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Japanese Yen: Market Outlook
Trichet: Situation In Eurozone Gets Worse
Larson and Holtz: How to Trade with Zero Spreads?
USDJPY Outlook
EURUSD: Intraday Outlook
Experts: EURUSD Will Drop Down To 1,15
Japanese Yen: Market Outlook
Trichet: Situation In Eurozone Gets Worse
Larson and Holtz: How to Trade with Zero Spreads?
Stock and commodities markets
Asian-Pacific Indices Go Red
European Stock Indices Go Red On Poor Reports
Brent Comes Close To $105/b.
Investors Should Get Ready For Further Monetary Stimuli
European Stock Indices Break Records
Asian-Pacific Stock Indices Close Bullish
Asian-Pacific Indices Go Red
European Stock Indices Go Red On Poor Reports
Brent Comes Close To $105/b.
Investors Should Get Ready For Further Monetary Stimuli
European Stock Indices Break Records
Asian-Pacific Stock Indices Close Bullish
Business And Politics News
FBS: FX Bazooka – Analytical Portal of New Generation
Schools of Managers: Why Brokers Need Successful Managing Traders
The Washington Post On European Crisis and Euro
Trust In EU Declines. Will Euro Collapse?
ForexContest 2013 – New Contest, New Opportunities
Tusar Forex: Open an Account and Get 8 Dollars!
FBS: FX Bazooka – Analytical Portal of New Generation
Schools of Managers: Why Brokers Need Successful Managing Traders
The Washington Post On European Crisis and Euro
Trust In EU Declines. Will Euro Collapse?
ForexContest 2013 – New Contest, New Opportunities
Tusar Forex: Open an Account and Get 8 Dollars!
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Business And Politics News
Tips For Investors: Is Daily Beast’s Corruption Rating Really Unbiased?
29 February 07:58 AM
A country’s level of corruption is one of the main factors determining its investment attractiveness. No wise investor would probably invest in the economy of a highly-corrupted country. These days, when the entire world is on the verge of falling into the abyss of another major crisis, attracting foreign investment has become a matter of life and death for numerous economies around the globe.
Strange as it may seem but the more critical the global economic situation is, the more ratings are published. Not so long ago Western mass media (like The Guardian, The Financial Times, The New York Times, Forbes) reported that The Daily Beast had published its own international corruption rating. In other words, we can witness another attempt to divide the world into good and bad “guys”, i.e. corrupted countries and those that are corruption-free, democratic and attractive for investors.
How important are “corruption” ratings for investors?
According to Eugene Olkhovsky, Masterforex-V Academy’s leading expert, it is fairly easy to understand how can such ratings affect a country’s investment attractiveness.
Most investors pay attention to different ratings when deciding to invest in a foreign economy. By the way, more and more experts start questioning the objectivity of such ratings. Market Leader tries to be as objective as possible in highlighting any information that can be important to investors. It was noticed that when a certain rating irritates influential countries, they initiate publication bans and numerous investigations. It is sufficient to recollect, how the EU authorities started questioning the objectivity of international rating agencies after they started downgrading the credit ratings of European countries.
According to the experts of Masterforex-V Academy, when it comes to making any international rating, it should be unbiased, with transparent methodology and distinct criteria. Otherwise, a rating can quickly turn into a weapon of information warfare.
The Daily Beast’s rating
First of all, the rating is mainly based on Corruption Perceptions Index 2011 by Transparency International (for more details, please, also read Transparency International: Corruption Perception Index 2011 - Valuable Info For Investors Or Weapons Of Manipulating Public Opinion?)
The rating was made by The Daily Beast (a popular US edition), which doesn’t specialize in corruption ratings. Apart from Corruption Perceptions Index 2011 by Transparency International, the Daily Beast used Freedom House’s report on the freedom of the press and the latest data provided by the World Bank.
Transparency International is the only organization that makes scientifically-based corruption reports. It has a distinct definition of what corruption is while its index is based on a number of criteria. For more information, please, visit the official website.
However, The Daily Beast decided to expand Transparency International’s list of criteria, thus adding political rights, social freedoms and other irrelevant criteria.
The question arises: What is the object of the given research? Corruption or political and social freedoms? Obviously, these are different notions. Moreover, they contradict each other. There is very little or no corruption in totalitarian countries while corruption flourishes in those countries that make first democratic steps. It seems like we have a mere profanation here (I mean The Daily beast’s rating).
Uzbekistan is number 1, Belarus is number 6. Why?
This is unclear. The Daily Beast’s rating reveals only the world’s 20 Most Corrupt Countries (unlike TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index).
