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Indispensable Partners in the Americas

“Brazil is not only one of the most important countries in the Western Hemisphere but is a global leader on a whole range of issues… including climate change, energy, educational exchanges, science and technology.” (Barack Obama, 2015)

“We have celebrated an upward trajectory in our relations.” (Dilma Rousseff, 2015)

Both sides can (rightly) claim that the first state visit by a Brazilian Head of State to the White House in a decade was a great success. The Summit reflected the strengthening and increasingly multi-faceted partnership between the top two economic powers in the Western Hemisphere, and highlighted significant trade opportunities and geo-strategic considerations for the rest of the world.…

Restoring Biodiversity to Safeguard Human Existence

Our planet is on the verge of a sixth mass extinction, according to joint research by Stanford University and the National Autonomous University of Mexico published in June 2015. This is a bold and momentous statement considering that the last mass extinction occurred 65 million years ago and was caused by an asteroid hitting the Earth. This resulted in giant tsunamis, powerful earthquakes and acid rain that obliterated 70% of all species over the following 33,000 years. This time human interference with the world’s ecosystems will be the major catalyst. Unless rapid action is taken to restore habitats, save threatened species and reduce carbon emissions, the resulting loss in biodiversity will significantly impact human life in as little as three generations.…

Brazil is the Key to Freeing Trade in the Americas

Released at the end of May 2015, the latest Forbes list of the world’s most powerful women on earth ranked Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff at number seven, in-between Christine Lagarde, in charge at the IMF, and Sheryl Sandberg, Chief Operating Officer at Facebook. Compiled annually, the list assesses four criteria – the financial resources controlled by the candidate, her media presence, spheres of influence she is active in and how successfully she wields power. The latest Forbes ‘Powerful People’ list for 2014 positioned President Rousseff as 31^st on the list.

Considering the size, population, economic power and investment potential in Brazil, investors shouldn’t be surprised how prominently the country’s president features.…

The Consumer is Always King

The decision taken this year by some of the largest food processing, restaurant and retail companies in the US to phase out meat, eggs and other foods sourced from produce adulterated with antibiotics has been described as a ‘game-changer’ by industry watchers. The reason; shoppers are increasingly interested in the food they are eating and the conditions in which it is produced. They will be quick to show their dissatisfaction or doubts about what they are consuming by withholding their dollars, something that the notoriously low profit margin consumer and retail sector is aware of. In any case these companies will pass off any additional costs involved in supplying unadulterated produce to their suppliers, making it a cost free option.…

China’s Slowdown Matters So Much More Than You Think

The slowdown in the Chinese economy may be inevitable, but it is also unwelcome at a time of lingering economic uncertainty across much of the globe. After 30 years of growth averaging 10%, the 7.4% reported for 2014 was the slowest since 1990. Yet it is almost certain that the world, and even perhaps sections of the Chinese government, have been operating under false pretenses. This mattered less when the world’s most populous country was expanding, shifting from a rural agrarian based economy to an urban based manufacturing one. Yet as the current credit supplied and manufacturing model slows, a creaking property bubble, opaque banking sector and drop in demand for goods from the rest of the world are coalescing.…

Biting the Bullet to Restore Market Confidence

After much delay, the release of Petrobras’ audited 4Q 2014 results proved to be a muted and anti-climatic affair though it was very, very expensive. There was relief that the booked losses, and specifically the write down attributed to an on-going corruption scandal, were finally quantified and out in the open.

The numbers themselves were eye-wateringly high – a Brl 50.8 billion ($16.8 billion) write-down, with 12 percent of that directly attributed to bribery and kick backs linked to a number of political parties, including most prominently the president’s own Worker’s Party (PT). With investors and the public in the dark about the multi-year costs associated with the corruption scandal, the eventual Brl 6.2 billion identified as being the direct result of the kick-backs, if not exactly pleasant surprise, really was one that could have been a lot worse.…

China’s Building Blocks Towards A New World Order

Alongside the New Development Bank and the ambitious Silk Road Fund, the creation of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is another step towards China’s objective of establishing an Asian-centered global economic order.

With 57 nations currently approved as founding shareholders of the yet to be launched AIIB, China’s current exposure on the economic and political stage is unprecedented. As the first international development bank to be implemented outside the West, the AIIB plans to funnel hundred of billions of dollars into infrastructure projects worldwide without the bureaucratic difficulties that have come to define development practice by traditional institutions such as the World Bank.…

California’s Drought Order – A Sign of Times To Come?

Judging by the amount of coverage it received outside the US, the move in California to impose a statewide reduction of 25 percent in drinking water usage throughout urban areas must have been huge. Effective immediately and set to run until February 2016, the state is employing a mix of measures including restrictions on irrigating turf or outside newly built houses and buildings, ‘encouraging’ water suppliers to raise prices and investing in new technologies such as desalination and precision technology.

California is enduring the driest period in over a century. Converting the current level of snow in the Sierra mountain range into water produces a comparable water figure of only five percent of normal levels.…

Antibiotic Resistance Will Be More Deadly than Cancer

Modern medicine relies on the use of antibiotics to prevent infection and they are essential when recovering from major surgery. Without antibiotics, many common medical procedures will become more dangerous. Invasive procedures, such as organ transplants and chemotherapy, will become lethal.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a ‘post-antibiotic era’ is becoming a ‘growing epidemic’ costing the US $35 billion every year. 2 million cases of antibiotic resistance among patients were documented in the country during 2013.

The great majority of antibiotic demand is for use in agriculture. Of the approximately 150,000 metric tons of antibiotics made each year in the US, 80 percent are used on livestock. They are used to speed the animals development and to protect their commercial value. The danger is that resistance to antibiotics builds and spreads rapidly between humans, animals and crops.…

Strengthening Food Security at Rome’s Neem Conference

As the only naturally derived biocide formally accepted by the European Union, neem’s relevance in the agricultural space is increasing. With neem oil containing over two hundred biologically active compounds, alongside the growing interest in organic products worldwide, neem’s reputation as a valuable resource can only intensify.

In his opening address at this year’s Neem Conference in Rome, Professor Nicoletti shared his passion for transferring the latest discoveries in neem research more widely into the commercial sector. This would include products that protect crops, nourish soils and ultimately assist in strengthening global food security.

Superior Growth in Agriculture Will Come From Organics

The range of scientific evidence supporting neem as an organic alternative to synthetic fertilizers and pesticides was a major theme of this year’s conference. …

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Superior Growth in Agriculture Will Come From Organics