Waltzing Wall Street’s Bondsmen

‘Before you study the economics, study the economists!’

e-Con e-News June 2023 Part 1

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The Sri Lankan ‘liberal’ fights for all

of the social progressivism of the West,

and none of their industrial policies

that made such lifestyles possible in the first place.

They want Western decadence & colonial underdevelopment

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Sri Lankan unions fight for higher & higher wages,

but not for the kinds of industrial policies

that would lead to the production of less & less-expensive goods.

They envision a high-wage economy, not a low-cost one.

Shiran Illanperuma, Twitter

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The US-funded thinktank Advocata wants ‘Women workers’ to ‘break’ the ‘shackles of time limits’. By shackles, they mean the Shop & Office Employees Act, Employment of Women, Young Persons & Children Act, and the Factories Ordinance. US Advocata weeps crocodile tears for such laws that place ‘restrictions on a woman’s right to engage in night work’. The UNP and SJB agree with the US thinktanks.

     US Advocata also says ‘political will’ is ‘required to abolish the ‘Period Tax’. This relates to the failure to import lower-priced ‘feminine products’. The ‘protection’ of high-priced local products they argue is an attack on women’s rights.

US Advocata, et al, are all part of the forces calling for the abolition of labor laws and trade unions that protect workers. These anti-worker forces are led locally by the Employers’ Federation of Ceylon (EFC). These are the same people who, following the July 1980 General Strike, advocated the mass sackings that then provided the kindling for the wars that were ignited south & north for the decades to come. Amnesia’s just another word for the media called ‘mass’…

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‘The mainstream media ‘discovered’ women’s rights

leading up to the US invasion of Afghanistan,

inundating the public with imagery of

‘burqa-clad women in need of liberation,’

and then ‘rediscovered’ these women

following the withdrawal in order to justify sanctions…

the media’s selective focus on ‘human rights’…

erases the harm caused by the violence of US wars…’

– ee Media, The Role of the Media in the US War on Afghanistan

Of course the USA discovered women’s rights in Afghanistan even as they were encouraging their ‘radical’ allies – ‘freedom fighters’ – to throw acid at women going to University, claiming education of women was communist policy!

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• This week, we hear that England’s Guardian newspaper has ‘investigated’ the ‘hunger’ and squalor’ of Sri Lanka’s ‘poorly-paid’ & ‘harsh’ tea ‘industry’ (it’s not an industry! – ee). Following the Guardian report, some of the ‘world’s leading tea manufacturers‘ said they were ‘examining’ the conditions of workers on Sri Lanka’s tea plantations. Also note the Guardian’s English: ‘Sri Lanka’s once English-owned tea industry’. The link between England, the tea party, and our underdevelopment is a priority mystery that Enid Blyton or Agatha Christie never sought to unravel. Their detectives always missed the real criminals. Just like the English media. Will they unravel the accounting forensics of the Exporters & the Multinationals? (see ee May 2023 Part 2: Unilever’s Tempest)

     Last month, ee wondered about Unilever’s ‘tampering’ in this tea game. ee reported on a show trial in Scotland ‘on behalf of’ workers on James Finlay’s tea plantations in Kenya. Also: on the purported takeover of JFK’s operations by ‘Sri Lankan firm’ Browns. And further: on the NGO Rainforest Alliance‘s suspension of their ‘certification’ of these tea exporters JFK and Unilever following a expose by England’s state broadcasting service BBC. So here they are again. ee keeps wondering about the who and how these NGOs were anointed with such powers. As usual, suspect greater concentration and monopoly is being exercised over the overall tea business.

     Whatever happened to the proposal to grant English citizenship to India’s plantation workers in Sri Lanka’s hill-country? A privilege provided to their counterparts in Kenya and Uganda. One of them could be the next English Prime Minister! Or BBC announcer. Not that it matters who is ringmaster in that Three-Penny Opera called English democracy. (see ee Random Notes)

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• Altered Native Economy – All is not lost. A liberal coalition of NGOs, trade unions & academics are proposing Alternatives to the IMF. They blame consumerism, unregulated free trade, illicit capital flows, the political class, government bureaucracy and domestic rentier elites for instigating the country’s ‘ongoing socioeconomic collapse’. They oppose the selling of state assets, and promote the sale of private assets! They lament the lack of a teetotaling entrepreneurial industrial capitalist class of yore, and advocate for capital controls and import substitution. (ee Focus)

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• We cannot expect an English media – bound hand and foot to the multinational corporations and their banks – or their economists – to tell us that it is Wall Street’s ‘bond’ business that is behind Sri Lanka’s manipulated meltdown. Or about the need for industry:

‘Sri Lanka has failed to effectively promote industrial transformation’

(ee Focus, Sri Lanka in the Trap of Financial Capital)

• We hafta go to China for a report from Tsinghua University’s Department of International Relations: on how ‘international bonds have become an important financing tool for developing countries’. ISBs constitute most of Sri Lanka’s debt. Most of the interest Sri Lanka pays on debt, goes to paying interest on such bonds! They ‘have become the major debt burden on the countries that issue bonds’. Don’t expect English media to tell this. (ee Focus, Sri Lanka in the Trap of Financial Capital)

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• This ee carries a report from a US Republican Party media organ (yes, Breitbart!) on the US government’s migration policy. They link such policy to ‘extractive’ colonial economic needs. Canada let in a million workers last year. The deal is to create an underclass of unprotected workers, fleeced renters and conspicuous consumers to enable the profits of the ‘big corporations’ and consolidate the upward mobility of a fraction of the professional-managerial class. Last week ee reported on the strike by truck drivers in Europe, up against the hidden power of truck makers like Benz, supplying the warehouses of General Electric and Amazon, etc. (see ee Focus)

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Contents:

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A1. Reader Comments –

• Shallow Experts on Debt • No National Media • Did NM fail as Finance Minister? • Lockheed’s Kickback Engine

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A2. Quotes of the Week

• Uncle’s USAID • TV Ratings Fixed • Scientific Surfing • SJB’s Anti-Industrial Policy • Irrational Country Sell-out • US Double-Standards in SL • NATO Provocations on June 12 • UN Security Council Reform • Arsonists Ceasefire • Japan Fishes for Chips • Libya’s Independent Investments • Bechtel’s Savvy Deep Pockets • F135 Pratt & Whitney ‘largest, hottest fighter plane engine’

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A3. Random Notes –

• Guardian leads Unilever Attack on Ceylon Tea • SL Telecom Privatization Threat to Internet Cables • Ranil IMF’s Private Dancer • Mandatory Professional Tax • CIA on China & Sri Lanka Debt • Saudi $650bn Wealth Fund & Industry • China’s US Jet Engines

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B. ee Focus       

B1. An Economy that Works for Working People: Alternatives to the IMF

B2. Sri Lanka in the Trap of Financial Capital – Tang Xiaoyang

B3. US Government’s Migration Policy is an Economic Strategy – Neil Munro

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C. Building Blocks

• Guaranteed Rice Price for Industrialization • Creation of a Home Market for Industry • Japan’s Limits on Industrial Exports • Smallholding & Science • Extraordinary Culture of Machine Tools • Making Central Banks Independent of the People? • On State-owned Enterprises & Privatization

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D. News Index

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A1. Reader Comments

ee thanks Readers who send articles of interest. Please excerpt or summarize what is important about any news sent, or your comments, and place any e-link at the end. Email: econenews@gmail.com

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• ‘Lotta people talking about the ‘debt’ have no idea about the IMF’s structural adjustment programs and the ‘Washington Consensus’, or about international sovereign bonds, etc.’

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• ‘People have no access to news sources beyond the BBC, CNN, etc, and the social media that just parrots BBC, CNN, etc. We do not have a real national media.’

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• ‘Did NM fail as Minister of Finance in the 1970s government? In spite of severe odds he managed the economy well. NM in the 1970s coalition had to deal with 3 crisis situations as follows: The 1971 JVP insurrection. Oil prices increased from $3 to $12 in 1974. The 1975-76 severe drought. He also had to deal with a recalcitrant Felix Dias who had the ear of the PM.

     This is what the UN had to say on the global situation in the 1970s: ‘The decade also witnessed 2 oil price shocks and the persistence of high inflation & unemployment – referred to as stagflation – in several developed countries. Lack of international coordination meant that weak growth, high inflation & high unemployment became the norm in most developed countries throughout the 1970s.’ – un.org/development/desa/dpad/publication/policy-brief-53-reflection-on-development-policy-in-the-1970s-and-1980s/

• ‘Lockheed Martin’s F16s & F35s are known to be useless for combat or any offensive or defensive operations. Buyers too know this but continue the charade of ‘upgrading’ purely for the money to be made in kickbacks. None of them expect to actually use these albatrosses.’

