tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593Mon, 07 Oct 2024 04:49:13 +0000global tradeagriculturedevelopmentglobal economyglobalisationtrade and developmentAfricaCivil LibertiesUK societyagricultural productionagricutltural tradecommoditiescommodity pricesfoodfood productionfood securitygeopoloticsimmigrantsAfricanChinaExploitationFreedom of SpeachNon ViolenceRussiaSocial Businessconflictcredit crunchdiscriminationimmigrant labourimmigrationinvestigative journalismlondonmicro financeoilprejudicestreet violenceASBOsAsylumBurmaDemocracyDemocratic OpositionDisasterEarthquakeGeorgiaIMFInformationOtherwiseIslamMelanin PartnershipMuhammad YunusMyanmarNetworkingNorwayOpen SpacePFIPPIPeaceful ResistancePolish ImmigrantsProtestRefugeeRio TintoRobert WadeSaudi ArabiaSocial EntrepreneurshipSustainabilityUNCTADUgandaWTOafrica confidentialbanking crisisbicyclesbiofuelblackcapitalismcharitycharity e-mail accountsclimate changecold ware-mail accountseconomic crisiseconomyenergyethicsfinancial crisisfinancial systemfree e-mail accountsfree marketfree-marketfrontline clubhousingicelandindonesiainvestmentippimaillawmayor of londonmayor of parisminingnew energyopen sourceparispower relationsrenewable energyshippingsocialismsomaliasovereign wealth fundstraffic wardensurban planningwar on terrorwashington consensushttp://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Editor)Blogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-4333413366299334808Tue, 24 Feb 2009 22:42:00 +00002009-02-24T17:01:51.383-08:00foodEconomic crisis has major implications for diet, health and other food issues.Martin Shuker, KFC’s chief executive, says that the chain’s cheap prices are helping win custom. “We do offer good value, so you can buy a bargain bucket and feed a family of four for a tenner, [which is] definitely appealing in these difficult economic times,” he said. Does anybody else find this SCARY?I seem to http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2009/02/return-to-traditional-values-or-even.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-9075272334114376080Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:29:00 +00002009-02-04T17:40:05.829-08:00Last year and up until recent unprecedented hikes in agricultural commodity price started easing, it was the "structural price rises" in food commodities that were at the top of everyone's minds and the agenda, I blogged here about the "structural shift in agricultural commodity prices" and food as "the new oil"and about how high prices, price volatility and lack of market availability was http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2009/02/era-of-cheap-food-is-still-over-too.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-8902011328925516366Mon, 26 Jan 2009 23:33:00 +00002009-01-29T16:19:41.750-08:00Today's low oil prices the anomaly..If you are breathing a sigh of relief thinking that the free fall oil prices went into late 2008 and cheaper petrol at the pump are a return to the proper order of things and the end of a painful speculative bubble, don't be deluded, the era of cheap oil is still over: today's low oil prices are more likely only masking temporarily a looming crisis and recent http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2009/01/eara-of-cheap-oil-is-still-over.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-4726295015857020371Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:56:00 +00002008-12-20T10:04:17.747-08:00Following up on an old post of minehttp://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/10/comment-unscrupulous-energy-utilities.htmlI was interested to see these articles run on Guardian Unlimited recently (Maybe I should write for the Guardian?):Energy firms press customers to sign up for premium-rate tariffshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/dec/15/energy-providers-fixed-rate-tariffsWatchdog tells http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/12/comment-utility-companies-again.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-776796818142513444Wed, 22 Oct 2008 21:04:00 +00002008-12-20T09:56:22.307-08:00The Daily Express today ran the headline " £100 OFF GAS BY CHRISTMAS" this predicted cut in gas bills comes after the wholesale cost of gas dropped 30 per cent from its summer peak. In a message of hope to households, TheEnergyShop.com said power giants should soon pass on these lower prices to their customers.This headline came as no big surprise to me, since I had rather expected a falling off http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/10/comment-unscrupulous-energy-utilities.