The country of Cuba is perhaps one of the last few truly Communist governed countries in the world. Their country is governed so rigorously through that ideology that since the 1959 revolution, no foreign country has been allowed to participate in their economy- until now. The Cuban government has recently reached an agreement with a Brazilian sugar company to hand over management of the state-run corporation AzCuba for a period of 13 years. Although Cuba used to be the world’s largest sugar exporter in the 1989, the collapse of their main ally, the Soviet Union in 1991, forced the industry into decline. Since then, nearly half of Cuba’s 156 sugar mills have been shut down and dismantled, as well as 60% of plantation land having been recommissioned for other uses. Cuba is in dire need of restructuring and foreign help to heal their failing sugar industry as it is an essential part of the country’s economy. Naturally, their communist government won’t allow for countries like America to come to their aid, but they do approve of Brazil. The Brazilian company Compania de Obras en Infraestructura plans to build new facilities as well as bring in new equipment to modernize their industry. It is my opinion however that this momentary opening of Cuba’s hermit economy is only out of desperation, and that by the end of those 13 years, if not sooner, Cuba will be operating on their own again.

link to article: http://bit.ly/T0Qdo5

In response to Alex’s blog on the attempted rebuilding of McDonald’s tarnished reputation, I can only say that I completely agree. Over the years, McDonald’s and the words “unhealthy”, “junk”, etc. have become synonymous to the point that infants are able to switch between them without much thought. Just the thought of simple, delicious, and popular food must be very appealing to many people from all classes and backgrounds. However, the most important thing that McDonald’s has had going for them has been their low price. The incentive of a cheap, filling meal has proven to be overwhelming over the years and has resulted in a lot of popularity with the McDonald’s brand. Unfortunately, the large increase in popularity leads to a lot more attention- the negative kind. McDonald’s has undergone a series of criticism, most significantly noted with what Alex mentioned: Supersize Me, which landed a staggering blow on the company’s image, one that may never be completely fixed. It is high time the company has begun to address these questions, so I strongly agree that McDonald’s new question website is a smart and viable option to resolve the problem. Giving concise and well-detailed answers to break the existing consumer myths is a great idea and will prove effective in helping to rebuild McDonald’s tarnished image.

Link to Alex Jason Chau’s article McDonald’s Loves Your Questions: http://bit.ly/SR0iTZ

Many of us in the Lower Mainland have probably taken road trips to our Southern neighbors  and have purchased many items which we find to be fantastic deals. Among these great deals would be a fill-up of the gas tank with cheaper fuel that somehow seem to last longer than the Canadian variety. Unfortunately, that is not the case in the Golden State. California’s fuel shortage has led to an increase in prices. This unfortunate shortage was the culmination of the temporary shutdowns of many refineries in the state, pushing companies like Costco to have to close 14 of its 40 gas stations in Los Angeles. Although these problems are all temporary, citizens are unconvinced as the state continues to release statements to reassure citizens that their is ample supply to meet their demands. Such  assurances are hard to believe at the moment as the rising fuel price blatantly contradicts it. At its current price of $1.42 per liter (after conversion), the low-price benefit of getting your fuel in the states (California at any rate) is gone. It’s sadly very much on par with the lovely price of gas we are currently getting here in Vancouver.

link to article: http://bbc.in/QBwviB

We’ve all heard of Samsung’s growing strength in the phone market, taking on Apple quite easily. In fact, it could be said that Samsung has begun to overtake the previous smartphone giant. Apple’s unchanging product features throughout the years are beginning to take its toll, as consumers are becoming more and more swayed by the attractive alternatives to the iPhone offered by competitors such as Samsung. The South Korean giant expects its profits to double last year’s, surpassing the expectations of expert analysts and further propelling Samsung’s stocks by 1.5% Despite the legal battles instigated by Apple and losing some, Samsung could actually be doing better after them. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” certainly applies to Samsung, as the publicity has highlighted how similar Samsung’s current power product the Galaxy S III is to the iPhone. Consumers are beginning to pull away from the iCraze and move into the Android market. With operating profits projected to be at $7.3 billion this year, Samsung’s market share has overtaken Apple in many markets around the world, greatly threatening the easygoing, supreme atmosphere Apple has been enjoying for a while.

links to articles: http://bbc.in/QMkDZN , http://zd.net/VbZ5eW

Iceland’s current currency, the króna, certainly isn’t cutting it for the Nordic country at the moment. There has been much discussion in Iceland’s central bank about the issue on hand, and they’ve finally released a massive report on all the options they could take. Among those options were to join the Euro, adopting a similar Nordic currency, choosing the British Pound, the greenback, or loonie. As many of us would tend to think, the loonie would seem like a very sound and viable option. However, there are many arguments against it that are pretty strong, including but not limited to: the loonie is too small of a currency on the world stage, Iceland itself does not trade with Canada often, and the 2 countries do not have many similarities in business cycles. What we do have going for us is the stability of our monetary policy, retaining a firm standing in the global currency market despite the economic downturn that has gripped all of us these past few years. Whatever option Iceland decides to go with, we should expect it to be something that is compatible with their economy to maximize efficiency.

link to article: http://bit.ly/Qfik4z

Chaos, unfortunately, is probably the most suitable word to describe the current atmosphere of the South African mining community. Growing up, we have undoubtedly encountered numerous strikes, either driving by teachers on strike outside of their schools or watching large scale protests unfold on the news. Many of these protests tend to be quite sensible, and one can often sympathize with what the protesters are fighting for. However, there is a fine line between when these strikes are relatively peaceful displays of passion, and when these strikes become overly violent. Is it really ethical for the company to shoot tear-gas grenades at crowds of their own workers? On the other hand, is it also ethical for workers that are all part of a union to attend a protest with machetes in hand? Both sides are at ethical faults here, as disputes such as these should not garner the type of attention it is currently getting. The company is under fire for resorting to such drastic measures, giving off a terrible impression of their relationship with employees and just an overall bad attitude towards work ethic. It’s rather hard to pin the blame entirely on them though, as the workers themselves violated work ethic quite thoroughly by bringing weapons to the workplace.

link to the article: bit.ly/PurwBC

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