SolidarityEconomy.net

by Jerry Harris

.Viet-Nam’s stock markets grows

Viet-Nam’s six year old stock market is undergoing massive growth. Daily trading has gone from half-a-million in 2005 to $50 million a day in December 2006. Listed companies have risen from 30 to 107 and larger state enterprises, including commercial banks, are expected to be listed this year. Market capitalization has reached $14B. However Viet-Nam restricts daily share price movement for any stock to just five percent to protect the market from wild fluctuations and manipulation.

.India’s Muslims lack economic and social equality

India’s Muslim population faces similar social conditions as minorities in the US. They are unable to rent or buy property in many areas and their children are rejected from the better public schools. Literacy rates average 59 percent for Muslims compared to the national average of 65 percent. Average years in school for Muslim boys run only three years compared to the national average of four, and for Muslim girls the average is just 36 months. Although 14 percent of the population, Muslims are just four percent of college graduates and 1.3 percent of students at the elite educational institutions. In addition, access to water, toilets, electricity, clinics, banks and rations shops are limited or non-existent.

In terms of the labor market, Muslims generally are self-employed or work as casual laborers. Salaried jobs are monopolized by high-caste Hindus. Muslims who do have regular salaried jobs occupy the lowest rungs with more than 70 percent having no written contract or social security benefits. Civil Service jobs also have low numbers of Muslims, only three percent, while in the elite ranks of the Foreign Service Muslims are only 1.8 percent, and just four percent of police. Muslims also account for 40 percent of those jailed for less than a year, reflecting the high level of daily neighborhood police harassment.

.Globalization of the beer industry

European, US and Brazilian beer corporations have been merging and fighting to dominate the market. InBev from Brussels has been talking with Anheuser-Busch from the US about a merger. InBev is the world’s largest brewer by volume, Anheuser-Busch is the largest by revenues. Although portrayed as a possible merger of equals InBev has a larger market capitalization ($42B) and many would see it as a takeover. InBev was created out of a merger with Brazil’s AmBev and it is the Brazilian group that holds control of management with Carols Brito, a Brazilian, as CEO. The original merger of the Euro/Brazilian groups was pushed by GP Investimentos, a Brazilian private equity firm known for its aggressive style. Just another indication of the rise of third world transnational capitalists.