QUESTION: Hi Martin, Thank you for your free blog–I’ve learned heaps. I believe the greatest disservice a government can make is to allow foreign investment in real estate in their country. I have lived in Canada, New Zealand, and Australia where real estate is no longer affordable for many first home buyers. Inflated prices have […]

ASIA: US President Donald Trump has said Washington is in no hurry to sign a big trade deal with India and he is saving the big deal for later on. There was an expectation that India and the US would sign a trade deal next week during President Trump’s maiden visit to Asia’s second-largest economy. […]

ASIA: President Donald Trump strongly objected to efforts being taken by his own administration to restrict the sales of American technology to China over national security concerns. Contradicting his advisors, he insisted that such fears were an “excuse” and reaffirmed his commitment that the United States is open for business. Singapore’s Finance Minister Heng Swee […]

ASIA: A meeting is being planned between US President Trump and Indian executives, especially those focusing on job creation and manufacturing in the United States, on February 25 when President Trump visits India. Vodafone’s Indian business Vodafone Idea Ltd reported its sixth straight quarterly loss. Revenue fell 5.8% to 1.55 billion USD in the reported […]

  ASIA: Economic activity has almost come to a standstill in China as major businesses and investors remain spooked about the future impact of the coronavirus outbreak. The coronavirus has already claimed over 1,300 lives and caused over 48,000 infections. Major retail chains to automobile and smartphone manufacturing firms have been shut down in mainland […]

ASIA: China’s Hubei province reported its lowest number of new coronavirus cases since January. This gives officials hope that the outbreak may be approaching its peak even as experts remain wary about its spread outside of China. Confirmed cases of the coronavirus have risen to almost 45,000 and deaths rose to 1,115 by February 11, […]

ASIA: China’s central bank has declared the country’s economic health as their first priority. President Xi Jinping has reportedly warned the country’s top officials that coronavirus containment efforts are hurting the economy. President Xi Jinping told officials during a February 3 meeting to balance their economic duties with their humane responsibilities. The pressure is on […]

ASIA: Amazon Inc has decided to take legal action in India to quash an antitrust investigation against the company. Amazon said in a statement that last month the Competition Commission of India (CCI) ordered a probe against the company over alleged violations of competition law and certain discounting practices, which could cause “irreparable” loss and […]

ASIA: India’s Ministry of External Affairs offered help to evacuate Pakistani students from the epicenter of the deadly coronavirus outbreak in China’s Wuhan after Pakistan refused to evacuate its citizens from Wuhan. In a statement released by India’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, India’s Foreign Minister S Jaishankar told Indian Parliament on Friday that when India sent […]

QUESTION: Angkor Wat was abandoned and the whole society seems to have vanished. I saw somewhere that this was due to climate change and the drying up of their canal system. Is this something that shows in Socrates? Best regards MU (Sweden) ANSWER: The fall of Angkor Wat was attributed to climate and abuse, but […]