The west is the new emerging market. Specifically, Italy is on the verge of IMF intervention, and on the brink or just past is: Greece, USA, UK, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, France, and I’m sure I am missing a few. Why today a day cannot go by without lip service to so-called emerging markets? Sorry, but Asia, Africa, the Middle East, South America, Russia, they are far from emerging, they have emerged; in fact they are dictating the flow of commerce. Driving commodities, property, gold, art, wine; you name it—that is more late capitalism then developing country. And we who think we are above the fray, above reproach, above it all, are not far from being reduced to hat-in-hand has-beens. A bit of cold, a bit of snow: Heathrow, the world’s busiest airport paralyzed for a week during Christmas; and, Kennedy Airport in New York, pretty much the same deal. But in a truly contrarian sense, give us 10 years or so to retrench, with technology leading the way, and perhaps we can return to the fray.
Kenny Schachter