March, 2016

• 5 March

  Border village ‘insulated’ to Turkish-Russia tensions

  

  AL ISSAWIYAH / AP In this Syrian mountain village perched above the Mediterranean, residents say they have enjoyed a measure of peace, even though they live near a border that has seen escalating tensions in recent months between Turkey and Russia. The villagers, most of whom are members of Syria’s Turkmen ethnic minority, have formed their own militia, but they ...

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• 5 March

  The GOP battle for Michigan

  

  It is here in the industrial Midwest, not in the South, where Ted Cruz’s audacious theory of the 2016 race was supposed to be put to one of its most important tests. Michigan’s primary on Tuesday — and especially what happens that day in the Detroit suburbs that in 1980 were ground zero for a new political species, “Reagan Democrats” ...

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• 5 March

  ‘Sick’ economy the problem, not austerity

  A Greek scenario which saw furious masses unseating their government through ballots, accusing it of conceding too much to harsh austerity measures that had left them struggling to make ends meet, is being played out in more European countries: Spain, Portugal and Ireland…The list could grow further. The angry voters in these countries are venting their wrath on established political ...

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• 5 March

  Is the Japan-India military aircraft deal dead?

  Franz-Stefan Gady SPECIAL TO EMIRATES BUSINESS A Japan-India defense deal over the procurement of 12 ShinMaywa US-2 amphibious search-and-rescue aircraft for the Indian Navy is facing additional delays and an uncertain future, according to Japanese diplomatic sources interviewed by The Hindu newspaper. Japan has no plan for “selling or delivering” the US-2 maritime surveillance aircraft in the immediate future and ...

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• 5 March

  China’s defense budget to grow 7-8%

  

  Time for your weekly China links… China’s “two sessions” – the annual meetings of the National People’s Congress and the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference – are in full swing. The main event, the NPC meeting, begins tomorrow, and will see China’s 13th Five Year Plan officially approved. But one big announcement has already been made: NPC spokesperson Fu Ying ...

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• 5 March

  How Trump threatens USA leadership in Asia

  

  Gradually, America and the rest of the world are coming to terms with Donald Trump’s political ambitions. Even the Huffington Post, which initially dismissed the New York billionaire’s bid for office as a clownish “sideshow,” is now openly warning about a supposedly disturbing political development that has “curdled and congealed into something repellent and threatening.” The real estate mogul has ...

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• 5 March

  Kazakhstan’s trade problem with Europe

  It’s no secret that Kazakhstan’s economy has suffered in the past year. The global fall in oil prices is the most important factor, but the failure of the Eurasian Economic Union to stimulate trade among members has helped deepen the hole. Persistent tension between Europe and Russia hasn’t helped the fledgling EEU. European countries still account for almost half of ...

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• 5 March

  Can Jokowi fix Indonesia’s economic woes in 2016?

  

  On the sidelines of a G20 conference in Shanghai last week, Indonesian finance minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said in a Reuters interview that he is willing to exceed the 2015 budget deficit. These comments were certainly calculated to reassure investors and concerned observers at a time when the global engines of growth are slowing, most notably China, taking its toll on ...

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• 5 March

  World’s best REIT hands 700% gain on bets after Tsunami

  

  Bloomberg Fortress Investment Group LLC is betting that one of the real estate industry’s greatest contrarian wagers has more room to run. The manager of $70.5 billion, which piled into Japanese property after a tsunami and nuclear meltdown battered valuations in 2011, has seen its investments surge after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s stimulus revitalized the industry. Invincible Investment Corp., a ...

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• 5 March

  Home sales in Italy show Milan soared, Rome stagnated

  

  Bloomberg Milan and Rome were the best and worst major Italian cities for home sales last year, revealing a widening economic gap between the country’s capital and its financial center. Residential transactions jumped 13.4 percent in Milan last year, while sales in Rome increased 0.8 percent, according to data released by the Ministry of Economy. Sales nationally picked up 6.5 ...

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