Jacob Solomon's group - M2015(B)

The recent fall in oil prices, largely due to America's newfound dominance in the market, will cause Russia to experience a balance of payments deficit, according to this article from the Guardian. This is based on Russia's overestimate of the forecast for the global oil price and can be said to be an example of how global prices often influence balance of payments for countries, especially when it concerns national resources.

India, the world's second-largest gold-consuming country, is battling a balance of payments crisis as the gold import industry grew exponentially in a short amount of time. Though the spike in the import numbers is clear, no clear action has been taken yet; policymakers, however, agree that restrictions must be placed on private trading houses. Private jewelry exporters are the main customers and account for a massive number of the bulk for the demand of gold. "India sharply restricted gold imports in early 2013 as the country battled a balance of payments crisis triggered by the U.S. Federal Reserve's announcement that it would start to ease its programme of quantitative easing. But it eased some of the measures after India's current account deficit fell sharply from the record high of 4.8 percent of gross domestic product in the fiscal year ended in March 2013 to 1.7 percent in the quarter ending in June."

This article talks about the balance of payments in India. The trade deficit rose which caused an increase in foreign exchange reserves.

This article is about the balance of payment in India. It has narrowed, but still a surplus remains for the fourth year in a row

This article is about the balance of payments for India in Q2 2014-15

This article deals with the current account balance in Lithuania and its capital account, and how the surplus was built up 

Zambia in recent times has been able to maintain a favourable balance of payments within the second quarter of 2014

Thus article, although short, gives precise numbers on France's current account deficit. It illustrates with numbers the size that a current account can be, and how in France it is currently being reduced, which is another proof of the recovery Europe is having.

This article discusses the possibility of a further step in the trade liberalisation of East Africa. The EAC (already a common market) now wants to go further and create an economic and monetary union within 10 years. This would greatly help the trading in that region.

This article deals with a potential agreement between US and EU where completely free trade is supposed to be the main aim. This agreement would mean that the free trade between US and EU would be the largest free trade zone.

The article discuses how the balance of payments in the united kingdom worsened. The article claims that the economic recovery the united kingdom is in doubt because its balance of payments is deteriorating.

This article is about China's FDI into Venezuela. Because of the recent drop in oil prices, Venezuela is suffering so China is placing FDIs in deals that include technology, housing and urban planning. The hope here is to develop a relationship between the two nations, but as we have seen in class it might not be truly beneficial to the LEDC.

Ireland is the number one destination in the world for US foreign direct investment (FDI), according to a new report. The study, which was commissioned by the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland, reveals that US firms have invested more than $277 billion here since 1990.

This article describes how the government in Tanzania uses regulations to control and encourage foreign direct investment. All owners of land, in this case both locals and foreigners, are obliged to invest in their land through farming or constructing buildings, thus encouraging economic growth. This means that if a foreigner wishes to own land in Tanzania, they must somehow invest in the economy to help the economic growth of Tanzania

This article discusses the debt problems in Africa, and how these could potentially be solved. It explains how the loans were misused through issues such as corruption, and then it explains how African economies could still potentially manage to pay them off, through getting involved more in the global community

Debt forgiveness is not exclusively reserved for developing nations: this article discusses whether Greece should leave the Euro. It mentions the fact the Germany and other EU nations have avoided outright debt forgiveness because the terms are conditional, and Greece is not willing to commit itself to the policies it is required to introduce in return for debt relief.

Student loans in the United States have been known to be financially crippling, however there is now an act set in motion that will benefit the students to take loans to complete their higher education. Taking a step in the right direction as education should be a privilege granted to everyone.

Nizhny Novgorod Governor Valery Shantsev took part in a business meeting devoted to prospects and opportunities of import substitution in the region. This is crucial in Russia's current situation thus substituting imports is a must. Short article, yet precise and interesting

This article is very interesting with regards to one of this week's topics: import substitution. The concept of import substitution is often applied to LEDC's, reducing their dependancy on foreign imports and improving domestic output. However, this article is about Russia, who is adopting import substitution in response to deteriorating political relations with other nations. The Ministry of Industry and Trade wishes to minimise dependancy on imports from abroad, conjointly limiting the manipulating power of foreign nations.