Via the International Herald Tribune, an interesting look at the Philippines: In the upscale business district of Manila, a midweek crowd spills out into the street. The New York-themed Borough restaurant is pulsating to the beat of a Bon Jovi song, while young, hip Filipinos take shots of tequila from a passing tray and sing […]
Read more »Via STRATFOR (subscription required), a very interesting analysis of South American demographic trends and how, in the longer term, Argentina’s population will challenge Brazil’s regional leadership: For several decades, countries in Europe and Northeast Asia have seen their populations aging. Low birthrates combined with high life expectancy have caused populations in these countries to age […]
Read more »Courtesy of The Financial Times, a look at Ethiopia in light of the passing of Prime Minister Zenawi: The Ethiopian prime minister Meles Zenawi, whose death was announced on Tuesday following prolonged ill health, won’t be mourned by the dissidents that he repressed or their supporters. But he will be missed by those who value […]
Read more »Via The Japan Times, an interesting article on Myanmar: Just last month I made my first visit to Myanmar, a place Rudyard Kipling referred to as “quite unlike any land you know about”. While decades of isolation have helped this century-old observation hold true, on arrival in July I was immediately struck by the vibrancy […]
Read more »Via The Financial Times, some interesting commentary on the challenges ahead for emerging markets: Only a year ago sentiment about emerging market equities was overwhelmingly optimistic. Today pessimism is rife, though not yet uniform. On the S&P Global Broad Market Index emerging markets were down 17.6 per cent in the year to July 31, while […]
Read more »Via GigaOm, a look at whether Mexico is the “new Brazil” for venture capital investing: Brazil was yesterday’s hotspot for investing in startups in Latin America — tomorrow’s may be Mexico. On the heels of Dave McClure’s firm 500 Startups doubling down on Mexico by acquiring a local accelerator, one of Mexico’s most aggressive VC […]
Read more »