Archive for februari, 2010
Double dip in the making ?
Posted on 28. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
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“Burj-al-Antwarab”
Posted on 27. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
Op 3 juli 2008 schreef ik mijn laatste column voor Trends. Het onderwerp ging over het investeren in infrastructuur versus investeren in de toekomst van creërende sectoren. Het begon als volgt:
Grote infrastructuurwerken en haveninvesteringen in Vlaanderen gebeuren op een weinig transparante en onafhankelijke manier. Een minimaal vereiste economische return ontbreekt, evenals het afwegen van alternatieven. De overheid moet beginnen inzien dat de lokale productie, als gevolg van de duurdere energie, zal terugkomen. En erin geloven en investeren.
Vandaag zijn we anderhalf jaar later. Ik geloof nog altijd dat we te weinig doen om een gunstige omgeving voor productie te creëren. De loon- en energiekosten zijn te hoog (en niet door de nettolonen, maar door allerlei indirecte kosten gerelateerd aan ons overheidsapparaat.) [...]
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China is buying all the gold it can, should you too ?
Posted on 26. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
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Greek crisis is just starting…
Posted on 26. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
The ECB and the EU are losing precious time to solve the Greek crisis. This does not mean that they have to bail-out the Greeks. They could also organize a soft exit from the euro. This second option is in the long run the most sustainable one. Unless the Germans and the Dutch want to bail out time and again Greece, and then perhaps Spain, other solutions would only temporarily mend the Greek situation. [...]
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A la recherche de l’économie blanche
Posted on 25. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
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Belgium is not the Greece of the North
Posted on 24. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
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NBB jaarrapport 2009
Posted on 24. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
Vanavond is er een voorstelling van het jaarrapport van de Nationale Bank van België door Gouverneur Quaden in Antwerpen. [...]
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This time is just the same
Posted on 23. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
The author of the best-selling book “this time is different” is rather bearish. The euro is not viable, countries will default, the recovery is not sustainable…
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Consumer confidence drops surprisingly in the US
Posted on 23. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
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Economic momentum is over the top
Posted on 23. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
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Solar cells produced from tabacco plants
Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by Heleen.
Researchers from the University of Berkley developed a new technique: they modified tobacco plants to grow synthetic photovoltaic cells which can then be extracted and sprayed onto any substrate to create solar cells. The process is explained in a Treehugger article:
How? The scientists tweaked a few genes within the tobacco mosaic virus to build tiny structures called chromophores. Once the plant is sprayed with the virus, the new chromophores will group into tightly coiled formations. Chromophores are structures that turn light into high powered electrons.
Trapped inside the tobacco plant, scientists will have to harvest the plant, chop it up and extract the structures. Dissolved in a liquid solution, chromophores can then be sprayed over a substrate coated to hold them in place.
The regular silicon solar cells have a much higher efficiency. However, the tabacco-based have several other advantages: they are biodegradable and no environmentally toxic chemicals are used. Next to this, the production is much cheaper (and probably also less energy-consuming) than the regular cells.
Since the environmental cost of regular solar cells has always been an issue, this could be a cleaner alternative. I think that a breakthrough can only take place if the efficiency loss (and thus the electricity production loss over the lifetime of the tobacco cell) is compensated by the lower cost of the tobacco cells. Otherwise, it will not go beyond the testing phase.
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The meaning of the Fed’s rate move
Posted on 22. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
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Canada is very econoshock-proof!
Posted on 21. Feb, 2010 by Geert.
If you had to emigrate one day, what country would you choose ? It is a classic question, and I guess everybody has an answer in mind.
Until recently, I would have put Switzerland on the number one spot.
There is also the nuance: emigrate to work or to live (and retire).
After my fifth visit to Canada, and first time in British Columbia, I am changing my opinion. I guess Canada has overtaken Switzerland. The banks seem more defensive, but that is not the only reason. Canada has a lot of the Swiss attractive edges: mountains, snow, clean streets, high safety levels, well organised,… but much more.
It has a loooooot of space. It is very green, has ample resources, has bigger ski resorts with more room on the slopes and less aggressive skiers… The wildlife is impressive, the snowfall is so abundant, they speak French and English, they like foreigners, they have bike paths and safe crossings.
I guess there are also some negative points (bear attacks are more likely than in Switzerland), but they are not yet rebalancing my choice.
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