Showing 1 - 7 of 7
Thai SMEs are in need of a lifeline
Oped, Dai Kadomae, Published on 07/08/2025
» Thailand's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are quietly suffering through a credit crunch with far-reaching implications. Despite accounting for over 90% of registered businesses, SMEs are finding it harder than ever to access capital. The economic recovery has been uneven, and traditional lenders -- still cautious after the pandemic -- are reducing risk exposure. But the core issue is not merely liquidity; it is the absence of a national system for reviving viable but stressed firms.
If in doubt, just have a cup of tea
Roger Crutchley, Published on 25/05/2025
» You may recall last week's Battle of Britain item in PostScript featured two English ladies' who came across a German pilot who had crashed in a field. Their first reaction was to offer him a cup of tea, an indication of just how "having a cuppa" is ingrained in British culture. Admittedly that was 85 years ago but even these days most Brits wouldn't turn down a "cuppa".
Capital markets see rules change
News, Faith Stevelman & Sarah C Haan, Published on 08/02/2021
» Late last month, a social-media-fuelled populist rebellion gripped capital markets. Retail investors purchased huge amounts of stock in struggling companies like GameStop, AMC, and BlackBerry (among others). They wanted to make a buck. But, even more than that, they wanted to punish the financial elites, like hedge funds, that had been betting on the companies' decline.
Globalising the Covid vaccine with WHO's Covax
News, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Published on 07/01/2021
» The development and approval of safe and effective Covid-19 vaccines less than a year after the start of the pandemic is a truly remarkable achievement, offering hope that the end of this crisis may be in sight. What will follow in the coming months -- or even weeks -- will be equally remarkable: Covid-19 vaccines will be made available to people around the world -- not just in the wealthiest countries -- at roughly the same time.
The sorry plight of the bumblebee
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 29/03/2020
» A welcome distraction from the Coronavirus crisis came this week from a most unlikely source. Over the wall at the back of my Bangkok abode there is a drainage ditch which also hosts a couple of trees providing welcome shade for the rear of the house. On Thursday my wife summoned me to the back of the house. She pointed at one of the trees in animated fashion -- all I could see was leaves.
If lost for words, you can try a bit of Latin
News, Roger Crutchley, Published on 13/10/2019
» In the sometimes entertaining, but often mind-numbing, impeachment debate in the US, something we have been repeatedly hearing lately is the Latin expression "quid pro quo", signifying a favour given in return for something of equal value. Dropping a few Latin words has always been popular amongst politicians, possibly because they think it makes them sound smarter than us ignorant hoi polloi.
Beware the online culture warriors
News, John Lloyd, Published on 22/10/2018
» The news media in the Western world remains dominated by newspapers, magazines and broadcasters still known as the mainstream. The most vivid proof of their continued reign over public opinion is in the figure of US President Donald Trump, whose repeated attacks on "failing" publications like The New York Times and the Washington Post as "enemies of the people" is a backhanded tribute to their continued power.