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A2. Quotes of the Week_

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• ‘My uncle JFK started USAID to help poor countries develop and now we use it to stuff them with totalitarian spyware. This encapsulates what has gone so horribly wrong.’ – Robert F Kennedy Jr. also see ee Politics, Sheepdogging and Liberal Fantasy

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• ‘To calculate the [TV station’s] rating, a device is installed in about 400 randomly selected TV sets for the purpose of collecting data… 3 major media organizations have bought about 300 television sets equipped with these devices by giving money to the institutions that performed the calculations and because of this the data received is inaccurate.’ – ee Media, Current rating system

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• ‘This effort was inspired, not by scholars and academics who apply themselves in the isolation of the study or the lecture room but, by those who themselves engage in the transformation of society. They are not content to be a cork in the gushing waters of their time but would ride the crest of the wave and attempt to direct its course, giving it greater thrust by whipping up the social forces which constitute the underlying current.’ – SBD de Silva, The Political Economy of Underdevelopment

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• ‘The SJB economic troika’s ignorance of contemporary economic thinking in Western liberal-democracy is evident. ‘How Should America Lead?’ is the cover story of The Economist, London (May 20-26). The Economist evaluates ‘America’s Plan for the 21^st Century’ via the ideas of top strategist & policy intellectual Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s National Security Advisor:

     ‘Jake Sullivan repudiates the free-market Washington Consensus and calls for the government to play a muscular role in society…This means hyperactive industrial policy. Big subsidies will catalyse private investment in semi-conductors & clean energy… State intervention & protectionism will boost industry, helping the middle class and cooling America’s populist fevers…’ (The Economist May 20, 2023, p9)

     While the SJB policy elite fails to analyse the UNP’s 3 decades of defeat and secular decline – except to shriek ‘racists’, ‘serfs’ – Obama-Biden administration whizz-kid Jake Sullivan began critiquing neoliberal globalisation soon after the US Democrats led by Hillary Clinton lost the blue-collar heartland to Trump. Sullivan identified (as SJB hasn’t) the main political challenge as winning back the working people/middle classes and thereby the states that had swung from blue to red. He nailed the nexus between a polarising neoliberal-globalist economic policy, alienation of the working classes & middle classes, the blowback of toxic (Trumpian) nationalist populism, and distortion of US’s global profile.’ – ee Politics, Cultural closure, poverty pandemic, SJB stagnation & Premadasa paradox

• ‘Throughout history, these groups have continuously resorted to fear-mongering tactics, falsely asserting that our actions are driven by a desire to sell out our nation. They have deceived many Sri Lankans in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and even the 1980s, instilling an irrational fear of the country being sold away. From then until now, these groups have disrupted real progress for economic reform by perpetuating this slogan of selling the country.’ – ee Economy, Heads will roll unless state institutions perform: President warns

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• ‘The disgraceful double-standards of Washington policymakers & lawmakers – and, of course, their overseas diplomats – in dealing with Sri Lanka’s ‘national issues’, since the advent of the separatist war in the north, and the insurrection in the south, in the 1980s, are now very broadly dealt with by 2 persons who worked within the US Department of State for 30 years in the area of foreign affairs. One is this writer [Daya Gamage], who is a retired Foreign Service National Political Specialist, once accredited to the Political Section of the US Embassy in Colombo, and the other Robert K Boggs, retired Senior Foreign Service (FS) & Intelligence Officer, who served as Political Counselor, at the Colombo Mission, with a very broad knowledge of India’s ‘role’ in Sri Lanka. Their manuscript, Defending Democracy: Lessons in Strategic Diplomacy from US-SL Relations is nearing completion with disclosures, analyses and interpretations based on their up-close and personal knowledge and understanding how Washington used ‘double standards’ in handling its foreign relations to reduce Sri Lanka to a client state.’ – ee Sovereignty, Human Rights & War Crimes

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• ‘The upcoming NATO exercise codenamed Air Defender 23 (June 12-23) will be the most significant military exercise ever carried out over the European skies and the most extensive deployment exercise of air forces in the history of the western alliance – involving 25 NATO countries, 10,000 military personnel and approximately 220 aircraft… a training operation of this size and scale against the backdrop of heightened tensions in the region is akin to lighting a match in a gasoline storage tank.’ – ee Sovereignty, Post-Bakhmut scenario in Ukraine war

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• ‘Reform of the UN Security Council should be a step in this direction. The Organization’s problem is the overrepresentation of Western States. Of the 15 current members, 6 represent the US & its allies. It is necessary to eliminate this injustice by admitting representatives of Asia, Latin America and Africa to the UN Security Council. This is the only way to truly ensure the representativeness of this main organ of the United Nations.’ – ee Sovereignty, Lavrov in Africa

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• ‘That’s funny. They smashed up the house themselves, doused it with gasoline, set fire to it themselves, planted fireworks & firewood themselves, and now they are declaring an ‘unwillingness to escalate’. The ‘war of the West’ in a hybrid format has been going on for a long time.’ – Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry speaker, dismissing US statements that it does not want to see the situation in Ukraine escalate, after this week’s drone attack on Moscow

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• ‘On May 15 Berkshire Hathaway reported … it had completed the sale of its $4billion stake in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC)… In June 2022, Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI) announced it would put in 40% of a planned $8.6bn for a semiconductor manufacturing plant by TSMC in Kumamoto. METI said in November, it has selected the Rapidus Corporation – which includes a stake by NTT, SoftBank, Sony & Toyota – to manufacture next-generation 2-nanometer chips. It is likely that Berkshire Hathaway will invest in this new business.’ – ee Industry, How US War on Taiwanese Semiconductors Might Benefit Japan

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• ‘Libya developed various investment portfolios in Africa, and as it planned to develop its national infrastructure and military, it sought contracts with largely Global South countries and kept the USA, England & France at bay. Following the signing of railroad construction between the Libyan state with China and Russia, a US embassy cable leak in 2008 reads, ‘The fact that an operator with Bechtel’s savvy & deep pockets was ultimately unable to secure its contract serves as a cautionary tale for the many US and western companies seeking to enter Libya’s booming market.’ The idea that an independent state [was] using its surplus for the benefit of the non-imperialist orbit threatens that particular order.’ – ee Sovereignty, Centering Imperialism in Libya

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• ‘The F135 Pratt & Whitney engine in the F35 is the largest, hottest engine ever put in a fighter plane. Military officials have said recently they determined Pratt & Whitney’s proposal to modernize the already existing F135s in a program called the Engine Core Upgrade was the most cost-efficient option that would work for all F-35s… That’s to be expected. The F35 after 23 years is still in development, not operationally tested and so not approved for full production. The F35 mistake-jet is basically a jobs program providing more than 254,000 high-paying, high-quality jobs to US workers as part of a global supply chain. That doesn’t work either. More than 1 million F-35 spare parts worth at least $85million have gone missing over at least the last 5 years, according to a new Government Accountability Office report criticizing the program’s supply tracking.’ – ee Industry, Pentagon rethinks F35 engine program

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A3. Random Notes (‘Seeing Number in Chaos’) _

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• English newspaper Guardian last week ran a story ‘strongly critical of Sri Lanka’s once English-owned tea industry focusing on its poorly paid labour force and the harsh living conditions they are forced to tolerate’. Headlined: We give our blood so they live comfortably: Sri Lanka’s tea pickers say they go hungry and live in squalor. It reported that some of the world’s leading tea manufacturers, including Tetley & Lipton, are examining working conditions on the plantations of its Sri Lankan suppliers, following a Guardian investigation.

     The report quoted Tetley saying it had suspended work with some central Sri Lankan estates while it conducted its own inquiries. Ekaterra, which owns Lipton & PG Tips, said it was in contact with the Rainforest Alliance over the findings. Yorkshire Tea, another company that sources tea from the estates the Guardian visited, said it was speaking to the plantations concerned.

     Two global trade-certification schemes, Fairtrade & Rainforest Alliance, are also conducting inquiries after it was revealed that some workers on 10 certified estates could not afford to eat and were living in squalid conditions, Guardian said. More than 300,000 people work in Sri Lanka’s tea plantations, which are mainly in the mountainous Central Highlands. In 2022, the industry generated £1.079bn in exports.

     Some of the pickers said they had so little money that they were having to skip meals and felt forced to send their children to work, the report said. It was replete with quotations from workers complaining of harsh working conditions and poor remuneration. A sample: ‘Workers claimed some estate supervisors have tried to underpay workers… We don’t know what to do. We’re working on the estate, but we have no salary. What are we meant to do?’ – see ee Agriculture, Guardian report harshly critical of working conditions on tea estates

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• SL Telecom Privatization Leaves Internet Cables Vulnerable – Legislation to protect vital undersea data cables (UDCs) remains ‘incomplete to date’. A protection framework was discussed in 2018 and a draft framework was prepared in 2021, then shelved. The Government will now draft a new bill to protect its undersea data cables…

     Sri Lanka’s connectivity, trade, and digital economy… are largely dependent on 7 undersea fibre-optic data cables which remain underprotected by local legislation… According to Ministry of Technology Secretary Niranjan D Gunawardena, the Government is now drafting a new standalone legislation for Undersea Data Cables with technical support from the World Bank… President’s Office Director of International Affairs Dinouk Colombage: the process to draft a new bill [was] tasked to the Ministry of Technology… The Government is keen to introduce the new legislation before Sri Lanka takes over the leadership of the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) later this year… In 2021 Sri Lanka initiated a Submarine Cable Protection Framework with the assistance of the UN Office on Drugs & Crime (UNODC) and Japan, following initial interest in the topic at the 2018 The Indian Ocean: Defining Our Future conference held in Colombo. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Sri Lanka (TRCSL) assisted by the UNODC drafted the region’s first protection legislation for submarine cables that link the world. However, the draft and the planned roll-out got ‘caught up in the bureaucracy between the ministries & the Presidential Secretariat’, The Government sought to amend the Telecommunications Act to include provisions to make damaging or tampering with undersea cables a crime. The draft cyber security legislation was sent to the Legal Draftsman…

     Over 95% of global communications occur through fibre-optic undersea cables. An estimated $10trillion (2020) of economic activity moves through submarine cables every day… Compared to satellites, subsea cables provide high capacity, cost-effective, and reliable connections. Over 400 active cables worldwide cover 1.3 million km, the Center for Strategic Studies said in 2021.