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-366951030618694893Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:33:00 +00002008-10-12T16:25:59.325-07:00banking crisiscredit cruncheconomic crisisgeopoloticsicelandRussiaReuters just published that Iceland's central bank announced today Russia's agreement to provide the country with loans of 4 billion euros ($5.4 billion) - about half of Iceland's c.$11 billion GDP.The central bank said the loans were for 3-4 years on terms that would be 30-50 points above Libor rates (very attractive loan terms).The Icelandic Kroner has stabilised dramatically following this http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/10/russia-to-buy-iceland.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-4321402148210794866Tue, 07 Oct 2008 09:32:00 +00002009-02-24T13:56:11.648-08:00Does Wall Street’s crack-up presages the beginning of the end for American power and global dominance? Empires of the past have seen their ideologies corrupt, their economies corrupt, their currencies devalue, finally loosing their military supremacy. The US increasingly is relying on its military. Cracks appearing here as well (Georgia etc.).The US is short of metals, short of oil, increasingly http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/10/another-empire-bites-dust-world-is.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-2764702824729147516Wed, 10 Sep 2008 11:01:00 +00002008-09-10T11:57:29.455-07:00ethicsindonesiainvestmentminingNorwayRio Tintosovereign wealth fundsEthics of investing, can activist shareholders make a difference? Here a major investor talks with its feet by walking away from Rio Tinto for stomping all over local environment in Indonesia with its heavy mining boots.Reuters reported today that Norway's sovereign wealth fund sold out its stake in Rio Tinto - the worlds largest mining company - in protest against its environmental credentials. http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/09/norways-wealth-fund-blacklists-rio.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-1195755240578260581Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:07:00 +00002008-09-10T11:37:56.491-07:00Africaafrica confidentialconflictfrontline clubIslamsomaliawar on terrorThu 11th September, 7.30pm Price: £10.00Chaired by Patrick Smith (Africa Confidential)Ahmed Abdisalam (TFG)Mohamed Gure (Somali Concern Group)Sally Healy (Chatham House)Mary Harper (BBC)Location: 13 Norfolk Place, London W2 1QJThis event will be webcast live on Fontline Club's website - you can view it for free via the link - www.frontlineclub.comSince 1991, Somalia has been a dangerous, violent http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/09/media-talk-is-somalia-new-front-in-war.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-4381755777393224689Mon, 01 Sep 2008 22:23:00 +00002008-09-10T11:57:59.867-07:00cold warcommoditiescommodity pricesconflictgeopoloticsGeorgiaglobal tradeoilpower relationsRussiaEconomic mutually assured destruction? What do trends in high oil pricesmean for global geopolitical stability? Who can afford to disrupt oilproduction or supplies? Importers cannot sustain higher prices and fear thepain, exporters cannot afford the damage higher prices would do to theirexport markets and inevitable demand side adjustment.Given the mutualinterdependence of Russian and European http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/09/has-oil-gone-mad.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-4438672986680082953Thu, 28 Aug 2008 00:07:00 +00002008-09-07T09:44:39.412-07:00capitalismcredit crunchdevelopmenteconomyfinancial crisisfinancial systemfree marketfree-marketglobal economyhousingmicro financeGraham Turner in conversation with economics editor for The Guardian Larry ElliotThursday, September 11, 2008, 6:30pm - 8:00pmWaterstone's, 82 Gower StSomething else for your diary. I will review this book and raise some questions concerning the credit crunch and global economy post event. For now here is a brief outline of book and event for any body interested to check it out or come along:Thishttp://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/08/credit-crunch.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-5952302857783052379Wed, 27 Aug 2008 23:45:00 +00002008-09-07T09:18:51.717-07:00agriculturebiofuelcommoditiescommodity pricesnew energyrenewable energyMalcolm Shepherd probes increasing concerns surrounding and policy shift away from biofuels.Monday 29th September, 18:45 to 20.45The Gallery, 70/77 Cowcross Street, Farringdon, London, EC1M 6EJ The production of biofuels from agriculture to replace fossil fuels was originally widely applauded, but concerns over the displacement of food production, doubts about carbon savings, and dismay over http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/08/food-versusand-fuel-with-malcolm.