Author: Phillip Colon

London, (16/11 – 57) Sri Lanka President Ranil Wickremesinghe has laid out the bankrupt country’s budget for 2024, drawing mixed reviews as he strives to meet the demands of an International Monetary Fund bailout program without sowing further public resentment ahead of expected elections. Some observers applauded the proposals, not only for what they included but also what they did not, no new taxes on top of hikes already announced. But others expressed concern that the budget seemed designed to placate certain voters, and only temporarily, while not doing enough to help the struggling masses. Wickremesinghe unveiled the budget on…

Brussel, Frankfurt (16/11 – 23) A levying of embargoes and export bans, the imposition of sanctions, erection of fearsome “license” (= restriction) protocol: there’s nothing new about this back-and-forth in world trade, in the eternal jousting for advantage among markets and nations. The clever Chinese imagined they had the world tea market all locked up until an earnest Scottish botanist carrying the telling name of “Robert Fortune” snuck into the Middle Kingdom to observe their agriculture, steal tea plants, and pick up tricks of tea processing. The Chinese global tea monopoly was busted wide open. The fortunate Mr. Fortune was…

Formulating a Code of Conduct in the South China Sea (COC) is an important task for China and ASEAN member states to implement the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea (DOC). Any departure from the DOC framework and its spirit will be null and void, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday. The background of the statement is the Philippines’ latest effort to disrupt the COC when the COC is going on the right track. The Philippines is eyeing a new, separate COC with neighboring countries like Vietnam and Malaysia, Philippine President Ferdinand…

London (07/11 – 70) President Ranil Wickremesinghe, at the helm of the United National Party (UNP), has orchestrated a remarkable turnaround for Sri Lanka’s tumultuous economy, tackling persistent challenges with a steadfast determination that has garnered widespread support across the national and international communities. Upon assuming office, Wickremesinghe confronted an array of pressing issues, including severe electricity shortage resulting in daily power cuts, soaring inflation, an all time low foreign reserve value and scarcities in essential commodities such as fuel and milk powder. Swift and strategic actions within his first six months in power yielded tangible results, with the electricity…

The House GOP’s impeachment inquiry into President Biden risks backfiring on Republicans by inadvertently aiding Democrats and the president or peeving the conservative base if it does not move fast enough. Swing-district Republicans will have to justify the impeachment probe — which GOP lawmakers approved unanimously — to voters and are already being targeted for their votes. Biden’s reelection campaign, meanwhile, is finding success with fundraising off the impeachment efforts. There is also a major question of whether the House GOP will have the votes in a razor-thin majority to approve any eventual impeachment articles. Not impeaching Biden risks Republicans…

London (06/11 – 58) France and the United Kingdom (UK) have jointly made a request in favour of Sri Lanka to the court of the Southern District of New York, for a six-month freeze on any litigation in the Hamilton Reserve Bank case until Sri Lanka’s external debt restructuring is completed, the Financial Times reported. Accordingly, last week the two countries filed a joint “amicus curiae” to the New York judge hearing the case, arguing in favour of Sri Lanka’s request for a six-month freeze on any litigation. The co-signatories in their “amicus curiae” want the judge to grant Sri…

Mortgage rates fell again in the most recent week, as inflation showed signs of slowing. It’s the fourth consecutive week of tumbling rates after rising for seven straight weeks. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to an average of 7.29% in the shortened week ending November 22, according to data from Freddie Mac released on Wednesday, a day earlier than normal due to the Thanksgiving holiday. That was down from 7.44% the week before. A year ago, the 30-year fixed-rate was 6.58%. The average rate rose above 7% in mid-August and since then reached as high as 7.79% at the end of October.…

Frankfurt (18/12 – 14) That there are remarkable advantages in being ignored is not generally recognized. Central Asian countries, historically under the thumb of Moscow, all through the 70+ years of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, were more or less cut off from the outside world. There was little trade or other exchange. The USSR was in fact a grab-bag of ethnicities, religions and languages, controlled with an iron fist by Stalin and afterwards with unbroken dominance through subsequent regimes. Under Soviet management, Central Asia had stayed poor and ignored; it had not developed any hydrocarbon resources to lure…

MOSCOW (AP) — The shelves at Moscow supermarkets are full of fruit and vegetables, cheese and meat. But many of the shoppers look at the selection with dismay as inflation makes their wallets feel empty. Russia’s Central Bank has raised its key lending rate four times this year to try to get inflation under control and stabilize the ruble’s exchange rate as the economy weathers the effects of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine and the Western sanctions imposed as a consequence. The last time it raised the rate — to 15%, doubled that from the beginning of the year —…

Toronto, Frankfurt (2/11 – 42) World media are jumping all over the conflagration in Gaza following the 7 October attack, killing 1400 Israelis and kidnapping several hundred others – followed by an all-too-predictable retaliatory response from Israel, with indiscriminate bombardment and gunfire into Gaza. The number dead and injured in the Palestinian zone will likely never be known but it is currently estimated at over 5,000 – many of whom are women and children caught in the crossfire. Is Hamas sorry about those who voted for them and support their cause being machine-gunned or trapped by crumbling concrete in a…