Monday, August 04, 2008

Global Trajectories...

FIFO. This accounting principle generally describes what is happening in the developed world. The U.S. has fulfilled its traditional role of slashing and burning early and often, which exacerbates the cries of doom from popular publications. Those same publications fail to consider (warning: mixed metaphors coming up) the essential and beneficial purpose forest fires provide to an ecosystem.

So if the U.S. is an occasional arsonist who unwittingly clears unproductive foliage for the benefit of future, generations of more vigorous flora, what is the Euro area? Probably some bureaucrat who is in charge of keeping a petrified forest free from change forever.

Sometimes, chaos and destruction are beneficial things. If artificially restrained, progress is impossible.

European companies braced for slowdown
By Richard Milne in London

Published: August 3 2008 17:03 | Last updated: August 3 2008 20:35

Companies across Europe have begun to cut jobs, scale back production
and reduce hiring to slash costs as they brace for a recession or
sharp economic slowdown at the end of the year.

The defensive moves are being seen in businesses ranging from
carmakers and airlines to accountants and banks.

Our strategy is to freeze the non-essential," said John Griffith
Jones, chairman of KPMG in the UK and joint-head in Europe.
"Non-essential vacancies are not being filled and we're saving on
non-essential overheads."

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