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Parties linked to the Shinawatras have won every election in the past decade. But the military government's new constitution, which the military said aims to weaken major political parties, effectively cuts constituency seats in provinces where the Shinawatras have previously held dominance.
But the Shinawatras remain immensely popular, especially in the rural northeastern provinces.
Mr Habibu Adam, an Economist, has attributed the depreciation of the cedi to the structure of the economy, allowing foreign portfolio investments into the domestic bond market and the speculative attacks by either politicians or ‘rogue traders’ in the forex market.
Mr Adam said Ghana recorded trade deficit of $1.69 billion in 2016 as in many other years previously “this transformed to trade surpluses of about $1.19 billion and $1.78 billion in 2017 and 2018 respectively for the first time in decades. So why should the cedi be under pressure”.
The Senior Economist said this in interview with the Ghana News Agency in Accra.
Mr Adam said allowing the foreign portfolio investments (investments by non-resident Ghanaians) into our domestic bond market for which some of them are now moving their funds to their parent countries as it tapers, its rates higher as against the downward trend in the Ghanaian interest rates.
He said the other reason for the depreciation may be due to the huge interest servicing being made by government.
“Just before the IMF intervention in our economy, experts including then Vice-Presidential Candidate Dr Mahamudu Bawumia had warned of excessive borrowing which will cloud out fiscal space for government.
“Spokespersons of then government argued that as far as the debt level had not hit the unsustainable debt level of 70 per cent, they were not doing anything wrong.
“The end result was that, they left government leaving a debt level of 73 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the new government to grapple with,” Mr Adam said.
He said the resultant effect of the binge borrowing was that interest payments ten years (2008) ago was only GH¢679 million. This rose to GH¢10.7 billion in 2016 and is expected to hit GH¢18.6 billion by the end of 2019 (2019 Budget statement).
The Senior Economist said external debt constitutes 49.9 per cent of the public debt, therefore, “government will need to service the interest in foreign currency bringing additional burden on the cedi”.
Mr Adam said the final contributor to the depreciation of the cedi was the structure of the economy where “we export raw commodities and import almost everything in their value-added form.
“If the structure of the economy remains the same, no government will be able to halt the fall of the cedi. How can we be importing USD$2.0 billion worth of rice, USD$320 million worth of sugar and USD$ 374 million worth of poultry just to mention few and expect the cedi to be stable? All these commodities could be produced here”.
Mr Adam said in the last eight years before the current administration, the cedi had depreciated by 247 per cent giving an average annual depreciation of 30.9 per cent.
“The first two years of former President John Dramani Mahama’s administration recorded annual depreciation of 34.9 per cent.
“This compares to 6.43 per cent annual depreciation as at the end December, 2018 in the first two years of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s administration.
“Though a significant reduction; it is still not good enough. It is also important to acknowledge that the cedi has witnessed over 5 per cent depreciation in the first quarter of 2019 and it will be interesting to find out how it ends the year,” the Senior Economist said.
“In my opinion, the only way to end the cedi’s perennial depreciation is to embark on a comprehensive industrialisation policy together with improvements in infrastructure as well as modernisation of the agriculture and tourism,” he said.
The number of cars built in the UK topped 140,000 last month, up by 3.5pc on February last year, new figures show.
A total of 141,093 cars were produced, with almost two thirds for export, said the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).
Exports increased by 8pc last month compared with a year ago and by over 10pc for the year to date.
Car production in the 12 months to February was 1.67 million, the highest annual rate since November 2000.
SMMT chief executive Christopher Macgowan said: "The positive trend in UK manufacturing continued in February as car output saw its sixth consecutive month of growth.
"Lifted by the success of a number of key models, production for export remained strong, accounting for nearly two thirds of the total volume.
"While domestic demand is robust, production for the export market is expected to be the focus for growth throughout 2004."
Production of commercial vehicles increased by 6.4pc in February compared with last year to 17,335.
The number of vehicles built for the UK market increased by a third over the past three months, said the SMMT.
The BRICS India Summit: Beyond Bricolage?
