CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX

Slovakia is characterised as a more transparent and less corrupt than Italy, Greece, and Poland. Considering that Slovakia is such a young country with a communist legacy this is a very encouraging result although there is always room for improvement.

Latest CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX
country rank	country	2008 CPI score	surveys used	confidence range
1	Denmark	9,3	6	9.1 - 9.4
1	New Zealand	9,3	6	9.2 - 9.5
1	Sweden	9,3	6	9.2 - 9.4
4	Singapore	9,2	9	9.0 - 9.3
5	Finland	9,0	6	8.4 - 9.4
5	Switzerland	9,0	6	8.7 - 9.2
7	Iceland	8,9	5	8.1 - 9.4
7	Netherlands	8,9	6	8.5 - 9.1
9	Australia	8,7	8	8.2 - 9.1
9	Canada	8,7	6	8.4 - 9.1
11	Luxembourg	8,3	6	7.8 - 8.8
12	Austria	8,1	6	7.6 - 8.6
12	Hong Kong	8,1	8	7.5 - 8.6
14	Germany	7,9	6	7.5 - 8.2
14	Norway	7,9	6	7.5 - 8.3
16	Ireland	7,7	6	7.5 - 7.9
16	United Kingdom	7,7	6	7.2 - 8.1
18	Belgium	7,3	6	7.2 - 7.4
18	Japan	7,3	8	7.0 - 7.6
18	USA	7,3	8	6.7 - 7.7
21	Saint Lucia	7,1	3	6.6 - 7.3
22	Barbados	7,0	4	6.5 - 7.3
23	Chile	6,9	7	6.5 - 7.2
23	France	6,9	6	6.5 - 7.3
23	Uruguay	6,9	5	6.5 - 7.2
26	Slovenia	6,7	8	6.5 - 7.0
27	Estonia	6,6	8	6.2 - 6.9
28	Qatar	6,5	4	5.6 - 7.0
28	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	6,5	3	4.7 - 7.3
28	Spain	6,5	6	5.7 - 6.9
31	Cyprus	6,4	3	5.9 - 6.8
32	Portugal	6,1	6	5.6 - 6.7
33	Dominica	6,0	3	4.7 - 6.8
33	Israel	6,0	6	5.6 - 6.3
35	United Arab Emirates	5,9	5	4.8 - 6.8
36	Botswana	5,8	6	5.2 - 6.4
36	Malta	5,8	4	5.3 - 6.3
36	Puerto Rico	5,8	4	5.0 - 6.6
39	Taiwan	5,7	9	5.4 - 6.0
40	South Korea	5,6	9	5.1 - 6.3
41	Mauritius	5,5	5	4.9 - 6.4
41	Oman	5,5	5	4.5 - 6.4
43	Bahrain	5,4	5	4.3 - 5.9
43	Macao	5,4	4	3.9 - 6.2
45	Bhutan	5,2	5	4.5 - 5.9
45	Czech Republic	5,2	8	4.8 - 5.9
47	Cape Verde	5,1	3	3.4 - 5.6
47	Costa Rica	5,1	5	4.8 - 5.3
47	Hungary	5,1	8	4.8 - 5.4
47	Jordan	5,1	7	4.0 - 6.2
47	Malaysia	5,1	9	4.5 - 5.7
52	Latvia	5,0	6	4.8 - 5.2
52	Slovakia	5,0	8	4.5 - 5.3
54	South Africa	4,9	8	4.5 - 5.1
55	Italy	4,8	6	4.0 - 5.5
55	Seychelles	4,8	4	3.7 - 5.9
57	Greece	4,7	6	4.2 - 5.0
58	Lithuania	4,6	8	4.1 - 5.2
58	Poland	4,6	8	4.0 - 5.2
58	Turkey	4,6	7	4.1 - 5.1
61	Namibia	4,5	6	3.8 - 5.1
62	Croatia	4,4	8	4.0 - 4.8
62	Samoa	4,4	3	3.4 - 4.8
62	Tunisia	4,4	6	3.5 - 5.5
65	Cuba	4,3	4	3.6 - 4.8
65	Kuwait	4,3	5	3.3 - 5.2
67	El Salvador	3,9	5	3.2 - 4.5
67	Georgia	3,9	7	3.2 - 4.6
67	Ghana	3,9	6	3.4 - 4.5
70	Colombia	3,8	7	3.3 - 4.5
70	Romania	3,8	8	3.4 - 4.2
72	Bulgaria	3,6	8	3.0 - 4.3
72	China	3,6	9	3.1 - 4.3
72	Macedonia (Former Yugoslav Republic of)	3,6	6	2.9 - 4.3
72	Mexico	3,6	7	3.4 - 3.9
72	Peru	3,6	6	3.4 - 4.1
72	Suriname	3,6	4	3.3 - 4.0
72	Swaziland	3,6	4	2.9 - 4.3
72	Trinidad and Tobago	3,6	4	3.1 - 4.0
80	Brazil	3,5	7	3.2 - 4.0
80	Burkina Faso	3,5	7	2.9 - 4.2
80	Morocco	3,5	6	3.0 - 4.0
80	Saudi Arabia	3,5	5	3.0 - 3.9
80	Thailand	3,5	9	3.0 - 3.9
