Asia

Do Korea “experts” know what they are talking about?

"There is convincing evidence that most Western 'experts' on the DPRK have little, if any, clue what they are talking about. B.R. Myers, one of the very few bona fide experts on Pyongyang and its weird regime, has written at length about just how misguided most of what you’re hearing and reading about North Korea now actually is. In the first place, many commentators apply outdated, Cold War thinking to the DPRK, where it doesn’t fit. Moreover, most 'experts' are stunningly ignorant of what North Korea actually is like or how it thinks, resulting in profound Western misreads on why Pyongyang does what it does. Which, given the awesomely high nuclear stakes right now, kinda matters." Continue reading →

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Eric Margolis: Korea, One Of The World’s Five Most Strategic Nations

"Amazingly, South Korea’s tough 600,000-man armed forces are under the command of a US four-star general 60 years after the end of the Korean War, backed up by 28,500 US troops that include a full heavy infantry division, North Korea calls itself the 'true Korea,' denouncing the South as 'puppets of the US imperialists.' Interestingly, some studies show that many South Koreans share this view and are proud of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program though they want no part of its socialism and self-reliant policy known as 'juche.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEric Margolis: Korea, One Of The World’s Five Most Strategic Nations

US expat in Switzerland builds North Korean schools

"An American retiree living in Switzerland has gained rare access to the pariah state to build schools in the usually off-limits countryside. Typhoons had destroyed many North Korean schools, built with mud and hay instead of cement, and Carpenter's foundation agreed to help, becoming one of few independent aid groups in the country. Carpenter almost fully funds the North Korean projects himself, and laments the difficulty of convincing donors to pitch in. People 'don't see the human angle (or) the hardship,' he said. 'North Koreans are human beings who laugh and cry like people everywhere,' he said, describing people with a 'good sense of humour' who are curious about the outside world." Continue reading →

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JPMorgan Bribe Probe Said to Expand in Asia as Spreadsheet Is Found

"The Justice Department has joined the SEC in examining whether JPMorgan hired people so that their family members in government and elsewhere would steer business to the firm, possibly violating bribery laws. The scrutiny began in Hong Kong and has now expanded to countries across Asia, looking at interns as well as full-time workers, two people said. The employees include influential politicians’ family members who worked in JPMorgan’s investment bank, as well as relatives of asset-management clients, the people said. Wall Street firms have long enlisted people whose pedigree and connections can win business, a practice that doesn’t necessarily violate the law." Continue reading →

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Japan’s debt-funding costs to hit $257 billion next year

"Japan expects to spend a record $257 billion to service its debt during the next fiscal year, a document obtained by Reuters showed, underscoring the huge burden created by the government's borrowings. That will be up 13.7 percent from the amount set aside for the current fiscal year, reflecting the ministry's plan to guard against any future rise in long-term interest rates. Years of fiscal stimulus to revive a stagnant economy and surging social welfare costs for a rapidly ageing population have led to Japan running a record 1,000 trillion yen ($10 trillion) in public debt, double the size of its economy and the biggest among major industrialized nations." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingJapan’s debt-funding costs to hit $257 billion next year

As prices soar, Indians exchange gold for cash

"Jewellery associations in Hyderabad said with the single day surge of Rs 2,500, customers were coming in droves from early morning to take back cash in exchange for their gold jewellery. Already reeling under protests and strikes over the bifurcation issue, the sudden increase in gold price has come as a death blow to the jeweler shops in Seemandhra areas. Jeweler shop owners in Tirupati, Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada said their existence would be doubtful if the present stalemate continued any further. With gold prices increasing, enquiries for gold loans are also on the rise, said Nagaraju Rao, a manager with one of the outlets of Muthoot finance group." Continue reading →

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Guarding Kerala’s Great Temple Treasures

"How much is the treasure, which has been estimated at up to one trillion rupees ($19 billion), actually worth? 'We have no idea because the digital inventory is going on,' he says before giving a mini inventory of his own, listing the items he has seen in the vaults. Mr. Harikumar estimates that the inventory of Vault A will take another year to complete – it began in February, with 3D images taken of each artifact with equipment provided by state-owned Keltron, an electronics specialist. Five of the six chambers have been opened but Vault B remains closed after a submission to the Supreme Court from the Travancore royal family that said opening it could unleash a curse." Continue reading →

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Can Indian Temple Gold Help the Rupee?

"At a time when nothing seems to be able to stem the Indian rupee’s decline, a novel idea to boost the currency is doing the rounds: use the tons of gold stashed away in people’s homes and in temples. There is no firm estimate of how much gold is held by Indian temples, but it is believed to be several thousand tons. Jamal Mecklai said banks could pay interest for gold, and then sell a large portion of the stock in the domestic market. London Bullion Market Association Chairman David Gornall told The Hindu Business Line newspaper that the Reserve Bank of India could swap the 200 tons of gold that it had bought from the International Monetary fund in 2009, for dollars." Continue reading →

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India might buy gold from citizens to ease rupee crisis

"The RBI will ask the banks to buy back jewelry, bars and coins for rupees. Lenders will have to offer better rates than pawn shops and jewelers to lure sellers. Selling gold reserves may sit badly with Indians, many of whom saw the 1991 sale [of 67 tonnes gold] as a public humiliation. The secret operation was only exposed after a vehicle carrying the first consignment of bullion broke down on its way to the airport from the central bank. The rupee, the worst-performing emerging market currency in Asia this year, rebounded from a record low on Thursday after the RBI said it will provide dollars directly to state oil companies to shore up the currency." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIndia might buy gold from citizens to ease rupee crisis

Turkey becomes partner of China, Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

[April 2013] "China, Russia and four Central Asian nations - Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan - formed the SCO in 2001 as a regional security bloc to fight threats posed by radical Islam and drug trafficking from neighboring Afghanistan. Ankara began talks on joining the EU in 2005 but has only completed one of the 35 policy areas, or 'chapters', every candidate must conclude to be allowed entry due to disagreements largely over the divided island of Cyprus. While China vies with Russia and the West for access to Central Asia's vast natural resources, some analysts view the SCO as a potential counter-balance to NATO." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTurkey becomes partner of China, Russia-led Shanghai Cooperation Organisation