This Thursday India hosts the fourth summit of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa), an annual gathering of the leaders of major rising powers. The meeting in New Delhi will expand the BRICS’ agenda beyond its traditional macroeconomic focus to address development, urbanization, and cultural cooperation. The BRICS has been widely heralded as a new geopolitical force. But beyond all the fanfare, what are the prospects that the bloc can turn its surging economic weight into real diplomatic clout?
It’s ironic, given their vocal opposition to Western economic dominance, that the “BRICs” got their start on Wall Street. It was back in 2001 that Goldman Sachs banker Jim O’Neill predicted that Brazil, Russia, India, and China would drive global economic growth in the twenty-first century. The concept took on a life of its own, and the four BRIC nations held their first formal meeting in autumn 2006, on the margins of the opening session of the UN General Assembly.
It was a curious construction—what the French might call a bricolage, an assemblage of available objects brought together despite their diversity. The group united two vibrant democracies, Brazil and India, alongside two authoritarian states, China and Russia. But if the members lacked a common history or vision, they had at least two things in common: their status as emerging economic powerhouses and their resentment of a global economy they saw stacked in favor of the West.
In 2009, the BRIC nations elevated their annual meetings from the foreign ministers to the head of state level, holding their first formal summit in the central Russian city of Yekaterinburg. That gathering produced a sixteen-point declaration focused on the financial crisis. The next two summits, held in Brazil and China, expanded the substantive agenda—and the length of the communiqué—delving into new areas like climate change and global trade. Its membership has also increased. This year the original quartet will be joined by South Africa, creating a coalition of states spanning four continents.
The India summit seems likely to yield at least one concrete outcome: the creation of a new BRICS development bank designed to coordinate foreign assistance and gradually diminish the global South’s reliance on western aid. Only days after the Obama administration stuck with tradition and nominated an American to lead the World Bank, rising powers are more determined to enact the plan. The envisioned bank would channel aid to countries and issues that the bloc deems priorities.
The bigger uncertainty is whether there is enough “mortar” binding these BRICS to allow them to become a cohesive political force on the world stage, prepared to adopt common foreign policy positions beyond a narrow range of issues—such as the need to end the monopoly of the dollar as the world’s major reserve currency. Some have even predicted that the BRICS could emerge as an important caucus within the Group of Twenty (G20), providing a competing center of gravity to the G7 nations. This would be unfortunate, since it would undermine one of the great advantages of the G20—its potential to shake up traditional global alignments by creating new, more flexible forms of cooperation across developed and developing countries. Such fears may be unwarranted, however. For the evidence suggests there may be as much that divides the BRICS as unites them.
To be sure, the BRICS have staked out some common positions. All five members lean toward traditional conceptions of state sovereignty and nonintervention, and have occasionally resisted what they consider heavy-handed U.S. and Western tactics. China and India, which rely heavily on imports of crude oil from Iran, have resisted international pressure on that country. And all the BRICS have proclaimed that they are “not bound by unilateral sanctions” imposed by the West.
On the other hand, the BRICS have failed to reach a common position on Syria. Russia and China have twice vetoed resolutions against the Assad regime, while India, South Africa, and Brazil have either voted in favor or have not voted at all. Over the longer term, geopolitical rivalry is likely to limit substantive security cooperation among the BRICS. This is particularly true when it comes to increasing regional competitors China and India, but similar frictions may well emerge between Russia and China in the Far East, particularly given demographic trends. Finally, political divisions might yet scuttle the plan for the development bank—as occurred in 2011 when BRIC nations diverged on the effort to install a non-European head as managing director of the International Monetary Fund.
To date, the few tangible joint strategies proposed at BRICS summits have had little impact beyond the headlines they generate. The most robust proposals thus far, agreed to at the Sanya Summit in 2011, were to challenge the hegemony of the dollar in global commerce by trading in local currencies, as well as to encourage movement toward use of the SDR as an “international currency.” The Chinese government is pushing the first of these goals in New Delhi, but is likely to backtrack on internationalization of the SDR as it considers its yuan the best contender to replace the greenback.
The catch-all theme of “Stability, Security, and Growth” selected by the Indian government for this week’s summit also points to the amorphous nature of the alliance. Stability refers both to finance and trade as well as “stability from governance failures.” Security encompasses energy and environment, infrastructure, and equal opportunities without class, gender, or regional discrimination. Growth refers to market and technological development. However, the document prefaces the tripartite goal with the caveat, “it is always simplistic to attempt to capture the broad and rich arena that current developments offer the BRICS nations to collaborate on.” This statement highlights the amorphous nature of the bloc, whose purpose even the BRICS leaders cannot—and may not wish to—define.