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-1199631640779442315Tue, 26 Aug 2008 23:48:00 +00002008-09-07T09:21:51.586-07:00developmentmicro financeSocial Business"The Next Frontier For Sustainable Poverty Alleviation"Rosalind CopisarowChair of the Board, Global Village Energy Partnership; former Chief Executive, International Development Enterprises.18th September, 6.30-8pm. DFID, 1 Palace Street, London SW1E 5HEPresentationWhen micro-finance first started, enabling ‘access to finance’ was considered virtually automatically to lead to ‘poverty alleviationhttp://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/08/beyond-microfinance-next-frontier-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-1739345367528957747Sun, 24 Aug 2008 21:31:00 +00002008-09-07T09:47:03.131-07:00developmentglobal economyglobal tradeglobalisationIMFRobert Wadetrade and developmentUNCTADwashington consensusWTOSecretary General of UNCTAD Supachai Panitchpakdi, will present The Trade and Development Report 2008, subtitled "Commodity Prices, Capital Flows and the Financing of Investment.” Tuesday 2nd September 2008, 18.30-20:00Key Speaker: Supachai PanitchpakdiLSE, New Theatre, East BuildingDiscussants: Heiner Flassbeck and Professor Robert WadeChair: Professor Stuart CorbridgeThe report, which is under http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/08/commodity-prices-capital-flows-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-2086839514655624521Fri, 01 Aug 2008 00:47:00 +00002008-09-10T11:58:27.290-07:00global tradeglobalisationshippingHow flat is the world of the future?Rising oil prices; US$ devaluation; currency re-valuation and upward pressure on labour costs in emerging markets etc. - what are the implications for global supply chains, global trade and economy?I sense that globalisation's forward momentum has been taken for granted, has even seemed irresistible, but how robust are the mechanisms which have driven it and http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/07/reversal-of-globalisation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-5746292133810507663Wed, 02 Jul 2008 00:47:00 +00002008-07-31T16:43:05.036-07:00climate changeenergygeopoloticsoilPainful? Undoubtedly, but are high oil prices really such a terrible thing or are they a medicine we have to swallow? Below I briefly list some of the ways in which high oil prices could be good for us. I will go on to explore some of these points and others in brief articles to follow.1. High oil prices may have a geopolitical stabilisation effect? With oil prices already at nose bleed levels, http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/07/some-reasons-high-oil-prices-are-not.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-2847613839243817706Sun, 08 Jun 2008 14:00:00 +00002008-09-07T09:48:46.468-07:00agricultural productionagricultureagricutltural tradecommoditiescommodity pricesfoodfood productionfood securityglobal tradeglobalisationtrade and development16 July, 2008 - 18.00 - Portcullis House, Westminster - London SpeakersDr Monty JonesExecutive Director, Forum for Agricultural Research in AfricaDr Camilla ToulminDirector, International Institute for Environment and DevelopmentProfessor Lawrence Haddad Director, Institute of Development StudiesChairHugh Bayley MPChair, Africa All Party Parliamentary GroupThis forthcoming Royal African Society http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/06/price-of-food-hunger-or-hope-for-africa.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-671245184168059760Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:45:00 +00002008-06-13T12:25:10.375-07:00This received from a young Chinese high school student"At 14:28 on 12th May , there was a terrible earthquake in Sichuan. Over 6, 000,0 people died. About 36,000,0 got hurt .So many people just closed their eyes by a second . Big blocks of rocks went down from mountains slopes,peoples’ houses collapsed before they had run out of them.So many young people became orphans,so many parents lost their http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/06/sichuan-earthquake.