At a financial sector conference in Shanghai last week, Canadian bankers, insurers and government officials cited the country's relative stability in the face of Wall Street's 2008 meltdown as evidence that China should reference 'the Canadian Difference,' as one put it, as it pursues its own financial reforms.
It was Henry 'Hank' Paulson circa 2007, with perhaps more humility.
'Canada's financial system might serve in some way as an example,' Sarah Kutulakos, executive director of Canada China Business Council, declared at the opening of the conference.
Canada weathered the crisis well. For instance, it has already gained back all the jobs it lost in that period, and the International Monetary Fund has predicted it will be the strongest economy in the G-7 through 2011, with 2.7% expansion next year.
'It's the world's safest banking system,' said Chuck Strahl, minister of transport, infrastructure and communities, referring to a World Economic Forum assessment.
Four of Canada's banks now rank among the 10 largest in North America, he added. And Canada's strength, he noted, was recognized by China when it made the country among the first bank regulators green-lighted as an international destination for individual investment money.
Other speakers noted the ability, during the crisis, of Canadian banks to tap credit markets and Ottawa's effective backstopping of the nation's financial system, which was designed to minimize risks to taxpayers.
'What is this Canadian difference?' asked Gilles Oullette, a top officer at Bank of Montreal, which this month became the first Canadian bank to locally incorporate an operation in China. Mr. Oullette said the core Canadian difference is a clear regulatory structure, which helps define a 'more conservative approach' (i.e., more conservative than south of the border).
Speakers highlighted how China sidestepped the bad times, too.
'It appears Canada and China have come through extraordinary times much better than their G-20 counterparts,' said Mark Kruger, minister-counselor at Canada's Beijing Embassy.
Mark Rowswell, perhaps the world's most famous Canadian due to his fame in China, where he is known as Da Shan, pointed out that the Canadian pavilion at the World Expo, where this event was held, recently won an award for being one of the most 'business-oriented' on the fairgrounds.
Yet, when officials moved from offering context of the Canadian difference and turned toward giving advice, they sounded off on many of the very same themes that have been broadcast from Washington for years, including Mr. Paulson's 2007 speech calling for faster reforms. They cited Chinese needs to permit more credit to flow into the private sector, a level playing field for foreigners and improvements in regulatory transparency.
BMO's Mr. Oullette, for instance, called on China to improve the flow of market information, to build strong and independent regulatory bodies and to allow for 'a more market-sensitive currency exchange.'
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Sunday, October 17, 2010
This northeast England town has long boasted it has the largest office complex in Europe
But the 8,000 employees who fill two gray buildings here known informally as 'the Ministry' all work for the government. And their boss, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron, is about to send many of them home for good.
Most work for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, the tax agency. Their jobs are the legacy of decades of spending -- especially by the prior Labour Party government -- that pumped public money into Longbenton and similar places as factories closed.
As Britain grapples with a massive budget deficit, Mr. Cameron is now intent on weaning Britain off public money in hopes of reviving private enterprise.
On Thursday, he gave a taste of what's to come, announcing plans to eliminate 192 independent government agencies.
In Longbenton, the belt-tightening will result in a flood of pink slips at the Ministry, coupled with a regional push to establish a private-sector niche in the renewable energy industry.
Even with the pending layoffs, job seekers here still reflexively turn to the government for work. Clutching his educational certificates, David Henderson recently showed up at the revenue and customs office seeking work as a security guard.
'There's just no jobs anywhere,' said Mr. Henderson, who lost his job as a manager at a wholesaler more than two years ago.
Mr. Cameron's ability to point people like Mr. Henderson to private-sector work will be key to the broader plan he is expected to unveil this month to prune the British state. His goal: retool the sputtering economy with dramatic cuts in public spending even larger than those carried out by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the early 1980s.
At a time of huge budget deficits in many economies, Mr. Cameron's plans represent a gamble on the idea that slashing state spending in a weak economy will restore market confidence in government finances and encourage private business to invest and hire enough to drive growth.
