World Economic and Financial Surveys

Regional Economic Outlook:
Asia and Pacific

Managing Spillovers and Advancing Economic Rebalancing

April 2012
©2012 International Monetary Fund

The slowing global economy is putting downward pressure on costs for businesses and consumers alike. It’s also squeezing profits and incomes.

The weak job market has helped keep wage costs flat since the recession ended three year ago. Now, with widening evidence that the global economy is entering a new slowdown, the cost of a wide range of commodities from oil to copper to coffee is falling rapidly.

While that’s good news for consumers, the across-the-board price drops are further evidence that demand is drying up as the world economy continues to slow. China’s once booming economy has cooled sharply this year. That has driven prices down sharply in the world’s second-largest economy and has raised worries about deflation, which can be as intractable a problem as too much inflation.

Recent data on factory production and job growth point to a further slowing in an already weak U.S. economy. And the ongoing financial turmoil in Europe has sparked a widening recession that shows no signs of easing.

Continue reading Falling prices point to further global slowdown →

Source: Washington Post

Date: June 6, 2012

Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/vietnam-sentences-dissident-to-5-years-for-distributing-anti-government-leaflets/2012/06/06/gJQARKbuHV_print.html

HANOI, Vietnam — A court in central Vietnam has sentenced a dissident to five years in prison for distributing anti-government leaflets.

The Kien Thuc newspaper says 53-year-old Phan Ngoc Tuan was convicted of collaborating with “reactionary” groups and individuals in exile to spread propaganda against the Communist state. He was convicted at a half-day trial Wednesday in Ninh Thuan province.

Continue reading Vietnam Sentences Dissident to 5 Years for Distributing Anti-Government Leaflets →

In the history of human rights, the worst atrocities are always committed by somebody else, never us – whoever “us” is.

http://www.nationofchange.org/somebody-else-s-atrocities-1338822866
Published: Monday 4 June 2012
Somebody Else’s Atrocities
By Noam Chomsky

In his penetrating study “Ideal Illusions: How the U.S. Government Co-Opted Human Rights,” international affairs scholar James Peck observes, “In the history of human rights, the worst atrocities are always committed by somebody else, never us” – whoever “us” is.

Almost any moment in history yields innumerable illustrations. Let’s keep to the past few weeks.

Continue reading Somebody Else’s Atrocities →

TĐH:  The issue the Huaorani face is common to many ethnic minority peoples around the world:  How to preserve your ancient land and culture against the invasion of “civilization”?

A people about to be wiped out? The Huaorani are one of two remaining hunter-gatherer tribes in the Amazonian rainforest in Ecuador, most of whom have never been in contact with the rest of the world — and their home and very existence is under threat by oil companies that, supported by the government, want to drill for oil in what’s left of their homelands.

Sworn to protect the rainforest. The Huaorani have preserved their part of the Amazon rainforest for centuries. The area in Ecuador designated as the Yasuni National Park and Biosphere Reserve is world-renowned for carbon-rich forests, extraordinary biological diversity, and for being home to many endangered species. “We used to defend our territory with wooden spears,” the Huaorani say. “Now we launched a petition on Change.org, and we are asking for your help.”

Continue reading A people about to be wiped out? →