     A large portion of the global network of submarine cables is privately owned & maintained… Present domestic and international laws on the use and security of UDCs are inadequate, according to a Foreign Ministry official who declined to be named. Most UDCs are privately owned and therefore do not fall under sovereignty jurisdiction of countries beyond territorial waters.

     ‘The cables come under Sri Lankan law up to 12 nautical miles, but beyond that we have no legal authority to enforce their security or prosecute any offenders who deliberately or negligently damage them,’ a senior Navy official said.

     In 2004, Sri Lanka suffered its first major internet and international communications outage, which lasted a few days when the Indian-flagged merchant vessel State of Nagaland dragged its anchor over the SEA-ME-WE3 data cable that supplied linkages to SLT. This incident occurred in a coastal sea area which has restrictions put in place to stop ships from deploying anchor. With NATO’s wars, there is concern for security of undersea cables.

     In 2021, 4.3km of an undersea cable on the seabed off the north Norwegian coast was severed and vanished without trace, causing alarm and disruption to internet and e-commerce services.

     In September 2022, the US sabotaged the NordStream 1 & 2 pipelines in the Baltic Sea carrying natural gas to energy-hungry Europe, making the UDCs a tool for ‘hybrid warfare’.

     Selling off the state-owned shares of telco SLT-Mobitel will leave Sri Lanka in a vulnerable position, as the company controls many UDCs in Sri Lanka. However State-Owned Enterprise (SoE) Restructuring Unit Head Suresh Shah (Ceylon Tobacco Co director), who is managing the privatization, claims Government oversight could be managed through regulations. With SLT-Mobitel, the Government’s control is 49%, so the majority control is already out of its hands. ‘But the Government has the ability to regulate’, Shah added. (see ee Industry, Digital economy: New laws drafted for undersea cable protection)

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• ‘On March 20, the IMF approved a $3billion Extended Fund Facility ‘to support Sri Lanka amid its economic crisis’. The approval is expected ‘to pave the way for other financial institutions to extend support to the bankrupt South Asian country…’ IMF Director of Asia & Pacific Department Krishna Srinivasan told a press conference in Colombo on May 15, the Sri Lankan government has shown ‘commitment to the reform effort’ that is a part of the agreement with the IMF. He added that the ‘authorities are making good faith efforts to negotiate with all the creditors, both private creditors and official creditors… Sri Lanka had to complete a number of prior actions before the IMF approved its bailout package. These actions were extensive and required a significant commitment from the Sri Lankan government.

     Among these are cost-reflective of a number of goods & services that the government had subsidized for decades. Sarwat Jahan, the IMF Resident Representative in Sri Lanka said the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) and Ceylon Electricity Board (CEB) would have to recover their costs until the end of the IMF program.

     The conditions attached to IMF loans involve actions aimed at discontinuing industry subsidies, avoiding exchange rate manipulation, adjusting budget priorities, and regulating wage levels. Leaders, who face diverse political limitations, differ in their willingness to engage in an agreement with the IMF and make compromises in these 4 areas… when a regime maintains power through a narrower network of closely connected supporters, it finds it easier to enter into an agreement with the IMF.

     Miles Kahler, senior fellow for global governance at the Council on Foreign Relations in Washington, DC, in his 1993 book chapter ‘Bargaining with the IMF: 2-level Strategies & Developing Countries,’ outlines 2 key aspects of domestic politics that influence the process of loan negotiations: firstly, the degree to which a technocratic elite is insulated from economic interests, and secondly, the frequency with which elites face political challenges like elections.

     Another factor that can impede the formation of a loan agreement is the presence of multiple veto actors, such as a separation of powers or the existence of multiparty governing coalitions. Kahler says, when a country has a higher number of veto actors capable of obstructing a loan agreement, the scope of domestic political consensus becomes narrower, resulting in increased negotiation costs for the IMF.

     Typically, the count of veto actors is determined by assessing the number of parties in a government coalition in countries where genuine political competition exists. This explains why it was extremely difficult for former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who came into power through a coalition of populism and with the support of a number of interest groups, from big businesses to professional associations, to enter into negotiations with the IMF.

     On the other hand, Wickremesinghe is the head of the UNP that obtained around 250,000 votes from 15 million eligible voters. He has one MP in Parliament… Wickremesinghe is backed in parliament by the SLPP, whose MPs depend on him for political survival and would vote for any legislation that he proposes.

     Sri Lankan legislators are entitled to several perks at the end of the full tenure of 5 years and most of the SLPP MPs that back Wickremesinghe are insistent that they complete their terms. Wickremesinghe has also indicated that there will be no elections until the economy is stabilized and it is likely that the first election Sri Lankans will see is a presidential election, probably in 2024.

     Therefore, Wickremesinghe can implement the IMF recommendations completely, as he is not answerable to any political coalition or interest groups. Neither does he face an election. Wickremesinghe’s personal ideology also aligns with that of the IMF. It is unlikely that these factors were ignored by the IMF when the loan was approved and when they evaluate whether Sri Lanka will adhere to IMF conditions. –ee Economists, Ranil Wickremesinghe’s contribution to securing an IMF loan for Lanka

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• ‘The Sri Lankan Government has made it mandatory for professionals belonging to the following 14 categories to register themselves with the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) from 1 June: Medical Council (SLMC), Institute of Chartered Accountants, Institute of Certified Management Accountants, Institution of Engineers, Association of Professional Bankers, Institute of Architects, Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Attorneys-at-Law of the Supreme Court, business owners registered in Divisional Secretariats, vehicle owners registered (other than 3-wheelers, motorcycles & hand tractors) in the Motor Traffic Department, owners by virtue of Deeds Transfer, of any immovable property in Sri Lanka on or after 1 April 2018, employees whose monthly contribution from both employee & employer to any Provident Fund is over Rs20,000, any individual who obtains approval for a building plan from a Local Authority, any other individual who receives payment of Rs100,000/month or Rs1,200,000 for a 12-month period for providing any services in Sri Lanka. In addition, any individual who does not belong to any of the aforementioned categories, but is aged 18 years or more as of December 31, or attains the age of 19 years on or after 1 January 2024, is also required to register themselves with the IRD.’ – ee Workers, Govt widens tax net via new gazette targeting professionals

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• CIA’s Project Syndicate on Sri Lanka & China – ‘China’s rise as emerging and developing economies’ largest bilateral creditor has frustrated matters. The Chinese have been reluctant to restructure debts, and have insisted on lending to debtor countries whatever they need to cover their obligations. If the IMF disbursed funds under those conditions, some portion of them would simply go to repay China, which would then be treated more favorably than other creditors.

     IMF programs, therefore, cannot be implemented until all creditors have reached an agreement on restructuring. Sri Lanka could not receive funds from the IMF for months because the Chinese refused to take a haircut on loans they had made. Instead, they wanted to lend even more money to Sri Lanka so that it could service its debt (and increase its overall debt to China). Likewise, Zambia’s restructuring has been delayed since November 2020.

     True, China finally has made some arrangements with several countries that would enable the IMF to disburse funds. But many other indebted countries still need to undertake policy reforms in accordance with an agreed IMF program. This means that more delays can be expected. One hopes that China will see that it is in its own interest to devise a smoother, faster process for policy reforms and debt restructuring.’ – Anne O Krueger, former World Bank chief economist & first deputy managing director of the IMF, is Senior Research Professor of International Economics at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, Senior Fellow at the Center for International Development at Stanford University, (ee Economists, A World of Debt: IMF, China & countries like Sri Lanka; also see ee Focus for China’s response)

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• Saudi crown prince turns to ‘state capitalism’ after change in the guard – The growing dominance of the $650bn sovereign wealth fund, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, underscores the extent to which the country’s day-to-day ruler has upended the old order as he robustly asserts his control over the economy and seeks to diversify it away from oil revenues.

     ‘There’s definitely a change in the guard,’ said Monica Malik, chief economist at the Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and author of a book on the Saudi private sector. ‘Development is being driven by government-led entities, it’s very much more a centralised and public sector-led growth.’

     In February the sovereign wealth fund – the state Public Investment Fund (PIF) – announced it was investing $1.3bn in 4 companies that have risen to prominence in recent years: Nesma & Partners Contracting Co, El Seif Engineering Contracting Co, Albawani Holding Co & Almabani General Contractors. They have all been around for decades, but have come to the forefront as rivals that once secured the biggest contracts lost Riyadh’s support…

     Several of those formerly favoured, such as Saudi Binladin Group, were forced to hand over $100bn worth of what the government described as ill-gotten assets, after an anti-corruption drive was launched less than a year after Prince Mohammed’s 2017 appointment as crown prince. About 300 businessmen, princes, and bureaucrats were detained in the Saudi capital’s Ritz-Carlton Hotel as part of the anti-graft campaign, sending shockwaves through the business community…

     ‘There’s an idea among [Prince Mohammed] and some of his advisers that the old merchant class were leeches, unproductive rent seekers, and they want to rear a new business class,’ said Steffen Hertog, a Gulf expert and associate professor in comparative politics at London School of Economics.