The Daily Beast’s rating looks as follows:
1. Uzbekistan (89,6 out 100)
2. Eritrea (87,8 out 100)
3. Laos (87,8 out 100)
4. Afghanistan (86,3 out 100)
5. Equatorial Guinea (84,2 out 100)
6. Belarus (83 out 100)
7. Congo (82,5 out 100)
8. Swaziland (81,3 out 100)
9. Iran (79,1 out 100)
10. Ethiopia (78,5 out 100)
11. Chad (78,2 out 100)
12. Syria (76,8 out 100)
13. Cote d’Ivoire (76,4 out 100)
14. Venezuela (76 out 100)
15. Iraq (75,5 out 100)
16. Yemen (73,9 out 100)
17. Burundi (73,6 out 100)
18. Angola (72,3 out 100)
19. Cambodia (71,9 out 100)
20. Haiti (69,9 out 100).
There are some major changes in comparison with TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index 2011.
According to Transparency International’s index, Uzbekistan was number 5. The daily beast made it the world’s most corrupted country, thus eliminating Somali (by the way, Somali wasn’t included in the rating for some strange reasons). North Korea and Turkmenistan were also eliminated from the list (they were number 2 and 6 in TI’s rating).
It is not accidental that Iran is in the same list of highly-corrupted countries, especially amid the current confrontation between Iran and the West (the Strait of Hormuz, the oil embargo, various sanctions, Iran’s controversial nuclear program.)
The most shocking an unexpected change is that Belarus suddenly rallied from number 39 (Transparency international) up to number 6 (The Daily Beast). What on earth happened in Belarus that forced The Daily Beast into making such changes?
Dmitriy Frantsevich, the head of the Belarusian Association of Traders and Investors under Masterforex-V Academy, is sure that even despite the fact that the USA and the EU keep questioning the Belarusian democracy, Belarus is not as corrupted as the Daily Beast thinks. In fact, Belarus is less corrupted that some other states of the former USSR. Anyway, it cannot be the world’s 6th most corrupted country.
Corruption is a delicate issue, which needs a delicate approach. However, The Daily Beast seems to be manipulating the data taken from other competent sources to pursue some shady goals (probably some orders from above). The Daily Beast’s rating looks biased and hardly deserves investors’ attention.
Market Leader and Masterforex-V Academy would appreciate if you could participate in a survey. Please, visit the Academy’s forum for traders and investors and answer the following question:
In your opinion, Is The Daily Beast’s rating worth being trusted?
You are free to discuss this article here: forum for traders and investors
FBS: FX Bazooka – Analytical Portal of New Generation
As the Internet is brimming with financial information, it is generally hard for a trader to focus on its continuous stream. Many get lost in the abundance of offered possibilities and often make mistakes. It is a paradox, though truth, that the greater amount of information provokes hasty actions.
Publication date: 21 May 01:59 AM
Schools of Managers: Why Brokers Need Successful Managing Traders
These days many traders show rather average results at forex market. According to statistical data, only 5% reach real success, thus gaining regular profit. How are these 5% different from others?
First of all, they have the skill of taking wise trading decisions, based not on emotions, but on thorough analysis of all nuances, as well as all technical and fundamental results for present and future perspective. They are also characterized by systems of effective money and risk management, skill of waiting or acting when such is required by trading system.
Publication date: 20 May 10:21 AM
The Washington Post On European Crisis and Euro
Over the last few years, the word collocation “European crisis” has turned into a set expression. It’s been almost 5 years since it began. Europe seems to have suffered most of all form the global crisis. 2 years ago a new wave of crisis broke out, thereby turning into a severe debt and banking crisis in the EU and the eurozone.
Good news are scanty while bad news keep coming from Europe almost every day. Yet, the world cannot ignore it because Europe accounts for nearly 20% of the entire global economy. Even though everyone seems to get used to unexpected (sometimes shocking) and controversial news from the area, they are still worried about the destiny of the Old World? A complete downfall or a renaissance?
Publication date: 13 May 12:48 PM
Trust In EU Declines. Will Euro Collapse?
The latest opinion polls conducted in the EU show that more and more European citizens show distrust in the EU and the eurozone. The biggest decline was seen in the EU’s 6 biggest countries. In particular, in Spain , the distrust increased up to 72%. For comparison sake, it used to be just 23% 5 years ago.
Publication date: 02 May 11:43 AM
ForexContest 2013 – New Contest, New Opportunities
The purpose of fighting is to win, as the well-known saying goes. At Forex market traders, no matter whether they want it or not, have to fight not only for profits, but also... between themselves. In order to succeed, one has to manage his emotions, resisting panic, act on the basis of competent full-scale analysis of current and perspective situations, know and understand own trading strategies, based on numerous technical and fundamental components.
