Concerns about Nuclear Power

Some natural disasters change history; Japan's tsunami could be one. For the moment, the country is still coming to terms with the scale of the calamity, trying to contain the accident at the damaged nuclear plant and restore normality to suffering people. But in the longer run, it is just possible that some good may come of this catastrophe. Past natural disasters in Japan have been followed by big changes of direction, and the country is sorely in need of change. For the rest of the world, the biggest question Japan's tsunami throws up concerns nuclear power.

Not only are humans fallible and the world troubled by terrorists; nature regularly unleashes disasters that cripple our abilities to keep the nuclear genie safely contained. Whether through human error, terrorism or natural disaster, the outcome — a release of radioactivity in a populated area — is unacceptable.

We should not turn our back on a technology that has so far been much safer than coal, and offers a low-carbon alternative to fossil fuels that is cheaper than most renewables. Before we scream no more nukes, let us examine the whole picture and look at today’s modern, safe facilities.

(Image source: The-peoples-forum.com)

Egypt in New Orbit

After an 18-day revolution, the people of Egypt won by peacefully driving President Hosni Mubarak from power. This is a historic moment in this century, and in people's quest for freedom. For this revolution was won not by brute force, nor by violence; but won by the will of the people and their determination to create a better society.

The unity that binds together a broad social alliance against a tyrannical regime inevitably fractures once the immediate focus of rage has been removed. A political or social revolution is not a single act, but a process. The Egyptian upheaval has its own context and will take its own path. But the great popular revolutions all followed a similar initial pattern.

In Egypt, real politics is about to begin as I personally think that the unified movement which we have seen over the past weeks is likely to diverge now. People were in the streets together, but now they have different views of where Egypt should go next.

Different players are watching Egypt for very different reasons...What's next for Egypt? - Wait and watch!

(Image source: The-peoples-forum.com)

Petrol price rise hits the common man

The government of India has hiked petrol prices once more, by about Rs2.50 per litre. What must surely hurt the customer is that the latest hike comes a month after the hike in December. The reason is that since June 2010, the state run oil companies are free to set pump prices in tandem with global crude. In the last six months, there have been six price revisions for petrol. As opposed to this, the government has capped prices of diesel and kitchen fuels much below their cost of production owing to inflationary pressures. The government had promised at the time of deregulating petrol prices that it will step in if crude went beyond a point. Can anyone tell what that threshold point as nothing of is as such mentioned specifically by the government?

The government claims it had no choice given that crude prices had touched $92 per barrel. Yet, millions of consumers, who use scooters and motorcycles or drive in small cars to get to work, will feel let down. What makes the government’s statement about rising crude suspect is that it has simply refused to hike the prices of diesel, kerosene, and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas), claiming it will stoke inflation and burden households that use kerosene and LPG. This means that oil marketing companies (OMC) will still incur huge losses because 60% of their products comprise diesel, kerosene, and LPG.

Out of every rupee spent on petrol, much of it goes to the government by way of taxes and levies. Yet, revenue can be earned from other areas rather than hitting the common man where it hurts the most: in his daily commute to office or factory.

Lastly....politics hots up over hike in petrol price.
(Image source: Topnews.in)

Global Roundup

On the global economic and financial front, despite the decrease of jobless claims in America and better spending by the consumers, the overall situation remained negative. In the forefront, the financial woes of Ireland have unsettled the entire banking and fiscal system of Europe with pointers that Portugal and Spain are poised to go down the same slippery path. Therefore from Iceland and Ireland to Greece, Portugal, Spain and other countries in the southern periphery of Europe, sovereign debts accompanied by gross mismanagement, speculation and malfeasance have shaken up the Euro, the so-called single currency. Only Germany seems to be floating high.

