online for about two years. So far the state owned Nuclear Power Corporation of India has been unable to turn the generators on due to protesters and legal actions. Now that the Supreme Court has given the green light, however, the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant should be up and running shortly. Whether or not nuclear power is a safe energy option remains hotly debated. Proponents of nuclear energy argue that it produces few green house gases and when managed properly, has few negative impacts on the local environment. According to supporters, while there may have been safety issues
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Singapore is often regarded as a bell weather for the global economy. A “canary” of sorts, when global trade starts to decline, Singapore’s economy often contracts sharply. During the 2008 Financial Crisis, for example, Singapore’s economy contracted by nearly 13 percent. And yet while indicators across the world point to a slowing global economy, Singapore Straits times Index is up nearly 10 percent over the course of the last week. Still, the bad economic news from around the world appears to be catching up as the Singapore Straits times Index slipped by nearly a percentage point on Friday. Singapore Straits Times Index a Look How is Singapore holding strong while the rest of the world slips underneath a bevy of bad news in the United States and China? The Singapore Straits times Index is heavily dominated by banks and other financial companies which have been posting stronger than expected earnings. These stocks have propelled the otherwise sluggish Singapore Straits times Index forward to heights not seen since 2007, before the onset of the continuing global financial crisis. Potential investors should be cautioned however, as the Singaporean government is projecting weak economic growth, likely to fall between 1 to 3 percent for the year. Through
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Malaysia, one of Asia’s most vibrant countries, is facing an upcoming election that could see the long ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition swept from power. Since independence from the United Kingdom in 1957, BN has moderated the nation’s complicated racial tensions and driven economic growth, but has also been plagued with corruption and cronyism. Now, the coalition stands to lose its majority in Parliament. BN Looking For Another Five Years In Malaysia: BN has been arguing for another five years in power and should they lose, Malaysia could descend into chaos. In a country that has grown comfortable with its system of cronyism and corruption, Malaysia will have to face the hard reality that its oil wells are drying up, and Malaysia will have to either reform its economy and culture, or risk slipping into obscurity. BN has been arguing fiercely that the party should be given another term to support strong economic growth and fight racial tensions. But given the racial fault lines that run through Malaysia’s society, there is a serious risk that long simmering tensions could boil over. The fall out could result in renewed racial conflict which could destabilize one of Asia’s strongest economies. And yet,
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Indonesia, South East Asia’s largest state, is bracing for riots, demonstrations, and possibly even violence ahead of a proposed fuel subsidy cut. Cheap fuel has long been enjoyed by Indonesia’s large but poor population. Now, efforts are underway to slowly reform the level of fuel subsidies offered. While the government is pledging increased aid in food and other areas, many Indonesians are now bracing for widespread protests. Indonesia History Having long been ruled by military strongman Suharto, Indonesia has traditionally needed these subsidies to ensure public support. Indonesia is one of the most diverse nations in the region. A vast archipelago of historically independent and semi-autonomous islands, the country is home to a wide range of religions and ethnic groups. In order to maintain power Suharto implemented numerous social welfare programs to help lower costs. While Indonesia supports one of the world’s largest economies, the average person lives on about 2 dollars a day. And while the economy has been growing in recent years, the rate of growth has not been nearly enough to put a dent in poverty. President Bambang has tried several times to reduce fuel subsidizes, only to back out due to pressure from civil society organizations.
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