Simon Johnson documents how Wall Street lobbying to obtain favored status with US politicians, not only precipitated this financial crisis, but also is preventing an adequate resolution – policy decisions are being made to favor banks at the expense of taxpayers, thus setting the US up to follow in the footsteps of Russia and Argentina.
The Atlantic Online
the U.S. economic and financial crisis is shockingly reminiscent of moments we have recently seen in emerging markets (and only in emerging markets): South Korea (1997), Malaysia (1998), Russia and Argentina (time and again). In each of those cases, global investors, afraid that the country or its financial sector wouldn’t be able to pay off mountainous debt, suddenly stopped lending. And in each case, that fear became self-fulfilling, as banks that couldn’t roll over their debt did, in fact, become unable to pay. Just as in emerging-market crises, the weakness in the banking system has quickly rippled out into the rest of the economy, causing a severe economic contraction and hardship for millions of people.
But there’s a deeper and more disturbing similarity: elite business interests—financiers, in the case of the U.S.—played a central role in creating the crisis, making ever-larger gambles, with the implicit backing of the government, until the inevitable collapse. More alarming, they are now using their influence to prevent precisely the sorts of reforms that are needed, and fast, to pull the economy out of its nosedive. The government seems helpless, or unwilling, to act against them.
the U.S. is unique. And just as we have the world’s most advanced
economy, military, and technology, we also have its most advanced
oligarchy.
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Some cash rich Indian hospital chain needs to consolidate these solo/duo dental practitioners South of the US border – and speed up regulatory compliance and obtain insurance company blessing for these procedures, after the necessary rebranding. Apollo, Fortis, Wockhardt anybody?!
A huge belt from Mexico to Central America and the Caribbean are ripe pickings. Indian specialist doctors can be flow-in for 2 to 3 month shifts to augment local medical talent.
At a CII Latin American conclave held in Bangalore on Feb 24-25, Ana Vilma de Escobar, VP of El Salvador was making the same pitch – for Indian hospitals to locate in that country to serve American clients. 2 hr plan ride from Miami, Houston etc.
chicagotribune.com
[Los Algodones] a sleepy village on the U.S. border into the latest boomtown of medical tourism, the practice of traveling abroad to get medical care. From face-lifts in Costa Rica to heart surgery in India, medical tourism has become a $60 billion enterprise by one estimate.
Los Algodones, population 4,000, is home to about 350 dentists geared to foreign patients, including snowbirds from Chicago and elsewhere in the upper Midwest. Their treatment comes at a huge discount—70 percent or more—from what Americans pay at home, a reality that many patients call an indictment of U.S. health care.
But U.S. medical authorities warn that this desert outpost is a medical Wild West, an unregulated environment where substandard providers can hang their shingle without the same oversight that exists in the United States.
Rubbing his jaw after getting a dental implant, Wisconsin native Carl Zeutzius downplayed those worries, saying he was pleased by the care and by a bill that was 75 percent cheaper than in the U.S.
“We’re in favor of helping the economy in the United States, but we don’t want to be ripped off, either,” said Zeutzius, who winters in Arizona with his wife, Chris.
A recent survey reported about 350 dentists working in 160 offices. While pharmacies and eye doctors also share the sidewalks with quesadilla stands and souvenir vendors, dental care is the real engine. A Phoenix company, Dayo Dental, organizes van rides to make the three-hour run each way. TLC Dental has even opened a bed-and-breakfast adjacent to its dental office for visitors who want to make an overnight trip of it.
The consulting firm Deloitte found that 2 in 5 Americans would go abroad for medical care if they could save 50 percent of costs and were assured that the quality of care was comparable.
Technorati Tags: medical tourism, mexico, dental
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Last week, I had a chance to spend a few days in Santiago Chile. I came away thinking that it will be the first country in LatAm to attain first world status. It already is well on its way there currently having highest GDP per capita in the region.
Simple things – the taxi drivers at the airport are polite, the highways into the city are perfect, the hotel staff (not 5 star) are friendly. I visited ProChile – affiliated with the government’s Ministry of Foreign Relations, tasked with promoting Chile’s exports. Their offices convey an air of seriousness and professionalism – not that of a slow-moving, laid-back government office. It can go up against the very best of a private sector company in the US or Europe. Their brochures and materials are well-designed and aesthetically-pleasing, building the confidence in foreign buyers for Chilean-origin.products. I feel Indian Small to Midsize companies lack governmental support in this regard – with respect to nicely-designed product catalogs. This would be key to be successful in Latin america where quality of sales materials are scrutinized closely in the sales process.
I also visited CORFO – the Chilean investment promotion agency. They maintain a list of projects that are seeking funding and are willing to co-invest with foreign investors. Many interesting projects in the renewable energy space including wind and biomass.
Lastly, I stopped by the India Show expecting to see the Tata Nano. Many other visitors expected the same going by local newspaper coverage. Tata Motors decided to feature its Xenon pickup which they are launching in Chile this year with local partner SKBerge.