However, Chancellor Angela Merkel has opinionated that the private sector also has the duty to chip in and help stabilise a highly wayward financial situation in several Eurozone countries. Merkel's proposal has brought lot of criticism. Thus the fiscal fortunes of Europe continue to wobble interminably leaving little apparent hope for even a modicum of social and economic stability in Europe. Now fears have arisen that economic crises presently prevailing in Europe and indeed around the world are threatening to unravel and undo the very foundations of human civilisation itself.

The dollar went up against most of its major counterparts after North Korea and South Korea exchanged artillery fire, encouraging demand for the greenback as a refuge. Last week, China increased bank-reserve requirements following the fastest rise in consumer prices in two years.

(Image source: Worldbunkering.com)

Stimulus plan raises tensions

G20 leaders gathered in Seoul to discuss rising tensions surrounding global fiscal and currency imbalances. The Federal Reserve’s recent decision to buy US$ 600 billion in Treasury bonds came in for particular criticism from Germany and other export-dependent countries that worry about a weaker dollar. Although the American president usually does not comment on the actions of the Fed, Barack Obama defended the central bank’s move, saying its intention was to help the American economy to grow, not to influence exchange rates.

Even the IMF now favours judicious limits on capital surges, if nothing else works. But some capital controls are more excusable than others. To help distinguish good controls from bad, some dos and don’ts endorsed by the G20 might help. Over time, regulation of the capital account might become as respectable as banking regulation.

China’s new pragmatic consumers

They spend more in categories they highly value, and they generally trade down in less compelling ones....

Increasingly, Chinese consumers are behaving like their counterparts in the developed world. They are more demanding and pragmatic than ever as their horizons expand beyond basic concerns about product features. Also, they are willing to pay for better value and quality and are spending more time researching and are exploring product nuances. The country obviously offers some of the world’s biggest growth opportunities—but only for consumer product companies that understand and respond to this rapidly evolving marketplace.

Chinese consumers remain brand conscious but, unlike shoppers elsewhere, they focus on value so intensely that brand loyalty is often secondary. The needs or interests of their families have greater importance for them than for their counterparts in the developed world. Word of mouth has become a more significant source of product information than it is elsewhere, thanks largely to fast-growing use of the Internet, which Chinese consumers see as a credible information source.

Most intriguingly, though, China’s consumers prioritize purchases across different product categories by trading off among them: the Chinese maximize their buying power by spending more in the categories they care about most and less in others. Also, the size and reach of China’s far-flung markets mean that any trend’s impact may vary from place to place, depending on local circumstances.

These trends bear witness to a transformation in the behavior of the Chinese as they develop into some of the world’s most complex consumers. China is now the planet’s second-biggest economy, after the United States, and its consumer sector may be the healthiest of any major country. In the past, consumer companies could enter China with their existing products, strip them down to basics, and then sell them at low prices throughout the country, thus hitching their wagons to China’s double-digit consumption growth. Today, local consumers, like those in developed markets, appreciate and demand better products. Many companies that have struggled to find a niche in China may therefore now find a market for their products and attract partners. Conversely, companies that have relied on low-cost, low-quality business models may end up on the losing end of trade-off decisions and could require a shift to value.

Highlights of the major changes in Chinese consumer behavior:

• Fewer trips, bigger baskets
• More than the basics
• Brand appeal, but only at the right price
• The pragmatic trade-off
• Smarter shopping and word of mouth

(Source: McKinsey Quarterly)

Economic Roundup

On the global economic and financial front, barring such countries as China, India and Australia, there were constant bad news in most other parts of the world. President Obama has again announced another stimulus package of $50 billion to boost infrastructure investment in roads and transport, besides providing smaller investors and businessmen with more assistance in promoting their economies.

Germany remains the shinning star of the Euro Zone, but Germany cannot single-handedly rescue the deep economic malaise pervading over a wide range of the European economies. Japan continues to face the deflationary situation as the yen became stronger against the United States dollar at about 83 units, a 20 years high level. Therefore, with this anomalous situation and similar disparities between the various economies around the world, a double-dip recession in the USA appears unavoidable that could then trigger another global recession in its wake.

(Image source: Finalcall.com)