Where did we put the $20 billion? Nigeria loses its oil money.

Gov. of Nigeria’s Central Bank Lamido Sanusi’s personal passport was seized today by authorities when he tried to leave the country for Paris.  Sanusi had presented a detailed report to the senate about $20 billion in oil revenues that recently disappeared. Pres. Goodluck Jonathan then dismissed him without bothering to obtain the necessary senate sanction.  The president also ignored a high court order to restore Sanusi’s previous diplomatic passport.

President Goodluck Jonathan’s actions are unfortunately bound to raise suspicions that he is somehow involved in the disappearance of the $20 billion. 

Zambian interest rates hold at 12%

Zambia decides to leave interest rates at 12% despite the decline in the kwacha. The currency weakness can be attributed to declining copper prices, which has produced a growing current account deficit.  Inflation is now 7.8% but is expected to abate over the course of the year.

Both Zambia and neighboring Malawi issue kwacha.  Malawi has much higher inflation, 24.6%. Some forex traders may liken a Kwachazone to the Eurozone except that the Malawi and Zambia each issues its own kwacha. Otherwise, Zambia might be compared to Germany and Malawi to Greece.

The lost girls of northern Nigeria are unfound. The problem is unrealizable aspirations.

The 276 teenage girls kidnapped in Moslem northern Nigeria are still missing.

The problem is the 4 wife standard. Nature has provided that half of births are men and half are women.  So if men try to change the1:1 rule to a 4:1 rule, then it is inevitable there be, (1.) periodic mass abductions of wife material, and/or (2.) large reductions in the potential husband stock.  Both things appear to be happening in northern Nigeria.

MERS shows up in the US: An epidemic is unlikely, however.

Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) has afflicted some 400 people in Saudi Arabia, of whom 100 have died.  The first US case has just been confirmed in a man who recently returned from Saudi Arabia.

The good news:  MERS is not very contagious.

The bad news:  There is no cure. 

China's rapid advance to economic dominance presages social change in the West

British writer Martin Jacques (When China Rules the World, 2009) predicts that by 2030 China will be 1/3 of global output, greater than the US and Europe combined. 

Economic dominance leads to cultural dominance:  Jacques’ TED talk is worth hearing.  Chinese culture’s most esteemed virtue is social harmony and unity.  The West seeks justice at the cost of harmony.  Let us hope we become more harmonious. Will our officials let their fingernails grow? 

Portugal's exit from support program highlights success of austerity program

Portugal is escaping from the claw-like grip of the IMF/ECB/EEC support program.  Its current account and primary budget are in surplus.

Deputy Prime Minister Paulo Portas commented that Portugal now regains the sovereignty that it had surrendered to creditors.  On the other, we may observe that had this sovereignty not been surrendered, the success would not have been achieved.

Europe is tasting the sweet fruits of austerity as manufacturing rises

The Eurozone has just achieved its highest manufacturing PMI in 6 years: 53.4.  The countries above 50 (expansion) include Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Ireland, Austria and Greece.  Unemployment remains high at 11.8%, but below last year’s record of 12%.

ECB forecast of 1.2% GDP growth for 2014 looks very achievable.  It is notable that Greece, Italy, Spain and Ireland are all experiencing manufacturing expansion.  Are the fruits of austerity finally turning sweet?