85	Albania	3,4	5	3.3 - 3.4
85	India	3,4	10	3.2 - 3.6
85	Madagascar	3,4	7	2.8 - 4.0
85	Montenegro	3,4	5	2-5 - 4.0
85	Panama	3,4	5	2.8 - 3.7
85	Senegal	3,4	7	2.9 - 4.0
85	Serbia	3,4	6	3.0 - 4.0
92	Algeria	3,2	6	2.9 - 3.4
92	Bosnia and Herzegovina	3,2	7	2.9 - 3.5
92	Lesotho	3,2	5	2.3 - 3.8
92	Sri Lanka	3,2	7	2.9 - 3.5
96	Benin	3,1	6	2.8 - 3.4
96	Gabon	3,1	4	2.8 - 3.3
96	Guatemala	3,1	5	2.3 - 4.0
96	Jamaica	3,1	5	2.8 - 3.3
96	Kiribati	3,1	3	2.5 - 3.4
96	Mali	3,1	6	2.8 - 3.3
102	Bolivia	3.0	6	2.8 - 3.2
102	Djibouti	3,0	4	2.2 - 3.3
102	Dominican Republic	3,0	5	2.7 - 3.2
102	Lebanon	3,0	4	2.2 - 3.6
102	Mongolia	3,0	7	2.6 - 3.3
102	Rwanda	3,0	5	2.7 - 3.2
102	Tanzania	3,0	7	2.5 - 3.3
109	Argentina	2,9	7	2.5 - 3.3
109	Armenia	2,9	7	2.6 - 3.1
109	Belize	2,9	3	1.8 - 3.7
109	Moldova	2,9	7	2.4 - 3.7
109	Solomon Islands	2,9	3	2.5 - 3.2
109	Vanuatu	2,9	3	2.5 - 3.2
115	Egypt	2,8	6	2.4 - 3.2
115	Malawi	2,8	6	2.4 - 3.1
115	Maldives	2,8	4	1.7 - 4.3
115	Mauritania	2,8	7	2.2 - 3.7
115	Niger	2,8	6	2.4 - 3.0
115	Zambia	2,8	7	2.5 - 3.0
121	Nepal	2,7	6	2.4 - 3.0
121	Nigeria	2,7	7	2.3 - 3.0
121	Sao Tome and Principe	2,7	3	2.1 - 3.1
121	Togo	2,7	6	1.9 - 3.7
121	Viet Nam	2,7	9	2.4 - 3.1
126	Eritrea	2,6	5	1.7 - 3.6
126	Ethiopia	2,6	7	2.2 - 2.9
126	Guyana	2,6	4	2.4 - 2.7
126	Honduras	2,6	6	2.3 - 2.9
126	Indonesia	2,6	10	2.3 - 2.9
126	Libya	2,6	5	2.2 - 3.0
126	Mozambique	2,6	7	2.4 - 2.9
126	Uganda	2,6	7	2.2 - 3.0
134	Comoros	2,5	3	1.9 - 3.0
134	Nicaragua	2,5	6	2.2 - 2.7
134	Pakistan	2,5	7	2.0 - 2.8
134	Ukraine	2,5	8	2.2 - 2.8
138	Liberia	2,4	4	1.8 - 2.8
138	Paraguay	2,4	5	2.0 - 2.7
138	Tonga	2,4	3	1.9 - 2.6
141	Cameroon	2,3	7	2.0 - 2.7
141	Iran	2,3	4	1.9 - 2.5
141	Philippines	2,3	9	2.1 - 2.5
141	Yemen	2,3	5	1.9 - 2.8
145	Kazakhstan	2,2	6	1.8 - 2.7
145	Timor-Leste	2,2	4	1.8 - 2.5
147	Bangladesh	2,1	7	1.7 - 2.4
147	Kenya	2,1	7	1.9 - 2.4
147	Russia	2,1	8	1.9 - 2.5
147	Syria	2,1	5	1.6 - 2.4
151	Belarus	2,0	5	1.6 - 2.5
151	Central African Republic	2,0	5	1.9 - 2.2
151	Côte d´Ivoire	2,0	6	1.7 - 2.5
151	Ecuador	2,0	5	1.8 - 2.2
151	Laos	2,0	6	1.6 - 2.3
151	Papua New Guinea	2,0	6	1.6 - 2.3
151	Taijikistan	2,0	8	1.7 - 2.3
158	Angola	1,9	6	1.5 - 2.2
158	Azerbaijan	1,9	8	1.7 - 2.1
158	Burundi	1,9	6	1.5 - 2.3
158	Congo, Republic	1,9	6	1.8 - 2.0
158	Gambia	1,9	5	1.5 - 2.4
158	Guinea-Bissau	1,9	3	1.8 - 2.0
158	Sierra Leone	1,9	5	1.8 - 2.0
158	Venezuela	1,9	7	1.8 - 2.0
166	Cambodia	1,8	7	1.7 - 1.9
166	Kyrgyzstan	1,8	7	1.7 - 1.9
166	Turkmenistan	1,8	5	1.5 - 2.2
166	Uzbekistan	1,8	8	1.5 - 2.2
166	Zimbabwe	1,8	7	1.5 - 2.1
171	Congo, Democratic Republic	1,7	6	1.6 - 1.9
171	Equatorial Guinea	1,7	4	1.5 - 1.8
173	Chad	1,6	6	1.5 - 1.7
173	Guinea	1,6	6	1.3 - 1.9
173	Sudan	1,6	6	1.5 - 1.7
176	Afghanistan	1,5	4	1.1 - 1.6
177	Haiti	1,4	4	1.1 - 1.7
178	Iraq	1,3	4	1.1 - 1.6
178	Myanmar	1,3	4	1.0 - 1.5
180	Somalia	1,0	4	0.5 - 1.4