Publication date: 26 April 09:49 AM
Tusar Forex: Open an Account and Get 8 Dollars!
Today anyone may earn money at international currency market Forex, provided that a trader has the necessary knowledge and, what is more important, has good understanding it. As far as this financial market is the largest according to daily money turnover (several trillion dollars), as well as one of the most progressive ones (there regularly appear innovative technologies), opportunities of successful work at it are available even for people that do not possess a considerable capital.
Publication date: 18 April 10:22 AM
USA vs China: Can H7N9 Virus Be Biosychological Weapon?
China is reporting about another epidemic of the so-called bird flu (also known as virus H7N9). It has already suspended the domestic poultry trade. Numerous markets are closed in Shanghai, Beijing and other big cities. Chinese bloggers keep posting shocking footage showing dead birds.
At the same time, top-ranking Chinese military officials put the blame on the USA. They say this is some kind of a secret biotechnological weapon developed and used by the Americans.
Russia takes urgent steps to prevent the epidemic from spreading over its territory. Russia’s chief medical officer urges people to abstain from visiting the neighboring Asian country. There are temporary limitations for those who arrive from China. Russia may eventually close the border with China until the situation stabilizes.
At the same time, top-ranking Chinese military officials put the blame on the USA. They say this is some kind of a secret biotechnological weapon developed and used by the Americans.
Russia takes urgent steps to prevent the epidemic from spreading over its territory. Russia’s chief medical officer urges people to abstain from visiting the neighboring Asian country. There are temporary limitations for those who arrive from China. Russia may eventually close the border with China until the situation stabilizes.
What is really happening in China? How dangerous is the current epidemic? Can the USA be involved?
Let’s try to answer these questions together…
Let’s try to answer these questions together…
Publication date: 17 April 07:08 AM
Will Global Shale Boom Affect Russia’s Oil Industry By Dropping Oil Prices?
The USA seems to threatening Russia not only with a shale revolution but also with a shale war. The North-American shale boom seen in the region over the last few years, has been treated as the end of Russia’s oil and gas industry. Everything started from shale gas, which allowed the USA to turn from an NG importer into a net exporter of this energy carrier.
Yet, US officials do not conceal the fact that they are going to use this trump card to free Europe from the dependence on Russian energy carriers. Now American observers and analysts are discussing the gloomy prospects of Russia’s export of energy carriers caused mainly by the shale boom in the USA and worldwide.
What is really happening inside the US shale industry? Is Russia’s export of energy carriers to Europe doomed? Let’s have a closer look at the situation.
Publication date: 16 April 02:58 PM
Forbes On Putin’s External Policy
Western mass media are actively discussing Russia’s external policies. There is a lot of information published on this topic recently. There are countless articles devoted to Putin and Russia.
If to try to sum up all the information on this topic, it turns out that there are 2 groups with different attitude towards Russia’s external policies.
If to try to sum up all the information on this topic, it turns out that there are 2 groups with different attitude towards Russia’s external policies.
The bigger group thinks that Russia’s external policies are unpredictable and may be dangerous to the West. Therefore, they urge Western politician to exert pressure on Moscow in effort to restrict its tough external policies.
The minor group views Russia as a potential partner, thereby calling its external policy rational and pragmatic.
The confrontation between the 2 groups can be considered on the example of an article written by Mark Adomanis and published by Forbes. It is called Is Vladimir Putin's Foreign Policy Unpopular? Not So Much.
Publication date: 16 April 11:07 AM
What Stands behind Zbigniew Brzezinski’s Idea to Unite the West and Russia?
These days it is difficult to surprise people. However, there are exceptions. In particular, Zbigniew Brzezinski, a Polish American political scientist, geostrategist and statesman, managed to surprise us.
Some 15 years ago, he used to diminish Russia’s role in the international arena, thereby calling it a defeated opponent of the West. This is not a long time in historical terms. However, Mr. Brzezinski seems to have changed his mind and attitude towards Russia and its geopolitical and economic role in the world.
In his recent book called “Strategic Vision: America and the Crisis of Global Power” (2012), Zbigniew Brzezinski ponders upon the ways of uniting Russia and the West. Moreover, he tries to prove the inevitability of this process. He assumes that the world’s center of gravity is shifting “from the West to the East.” Therefore, the West will have to unite with Russia in order to avoid global isolation.
The West may well avoid the destiny of the frontrunner. However, it is necessary to work out a new strategy. The new strategy should imply the plan aimed at integrating Russia and Turkey into the international system of the West. This sounds strange if to consider the fact that this was told by a Russophobe and a Pole. This looks like a major change in his views. What are the real reasons behind his sudden love for Russia?
Publication date: 15 April 07:03 PM