“Author Archive”
Stories written by Mary Hoffman
Finance ministers and other high ranking officials from the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) trading group of South American nations announced August 5th that the group is attempting to build confidence ahead of any possible apparent crisis. Luis Miguel Castila, the Peruvian Finance Minister stated that the group’s meeting Friday should bolster investor’s confidence. and that countries in the groups are managing their economies well, and are trying to increase integration in order to confront any global economic challenges. “I think that it is a signal that should provide confidence to the rest of the world among a scenario [sic] of uncertainty,” the finance minister stated stated.
August 6th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines | Read More »
On July 29th, Ecuador modified its banking laws by requiring financial institutions to invest a small portion of their reserve requirements in government debt, according to Klever Mejia, the Central Bank of Ecudaor director of risks. Private banking institutions must now put a minimum of 1 percent of their reserves in government debt bonds, Mejia said to Bloomberg News. A reserve requirement is an amount of capital that a bank must have on hand, usually a percentage of it’s overall holdings. The percentage is almost always set by the central bank, and ensure that the bank has cash on to pay depositors, and is not overextended. On July 13 the central bank stated it was changing banks’ reserve laws to “establish global liquidity levels that guarantee adequate margins of financial security.” Meija responded to this on the 29th saying, “At least 1 percent of the securities must be issued by the public sector.”
July 29th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines | Read More »
Proponents of same-sex marriage in the United States, struck a blow against injustice on July 24th, when New York state formally recognized the unions, a month after lawmakers signed a bill to that effect. But the issue of same-sex marriage is also being hashed out in other countries around the world, and on July 27th, Colombia jumped to the fore. In it’s final decision, the Supreme Court of Columbia has ruled that it is up to congress to decide the fate of same-sex marriage in Colombia. Equality activists are celebrating the landmark decision as a victory, but the decision of the Congress remains uncertain.
July 27th, 2011 | Posted in Headlines | Read More »
On July 18, Peru’s Congress approved a bill which would pay the country’s 40 year old land reform bonds which could be worth $1.4 billion or more. The bill, which has yet to be signed into law, instructs the finance ministry to establish a debt swap program which could consume 1 percent of the country’s GDP. The law allows owners of the old land reform bonds to swap their certificates for new sovereign debts. The law also specifically stipulated that the new bonds have up to 30 year maturities so that the next government would not saddled with the entirety of the debt. The bonds were issued in Peru’s bitter 1970’s, when leftist President Gen. Juan Velasco attempted a land redistribution by giving the land of the wealthy to the poor. However, many middle-class land owners were also ensnared in the scheme.
July 20th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
Biofuels have come to be viewed as a renewable source of energy for our transportation needs in the future, and investment in the area has become quite intense. However, this rush to invest has led to an erosion of the very principles of renewability which make biofuels popular in the first place. For instance, large sections of tropical rainforest and rich peatlands are being over harvested, sown over, or otherwise destroyed in order to make more room for the switch grass, corn, and soya feed stocks for ethanol. The growing demand for biofuels must be met with sustainable production practices, or else the efforts towards fuel efficiency and sustainability will simply be replacing one bad practice with another while providing a false sense of well-being. To this end, the EU has set up a system for biofuel sourcing which relies both on voluntary certification agencies and member state evaluations of biofuel sustainability.
July 20th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate | Read More »
Brazil’s renewable energy project is possibly the most ambitious in the world, and the country is on track to fulfill it’s pledge to cut emissions by 39 percent in a decade. Since June, Brazil’s 51 wind farms have generated 1 gigawatt of electricity, which effectively powers 1.5 million homes, the first project of this magnitude in South America. The wind turbines are placed throughout the Brazilian northeast and southern states, with more than thirty currently under construction. This is made possible by government incentives that are expected to contribute $15 billion in renewable energy investments, though the full amount may be a long time coming.
July 13th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,Real Estate News | Read More »
On May 24, two representatives of the National Council of Extractive Workers (CNS), formerly known as the National Council of Rubber Tappers, were shot and killed in Pará, an Amazonian region of Brazil. The husband and wife, José Cláudio Ribeiro da Silva and Maria do Espírito Santo, were vocal advocates for sustainability, preservation of the rainforest, and protection against illegal logging. The murders were stark reminders of Brazil’s increasingly anti-environment atmosphere, which is rooted in agribusiness. The main source of the hostility is the logging industry, which clears large swaths of the rainforest to feed the paper and exotic hardwood industries. The deforestation is compounded by global demand for beef, and feed stocks used in meat and fuel production, such as sugarcane for ethanol. Brazil is already the world’s largest exporter of beef, and the government of Brazil has set a goal of doubling that figure, along with ethanol production, in the next decade.
July 12th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
Average home prices in the U.S. fell by more than 21 percent in the two years between 2007 and 2009. By contrast, the value of property in China tripled between 2004 and 2009, booming even through the Great Recession. This made economists take note, opining that it was because of the sturdiness and functionality of the Chinese economy. Two years later, it is apparent that the case is one we are much more familiar with; a housing bubble, American style. And observers are speculating that this bubble is about to burst.
July 9th, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines,International Real Estate,Real Estate News | Read More »
International banks and insurers pledged support for plans to help Greece on Friday and said there was broad agreement to roll over sovereign bonds and reinvest in the country in the future years or buy back the debt. A small number of options have been tossed around, the Institute of International Finance (IIF) lobby group said, all geared towards voluntarily providing “significant cash-flow support to Greece.”
July 3rd, 2011 | Posted in Global Finance,Headlines | Read More »
The passing of mid-June signaled by the longer days with warmer weather means only one thing to the French: August is approaching. Though Americans may look forward to Independence Day during this season, August is traditionally a vacation month in France, when city dwellers take to the south with families in tow, occupying country chalets and vacation houses passed down through the generations.
June 17th, 2011 | Posted in Headlines,International Real Estate | Read More »
