Thad McIlroy - The Future of Publishing

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The Financial Crisis: An Interview with George Soros

Sunday, May 25, 2008
Category: Current Economics

I am not an economist (thank God), but have always been fascinated and perplexed by sudden changes in the economy and their secondary effects. I’ve just updated my article on “Current Economics and the Future of Publishing,” using my admittedly limited knowledge to make some modest observations on how the current economic crisis in the United States could impact the short- to mid-term future of publishing.

It’s no doubt more informative to read the observations of one of the world’s acknowledged (although of course, not unbiased) authorities on economics, George Soros, and you have the good fortune that a detailed interview from May, 2008 with Mr. Soros is available on The New York Review of Books website.

One quote from the interview (very much in keeping with my perspective): “…the situation is definitely much worse than is currently recognized. You have had a general disruption of the financial markets, much more pervasive than any we have had so far. And on top of it, you have the housing crisis, which is likely to get a lot worse than currently anticipated because markets do overshoot. They overshot on the upside and now they are going to overshoot on the downside.”

An excellent read…

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posted by Thad at 12:26 AM Permalink | Read Comments: (0) | Post Comment

The Strength of the Canadian Economy

Saturday, September 15, 2007
Category: Current Economics

The Canadian dollar, after many years trading as low as 62 cents on the American dollar, has now reached a point of near-parity: closing just above 97 cents yesterday.

In an article in the Globe and Mail, BMO Nesbitt Burns deputy chief economist Douglas Porter said “The latest run in the Loonie has been fuelled by $80 oil, $700 gold and $9 wheat,” Mr. Porter said. “Aside from lumber, newsprint and Celine Dion, practically everything Canada produces is now in piping hot demand.” (The “Loonie” is a Canadianism for the dollar itself, as Canada offers single dollars in the form of a gold-colored, bronze-plated coin bearing the image of the Loon, a bird strongly and romantically associated with Canada’s northern wilderness.)

Note that lumber and newsprint are among the few commodities not thriving, suffering in Canada as they are worldwide. Mr. Porter might also have mentioned that Canadian printing exports have dropped drastically in the last several years, victim both to the rapidly changing exchange rates and to increased competition from offshore, primarily China.

This site is not primarily concerned with world macro-economic issues. But the fundamental strength of the Canadian dollar, as much as it may cheer some nationalists and politicians, is not a boon to the future of printing and publishing in Canada.

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posted by Thad at 10:08 PM Permalink | Read Comments: (0) | Post Comment
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