The IMF has warned that the global economy is running a serious risk by allowing debt levels to rise to about $152 trillion. That amount is twice the size of the entire global GDP. The rapid rise of debt is troubling because it has not been accompanied by a rise in economic activity. Debt levels are not necessarily a problem as long as the debt is being used to stimulate future economic activity which allows the debt to be repaid. Debt in the absence of economic growth is a bubble waiting to burst–at some point, the creditors are going to demand to be repaid.
The South Asian movie industry is one of the most dynamic in the world and certainly the largest. It has, however, fallen victim to the crisis over Kashmir. Indian movies have been banned in Pakistan and Pakistani actors and technicians have been banned in India. The Pakistani bans renew policies that were once quite common, but the line between art and politics seems to have become very blurred because of the crisis.
It is hard to appreciate the devastation in Haiti. We still have only an incomplete picture of the damage brought about by Hurricane Matthew. What we do know is that Haiti is likely the least capable country in the Western Hemisphere to deal with the destruction. Many areas of the country are still inaccessible because of damage to the transportation infrastructure. Some humanitarian relief is arriving in the country, but without a central government able to allocate and distribute the aid effectively, it is hard to imagine that the aid can be immediately effective. The biggest fear right now is the spread of disease due to the lack of clean water. Having said all that, it is hard to explain why the international community has been so slow to react to this crisis–the tepid response thus far will alleviate very little of the suffering.
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