     … the dynamics are very different now, with favoured companies getting smaller margins from contracts than would have been normal in the past… The PIF acquires stakes in companies to create national champions, There’s a form of displacement, but I don’t see large-scale rent-seeking. I don’t think that the management of those state-owned firms take huge cuts, I don’t see large-scale corruption.’ – ee Economy, Saudi crown prince

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• ‘China’s C919 jetliner, with a 156-168 seat capacity and a nominal range of 4,000-5,500km, is made by the state-owned Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China or COMAC. It is a single-aisle narrow-body passenger aircraft positioned to compete with the Boeing 737 & Airbus A320 …although hailed as a path-breaking indigenous achievement, about 60% of the C919’s components, including its most essential elements, are of foreign, mostly US origin.

     Most importantly, the C919 uses the CFM LEAP 1C engine made by the 50-50 collaboration between France’s SAFRAN and US ‘ General Electric, currently the world’s largest-selling aero-engine used in several variants of Boeing and Airbus aircraft, including the Boeing 737 Max & Airbus A320 neo, the former suffering poorly due to its design problems and also primarily due to the PW1000G engine made by GE’s giant US rival Pratt & Whitney.

     China is simultaneously developing its own ACAE CJ-1000J starting from 2009. Most observers believe, however, that China may still be at least 10 years away from completing the development of this engine, proving what is well-known in aviation, namely that turbo-jet aero-engines are the most complex technology of an aircraft and the most difficult to develop.

     Only the US, England, France & the Soviet Union/Russia have this capability for larger civilian & military aircraft. Even China’s smaller ARJ21 is powered by General Electric’s GE CF24 engines. China’s military aircraft, the J7 or MiG-21 under license, the reverse-engineered JF-17 using a Klimov RD93, and its ‘5^th generation’ J20 fighters powered by Russian Lyulka-Saturn AL-31 engines, all use Russian engines or domestically adapted variants. – ee Industry, India Must Take a Leaf From China’s Book as its Passenger Jet goes Commercial

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B. Special Focus__

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B1. An Economy that Works for the Working People: Alternatives to the IMF (Under Signed)

Preamble – The following proposals aim for a materialist critique: of consumerism, of unregulated free trade, of illicit capital flows, of the conduct of the political class and of the government bureaucracy’s collusion with the domestic rentier elites. We position these [forces] as the instigators of Sri Lanka’s ongoing socioeconomic collapse.

     The following proposals hence seek to permeate collectivist values against the narcissistic social relations promoted by contemporary capitalism. In its current monopoly-finance phase, markets are facing a never-ending and self-defeating battle against their inability to reabsorb the surpluses they generate, [midst?] stagnant real wages, disguised unemployment, [&?] excess capacity engendered by its oligopolistic structure.

     It promotes debt-ridden consumerism by both governments and individuals supplemented by financial speculation as systemic reactions to the difficulty it faces in reproducing itself due to demand stagnation. These countermeasures are reorganising human relations, values and aspirations according to the exigencies of a collapsing order.

     Mass perception is its main ideological weapon against the battle it created for itself: the battle against stagnant demand and the constant inability to absorb its economic surplus. It demands ever-increasing consumption at the expense of accumulating insurmountable debt, by both individuals and governments, leading to ecological, political and economic crises aggravating over time. The explosion of sovereign debt in underdeveloped economies should be understood in the context of monopoly finance capitalism that is struggling to realise and redeploy its growing surplus.

     The competitive industrial phase of capitalism did not face deficient aggregate demand except during the periodic crises it generated. This era of capitalism was characterised by a shortage of capital & savings, as opposed to deficient aggregate demand, which remained a key obstacle to its further expansion. Reabsorption of the surplus was never an obstacle during the period. Therefore, as opposed to promoting debt-ridden consumerism, the key message of the industrial capitalist to the rest of the world was to save even at the expense of starvation, so he could turn it into more machinery, raw material & workers, only for the sake of producing surplus value ad infinitum.

     The exact opposite can be said about the rentier corporate elites of the underdeveloped economies, including that of Sri Lanka. They are destroying the surplus in conspicuous luxuries and illicit transfer of the surplus into advanced economies. They drive governments deeper into debt through tax evasion and illicit outflows, and simultaneously convert ownership of public debt into a mode of surplus appropriation.

     Without mandatory repatriation requirements & a robust system of capital controls, the corporates could rob the government treasury by evading taxes. They emerged as the emissaries of the ongoing collapse and the humanitarian crisis that left 86% of the population having to reduce their food intake, close to half the population had to borrow to buy food, thrown half of the children below 5 years of age into malnourishment, and sacrificed the sovereignty of the nation with the blessings of the political and the bureaucratic establishment. Having done so, the commercial elite & its puppet regime under the unelected President Ranil Wickremasinghe is exploiting the crisis they created. They are eager to slash already dysfunctional legal protections for workers through proposed labour law reforms, and sell state assets to further enrich the counterproductive rich. The ruling bloc is strengthening repression by cracking down on people’s dissent.

     In the initial competitive phase of industrial capitalism, the passion for enjoyment and passion for accumulation were so far separated from each other (footnote: ‘Even in the early 18^th century, a Manchester manufacturer, who placed a pint of foreign wine before his guests, exposed himself to the remarks & head shakings of all his neighbors. Before the rise of machinery, a manufacturer’s evening expenditure at the public house where they all met never exceeded sixpence for a glass of punch and a penny for a screw of tobacco.’ Marx, Capital Vol I, Chap 24)

     Until the 1930s Great Depression, Political Economy didn’t seriously consider the possibility of declining aggregate demand in general, and reduced it to temporary imbalances in particular sectors that can be swiftly averted by liquidity injections (see JS Mill’s Principles of Political Economy).

      It was the complete antithesis of contemporary monopoly capitalism that demands consumption even at the expense of rising indebtedness. Consumerist ideology is, therefore, only a historical construct of Monopoly Capital designed to resuscitate a stagnating system.

     The following proposals attempt to show that not only a collectivist alternative is possible to the IMF & the autocratic rule of the current government. But also, it is individually more rewarding and liberating than an economy organised according to the dictates of impersonal market forces, prioritising the needs of the core capitalist economies at the expense of the underdeveloped periphery. We envisage an economy organised on collectivism & social welfare instead of short-term individual gains defined by conspicuous consumerism. In this light, we propose that a government of the working people would reorganise the economy, the market mechanism & their interaction with international trade to improve the well-being of the masses. It should do so by addressing the underdevelopment and backwardness of the economy that only enriched a corrupt political and economic elite.

• Alternatives to the Neoliberal Ranil-Rajapaksa Regime & the IMF

     1. Resolving the liquidity trap position in the foreign exchange market through state intervention: Repatriation of residual export incomes held outside the country by exporters by the direct intervention of the Foreign Exchange Department of the Central Bank according to the powers vested by the Monetary Law Act.

     2. Repatriation of the funds transferred out illicitly by the business elite involved in import-export trade through trade misinvoicing and transfer mispricing (estimated to be over $40 billion between 2009-18, which is greater than the government’s foreign debt). Strengthening and introducing laws to prevent capital flight through the trade account of the balance of payments.

     3. Immediately cancel all tax holidays given to BOI firms and impose a 10% import tax on all inputs, reversing the liberalisation of trade initiated through the IMF program in 1991 to reach IMF Article VIII status in 1994. These destructive & regressive measures created the legal groundwork for illicit outflows to take place smoothly, especially through overinvoicing of imports. It also led to a catastrophic collapse in state revenue as a share of the GDP. The ratio started to decline from around 23% in the mid-1990s and settled below 9% in 2021.

     4. The March 2022 Article IV Assessment of the IMF highlights that Sri Lanka’s car fleet is larger than the economy can bear. Per-capita fuel consumption is almost twice that of South Asia’s average. The government needs a plan to correct this overconsumption in the economy (notice, IMF has identified a market failure and is suggesting government intervention to devise an alternative plan to resolve it). In this light, we propose re-export 20 -30% of the highest-valued personal vehicles in the country through an online auction system by establishing an independent agency to certify each vehicle’s dollar value and condition. It will allow foreign buyers to assess the value and condition of the vehicle without being physically present. Issuing a nonconvertible rupee bond to the local owner of the vehicle equal to its rupee value yielding an attractive interest, will prevent the possibility of increasing the domestic monetary base and stoking inflation. State-sector vehicles will be auctioned initially to encourage the private sector to comply with the plan. The recent increase in world vehicle prices would further benefit this program. Saving on fuel imports by selling off vehicles overconsuming fuel is rational, especially when the essential sectors of the economy are facing an acute shortage of foreign exchange and the country is in default.

     5. Apply the same methodology to the luxury condominiums market in Sri Lanka and provide a 25% discount to buyers using foreign exchange to encourage quick liquidation of assets. Impose a 35-40% sales tax on the domestic sales of the sector to prevent further speculation in the condominiums market and further waste of foreign exchange. The idea is to sell off unproductive private assets as a countermeasure to selling off state assets proposed by the IMF & the current unelected regime.

     6. Employing the inflow of foreign exchange through the above measures to initiate a state housing scheme drawing lessons from countries like Singapore.

     7. The inflow of foreign exchange through the above measures will be managed by a separate investment fund under the Central Bank of SL, which will also make it possible to restore the value of the currency closer to its true value, which ranges around Rs250/US$ as per IMF in March 2022. It will restore real wages & living standards and significantly reduce inflation and the internal price level, leading to deflation while output expands.