Without question, the BRICS coalition expands the diplomatic range of maneuver of each rising power and is a symbol of changing times. At the same time, the body is unlikely to become a strong geopolitical force. Its members will align periodically, using the bloc to demand greater representation in established institutions like the IMF or World Bank, or to push back against Western dominance. But they will also steer clear of the forum when it comes to issues that divide them, such as UN Security Council expansion.
A FINANCE and administration manager for a beverages company, Lorraine Chitereka, who was recently slapped with a US$50 000 adultery damages order for bedding Harare businesswoman Rudo Boka's husband, has approached the High Court seeking stay of execution arguing the granted amount is too astronomical compared to other amounts awarded in similar matters.
Chitereka, who last week approached the court seeking rescission of the US$50 000 default judgment said she has been compelled to file an urgent chamber application after getting wind that Boka had instructed her lawyers to seek to attach her property with a view to recover the US$50 000.
"This is an urgent application for the stay of execution of the default judgment granted against me (Chitereka), and in respondent's (Boka) favour in HC9892/18. It is this default judgment whose rescission I respectfully seek in HC2118/19," she said through her lawyers Mandizha and Company Legal Practitioners.
"I submit that I would suffer irreparable harm if execution is not stayed for a variety of reasons; the respondent (Boka) is holding on to a judgment in the total sum of US$50 000. My lawyers advise me that this award is most definitely high and in all likelihood, will be set aside.
Chitereka said her legal practitioners had gone further and researched on the legal authorities cited by Boka's lawyer in justifying the granted amount.
"They have established that the awards range between $4 000 and $8 000 (that is bond notes). I further contend that an appreciation of the currency in which the judgment was granted to respondent, will show that in bond note/ZWR term, the said judgment translate to over $125 000. This is an unprecedentedly astronomical figure by all accounts," she said.
"With my case herein being that respondent is not even entitled to the $4 000 or $8 000 referred to above, the potentiality of irreparable harm falling me, were execution not to be stayed and I ultimately succeed in the rescission of judgment application, becomes high and not too difficult to appreciate."
In her founding affidavit recently filed alongside her court application for rescission of judgment, Chitereka said when Boka issued summons against her last year, she filed her appearance to defend with a view to challenge the claim, but as the matter progressed, she consulted lawyers who later turned out to be bogus leading to the default judgment being granted against her.
Deltek Inc. has made another bold move in its strategy to be an end-to-end provider of products and data to help contractors win and manage government projects.
The company made a $26 million cash deal March 31 to acquire market research firm FedSources, a rival to Input, a research firm that Deltek acquired in October 2010 for $60 million.
"These are two companies that belong together," Deltek CEO Kevin Parker said.
Deltek is buying FedSources and its affiliate, the Washington Management Group, from Koniag Inc., an Alaska Native Corporation. Washington Management Group provides consulting services to companies that want to win a spot on a General Services Administration schedule. FedSources and Washington Management Group had $15 million in revenue for the year ended March 31.
"This is a good deal for Deltek in a number of ways," Parker said, adding that FedSources' database is very good, and the Input and FedSources databases don’t completely overlap. "This is an opportunity to expand our research capabilities, and that is a good thing," he said.
Deltek also wants to expand into the state and local and construction and engineering sectors with market research, and this acquisition will help with those efforts, Parker said.
"The energy we put into competing with each other can now be put into expanding into some new areas," he said.
FedSources' consulting capabilities also made it an attractive acquisition as did the Washington Management Group, which "opens a whole new set of customers and markets," he said.
Deltek also plans to use the FedSources and Input databases to enhance the capabilities of GovWin, its online community and tool for companies to find partners and manage subcontractors.
FedSources and Washington Management Group executives, such as Ray Bjorklund, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer; Bill Gormley, president and CEO; and Joe Caggiano, chief operating officer, will remain with the company.
"This is not an acquisition with cost cutting or expense reduction as its primary objective," he said. "It is aspirational in that we see synergies that are mostly product and revenue related, and that’s where we are focusing our attention."
