Arabs lost 2.5 trillion dollars from credit crunch: Kuwait
Jan 16 04:30 PM US/Eastern .
"The Arab world has lost 2.5 trillion dollars in the past four months" as a result of the global financial crisis, Sheikh Mohammad told a press conference following a joint meeting of Arab foreign and finance ministers in Kuwait.
He also said that about 60 percent of development projects "have either been postponed or cancelled" by the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states because of the global meltdown.
Arab leaders who hold their first ever economic summit on January 19-20 will discuss the impact of the worldwide economic meltdown on the 22 Arab countries.
The biggest loss was an estimated 40 percent drop in the value of Arab investments abroad, which previously totalled around 2.5 trillion dollars.
Falls on stock markets contributed more than 600 billion dollars to the losses, while Arab investors were further affected by a sharp decline in oil revenues, the declining value of property investments and other repercussions of the global downturn.
Next week's summit will also discuss the Gaza war but leaders are still intent on agreeing a joint response to the financial crisis.
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Ahhh, those poor people...Dont you just feel sorry for them? They are hated even more than Americans. Once the world finds an alternative energy, those bastards are in for a rude awakening. I hope I am still around to see them go back to riding camels.
ReplyDeleteGee; racism is so (not) becoming, nor called for. We sure hate it when foreigners beat us at our own game, don't we? I remember the racist backlash against Japan in the early 1990s when they were 'winning' at the game of capitalism. Play the game; suffer the consequences.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I object to the whole setup (I don't like the game; capitalism is inherently exploitative and ultimately suicidal). I'm ready to see comeuppance for my own ruling class in the US: let them fail and get them out of power. I work as many hours as I can get, get paid by the hour, and save a couple of thousand dollars per year for my retirement (I have no employer contribution - and no unemployment insurance, by the way - since I'm self-employed). I buy half my clothes at Goodwill -- always have. I cook and eat at home; clean my own home. I've always invested in fixed-rate since I can't risk losing my small savings. Now people who earned big (or never even worked for their money - the 'owning class') and risked big in the stock market to make millions or billions are getting bailed out -- with my tax dollars, and yours. Sound repetitive? It bears repeating: no matter what euphemisms are used to cover the crime ("liquidity injection," "quantitative easing," "loosening credit," etc.) it's OUR money being largely GIVEN to the rich by our (s)elected representatives. Y/our instincts were right from the start: bailouts are b**lshit, the biggest ripoff of all time. And you know who's going to bear the consequences? Obama! Why aren't the media all over Bush's a** about this? For the same reason they never covered the deficits he ran up - like Reagan did in *his* two terms (with the agreement of centrist "Democrats" all along, I'll agree with you there). Spend on the poor, and they'll hound you out of office, call you "tax and spend Democrats." Spend way beyond our means on the rich and the military and you're treated with kid gloves: you are untouchably powerful. The media are cowards owned by corporations: they're on the side of the rich. Capitalism, anyone?
You know who cares the least about our shenanigans? The climate system. You know why? Because the laws of physics don't care what we think, believe, intend, or hope for, or might eventually partially get around to doing, once we've dealt with the financial crisis (which could take, oh, a decade or two). The climate system "cares" how many molecules per unit volume are composed of which greenhouse gases. Period. And it will keep warming us, drying the US southwest to a permanent desert state (read the Climate Change Science Program's report on Abrupt Climate Change, finalized in December '08), destroying world food supply, destroying the water supply for billions of people (in a few decades), destroying the entire Amazon (can you say "Earth's 'lungs' turn into desert?"). Want to see a real emergency? Wait about 20 years. OK maybe 10.
We have to choose, folks. Either we fight the ongoing bailouts and have a prayer of using money to help the poor and now the falling middle class (disproprortionately Latino and African-American) losing homes and jobs, *and* revolutionize our energy infrastructure, OR they'll continue to rob us blind, fund more trillion-dollar wars (and this includes Obama if we don't force him to exit Afghanistan), and guess who's next? YOU!
Oh and yeah; we can reach a point where even geoengineering can't rescue us from climate chaos. Anyone want to place bets when that happens? Next IPCC report in 2013. Want to stay tuned, or do something about it? I vote for Option B.
To Anonymous post dated January 17,
ReplyDeleteAs a Christian ex-Marine, I am so sorry that you are unhappy. It is great that you live in a Country, that you can speak all kinds of poison and hate. You worry about climate, mymymy but you say nothing about sin. You think Obama is so good? He is for Gay rights and abortion. God the Father and Jesus will judge us on. Please turn your heart to Jesus before it is to late. Prayer works better.
Just so you know, if we do not rid ourself of sin ie PORN,ABORTION,GAY WAY OF LIFE and so on, my God, the God of Abraham, will bring
judgement on the United States.
Four Numbers 2012. Sounds kooky but why is December 21st 2012 the last date for the Mayan calender ? Ever see the story on the History Channel ? Something is coming. We are going through the birth pains of a new world order. The old order has to be destroyed before the new order can take place. I am reminded of the "Tower of Babel" story. Maybe when the new order comes in we will get to meet someone special. Be careful and stay awake! As we were warned over 2000 years ago.
ReplyDelete