Obama’s healthcare plan 101
ESTHER YEO When Obama was first swept into office, one of the first few pledges he made was to come up with a comprehensive healthcare plan and to ensure that all Americans are protected adequately.
Human rights in ASEAN: An economic perspective
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was inaugurated in 1967, during an era of regional conflict and political irascibility, when relations between the pre-nascent member-states were strained. Aside from the internal discord, extraneous forces such as the Cold War and China’s Cultural Revolution created instability and threatened the security of Southeast Asia.
Lessons from APEC WLN
Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Women Leaders’ Network Meeting. Saying that in one breath was definitely a challenge but I guess it started to roll of all our tongues with much ease by the time the conference had started. Before we got to the conference however was a series of training that all of us...
Chinanomics: Shopping in China just got crazier
Welcome to the secret world of the shopaholic. Welcome to the world's factory. Welcome... to Taobao.com, the online marketplace to 1.6 billion consumers that will blow you away.
Good Tidings for the New Year
The old saying used to go, “There is a silver lining in every cloud.” For many, it seems like silver lining disappeared along with the collapse of the financial industry, which was marked in a huge way with the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
It is not fair
Asian economies have posted record growths consistently, but it seems the rosiness of things has been dulled lately. The Asian markets have been rocked by American markets, plunging to all-time lows in the past few months.
The Middle East – A Land of Opportunity
To the uninformed, the Gulf would most probably only entail oil, and deserts. However, the Middle East today is a sprawling metropolis of towering buildings and has diversified its economy into other areas such as tourism, education and real estate.
The Iraq War: A Mistake?
“I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter. From our point of view, the charter point of view, it was illegal.” These were the very cautionary words of then UN General Secretary, Kofi Annan, before the infamous war was fought on Middle Eastern soil. Perhaps these foreboding words were an early...
Pakistan’s new president: Boon or Bane
Short of a decade long rein in the much turbulent Pakistan, President General Pervez Musharraf, has finally left the scene of politics. Seen as having reformed his political outlook several times from that of a being a war monger to a ‘US lackey’, Musharraf’s colourful facets has finally come to a finale. With the loosening...
Obama vs. McCain – Race to presidency
Soon, America will vote for a new President, as the eight-year reign of George W. Bush comes to an end. He has left behind a legacy of indecision and blunders, as characterized by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the dire state of the US economy, the mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina and his now infamous...
Taming the Wild Horse: Inflation
Asian Governments are desperately seeking solutions to quell this problem that landed suddenly in their backyards. Overnight, governments in Asia woke up to the very unwelcome sound of inflation galloping right into the region. Currently, inflation averages 7% throughout the region and this is a sharp increase from the 3.5% rate the region was averaging...
Industry Watch: Energy
The fate of Mankind was rewritten continually by the different revolutions that took place. The most influential revolution of all was undoubtedly the Industrial Revolution, which heralded a golden age of progress for civilization. The Industrial Revolution was sparked off by the finding of coal, which provided energy to fuel the revolution. It shaped economies,...