Showing posts with label trillions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label trillions. Show all posts

17 January 2008

The New China Syndrome

Here's a fascinating article about how China's $1.4 trillion - yes, that's a trillion - holdings of dollars are subsidizing the American way of life, keeping its own people poorer than they might be, and what it all means for the US, China and the rest of us. I was particularly struck by the following the following:

The fair reason for concern is, again, the transparency problem. Twice in the past year, China has in nonfinancial ways demonstrated the ripples that a nontransparent policy creates. Last January, its military intentionally shot down one of its own satellites, filling orbital paths with debris. The exercise greatly alarmed the U.S. military, because of what seemed to be an implied threat to America’s crucial space sensors. For several days, the Chinese government said nothing at all about the test, and nearly a year later, foreign analysts still debate whether it was a deliberate provocation, the result of a misunderstanding, or a freelance effort by the military. In November, China denied a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier, the Kitty Hawk, routine permission to dock in Hong Kong for Thanksgiving, even though many Navy families had gone there for a reunion. In each case, the most ominous aspect is that outsiders could not really be sure what the Chinese leadership had in mind. Were these deliberate taunts or shows of strength? The results of factional feuding within the leadership? Simple miscalculations? In the absence of clear official explanations no one really knew, and many assumed the worst.


Openness: the solution to everything (well, almost)....

12 October 2007

Let's Make That a Round Trillion, Shall We?

Just to be on the safe side, you understand:


A Brussels think-tank has accused the US government of reneging on commitments made to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over internet gaming.

Panellists at a trade forum levelled harsh criticism at the US, focusing on a burgeoning trade clash between the US and Europe over internet gaming.

The forum believes that the US could be liable for up to US$100 billion in trade concessions to European industries after placing illegal discriminatory trade restrictions on European gaming operators.

(Via Slashdot.)

28 December 2006

Thanks a Trillion

The RIAA has done a huge service by taking on the doughty AllofMP3 service.

The December 21 lawsuit argues that 11 million songs were allegedly pirated, and seeks damages totaling $150,000 per violation. That's a $1.65 trillion lawsuit - a value slightly less than the Gross Domestic Product for the United Kingdom in 2005.

Put like that, you realise that RIAA is now certifiably bonkers: a tiny Russian company has caused almost as much financial damage as one of the world's biggest economies to an industry worth at most a few billion dollars? I don't think so.