At first, FedSources and Input will continue to operate as distinct units, but the plan is to integrate them. Catherine Morales will be responsible for both units. She came on board at Deltek in early March as executive vice president of Deltek Information Solutions.
Short-term goals include applying the databases to Deltek’s customer relationship management and business development products in addition to using them to support the subcontracting management capabilities of Deltek’s GovWin network.
"We’ll step back with both teams and look at things like the user interface, the accessibility of data and the visualization of data," Parker said.
Parker said he expects that users of FedSources and Input databases will see the benefits of the acquisition in less than three months.
"Aspirational?" The aspiration is to take a major competitor out. People in the fed arena know this is a shrinking business with declining profitability. Further, they know GSA thinks it is unconscionable that greenhorn firms need a 25K consultant to get on a schedule. GSA is trying, in the expected government-y way, to make that process easier. People don't need it or find that the predictive track of federal market research is all that impressive. There may be a reason that the historical trail of market growth estimates and studies (and it is always growth, right) published by market researchers of all stripes is hard to find on the net. There are other ways a consultant can help though--if a company is on the clueless and un-energetic side. The big thing coming (already here) is Bloomberg. When B gets around to re-thinking this kind of service, B will wipe it out like a tsunami coming ashore.
The bench which heard the politically- sensitive case on the Karnataka crisis was headed by a judge, who is number six in seniority in the apex court.
The bench which heard the politically- sensitive case on the Karnataka crisis was headed by a judge, who is number six in seniority in the apex court. Justice A K Sikri headed the three-member bench, which also comprised justices S A Bobde and Ashok Bhushan. In the bench, which held the historic pre-dawn hearing, Justice Bobde, who will become the Chief Justice of India after Justice Ranjan Gogoi, was most vocal in grilling the lawyers appearing for both the sides on the question of law.
Justice Gogoi would succeed CJI Dipak Misra after he retires on October 2. No sooner the news started spreading that Justice Sikri will be heading the bench, it became clear that none of the four senior-most judges of the apex court — J Chelameswar, Gogoi, M B Lokur and Kurian Joseph, who had held the controversial January 12 presser against the CJI — were going to hear the matter. The three judges — Sikri, Bobde and Bhushan — are considered to be non-controversial.
While Justice Sikri, before being elevated in 2013 as the judge of the top court, was the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court where, he had gone after sitting in the Delhi High Court for 12 long years. Justice Bobde, who hails from Nagpur, was elevated in 2000 to the bench of Bombay High Court from where he went to the Madhya Pradesh High Court as its Chief Justice.
He was elevated to the top court in 2013. Justice Bhushan was sworn in as apex court judge in 2016 after serving as a judge, Acting Chief Justice and Chief Justice of the Kerala High Court from 2014. Prior to that he was a judge of the Allahabad High Court since 2001.
"Jackass" star Steve-O (aka Stephen Glover) was arrested in August 2002 for exposing himself during a nightclub performance in Louisiana. Glover allegedly stapled his scrotum to his thigh and also participated in another stunt during which a bouncer slammed a patron's head on the ground. The 28-year-old Johnny Knoxville sidekick, who was charged with obscenity and being an accessory to second-degree battery, is scheduled to be arraigned December 16.
Submitted by AtomicBomb on Tue, 2011-04-19 17:42.
Submitted by nastynorm on Sat, 2010-12-11 00:43.
Submitted by lmowery on Mon, 2010-10-04 15:14.
Submitted by elimparcial on Wed, 2010-09-22 00:11.
Location, location, location! Welcome to Blackstone Reserve, your gateway from the City to the Seacoast. Located just one mile from Exit 4, Route 101 is where you will find this luxurious 55+ active adult community. Blackstone Reserve offers a natural picturesque setting featuring 66 single-family detached condos. Residents will enjoy a low maintenance environment giving you time to enjoy a social climate defined by community living, and a physical environment to keep active and young. Each home at Blackstone Reserve provides open-concept, one level living at its best. The comfortable floor plans range between 1,710 square feet to 2,056 square feet and feature 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, master bedroom with en suite, 2 car attached garages, and full basements. Standard features include: cathedral ceilings, hardwood floors, granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, high-end cabinetry, central A/C and so much more! Homeowners make selections to customize and personalize each home to fit their lifestyle and color preferences. Prices start at $374,900. Site development has begun on Phase 1 (red on site map) and the first model homes will be available in early 2019. This plan is the Sonoma other floor plans and options are available. This project has received full approval from the NH Attorney General's Office. 80/20 rule for occupancy applies.