The plans of the Conservative Party leader, who heads a five-month-old coalition government, would make the U.K. the most aggressive deficit-cutter among major economies.
The plan will entail a combination of spending cuts and tax increases that Mr. Cameron's government says will reduce Britain's borrowing by GBP 113 billion ($180 billion) a year by 2015, or 6.2% of that year's expected gross domestic product.
The government's independent budget forecaster has predicted that more than 600,000 public-sector jobs will be lost over that period, about a tenth of the current total.
To fill the void, the government hopes to encourage investment from private businesses -- partly through tax cuts -- to develop regional industry clusters, such as wind power in the northeast.
More broadly, success could reshape one of the world's biggest economies and bolster the political grip of the Tories, who regained power in May for the first time since 1997. Government currently accounts for 51.5% of the U.K.'s gross domestic product, compared with about 41% in the U.S. and above the 50.7% average in the European Union.
But the cuts could backfire, toppling the U.K. back into recession and squandering the Conservatives' moment in charge.
Unemployment in the northeast is already more than 9% -- the highest in the U.K., where the national average is 7.7% -- and will climb higher if Mr. Cameron cannot kick-start the private sector.
Politicians filled the vacuum with public-sector jobs starting in the 1970s, swelling government payrolls in the region. Business-creation rates in the region have been among the lowest in England.
Mr. Cameron argues that big government has crowded out private enterprise.
Most work for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, the tax agency. Their jobs are the legacy of decades of spending -- especially by the prior Labour Party government -- that pumped public money into Longbenton and similar places as factories closed.
As Britain grapples with a massive budget deficit, Mr. Cameron is now intent on weaning Britain off public money in hopes of reviving private enterprise.
On Thursday, he gave a taste of what's to come, announcing plans to eliminate 192 independent government agencies.
In Longbenton, the belt-tightening will result in a flood of pink slips at the Ministry, coupled with a regional push to establish a private-sector niche in the renewable energy industry.
Even with the pending layoffs, job seekers here still reflexively turn to the government for work. Clutching his educational certificates, David Henderson recently showed up at the revenue and customs office seeking work as a security guard.
'There's just no jobs anywhere,' said Mr. Henderson, who lost his job as a manager at a wholesaler more than two years ago.
Mr. Cameron's ability to point people like Mr. Henderson to private-sector work will be key to the broader plan he is expected to unveil this month to prune the British state. His goal: retool the sputtering economy with dramatic cuts in public spending even larger than those carried out by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the early 1980s.
At a time of huge budget deficits in many economies, Mr. Cameron's plans represent a gamble on the idea that slashing state spending in a weak economy will restore market confidence in government finances and encourage private business to invest and hire enough to drive growth.
The plans of the Conservative Party leader, who heads a five-month-old coalition government, would make the U.K. the most aggressive deficit-cutter among major economies.
The plan will entail a combination of spending cuts and tax increases that Mr. Cameron's government says will reduce Britain's borrowing by GBP 113 billion ($180 billion) a year by 2015, or 6.2% of that year's expected gross domestic product.
The government's independent budget forecaster has predicted that more than 600,000 public-sector jobs will be lost over that period, about a tenth of the current total.
To fill the void, the government hopes to encourage investment from private businesses -- partly through tax cuts -- to develop regional industry clusters, such as wind power in the northeast.
More broadly, success could reshape one of the world's biggest economies and bolster the political grip of the Tories, who regained power in May for the first time since 1997. Government currently accounts for 51.5% of the U.K.'s gross domestic product, compared with about 41% in the U.S. and above the 50.7% average in the European Union.
But the cuts could backfire, toppling the U.K. back into recession and squandering the Conservatives' moment in charge.
Unemployment in the northeast is already more than 9% -- the highest in the U.K., where the national average is 7.7% -- and will climb higher if Mr. Cameron cannot kick-start the private sector.
Politicians filled the vacuum with public-sector jobs starting in the 1970s, swelling government payrolls in the region. Business-creation rates in the region have been among the lowest in England.