Chile offers investment possibilities for Indian companies in agroprocessing, forestry, renewable energy and IT (TCS employs 2000 people in the country!). Chile has trade agreement with 54 countries including FTA’s with the US and the EU. This makes it a great springboard to do business in the region. As a bonus, it is a country with diverse landscapes from deserts to glaciers, offering fantastic adventure tourism options. Take a look!
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The Hindu : National
Michelle Bachelet, the first woman President of Chile, will arrive here on Monday on a five-day visit. She is expected to be accompanied by a high-level delegation, including the Ministers of Agriculture and Women Empowerment and a business delegation.
“India and Chile have enjoyed fruitful relations since the early days of Independence. It comes to mind the fact that according to our records the only country from South America present at the ceremony of Independence in 1947 was Chile,” noted the Ambassador of Chile in India, Alfonso Silva Navarro.
“[The year] 2008 was auspicious enough to have witnessed the State visit of Ms. Pratibha Patil to Chile, marking a new high in bilateral relations. On the occasion, new understandings were reached in areas such as civil aviation, Antarctica cooperation, science and technology, agriculture and energy, thus deepening the scope of cooperation in these fields,” he added.
Technorati Tags: chile, india, trade, bilateral cooperation
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In my experience in the U.S. and India, I find Chilean embassy staff to be amazingly business-friendly with a facilitative, and not a bureaucratic, mindset. That bodes well to attain the goals outlined in this study.
3 years ago in Delhi, then Chilean Ambassador to India, Amb. Jorge Heine invited me to meet him, and spent an hour talking to me, after I sent an unsolicited email expressing an interest in South-South cooperation and stating my desire to work in that domain. That was a major impetus that put me on my current path to promote India Latin America collaboration. I am still amazed that he did that and thankful for his gesture.
The Hindu News Update Service
India and Latin American country Chile should set up bilateral forums to bolster the economic ties between the two nations to propel the mutual trade to $ 5 billion by 2014, industry body CII has said.
The two countries should set up bilateral forums to harness their economic linkages, a study by CII said, adding, “there is an ample scope for business with Chile and we should target $ 5 billion trade with the Latin American country by 2014.”
Chile’s trading agreements can help India access other markets in South America, it said. Chile has free trade agreements with Canada, the US, the EU, and Mexico and is a member of Latin America Integration Association.
Chile’s commercial agriculture management, supply chain linkages including cold storage, warehousing and transport can be the focus areas for India, the study said.
India’s overall trade with Chile expanded from $ 586.65 million in 2005-06 to $ 2 billion in 2007-08.
Technorati Tags: chile, india, trade, business
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Lula is not only a political and diplomatic pro, but also a statesman. Amazingly, he comes off as more prepared than Obama with solid answers to reporter questions, with a sense of humor as well. Political leadership of this sort inspires business confidence in a country. Must watch link -
CSPAN Video- Pres. Obama & Brazilian President Lula’s press conference
What is brought up by a Brazilian reporter is the thorny trade issue of the US tariff on imported ethanol from Brazil. A policy that is not only bad economics, but bad morality – promoting corn-based ethanol in deference to the US domestic farm lobby that results in higher global food prices for corn-based foods.
Two other videos of Lula being interviewed that show his considerable skills no doubt honed from years as a union leader dealing with tough opponents. His incredible life story – going from a shoe-shine boy to Brazil’s president, is one that needs more press coverage outside Latin America.
Frost Over The World – President Lula – 08 Jun 07
Soundbite Central: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva
Technorati Tags: brazil, US, Lula, foreign policy, financial crisis response, biofuels
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Recession or no recession there are no holidays or time-offs for eating…
As Indians get richer, more of them will eat higher quality food – and about few hundred million will step up from 1/2 to 3 meals a day. Brazil is one of the few places where massive areas of land can be brought under cultivation
Investorazzi.com » Blog Archive »
what we’re doing is buying land in Brazil, and the other one is buying land in Canada, and we’re starting to farm it. In Brazil, greenfield, in Canada, existing farms, because if I’m right, agriculture is going to be one of the great industries of the next 20 years or so, 30 years…
What we’re doing, because we see a good future for agriculture, we’re buying some of the land, and fertilizing it, and irrigating it, and turning it into farmland— raw land into farm land— clearing it, which we will farm and hopefully make a lot of money from farming it. And then some day, we’ll probably sell the farms— that’s the plan.
“We’re still going to eat probably. We’re still going to wear clothes probably. You know nobody – Farmers cannot get loans for fertilizer right now. So the supply of everything is going to continue under pressure. Uh the inventories of food are the lowest they’ve been in 50 years. We have serious supply problems developing for many mining goods, oil, agriculture. So even if demand goes flat or down as it did in the 30s as it did in the 70s you can still have a nice market.”
Technorati Tags: investing, farmland, brazil, food
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