Indigenization law in Zimbabwe

Published on Jul 29, 2012 : Indigenization law makes native Zimbabweans shareholders of foreign companies.

New age colonialism: West buying up Third World?

RT 22May 2012 : Multinational corporations are buying up swathes of land in underdeveloped countries in an unchecked scramble towards new-age colonialism. So-called “land grabbing” sees western powers vying for economic control of the developing world’s resources.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recently gathered with members of the corporate elite and NGOs to develop guidelines against “land grabbing”.  Matters have been prepared over the last three years, leading to the present guidelines being published at the beginning of May 2012. While in principle a perfectly legitimate idea, it’s best to stay cautious.

Media have used the epithet “historic” to describe this new UN initiative. Days have long gone since the word was used to describe events that had a proven impact over time. These guidelines still have to be proven in practice.  Maybe they will lead to substantial changes. My experience with history tells me otherwise.

Once the flashy press brochures are left untouched on some desk and everybody runs off after new pressing issues, then it is time to take a closer look. What exactly are we talking about? Let’s look at this so-called “land grabbing”.   This is what Wikipedia has to say:

“Land grabbing is the contentious issue of large-scale land acquisitions; the buying or leasing of larger pieces of land in developing countries, by domestic and transnational companies, governments and individuals. While used broadly throughout history, land grabbing as used today primarily refers to large-scale land acquisitions following the 2007-2008 world food price crisis … the target locations of most land grabs lie in the Global South, with 70% of land grabs in Sub-Saharan Africa.”

Wikipedia being what it is – mostly an excuse for people (like me) too lazy to do real research – one can certainly not suspect it of having leftist tendencies. Precisely that makes their definition interesting. Let’s do some cross-checking.

Argentina celebrates nationalisation of oil firm.

Published on May 3, 2012 by AlJazeeraEnglish - Argentina's government is celebrating the seizure of Spanish-controlled oil firm, YPF.

Privatization and Argentina's Economic Crisis

Published on May 1, 2012 by BrookingsInstitution : Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has announced that the government will assume control of a Spanish oil company operating in Argentina. The action calls for the state to take a controlling interest in YPF as a means to funnel much needed money back into Argentina's troubled economy. Nonresident Senior Fellow Eduardo Levy-Yeyati suggests it might be the right move done the wrong way, saying the trigger for the government's move is largely due to its fiscal and external deficit, and both are growing, in part, because of the country's energy issues.

Britain following America ... towards Bankers.

Lloyds' Eric Daniels in line for £2m bonus

Mr Daniels is stepping down as Lloyds boss in March

Continue reading the main story

Lloyds Banking Group boss Eric Daniels is in line for a bonus of about £2m this year, the BBC has learned.

Mr Daniels, who steps down in March, has turned down a bonus in the past two years but will not do so again, sources told BBC business editor Robert Peston.

The government bailed out Lloyds after it took over HBOS in 2008, and still holds a 41% stake in the bank.

On Tuesday, Barclays boss Bob Diamond said he had not decided whether he would accept a bonus this year.

On top of the bonus, Mr Daniels could receive shares worth another £2m from a long-term incentive plan, according to our correspondent.

The announcement on the bonus will be made in February, he added.

The news of Mr Daniels' bonus came on the day that the Labour leader Ed Miliband accused Prime Minister David Cameron of "pathetic excuses" for breaking promises to limit bank bonuses.

BBC News  |  12 January 2010

John Pilger - The Perils of Privatisation

MaritimeUnion | April 02, 2009 - Award winning author, journalist and documentary film maker John Pilger gives a candid account of the perils of privatisation threatening Sydney's Ferry Service.

QE allows Financial Capitalist to devour BRIC Countries.

Why Government is More Afraid of Debt than Depression

TheRealNews | December 16, 2010 - Michael Hudson: Deficit Hawks Want a One Two Punch Against the Economy.

India's soaring economy hurts poor.

AlJazeeraEnglish | November 01, 2010 - Property in India's financial capital Mumbai is among the most expensive in the world.

But the high demand for housing is coming at a cost to the poor. Families of Dharavi slum are being evicted to make way for billion-dollar apartment developments.

Al Jazeera's Prerna Suri reports from Mumbai.

Ancient Italian Town Turns Against Chinese Migrants.

VOAvideo | October 23, 2010 - An estimated 40,000 Chinese, both legal residents and illegals, are living in the Italian town of Prato, not far from Florence. They constitute a quarter of the town's population and are one of the biggest concentrations of Chinese in Europe. Most come from one town in China, Wenzhou near Shanghai. Nearly all are involved in manufacturing textiles and cheap clothes on a huge scale - producing up to one million garments a day. In recent months, tensions in Prato between Italian residents and the Chinese have spiked with accusations that the migrants aren't playing by the rules. Henry Ridgwell visited this town in the heart of Tuscany confronting the reality of a globalized world.

Mozambique’s Food Riots Are the True Face of Global Warming

Thirteen people died and hundreds were wounded last week in the African nation of Mozambique when police cracked down on a three-day protest over a 30 percent hike in the price of bread. The UN says the riots in Mozambique should be a wake-up call for governments that have ignored food security problems since the global food crisis of 2008, when countries around the world saw angry protests in the streets over the rising prices of basic food items. We speak with author and activist Raj Patel. 

Democracynow.org

To cover losses due to Mexico Gulf oil spills

BP May Sell Venezuela Oil Stakes to Russian Venture.

BP said July 27 it plans to dispose of as much as $30 billion in assets in the next 18 months, after reporting a record second-quarter loss because of the costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. BP is in talks with TNK-BP over the sale of a $1 billion package of Venezuelan projects, the Times reported earlier today, without saying where it got the information.

“TNK-BP views this as an opportunity to further develop its international business portfolio and expand its presence in Venezuela,” TNK-BP spokesman Nikolay Gorelov said by e-mail today.

The Moscow-based company, which is half owned by BP, supports moves by the U.K. company to “strategically realign” its asset base in Venezuela and is examining the opportunity, Gorelov said.

Read more from Bloomberg Business 

Counting the Cost - Insurance industry jitters.

March 06, 2010 | AJazeeraEnglish - There have been some interesting movements in insurance in the last week or so, most notably the impending purchase of AIG's Asian business by British giant Prudential. Counting the Cost looks at the impact this news has had on Prudential's share price. Plus, why the slogan "the car in front is a Toyota" really could not be truer in Middle East.

Prudential PLC Explores Bid For Asian Arm Of AIG.

(Feb. 28, 2010, -AP) Prudential PLC, Britain's largest life insurer, is exploring a bid for the Asian life-insurance arm of American International Group Inc., according to media reports Saturday.

The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter it did not name, reported a deal could come in a week. Prudential would pay with a mixture of cash and stock, but the terms are still being negotiated, it reported. Talks of a deal were first reported by Sky News.

Kraft Foods completes Cadbury takeover .

Tuesday, 2 February 2010 | US firm Kraft Foods has sealed its takeover of Cadbury after shareholders in the UK chocolate maker voted in favour of the deal.

Cadbury said it had received valid acceptances of the offer from investors representing 71.7% of the firm.

Kraft chief executive Irene Rosenfeld said: "I warmly welcome Cadbury employees into the Kraft Foods family."

Cadbury chocolate takeover deal.

Gordon Brown has been criticised after it was revealed the taxpayer-owned Royal Bank of Scotland is funding the takeover of Cadbury by a US company.

(18 January, 2010)  British chocolate-maker Cadbury has been swallowed up by the US food giant Kraft for just under $20 billion.

Kraft has been trying to take control of Cadbury for some time now, and this improved offer seems to have sealed the deal.