Mr. Cameron argues that big government has crowded out private enterprise.
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Ruchira Varmaa's marriage was already in trouble when she found out she was pregnant
She didn't know what to do, so, as with most life decisions, she consulted her astrologer.
Ms. Varmaa and her child would be fine, the astrologer said, as long as the baby was born on one of three mahurats, or auspicious days, near her due date. She then did what doctors say an increasing number of middle-class Indians are doing these days: She scheduled a caesarean section in order to nail that good-luck date.
The perfectly timed birth not only gave her a wonderful daughter, Ms. Varmaa says, but also got her own life back on track. Her career and health have improved and her brief, arranged marriage has ended in an amicable divorce.
'I didn't want my bad luck to affect the child,' says Ms. Varmaa, 34 years old, a director for a clothing exporter in Mumbai. 'If the position of the sun and moon are right, then the baby has a good life and even the mother's life improves.'
Indians have always consulted their gurus -- who usually look to the stars -- for the best times for marriage ceremonies, business deals or even when to step on the train for a long trip. Astrological timing is so important that when the stars align, India sees an explosion of weddings, with tens of thousands of ceremonies taking place on the same day in cities like Mumbai or New Delhi.
Indians have been asking astrologers for the perfect time to conceive for centuries. Now, with rising incomes and improved access to health care, many take their gurus' advice to their gynecologists to decide birth times as well.
'In the last three years, it has become rampant. Almost everyone prefers to choose timing,' says Rishma Dhillon Pai, a Mumbai-based gynecologist. 'It's strange, because you would think that as we grow more modern, this kind of thing would happen less.'
While there are no data on how often C-section timings are decided by astrology, the number of caesarean deliveries has surged in India. In the early 1990s, around 5% of births in urban hospitals were caesarean. Today more than 20% are, doctors say, in part because of higher incomes and wider access to health care.
In the U.S., the frequency of caesarean sections has risen to more than 30% of births, from around 21% in 1998. The rise has been driven by increases in the number of middle-age mothers and overweight mothers, according to doctors, as well as malpractice concerns.
While the vast majority of Indians still prefer natural birth, doctors say the number of caesarean sections where cosmic timing is a factor has jumped from perhaps one-in-10 a decade ago to as many as one-in-two today. Usually, the timing is chosen only after a C-section has been deemed necessary. But doctors say a growing number of women are opting for the procedure when there is no medical need.
Moving a birth up by even one week can lead to complications such as breathing problems in babies whose lungs have not fully developed. Mothers face increased risk of infection, blood loss and even death from the procedure, which delivers the baby through a surgical incision.
Most Indian doctors say they refuse requests for unnecessary caesareans. But they say it's still relatively easy to find doctors who will agree to do them if the mother-to-be says she has a low pain threshold.
'We are not terribly happy with the trend of patients giving birth to babies according to an auspicious time and day, but we go with the flow,' says Sanjay Gupte, president of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India. 'What can we do? It's the parent's belief, after all.'
This has put extra pressure on doctors and hospitals. Mumbai gynecologist Ms. Pai said she was asked to do a C-section at 3:30 a.m. because the hour was deemed auspicious.
She initially refused, but got so many calls from powerful friends of the parents that she agreed to do it.
Ms. Pai says she will only do the procedure if necessary. However, she allows patients to pick the time as long as they give her a few options and as big a window as possible. One wealthy Mumbai family insisted that their baby be delivered between 11:00 and 11:15 a.m., says Ms. Pai. She blocked extra time in the operating room, but when an earlier operation went long, she had to rush and barely met the deadline.
'The pressure was tremendous,' she says. 'That is not a situation I want to be in.'
Gurus say they have also seen a surge in requests to choose the best birth dates. They say adjusting the time of birth is not necessarily tampering with fate because being born at a time when you can choose a birth date is also part of fate.