My client is one of the fastest growing and most successful retailers in the UK.
Due to phenomenal growth we are delighted to be supporting them in the recruitment of an Area Manager in Kent.
As an Area Manager you will have full accountability for the successful delivery of sales, profit, standards and service throughout a portfolio of c.14 stores. You will manage your Store Management team effectively to deliver great standards and service in store whilst ensuring focus on the continuous recruitment needs within your area due to my clients aggressive store opening plan.
As an existing Area Manager you will a proven track record of managing multiple sites effectively to deliver against your companies targets.
You will have a tenacity for developing people and have experience of opening new stores whilst continuing to develop the performance of the stores you manage directly.
The ideal candidate will have amassed a variety of experience across various sub sectors within the retail sphere, ideally with some exposure to head office.
It’s been over four decades since Henry Winkler first laid eyes on his future wife Stacey, but the actor can still recall the day in vivid detail.
Within weeks, Stacey and her then 4-year-old son had moved in with Winkler; they wed in 1978 and went on to have two more children: Zoe, 38, and Max, 35. Stacey stood by her husband as he navigated his career post-Happy Days and was by his side when he won his Emmy last year, for his critically acclaimed role on HBO’s Barry.
RELATED: Henry Winkler’s Worst Audition Made Him Give Up Acting … Almost!
And becoming grandparents together has been a shared joy.
Barry airs Sundays (10 p.m. ET) on HBO.
The origins of the ubiquitous Frisbee, friend to picnicgoers and college kids everywhere, are shrouded in legend. But the disc's lineage can in fact be traced back to one man, Fred Morrison, who died Feb. 9 at his home in Monroe, Utah. He had been ill with lung cancer.
Mr. Morrison got the idea for a flying-saucer toy in 1937 when, during a family Thanksgiving feast in southern California, he and his girlfriend entertained themselves by tossing a popcorn-tin lid back and forth in the backyard.
The lid eventually dented, ruining its aerodynamic potential. Mr. Morrison experimented with a sturdier cake pan, which he and Lucile sold on weekends at beaches and parks in the Los Angeles area.
After serving as a fighter-bomber pilot during World War II and enduring 48 days as a POW in a German stalag, Mr. Morrison went to work as a carpenter. But he never lost sight of his flying-cake-pan entrepreneurial dreams.
In the 1950s, he designed an aerodynamic disc made of plastic. The nation was then caught up in UFO fever; Mr. Morrison called his invention the Pluto Platter and marketed it at fairs in California by dressing up as an astronaut.
Hula Hoop manufacturer Wham-O Mfg. took notice of the Pluto Platter's brisk sales and bought the rights in 1957, renaming it "Frisbee" when an executive noticed Ivy Leaguers' penchant for tossing around pie pans from the Frisbie Pie Co.
Mr. Morrison earned seven figures in royalties. And the world was never quite the same.
On behalf of all Ultimate players, rest in peace Fred.
Hooray for you Fred Morrison, from all the Longwood College Ultimate Frisbee "TM's"!
Hard to say how much enjoyment his invention gave to people around the world. Just checkout some of the organizations that help run the "Frisbee" world today, the Ultimate Players Association (upa.org), the World Flying Disc Federation (wfdf.org), and all the various local clubs including DC's own Washington Area Frisbee Club (wafc.org).
Johnny Tyrone Moore Jr., 30, 675 Spring Garden Road, Oct. 18, driving while license revoked. Officer: N.A. Rhodes.
Nathan Joel McGinty, 31, 307 Antioch Lakes Road, Oct. 17, possession of drug paraphernalia. Officer: E.G. Salen.
Wesley Aaron Thomas, 23, no known address, Oct. 16, resisting public officer. Officer: E. Santiago.
Christopher L. Barnes, 28, 304 Lee�s Chapel Road, Pollocksville, Oct. 15, injury to real property. Officer: J. Wester.