     The basic theory behind this idea is the complete rejection of the demand to privatise government institutions to increase foreign exchange inflow. It assumes that only state sector institutions are unproductive and that the private sector is employing resources productively. However, a significant portion of assets of the private sector, which they keep within the economy, is held unproductively in the form of personal vehicles and apartments and has not led to an expansion of the modern industrial sector. An economy needs to increase its savings in a tradable form to expand its productive sector. So we must convert these unproductive private assets, which simultaneously cut across savings, investments, and consumption, to strictly tradable savings. Therefore, it is essential to finance the Import Substituting Industrialisation plan proposed here to resolve the foreign exchange crisis, resist the privatisation of state institutions and transform the economy to create better quality employment simultaneously). The idea is to promote the sale of private assets instead of SOEs, to acquire the capital necessary to launch a recovery plan and a plan for economic transformation.

• Immediate Measures to Revive the Domestic Economy

     1. Revive local production of food – rice, vegetables and fish. Introduce price controls. Create purchase & marketing mechanisms through cooperatives and Sathosa.

     2. Debt moratorium for all production-oriented loans, including microfinance.

     3. Subsidise LPG, fuel & electricity for small and medium industries, farmers and fishers.

     4. Low-interest regime with non-interest incentives for savings; credit facilities to the rural co-op to purchase agricultural machinery; fisher folk co-op owned fishing harbours, ice plants and selling centres.

     5. Well-planned and executed expansionary public expenditure program: (a) to offset the reduction of private expenditure; (b) to incentivise new private productive investment.

• Medium to Long-term Measures: Transform the Economy based on Import-Substitution Industrialisation (ISI) integrated with the Agricultural Sector:

     1. Redirecting the foreign exchange inflows to selected import-substituting industries by restricting imports of nonessentials and gradually restricting the imports of selected industrial goods to address the indivisibility problem and generate productive employment by subjugating the unproductive private sector following a central plan directed at the economic transformation. Worker control and management in large SOEs, and setting up of new worker training courses in the universities and tech colleges.

     2. This would also involve redirecting the flow of bank credit towards this program and restricting private credit into conspicuous consumption and unproductive, speculative investments.

     3. Expansion of the public transport sector industries through the inflow of tradable savings mentioned above at the expense of private transportation. (This will also significantly control environmental pollution driven by consumerism and address climate concerns simultaneously).

     4. The planned state investments would involve the absorption of rural surplus labour within the limits of the rural economy itself through the expansion of industrial SMEs (instead of the retail-driven SME structure we currently have) following the example of South Korea, Taiwan and Japan. It aims to transform the backward, unproductive SME sector in Sri Lanka, dominated by trade & petty production, into a dynamic sector linked with the broader industrial structure of the economy, which needs to be established from the beginning. For this to be practical, a complete reorganisation of the pattern of labour deployment in the paddy economy in the South – addressing issues of gender inequality deeply ingrained in agriculture – is necessary in the long run. Moreover, the market mechanism cannot ensure the optimality conditions of resource utilisation of the paddy sector (reorganisation of the paddy sector in the South is a complicated subject we can discuss separately).

     5. The Ministry of Agriculture recently pointed out that approximately 40% of the agricultural output is wasted due to output being deliberately destroyed to keep market prices artificially high (traders under free market conditions exploiting the price inelasticity of demand for food to increase profits by destroying the output), lack of cold storage facilities, and due to improper handling during transport. The Ministry estimated that the output waste in 2021 was sufficient to feed 10 million people. Therefore, we propose a government program to minimise waste and to channel the recovered output to economically deprived families through cooperatives. In addition, it can address malnutrition and the chronic food shortage that has affected over half of the population, especially children and women, according to the UN FAO.

     6. As opposed to privatisation, we are proposing the exact opposite: the expansion of the state sector in a way that addresses both the economy’s foreign exchange liquidity trap position and underdevelopment.

     7. Rationalisation of the import trade to ensure essential supplies such as medicine, fertiliser, fuel and raw materials are adequately available until domestic production gradually replaces the imports of selected goods. Thus eliminating the possibility of shortages in the short to medium run.

     8. Iron & steel and machine-building industries are necessary to ensure that the industrial sector has an adequate supply of capital goods and industrial inputs. Therefore, building a necessary industrial infrastructure as opposed to an unproductive consumerist infrastructure contributed heavily to the debt crisis.

     9. Drawing insights from the Communist Party of Vietnam and the approach of South Korea following the Asian Financial Crisis, who were capable of producing their economic revival plan instead of implementing the standard IMF policy package, we must engage in a dialogue with the IMF to ensure its support to the proposed program, which will not be a smooth process as the experience of Vietnam and South Korea also shows. It is essential to ensure that the foreign debt restructuring functions smoothly without adversely impacting the people’s livelihoods and economic stability. In this connection, we should demand 70-90% foreign debt reduction, including a significant moratorium (5 years) on debt, citing the incidence of illicit capital flows aggravating the debt issue learning from the demands of the African Union. The African Union sought the assistance of the UN to become an independent arbiter in negotiating with creditors on legal terms.

Signatories: Centre for Community Empowerment, Ceylon Bank Employees’ Union, Ceylon Federation of Labour, Ceylon Teachers’ Union, Climate Action Now SL, Commercial & Industrial Workers’ Union, Dabindu Union, Engineers’ Services Professional Association, Federation of Media Workers’ Trade Union, Free Women Movement, Institute for People Engagement & Networking, Mass Movement for Social Justice, Movement for Land & Agricultural Reform, Movement for Plantation Peoples’ Land Rights, Movement for the Defence of Democratic Rights, National Collaboration Development Foundation, National Fisheries Solidarity Movement, National Trade Protection Council, National Union of Metal & Migrant Workers of Sri Lanka, North South Solidarity Group, Prathivada, Progressive Women’s Collective, Protect Union, Rural Development Foundation, Satahan Media, Social Institute for Development of Plantation Sector, Social Scientists’ Association Sl, SL All Telecommunication Employees’ Union, Stand Up Workers’ Union, Suriya Shakthi Foundation Nuwara Eliya, Textiles Garments & Clothing Workers’ Union, United Fishermen’s & Fish Workers’ Congress, Upcountry Civil Society Collective, Uva Shakthi Foundation. Sumanasiri Liyanage – Former Prof of Economics, University of Peradeniya; Sugath Kulathunga – Former Senior Advisor at International Trade Centre (WTO/UNCTAD), Director General of  SL Export Development Board & Additional Secretary to Ministry of Trade; MPS Magamage – Former Chair of National Livestock Development Board; Kalpa Rajapaksha – Senior Lecturer in Economics; Amali Wedagedara – Political Economist.

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B2. Sri Lanka in the Trap of Financial Capital – Tang Xiaoyang

3.1 Overview of Sri Lanka – Sri Lanka is a…country in the southern Indian Ocean. Its economy is dominated by plantation economy, and its main crops include tea, rubber, coconut, and rice. Its industrial base is weak, while agricultural production and the garment manufacturing industry play an important role. Sri Lanka has a low level of technological development & insufficient economic growth impetus. From 2013-19, its GDP growth rates hovered between 2-4%, lower than the average level of its neighbors in South Asia (databank.worldbank.org/reports.aspx)

     Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange income mainly comes from primary product export, immigrant remittance, & tourism, and its exports fluctuate greatly. Since 2010 Sri Lanka’s exports have stagnated for a long time and even registered negative growth sometimes, putting the country in a trade deficit for many years (see link below for Figure 4-3). Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves also showed a corresponding downward trend. The country’s foreign reserves fell from $7.5billion in November 2019, when the new government took office, to less than $2bn at the beginning of 2022, which could only sustain the import expenditure of the following months. (aljazeera.com/economy/2022/3/15/sri- lanka-reverses-course-seeks-imf-help-report)

     Meanwhile, its public budget deficit has been widening. Sri Lanka has long been implementing a wide range of social welfare subsidy policies, causing great expenditure pressure, which can only be alleviated by long-term financial overdraft. According to the statistics of the World Bank, the overall budget deficit of Sri Lanka increased by 160% from 2007-17, and the total debt owed by the government increased by 209%.

     3.2 Background & Causes of Sri Lanka’s Bond Default – In recent years, Sri Lanka fell into a debt crisis mainly because its foreign exchange reserves are almost entirely composed of commercial loans and the investment income is lower than the interest on loans. From 2007-17, Sri Lanka’s non-project loans increased by 605%, and the growth rate of project loans was only about 117%. Non-project loans increased too fast, and they could not generate income to repay the principal and interest. In addition, since the issuance of international sovereign bonds in 2007, the proportion of multilateral and bilateral preferential loans in Sri Lanka’s external debt has declined rapidly. In 2017, commercial loans accounted for 42.98% of its total debt, with an average interest rate reaching 6.29% and a maturity of about 7 years. [李艳芳,“斯里兰卡外债问题的生成逻辑与争议辨析“, 国际展望 2020 年第 1 期]

     The government was forced to borrow new debt to repay the existing debt in a short amount of time. Sri Lanka issued 14 international bonds between 2017-19, with a total amount of $16.55bn, and the coupon rate rose to 7.85% in 2019. With the strong dollar and the recovery of capital markets in developed countries, heavily indebted Sri Lanka became particularly vulnerable to a refinancing crisis. Sri Lanka’s external debt accounted for about 42% of its GDP in 2019 but has risen to 119% of GDP in 2021. From the perspective of liquidity, the proportion of foreign exchange reserves to foreign debt in Sri Lanka has fell from 24.2% in 2011 to 5.48% in 2021, which indicates that its foreign exchange reserves will face serious challenges in response to emergencies in the future, exacerbated by the fact that 2019-22 and 2025-27 are the 2 peak periods of foreign debt repayment in Sri Lanka.

