Word: nationalism
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...pervasive it's part of the culture," says Theary Seng, executive director of the Center for Social Development, a Phnom Penh-based NGO. She worries that the billions coming in from private investment - particularly in oil - will not trickle down to the countryside where 80% of the nation lives. "If they want to do it right, they have lots of good models in the world," says Mussomeli, the U.S. ambassador, warning against Cambodia going the way of oil-cursed nations like Nigeria and Chad. "Or they could do it wrong and they could suffer the political consequences in 20 years...
...point. Prior to the 2006 crisis, analysts warned that Iceland - where Land Rovers and private jets seem to outnumber the nation's 308,000 people - was growing too quickly, and that excessive consumption would cause the economy to overheat. Yet the nation's three largest commercial banks - Kaupthing, Landsbanki and Glitnir - continued to exploit their then strong currency and cheap credit to buy banks in Denmark, Norway and the U.K., as well as British retailers like House of Fraser and Moss Bros. They amassed foreign assets equivalent to 800% of the nation's GDP, the highest ratio of any country...
...offensive directed at ratings agencies and investors. Iceland is the fifth richest country in the oecd; the prices of its largest exports, aluminum and fish, are at record highs. "The Icelanders are richer than us," says British economist Portes. "They're not exactly going to starve." (Iceland's gross national income per capita is $39,400, compared to the U.K.'s $35,300.) What's more, the banks remain fundamentally sound: they have strong deposit ratios and are more profitable than their Nordic peers. First-quarter results suggest the financial climate has started to warm: the three largest banks...
Edda Rós Karlsdóttir, a senior director at Landsbanki, says Iceland's peculiar macroeconomic conditions pose the biggest challenge to maintaining investor confidence. With so few potential depositors at home, the nation's banks have little choice but to raise capital abroad. Furthermore, the size of Iceland's economy - the U.S. economy is roughly a thousand times larger - has always made it volatile, partially explaining its much-discussed $2.7 billion current-account deficit. "If my father decides to build a garage onto his house, it will almost show up in national accounts," she quips. So imagine...
...REPUBLIC IS BORN Nepal's newly elected assembly voted on May 28 to abolish the nation's 240-year-old monarchy, turning the world's last Hindu kingdom into its newest republic, as jubilant citizens flooded the streets of Kathmandu to celebrate. Former Maoist insurgents will make up the largest political party in the fledgling government, which now must grapple with building a stable society after a decade of civil war. Outgoing King Gyanendra has been given 15 days to abdicate his throne...