German Chancellor compares Slovakia and ireland as opposite ends of the spectrum in economic wellbeing

In an unprompted reference to Ireland Merkel gave the strongest signal yet that Berlin might act under Article 100 of the Maastricht Treaty, allowing financial assistance for countries experiencing “difficulties caused by natural disasters or exceptional occurrences beyond its control.”

“Of course there is a certain room to manoeuvre in the stability and growth pact and a country like Ireland that has been hit quite hard by the banking crisis is clearly in a different situation to a country like Slovakia with fewer banks and where the distorting forces at work are weaker,”

Merkel told the foreign press in Berlin. “We have shown solidarity and that will remain so. We should use Sunday’s summit for member states affected to give an honest report of their situation.

German officials have said that assistance for several EU members, including Ireland, is all but inevitable. They are now “brainstorming” possible options and are considering making individual preconditions for each aid recipient. One request could be for Ireland to increase its corporate tax rate of 12 per cent, which has lured to Dublin many leading German companies, and their tax revenue.

The implications of the above are two-fold, firstly Slovakia's courage in introducing the EURO on time and with full merit is paying huge dividents in comparison with basket-cases like Romania and Bulgaria.

Slovakia's low national debt at around 35% is also proving the wisdom of the tough criteria of the Maastricht treaty prepared our small country well for the torrent of destabilising events in the world economy.

Ireland and the anglosaxon model of financial services intermediaries forming the backbone of the economy is proving to be a fairly illusory backbone indeed but crucially its the crazy borrowing that needs to stand trial for the predicament of Ireland.

Conclusion: be liberal in all things but be extremely conservative in finances...

interesting commentary about the winners and losers of the last 30 years

Slovakia is doing well under the circumstances, the only economy still standing.

Is Slovakia the economic oasis in a turbulent world.

For now Bratislava is calm and prosperous, people still shop, banks still lend reasonably, and people rub along pretty well considering the mayhem in the world.

Clearly the economy has decelerated and is now going to grow more than 5% faster than Germany in 2009. Forecasts are perilous at the moment, but the consensus seems to be pointing to somehere between 2.7 to 4% GDP growth in 2009.

It looks like 2009 is going to be a bleak year but we seem to be doing ok for now and for the foreseeable future. national debt in slovakia is a low 30% of GDP and with the euro as our currency slovakia is not a victim to currency speculators like the neighbouring countries are.

We are living in historically turbulent times but the conservative values in the old sense that permeate slovak financial planning are paying big dividents in these rocky times. Unlike places like Dubai that seem to underline the deadend of unsustainable anglosaxon models of capitalism.

Dubai: No Longer an Oasis in an Economic Desert

Posted by Globespotters in Practical

As Robert F. Worth reports in Tuesday’s New York Times, Dubai, the port city in the United Arab Emirates that was once considered the future of economic power in the Middle East, has been in the grip of a downward economic spiral.

And more and more foreigners, who make up 90 percent of the city’s population, have been on receiving end of the inevitable layoffs. Without jobs, these ex-workers have only one place to go: elsewhere. Mr. Worth writes that “jobless people here lose their work visas and then must leave the country within a month.”

Some are simply abandoning the city:

With Dubai’s economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.

For now, it seems clear, European and American expats should look elsewhere for economic opportunity.

BBC quality unattainable by commercial television

Don't watch tv

The only thing worth watching is Screenwipe
BBCFOUR's output shows what tv should be like...

click below to see why

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CthlAAZ3Rwo&feature=PlayList&p=6A2C4224B981014B&index=11#t=4m06s

capitalism yes, but not free market capitalism

Back to the 1970s??

For most of our american friends this would be unimaginable but it seems that worldwide we are heading towards systems that have the following characteristics:

1. state heavy economy, maybe 50% of GDP
2. banks all nationalised with a utility-like function
   (run for the public good)
   
3. private equity, leverage, off balance, investment banking all outlawed
4. Stock market abandoned as a concept
   
5. high taxation

Gunther Verheugen - a grand old man of EU politics seems to suggest that moderated capitalism is the way forward.

"Circumstances have certainly forced a paradigm shift. A new, ruthless form of capitalism evolved when the competition between capitalist and communist systems ended.

The end of communism may have led some to think capitalism could suddenly get away with everything. But it may also be that the dangerous tide of events in the financial world today would have come about regardless of this change. "