     The COVID-19 pandemic & the Russia-Ukraine conflict hit Sri Lanka’s economy severely. First, tourism used to account for more than one tenth of Sri Lanka’s GDP. In 2018 tourism earned $4.4bn for Sri Lanka and contributed 5.6% to GDP, but due to the pandemic, the figure fell to 0.8%. According to the data provided by the Sri Lankan Tourism Development Authority in the Monthly Tourism Arrivals Report of February 2022, Russia & Ukraine are Sri Lanka’s 2 largest source countries of tourists. In the first 2 months of 2022, there were nearly 28,000 tourists from Russia and 13,062 tourists from Ukraine arriving in Sri Lanka. With the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the tourists from the 2 countries have declined sharply. The conflict also takes tolls on the tea export of Sri Lanka, which is another source of foreign exchange reserves because Russia is the largest importer of Sri Lanka’s tea. Under the Western sanctions, the ruble collapsed, making it difficult for Russians to continue to import Sri Lanka’s tea. At the same time, global commodity prices soared due to the influence of the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, leading to a surge in the prices of crude oil and food which are in short supply in Sri Lanka. By March 2022 Sri Lanka’s national inflation rate climbed to 17.5% and foreign exchange reserves fell to $1.9bn. It was nearly impossible to repay the dollar debt due in 2022, of which the maturing Eurobonds amounted to $2bn. In this situation, on April 12, 2022, Sri Lanka announced that it would default on its external debt, which was its first debt default since its founding.

     In the past decade, Sri Lanka has failed to effectively promote industrial transformation and find new sources of income generation at home and abroad. Instead, it has issued large amounts of commercial bonds, which increased the fiscal deficit and made the country fall into the dilemma of borrowing new debt to repay the old debt with rising interest rates. Under the superimposed impacts of the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict and international financial fluctuations, the vulnerable Sri Lankan economy could no longer bear pressure and collapsed rapidly. Other developing countries should seek to learn from Sri Lanka’s painful lessons, find new sources of income generation at home and abroad.

Executive Summary – The stock of sovereign bonds of all low and middle-income countries (LMCs) reached $1,737.2bn in 2020, nearly quadrupled in 12 years. Because of the high interest rates, LMCs paid 63.2% of their total interest payments on such bonds, which have become the major debt burden on the countries that issue bonds.

     Argentina, Zambia & Sri Lanka have defaulted their bond repayments since 2020 and experienced a series of socio-economic turbulences subsequently. Quantitative analysis finds that Ghana and 4 other countries meet similar challenges for debt service and require immediate actions to mitigate the stress.

     The global capital market has exacerbated economic fluctuations of developing countries through international bonds. When commodity prices were high, financial institutions encouraged developing countries to issue more bonds. Inexperienced developing countries have thus been lured into the trap of high debt risk. During the current economic downturn and interest rate hikes of the US dollar, these countries are affected by multiple superimposed challenges and face huge pressure of debt repayment.

     Problems related to international bonds include procyclicality, high interests, short due period, fluctuation of exchange rates, unfair credit rating, and inappropriate utilization of funding. The international community ought to coordinate to improve the global financial environment to make it more conducive for long-term development.

Research Background – In the 21^st century, international sovereign bonds (ISBs) have become an important financing tool for developing countries and have significantly changed the structure of their external debt. This trend has been particularly evident in the aftermath of the 2008 global financial crisis, with the stock of sovereign bonds of all low and middle- income countries rising from $484.3billion in 2009 to $1,737.2billion in 2020. The share of sovereign bonds in the government-guaranteed external debt of low and middle- income countries correspondingly climbed from 30.7% in 2009 to 50.4% in 2020.

     At the same time, traditional bilateral & multilateral loans have grown relatively slowly and their shares in developing countries’ overall debt are actually decreasing. Sub-Saharan African countries’ sovereign bonds have grown particularly fast, with their stocks quintupling from just $22.6bn in 2009 to $136.6bn in 2020. In contrast, the bilateral debt of African countries has only about doubled in the same period, amounting to $114.9bn in 2020, and similar phenomena have been observed in other regions. In addition, the coupon rates on 10-year Eurobonds issued by African countries in 2013-19 are around 4% to 10%, while bilateral and multilateral debt rates are much lower. Considering the generally high interest rates on international bonds, the financial cost of international bond debt service accounts for a higher percentage of the cost of debt for these countries.

     Low and middle-income countries paid 63.2% of their total interest payments on international bonds in 2020 while only paying 9.8% for bilateral debt. It is important to note how the surging bond stock and high financial outlays affect low and middle-income countries that issue bonds.

     Since 2016 developing countries have been facing steadily rising debt pressure due to a combination of multiple external factors, including severe fiscal deficits, falling commodity prices, declining international demand, the Covid-19 epidemic, etc. However, international attention has largely focused on non-Western emerging lenders, for instance China, and has put forward factually ungrounded arguments like ‘debt trap’, while seriously underestimating the impact of international bonds on sovereign debts.

     With the peak of international bond repayments in the coming years and the volatility of capital markets caused by the new cycle of US dollar interest rate hikes, developing countries will face a more severe external debt burden. Against this backdrop, our researchers have conducted an in-depth study of the internal and external factors behind the massive issuance of international bonds by developing countries in recent years, examined the process and causes of the new round of debt problems, and made a prediction and early warning on the debt sustainability of developing countries through extensive data collection and analysis.

     Surging Eurobond Issue & Its Consequences – The main component of international bonds for developing countries is Eurobonds, which are bonds issued by a government, financial institution, business enterprise, or international organization in foreign bond markets in the denomination of a third country’s denominated currency (usually US$ or euros) [Since this kind of bond issue originated in Europe, it is called an ‘Eurobond’. This report focuses on Eurobonds issued by sovereign governments.].

     Eurobonds provide a means for developing countries to quickly raise a significant amount of capital. They are flexible, easy to issue, inexpensive, not subject to official approval, and not subject to any national interest rate control or limit on the amount of issuance. As the bondholders can stay anonymous & keep the bonds overseas, they may avoid the income tax on their interest income, which attracts many investors.

     Generally speaking, countries with high credit mainly finance through Eurobonds, while countries with low credit mainly finance through bilateral and multilateral borrowing with sovereign guarantees. Low-income developing countries have difficulties accessing financing in international capital markets due to their mediocre economic performance, investment environment, and credit ratings.

     Because of the remarkable economic surge of developing countries in the early 21^st century, coupled with the tepid economic situation in developed countries in Europe and the USA, financial institutions hoped to find high returns in emerging economies, and Eurobonds have seen a quick surge in Asia, Africa & Latin America in the last decade. Although most African countries have only been issuing sovereign bonds in international capital markets since 2007, this financial instrument has become a more common choice for African countries as of 2021. More than 20 African countries hold one or more outstanding Eurobonds, and in 2021 alone, African countries issued $11.8bn worth of Eurobonds. Eurobond issuance in Asia and Latin America have also shown an upward trend.

     The top 10 underwriters of developing country sovereign bonds are investment banks from the US, England, Switzerland, & the EU, with the market power of large underwriters becoming stronger. The top 15 subscribers in terms of holdings are also all from developed countries, mainly including well-known investment institutions from the US, Germany, France & Italy. Investment companies from the US subscribed the most number and amount of securities covered by sovereign bonds, with BlackRock topping the list of subscribers. Other major investors included fund managers, insurance and pension funds, hedge funds, and commercial banks. These financial institutions, with capital strength and profit-seeking motivation, have actively helped African countries and others issue Eurobonds and purchased large amounts, which greatly contributed to the rapid growth of total debt of LMCs. Although the favor of capital allows developing countries to easily obtain financing in a short period, the accumulation of debt will become a long-term uncertainty in the international debt market….

     Zambia, Sri Lanka &Argentina have defaulted on their bonds after 2020, causing serious economic and social unrest. From 2012-15, the Zambian government issued a total of $3bn in Eurobonds, which would generate an annual interest expense of $240mn. During this period, Zambia’s debt increased at the fourth fastest rate in Africa, and the proportion of commercial bonds in Zambia’s external debt rose from zero to 46.2% by 2015. However, after the copper price fluctuated, its credit rating fell rapidly, and it was unable to refinance, leading to default.

     In recent years, Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves have been composed almost entirely of commercial loans, and the investment income is lower than the loan interest. While failing to effectively promote industrial transformation or to find new sources of income, the country issued many commercial bonds, increasing the fiscal deficit and making the national economy fall into the dilemma of rising interest rates and borrowing new debts to repay old debts.

     In early 2022, Sri Lanka’s foreign exchange reserves were unable to repay Eurobonds due within this year, and in April, it announced its first debt default since its founding. Under the combined influence of the epidemic and international financial fluctuations, the fragile Sri Lankan economy was unable to bear the pressure and collapsed quickly. At present, Ghana and 4 other countries are also experiencing deteriorating debts and difficulties in refinancing. It is therefore urgent for the international community to work together to avoid any further expansion of the debt crisis in developing countries…

     Issuance & Subscription of Eurobonds – Eurobonds can be denominated in any currency unit. Usually, each Eurobond issue requires a guarantee from the government, large enterprises, or banks, so it is relatively safe and secure for investors. Eurobonds can be issued in a wide range of bond types, maturities, and currencies, and can meet the diverse funding requirements of governments, multinational corporations, and international organizations. Eurobonds can be traded globally, so they can attract a large number of investors. The amount of funds raised is large, and the requirement for financial disclosure is not high. They are issued in bearer form and can be kept abroad, which is suitable for some investors who want to keep secrecy or have high requirements for personal privacy. The secondary market for Eurobonds is active and efficient, thus allowing bondholders to transfer bonds for cash more easily.