In Indian astrology, even the minute of birth is important. Matrimonial ads and websites where Indian families search for suitable mates for their children usually mention the exact time of birth to check cosmic compatibility. As the good and bad planets are always waxing and waning, creating both wonderful and awful combinations each day, a few minutes here or there could theoretically make or break a person.
Mahurat mothers say the large potential benefits of having a child blessed by the stars outweigh concern about potential complications from a caesarean.
Sonali Kanwar, a 34-year-old stay-at-home mother, followed the advice of her astrologer and moved her son's birth date up by a week to catch a sweet spot on the calendar. While she doesn't believe the claims of some gurus that the right timing can ensure you have a boy who will grow up to be rich and tall, she says, she wanted to give her baby any help she could.
'My son was underweight when he was born. But 16 months on he is now thriving and perfectly sized,' she says. 'It gives me peace of mind and happiness to know that my son came into the world on a good day.'
Astrologers say the right timing can do everything from create a more beautiful child to one that is quiet or obedient or even a good actor. Most parents aren't that specific, though, says Geetanjali Saxena, a Mumbai astrologer. They ask for the best timing for their child to have it all.
Ms. Varmaa and her child would be fine, the astrologer said, as long as the baby was born on one of three mahurats, or auspicious days, near her due date. She then did what doctors say an increasing number of middle-class Indians are doing these days: She scheduled a caesarean section in order to nail that good-luck date.
The perfectly timed birth not only gave her a wonderful daughter, Ms. Varmaa says, but also got her own life back on track. Her career and health have improved and her brief, arranged marriage has ended in an amicable divorce.
'I didn't want my bad luck to affect the child,' says Ms. Varmaa, 34 years old, a director for a clothing exporter in Mumbai. 'If the position of the sun and moon are right, then the baby has a good life and even the mother's life improves.'
Indians have always consulted their gurus -- who usually look to the stars -- for the best times for marriage ceremonies, business deals or even when to step on the train for a long trip. Astrological timing is so important that when the stars align, India sees an explosion of weddings, with tens of thousands of ceremonies taking place on the same day in cities like Mumbai or New Delhi.
Indians have been asking astrologers for the perfect time to conceive for centuries. Now, with rising incomes and improved access to health care, many take their gurus' advice to their gynecologists to decide birth times as well.
'In the last three years, it has become rampant. Almost everyone prefers to choose timing,' says Rishma Dhillon Pai, a Mumbai-based gynecologist. 'It's strange, because you would think that as we grow more modern, this kind of thing would happen less.'
While there are no data on how often C-section timings are decided by astrology, the number of caesarean deliveries has surged in India. In the early 1990s, around 5% of births in urban hospitals were caesarean. Today more than 20% are, doctors say, in part because of higher incomes and wider access to health care.
In the U.S., the frequency of caesarean sections has risen to more than 30% of births, from around 21% in 1998. The rise has been driven by increases in the number of middle-age mothers and overweight mothers, according to doctors, as well as malpractice concerns.
While the vast majority of Indians still prefer natural birth, doctors say the number of caesarean sections where cosmic timing is a factor has jumped from perhaps one-in-10 a decade ago to as many as one-in-two today. Usually, the timing is chosen only after a C-section has been deemed necessary. But doctors say a growing number of women are opting for the procedure when there is no medical need.
Moving a birth up by even one week can lead to complications such as breathing problems in babies whose lungs have not fully developed. Mothers face increased risk of infection, blood loss and even death from the procedure, which delivers the baby through a surgical incision.
Most Indian doctors say they refuse requests for unnecessary caesareans. But they say it's still relatively easy to find doctors who will agree to do them if the mother-to-be says she has a low pain threshold.
'We are not terribly happy with the trend of patients giving birth to babies according to an auspicious time and day, but we go with the flow,' says Sanjay Gupte, president of the Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India. 'What can we do? It's the parent's belief, after all.'
This has put extra pressure on doctors and hospitals. Mumbai gynecologist Ms. Pai said she was asked to do a C-section at 3:30 a.m. because the hour was deemed auspicious.
