Economy

China Braces for Turbulent Year

The Year of the Dragon begins Jan. 23, and even rationalists are getting jumpy

“Chinese feng shui doesn’t like a Dragon Year,” said He Fan, a respected economist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, referring to ancient beliefs about life energy based on geomancy, astronomy and folk wisdom. “Something happens in every Dragon Year, even if it’s just a turning point,” he said. Often the real action begins a year or two later.

In the autumn, China will get new leaders, only the fourth leadership change since the Communist Party seized power in 1949, and political infighting at the top is believed to be intense. The global economy is also more turbulent than in years past, adding to domestic uncertainties. All this is provoking widespread anxiety in private conversations and online.

Soon after the last three Dragon years — on the traditional zodiac cycle of 12 animals, these fell in 1976, 1988 and 2000 — major events took place in China or the world, changing life forever, Mr. He said.

As if to excuse his foray into geomancy, he added: “The Dragon Year is symbolic, and that’s important, because that’s how China’s political culture works.”

snip
“So even if nothing happens in 2012, it may still be a turning point. And with a new government and leadership in position, given the new domestic and international constraints, that may bring a new era,” he concluded.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/12/world/asia/12iht-letter12.html?_r=1

disclosure, return to the gold standard...I can think of plenty of things that could change.

911 IS A JOKE Detroit citizens no longer rely on police as self-defense killings skyrocket
http://mytechnologyworld9.blogspot.in/2012/04/911-is-joke-detroit-citizens-no-longer.html

Drinking hand sanitizer sends Calif. teens to hospital drunk, doctors warn
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-57420106-10391704/drinking-hand-sanitizer-sends-calif-teens-to-hospital-drunk-doctors-warn/

Just to let you guys know, I am alcohol-intolerant..

First salt, then air..
Taxing salty foods could save lives: study
http://news.yahoo.com/taxing-salty-foods-could-save-lives-study-172523533.html

48% of Brits want to get out of the UK
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/4257682/48-of-Brits-want-to-get-out-of-Britain-says-new-Sun-survey.html

I am sure it is all related somehow..

Britain in recession means more woe for government
http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/04/25/us-recession-britain-idUSBRE83O0C320120425

I met a number of London day traders at Shanghai..They usually move on to new prey..

posting that tomorrow

'Economic unfairness' growing, says BBC poll
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-17847372

The poll of developed and developing nations, which questioned almost 12,000 in 22 countries between December and February, found that a majority in most countries saw economic unfairness around them.

In some countries, the view was held by an overwhelming number of respondents: 90% in the case of Spain; 80% or more in France, South Korea and Chile, and close to that level in Russia. In the United States it was nearly two thirds, and it was 61% in the UK.

In one country, Ghana, the perception of unfairness was less than 50%, but still ahead of the number thinking things were fair.

Four countries returned different results. In Australia, Canada, India and Kenya over half said that the benefits and burdens were fairly distributed.

What says you brother seeker !!??

Sunday Times Rich List suggests UK's wealthiest defy recession
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-17883101

The UK's richest people have defied the double-dip recession to become even richer over the past year, according to the annual Sunday Times Rich List.

i say the people surveyed may have been selected!

Why one company is making all its employees learn how to code
http://venturebeat.com/2012/04/27/everyone-must-code/

The most successful companies are ones that are never satisfied with the status quo. They are too busy looking for ways to improve their products, personnel, and experience for their customers.

There are many approaches a company can take to improve itself. For us, it meant trying something revolutionary that would arm our employees with a new skill set, bring our technical and non-technical teams closer together, and provide the entire company with a deeper understanding and appreciation of what we do.

To accomplish this, we set an ambitious goal of having all of our employees learn how to write code in 2012.

To understand this crisis we can look to the Long Depression too
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/apr/29/long-depression-crashes-capitalism-history

Economic crashes are part of capitalism's history. And 50 years before 1929 there was another major global downturn

U.S. 'dirty oil' imports set to triple
http://money.cnn.com//2012/04/30/news/economy/oil-imports/index.htm


As the United States gets more oil imported from Canada's oil sands, critics worry that the pipelines that carry it will leak.

Here's Why Google and Facebook Might Completely Disappear in the Next 5 Years
http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/04/30/heres-why-google-and-facebook-might-completely-disappear-in-the-next-5-years/2/

The bottom line is that the next 5 – 8 years could be incredibly dynamic. It’s possible that both Google and Facebook could be shells of their current selves – or gone entirely.

Interesting read..

hmm..