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-4398877756373008545Sun, 01 Jun 2008 23:31:00 +00002008-06-08T05:10:27.243-07:00ChinaDisasterEarthquakevivilee1016@gmail.com"All of my friends, thanks very much,!!I am very safe now and be able to get enough food and water. So do studentsin my campus of Sichuan University. So do people in the city of Chengdu.Actually, the central of the shock is just about over 100km far way to thecity of Chengdu. We have safely escaped from the forth floor.When the shock happended yesterday, I was studying myselfhttp://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/06/subject-i-am-safely-escaped-from-big.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-6282970473268288698Sun, 18 May 2008 14:32:00 +00002008-09-07T09:52:29.395-07:00Africaagricultural productionagricultureagricutltural tradeChinafoodfood productionfood securityglobal economyglobal tradeglobalisationSaudi Arabiatrade and developmentA new rush to invest in agricultural production and the new land grab for Africa: Driver for agricultural development or the birth of a new food imperialism? Maneuvering to assure security of supply in the new global trade economy of "starve thy neighbour"By the end of the 20th century commodity prices were depressed, mainly because of sluggish demand growth in relation to supply. Their value http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/05/emerging-land-grab-investment-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-4835180331709919027Sun, 20 Apr 2008 13:27:00 +00002008-09-07T09:53:34.153-07:00Africaagricultural productionagricultureagricutltural tradedevelopmentfood productionfood securityglobal economyglobal tradetrade and developmentOpportunities and challenges for trade and development, and the need for apporpriate policy responses.Where developing countries, with economies heavily dependent on commodity production and export, have long suffered from the structural decline in the real price of commodities, what are the opportunities and challenges presented for developing countries by dramatic rises in commodity prices of http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/04/commodity-prices-credit-crunch-us.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-3527759128463272044Wed, 26 Mar 2008 00:48:00 +00002013-07-11T16:44:57.200-07:00InformationOtherwiseMelanin PartnershipMuhammad YunusNetworkingOpen SpaceSocial BusinessSocial EntrepreneurshipSustainabilityWhat new institutions are required, to create an environment in which Social Businesses can flourish?11th April 2008 - London, 09:00-17:00 Networking from 09.00; formal workshop begins at 10.00 and runs to 17.00, after which there will be further networking opportunitiesForthcoming open space eventFollowing up discussions on social business at the World Entrepreneur Summit in January, and in http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2008/03/how-do-we-establish-social-business.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-948874561061761819Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:11:00 +00002007-11-12T17:12:55.370-08:00Sarah has been released on bail and is receiving pro bono legal representation.http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2007/11/sarah-update.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-5598404769205017803Tue, 06 Nov 2007 22:08:00 +00002007-11-25T05:41:28.216-08:00Unpack later. Still unclear why. I can confirm that a number of concerned citizens, journalists and activist support groups have actively pursued her case. The cancellation of her deportation today however, may relate to new EU legislation which we shall definitely be writing about. Details will follow once clear of the facts.Sarah will meet two pro bono lawyers tomorrow from two different http://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2007/11/notice-ugandan-refugee-sarah-of.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3428845079090823593.post-5621509234091060823Mon, 05 Nov 2007 01:18:00 +00002013-07-11T16:50:13.963-07:00AfricanAsylumCivil LibertiesExploitationFreedom of Speachimmigrant labourimmigrantsimmigrationinvestigative journalismNon ViolenceprejudiceRefugeeUganda"Their version" to come. Her side of the story seemed more urgent31 year-old Ugandan detainee at Beford's Yarl's Wood Sarah, will remember the 5th of November 2007.  If all goes according to schedule, 5/11 will be her last day in the UK before being sent back to Uganda. Trafficked to the UK now over a year ago by a female acquaintance and group of unknown traffickers, unwittingly Sarah had becomehttp://informationotherwise.blogspot.com/2007/11/ugandan-womans-deportation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Editor)0