She initially refused, but got so many calls from powerful friends of the parents that she agreed to do it.
Ms. Pai says she will only do the procedure if necessary. However, she allows patients to pick the time as long as they give her a few options and as big a window as possible. One wealthy Mumbai family insisted that their baby be delivered between 11:00 and 11:15 a.m., says Ms. Pai. She blocked extra time in the operating room, but when an earlier operation went long, she had to rush and barely met the deadline.
'The pressure was tremendous,' she says. 'That is not a situation I want to be in.'
Gurus say they have also seen a surge in requests to choose the best birth dates. They say adjusting the time of birth is not necessarily tampering with fate because being born at a time when you can choose a birth date is also part of fate.
In Indian astrology, even the minute of birth is important. Matrimonial ads and websites where Indian families search for suitable mates for their children usually mention the exact time of birth to check cosmic compatibility. As the good and bad planets are always waxing and waning, creating both wonderful and awful combinations each day, a few minutes here or there could theoretically make or break a person.
Mahurat mothers say the large potential benefits of having a child blessed by the stars outweigh concern about potential complications from a caesarean.
Sonali Kanwar, a 34-year-old stay-at-home mother, followed the advice of her astrologer and moved her son's birth date up by a week to catch a sweet spot on the calendar. While she doesn't believe the claims of some gurus that the right timing can ensure you have a boy who will grow up to be rich and tall, she says, she wanted to give her baby any help she could.
'My son was underweight when he was born. But 16 months on he is now thriving and perfectly sized,' she says. 'It gives me peace of mind and happiness to know that my son came into the world on a good day.'
Astrologers say the right timing can do everything from create a more beautiful child to one that is quiet or obedient or even a good actor. Most parents aren't that specific, though, says Geetanjali Saxena, a Mumbai astrologer. They ask for the best timing for their child to have it all.
Monday, October 11, 2010
New study: rehabilitation of patients benefit as much swearing?
Stuck in the hospital? Go ahead, drop an expletive or two – it might make you feel better, according to a new study.
Swearing can provide an emotional catharsis and even a bonding opportunity between doctors and patients in hospitals, according to the research.
"Swearing always has to be used very tactfully, because it is a very intense communication," said study co-author Daniel Zimmerman, a staff psychiatrist at a hospital in New York. "It can easily scare or overwhelm."
They found sometimes doctors used what might be considered unprofessional language to build bonds with patients. In one case study, an unemployed blue-collar patient displayed bitterness toward his doctors for knowing "jack-shit" about his life and telling him what to do. One doctor realized he needed the patient to see him as an ally, not an authority figure. So he responded, "Gosh, I know just how you feel. I'm a doctor-in-training and my boss always orders me around. Believe me, I'm not just some asshole who's here to get his kicks telling you what to do."
By speaking to the patient at his level, the researchers wrote, the doctor gained the man's trust. It's a method that requires doctors to respond to the patient's cues and carefully consider how helpful the offensive language might be, Zimmerman said.
Swearing can provide an emotional catharsis and even a bonding opportunity between doctors and patients in hospitals, according to the research.
"Swearing always has to be used very tactfully, because it is a very intense communication," said study co-author Daniel Zimmerman, a staff psychiatrist at a hospital in New York. "It can easily scare or overwhelm."
They found sometimes doctors used what might be considered unprofessional language to build bonds with patients. In one case study, an unemployed blue-collar patient displayed bitterness toward his doctors for knowing "jack-shit" about his life and telling him what to do. One doctor realized he needed the patient to see him as an ally, not an authority figure. So he responded, "Gosh, I know just how you feel. I'm a doctor-in-training and my boss always orders me around. Believe me, I'm not just some asshole who's here to get his kicks telling you what to do."
By speaking to the patient at his level, the researchers wrote, the doctor gained the man's trust. It's a method that requires doctors to respond to the patient's cues and carefully consider how helpful the offensive language might be, Zimmerman said.
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