Author: admin

A full-blown currency crisis. That’s one way to describe the situation in Russia, where even the attempted “shock and awe” of a 6.5 percentage point-hike in interest rates failed to halt the rouble’s slide on the foreign exchanges. The other is to say that Russia has been engaged in an economic war with the west – and has just lost.
Put simply, this was Moscow’s Norman Lamont moment. Back in September 1992, the then chancellor said he would defend the pound and keep Britain in the exchange rate mechanism by raising official borrowing costs to 15%, even though the economy was in deep trouble at the time.
Russia is in even worse shape than Britain was in 1992. With a clapped-out manufacturing sector, it is over-reliant on its massive stocks of oil and gas at a time when the price of oil is falling through the floor. A barrel of Brent crude was trading at below $60 a barrel on Tuesday, compared to a recent peak of $115 in the summer.
via Russia has just lost the economic war with the west | Business | The Guardian.

Sabi nga nila no good deed goes un punished (for the devil is more vindictive fellow)

My past experiences have often made me a skeptic. But one thing is clear in my mind: for those six days in Eastern Samar, many people were simply trying to do their jobs to the best of their abilities: the mayor who left her hospital bed in Manila to be with her people; the planning officer, in over his head when he was made DRRM officer; the governor who deferred his chemo treatments to stay in the command center; the local and international NGOs and relief volunteers who rushed to help without hesitation; the media men and women who were on the ground reporting responsibly from the start; and many others who did their share.
Like them, Mar Roxas was merely doing his job. He was serving the people.
I know. I was there. – Rappler.com
Rep. Jose Christopher “Kit” Belmote represents the 6th district of Quezon City in the Philippine House of Representatives.
via Mar Roxas and the motorcycle slide.

The memorandum circulars provide, among others, for the full disclosure of the LGUs’ budgets.
Former Camarines Sur Governor Luis Raymond Villafuerte Jr. had questioned the legality of Memorandum Circular 2010-83, Memorandum Circular (MC) 2010-138 and Memorandum Circular 2011-08 for “lack of merit.”
MC 2010-83 pertains to the full disclosure of local budgets and finances and bids and public offering.
MC 2010-138, on the other hand, pertains to the use of the 20 percent component of the annual Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) shares.
MC 2011-08, meanwhile, pertains to the strict adherence by local government units on Section 90 of Republic Act 10147 or the General Appropriations Act of 2011.
Villafuerte claimed Robredo, who died in 2012 in a plane crash, went beyond his supervisory powers. He said the circulars violate local and fiscal autonomy.
The SC dismissed his claims, saying “it is inconceivable, however, how the publication of budgets, expenditures, contracts and loans and procurement plans of local government units required in the assailed issuances could have infringed on the local fiscal autonomy of local government units.”
“The posting requirements are mere transparency measures which do not at all hurt the manner by which local government units decide the utilization and allocation of their funds,” it added.
via SC upholds Robredo’s orders on good local governance | ABS-CBN News.