     When a sovereign bond is issued in the primary market, the sovereign issuer engages one or more investment banks to act as lead managers or arrangers for the issue. The investment bank plays a key role in coordinating the issuance, marketing, and request for quotations (meaning the underwriters gather information about the demand for and appropriate pricing of the bonds), assisting the issuer in determining the financial terms and the timing of the proposed offering as well as in distributing the bonds to investors in selected markets. The fees charged by the banks for this service are estimated to be approximately 0.05% to 0.225% of the bonds’ face value.

     A study of 62 low- and middle-income countries, launched by the European Network Committee on Debt & Development (Eurodad) in May 2021, shows that the top 10 underwriters of developing country sovereign bonds are USA, England, Swiss & EU investment banks: Citigroup (US), Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan Chase (US), Standard Chartered (England), Bank of America, HSBC (England), Goldman Sachs (US), Barclays (England), Societe Generale, & Credit Suisse [Van Der Wansem, PBG, Jessen, L, and Rivetti, D, Issuing International Bonds, World Bank Group, 2019]

     Underwriters were heavily concentrated in these 10 investment banks, which participated in a total of 440 bond issues, equivalent to 80.1% of the total issuance. The largest underwriter of sovereign bonds was Citigroup, a US investment bank involved in at least 255 bond issues with a combined face value of $343bn. They were followed by Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase, which issued 160 bonds with a face value of $233bn and 152 bonds with a face value of $234bn, respectively. The dominance of these investment banks in underwriting sovereign bonds dates to the early 1990s. Due to high transaction costs, countries tend to rely on the same investment banks to issue bonds over time, which has led to the growing market power of large underwriters. Their ability to provide countries with a broader network of investors and better financial conditions has further driven their market share [Daniel Munevar, Sleep now in the fire: Sovereign Bonds & the Covid-19 Debt Crisis, Eurodad, 2021].

     After a series of underwriting and packaging processes by investment banks, Eurobonds issued by developing countries will formally enter the international bond market and be subscribed by bond subscribers around the world. After the issuance is completed, these sovereign bonds remain liquid in the secondary market. Bondholders can choose to hold the bonds for a period and then sell them to other investors in the secondary market at real-time prices, receiving the coupon proceeds and the spread between real-time price and purchase price during the holding period, or they can choose to hold them to maturity, receiving all the coupon proceeds and eventually recovering the principal repaid by the issuer. Because developing countries have relatively lower sovereign debt ratings than developed countries, their sovereign Eurobonds have higher coupon rates and corresponding holding yields, which make them popular among many institutional investors in the international bond market.

     Table 2-1 lists the major holders in the Eurobond market for sovereign bonds issued by 12 developing countries, including Egypt, South Africa, Sri Lanka, etc. [The following developing countries are listed: Angola, Argentina, Brazil, Cote d’Ivoire, Chile, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Nigeria, Tunisia, and South Africa].

     This data shows that, without exception, the top 15 holdings are all from Western developed countries, including mainly the US, Germany, France, and Italy. These subscribers include many of the world’s leading investment institutions, such as BlackRock, Vanguard Group, FMR LLC and JPMorgan Chase & Co of the US; Royal Bank of Canada; Intesa Sanpaolo Spa of Italy; Credit Agricole Group of France; AllianzSE of Germany; KBC Group NV of Belgium. The combined holdings of these developed country institutional investors in the sovereign bonds of these developing countries amounted to 50% of the total global holdings. Among them, investment firms from the US subscribed the highest number and amount of securities covered by sovereign bonds, while BlackRock topped the list of subscribers with the highest total holdings.

     Against the backdrop of the global capital market downturn, high interest rate Eurobonds offered by developing countries have shown unprecedented attractiveness, with many countries’ Eurobonds being oversubscribed. (Carlos Mureithi, qz.com/africa/1996978/why-investors-have-a- huge-appetite-for-african-eurobonds)

     Angola’s 10-year fixed bond issue in early 2022 was more than twice as oversubscribed at a coupon rate of 8.75%, raising $1.75bn. South Africa followed with a $3bn Eurobond issue in April 2022, which was oversubscribed by a factor of 2.4 and ultimately raised more than $7.1bn. (Kanika Saigal, theafricareport.com/192590/ angola-raises-1-75-in-bond-market-as-africa-appetite-returns/ )

     The favorable capital has made it easy for developing countries to obtain large amounts of financing, with major investors including fund managers, insurance and pension funds, hedge funds, commercial banks, etc.

     Based on the above analysis and data, it is obvious that institutional investors from developed countries in Europe and the United States have deep-pocket capital and a high degree of profit-seeking tendency when subscribing to developing countries’ sovereign bonds…

(excerpts from: The Trap of Financial Capital: The Impact of International Bonds on the Debt Sustainability of Developing Countries. Prof Tang Xiaoyang chairs the Department of International Relations at Tsinghua University)

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B3. US Government’s Migration Policy is an Economic Strategy – Neil Munro

A senior official in the White House says US President Joe Biden’s immigration policy is intended to fill new jobs in government-spending programs, high-tech firms, and a growing economy.

     ‘We are creating new jobs this year as we’re breaking ground on key infrastructure projects under the President’s bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS & Science Act, [&] new green jobs as we implement the Inflation Reduction Act,’ said Katie Tobin, senior director for transborder security on the National Security Council, adding: ‘As our economy grows, we need workers that we just don’t have enough of. So it is in our interest to bring people in and to stay competitive globally.’

     ‘In closing,’ Tobin said on May 15, ‘the Biden-Harris administration appreciates both the moral responsibility & the strategic opportunity that migration presents – it’s at the heart of our domestic & our foreign policy agendas.’

     Tobin’s stealth policy of government-accelerated economic migration could be described as Saudi-style migration, corporatist migration, or perhaps the ‘Any Willing Worker’ strategy pushed by George W Bush in 2004, said Mark Krikorian, director of the Center for Immigration Studies. He continued:

The federal government is basically serving as a staffing service for US corporations… This administration is clearly rooting for large corporations, the Chamber of Commerce, and employers who don’t want to raise wages – at the expense of ordinary workers. That’s a choice, but it should be made clear what they’re choosing and whose interests they’re serving.

     Tobin is a former DC-based official of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. She spoke at a May 15 event at the investor-run American Enterprise Institute.

     Tobin’s admission that migration is being used as a government economic strategy is starkly different from the establishment media’s coverage of migration as a chaotic humanitarian problem.

     Those border-drama stories also hide the huge level of legal migration – roughly 1 million per year – and the huge inflow of visa workers that create a population of at least 1.5 million white-collar foreign workers in US jobs.

     Tobin’s comments are also legally important because the administration’s lawyers are trying to defend Biden’s claimed ‘legal pathways’ as humanitarian aid for asylum seekers, refugees, and parole emergencies. Yet Tobin repeatedly described the inflow as economic migrants who are seeking jobs and higher living standards:

We’re extremely focused on… increasing the number of legal pathways for people migrating to the US and… making it easier for them to access those legal pathways. To oversimplify it, we assess that there are 3 primary reasons why people are seeking to come to the US.

   1. For economic opportunity – we have lots of jobs and we have higher wages than a lot of countries in the region.

   2. Family reunification – A lot of people have [job-seeking illegal migrant] family here and they’ve been separated a long time. They want to be with their family, and,

   3. Protection. As was noted in the last presentation, we have a lot of people fleeing persecution, fleeing [poverty] hardship in their home countries, and they’re seeking safe haven in the US.

     Tobin ignored the rival development strategy of boosting trade with poor people in foreign democracies, or the diplomatic strategy of establishing democracy in countries where autocrats shrink trade. She said:

‘Root causes’ work is really tough … We’ve done a lot to put money into the hands of [Central American] NGOs, civil society organizations, the people themselves, but we have seen some democratic backsliding in some of these countries where there’s concerns about the corruption issues. This gets in the way, this makes it complicated and our administration is not willing to turn a blind eye to those issues. So it makes the progress slow. In other countries where we’re seeing high [migrant] outflows, we have very little diplomatic opening to do much at all.

   That view is good news for US investors who say that the immigration of consumers, renters & workers is better than trade because their foreign investments face political risks in poor, developing countries.

     Tobin’s ‘kind of extraction migration doesn’t even really have the likelihood of creating any kind of circular benefits for’ poor countries, responded Krikorian:

All you’re doing is draining away the people that they need for development… The people who have some get up and go, the kind of people who would start a new little business in their town, who would run for mayor to clean up the local police department, that kind of stuff. [If they go] what you have left is kids, old people, and the deadbeat brothers-in-law..

   You can’t develop your [poor] country by exporting your main resource – human beings – and importing some share of their earnings for a little while until the money stops. That’s not a development strategy.

     But Tobin said the government is investing in the stable countries that host many of the migrants who are on their way to the US:

Where we see the most opportunity in potential for a return on investment in US economic terms, is in investing in these middle-income host countries in the region that already have a long-standing history of solidarity, like Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Costa Rica.

     With their extra US funding, these countries can help the US control the flow of migrants through the deadly Darien Gap, up through Central America, and into the USA, according to Tobin:

These are countries that have long traditions of welcoming their neighbors, they have strong legal frameworks, they have relatively good economies … We think that with increased investment from the international community, these countries can really be important players in this broader framework of managing migration. They can host these populations, they can provide them temporary or permanent legal status, And we think that’s in the best interest for a lot of these migrants.

     For example, in April, Tobin told reporters that the US government would work with Columbia and Panama to crack down on the migrant smugglers that escort people through the dangerous Darien Gap between Colombia & Panama. But the crackdown is not intended to curb the migrant flow, she said:

The campaign that we agreed to launch with Panama and Colombia is focused on joint counter-human smuggling & trafficking efforts. So we will really be focused on enhancing arrests, prosecutions, and other efforts to disrupt human smuggling efforts. So that will be the focus.

   The US already pays Panama to protect migrants traveling through the Darien Gap, and it funds buses to take migrants from Panama toward the US. This effort is part of the government’s ‘controlled flow’ transfer program.

     So far, the US has spent roughly $9billion to help these countries aid migrants – including migrants heading to the US, she said.

     Tobin’s determination to move migrants into the US is very different from the older Democratic Party which worked with unions to prevent employers from importing cheap and subservient labor, Krikorian said:

I can’t explain the process but clearly for the Left, open borders is now a non-negotiable value, a litmus test issue. So it doesn’t matter what happens with those [poor] countries, that it harms their prospects for development, that it destabilizes them. It doesn’t matter that it hurts US workers.

   None of that stuff matters because open migration is non-negotiable for these people.

     Tobin’s plan for government-funded migration will also prevent the emergence of a tight labor market that boost US wages & productivity, Krikorian said.

A tight labor market is both a good social policy, but also a spur to labor-saving innovations… [With migration] we import workers to perform tasks unchanged from the Middle Ages even though tighter labor markets would spur the modernization of things like harvesting raisins or any number of any number of industries.

   In 2020, President Donald Trump burst the cheap labor bubble that had been created by Congress’ bipartisan decision in 1990 to double the immigration inflow. That bubble suppressed wages and spiked welfare spending — and so allowed investors to profit from low-productivity work, such as restaurants and hotels. President Biden is now reinflating the bubble by importing at least 4 million migrants over the southern border.

     Tobin sketched the White House plans to accelerate foreign migration into US workplaces in 2023.

     ‘In year 2 and now year 3, we are starting to make some really big moves and announcing a lot of new legal pathways,’ she said. For example, the administration has announced it will open 100 migrant centers where foreigners can ask to migrate to the US, often via the refugee program that is funded by Congress. Tobin said:

Another big focus of the Biden-Harris administration has been working to not only build back the US Refugee Admissions Program but really upgrade and streamline it. The goal would be that we would use the refugee authority in our immigration laws to welcome refugees around the world, for Syrians, Ukrainians. But I think as many of you know, historically, it can take 2, 5, 10 years for people to be resettled, which is just not sufficient.

   So we’ve been working to reduce the time really, like build in efficiencies to the refugee resettlement adjudication, so it goes from, you know, a multi-year process to just a few weeks.And we think that that will be a more more appropriate to apply to some of these urgent, refugee crises that arise in the future.And that is our plan in the Western Hemisphere that we’re actually going to try to do this expedited refugee processing.

   The use of humanitarian parole, we often find we have a justification to use it if there’s an urgent humanitarian need or significant public benefit. But we would prefer to use refugee resettlement. It’s the more durable solution for refugees. They come here with permanent status, they can bring their family members. So it’s a long story, but we would always prefer to use refugee as the pathway over parole if we had the chance.

     Tobin also said the White House is also trying to rewrite the much-abused, non-immigrant visa programs — mostly, the H-2B program for roughly 150,00 seasonal workers, and the uncapped H-2A program for agriculture workers:

There are too many [bureaucratic] steps. It’s really complicated I think for the worker — the person sitting in Honduras who wants to come work in agriculture in the US — and the farmer in the US… [and it] gives a little bit too much power to the employer.

It would be better, she said:

To have a [non-business] sponsor — so somebody that will welcome the [foreign workers], help them to settle here, but not necessarily be their employer, and then have somebody immediately have access to work authorization upon arrival, so they can immediately contribute to our economy.

US media outlets have shut down any debate over the economic impact of migration, and especially over the pocketbook damage to US families. For example, the establishment reporters who cover migration rarely mention the administration’s economic policy, even though the nation’s border chief, Alejandro Mayorkas, has repeatedly pushed the issue in their faces.

     For example, on January 8, a White House reporter asked Mayorkas: ‘What is your message to the US public about the impact of a labor shortage in US?’ Mayorkas responded by calling for an even greater skew of the nation’s labor market in favor of employers and investors:

The labor shortage in the USA is one powerful example of how desperately we need to fix our broken immigration system. You know, we look to the north… Canada realized that it has a 1million-person labor shortage there, and they are bringing in approximately 1.4 million migrants this year to address that labor shortage.

   Our programs – our H-2A, our H-2B, our skilled worker programs – are far outdated to really meet the economic needs as well as the economic opportunities [for migrants] that immigration can provide.

     On May 11, another White House reporter asked Mayorkas about the taxpayer cost of migration. Mayorkas dodged the question and argued that US investors should be allowed to hire cheap workers from poor countries – such as Columbia in South America – instead of being forced to fairly compete for US white-collar and blue-collar employees in a level US labor market:

Let me turn that question around… I’m going to turn it around to match the question that an international partner asked of me, and the question that the international partner asked of me is ‘What is the economic cost of your broken immigration system?’ Since there are businesses around this country that are desperate for workers, there are… desperate workers in foreign countries that are looking for jobs in the USA, where they can earn money lawfully and send much-needed remittances back home. ‘What is the cost of a broken immigration system?’ That is the question I am asked and that is the question that I pose to Congress, because it is extraordinar[ily high].

     ‘There’s no question that some Republicans will succeed in making this case [against Biden’s] immigration, but they’re going to have to up their game,’ said Krikorian. The GOP message ‘too often is limited to the border disaster… But if you fix the border, then what?’

     ‘That’s something that some Republicans have been talking about – I think more now than before – but they still have a ways to go,’ he said.

     Extraction Migration – The federal government has long operated an unpopular economic policy of Extraction Migration. This colonialism-like policy extracts vast amounts of human resources from needy countries, reduces beneficial trade, and uses the imported workers, renters & consumers to grow Wall Street and urban economies, such as New York.

     The migrant inflow has successfully forced down US wages and also boosted rents & housing prices. The inflow has also pushed many native-born US citizens out of careers in a wide variety of business sectors and contributed to the rising death rate of poor US citizens.

     The lethal policy also sucks jobs and wealth from heartland states by subsidizing coastal investors with a flood of low-wage workers, high-occupancy renters, and government-aided consumers.

     The population inflow also reduces the political clout of native-born US citizens, because the population replacement allows elites to divorce themselves from the needs and interests of ordinary US citizens.

     In many speeches, Mayorkas says he is building a mass migration system to deliver workers to wealthy employers and investors and ‘equity’ to poor foreigners. The nation’s border laws are subordinate to elite opinion about ‘the values of our country,’ Mayorkas claims.

     Migration – and especially, labor migration – is unpopular among swing voters. A 54% majority of US citizens say Biden is allowing a southern border invasion, according to an August 2022 poll commissioned by the left-of-center National Public Radio (NPR). The 54% ‘Invasion’ majority included 76% of Republicans, 46% of independents, and even 40% of Democrats.

– breitbart.com/economy/2023/05/21/white-house-bidens-migration-is-an-economic-strategy/

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C. Building Blocks

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Every ee carries these extracts below to counter: 1) The constant harangue about exports, when they must at all times serve to advance or recapture and control of our home markets to develop modern industry. 2) We need to learn about machine industry versus handicraft, assembly and manufacture 3) The rules of the Sangha require constant interaction between people.

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• ‘The biggest handicap to industrial development is not the lack of capital but the absence of external economics, such as cheap power, cheap transport, technical and managerial ability, and above all the lack of a home market. The home market in an agricultural country is essentially the rural market. It is only a prosperous peasantry that can provide the home market for our industry. This is the connection between a guaranteed price for paddy and the industrialization of our country’ – Philip Gunawardena

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• ‘The Creation of a Home Market for our Industry is the pivot on which the future industrialisation of our country rests. In Ceylon’s context The Home Market essentially means The Peasant Market. To create the home market therefore we must substantially raise the living standards of the mass of the peasants so that they will be able to buy the goods produced by our industry. This demonstrates clearly the necessary connection between Industrialization & Agrarian Reform.’ – Policy Statement of the Ministry of Industries, 1956

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• ‘Their field of production, the smallholding, admits of no division of labor in its cultivation, no application of science and, therefore, no diversity of development, no variety of talent, no wealth of social relationships. Each individual peasant family is almost self-sufficient; it itself directly produces the major part of its consumption and thus acquires its means of life more through exchange with nature than in intercourse with society.’ – Karl Marx, The 18^th Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte, p124

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• ‘Japan will retain and encourage the branches of the machine industry that yield high added value, but production facilities that involve a low degree of processing and generate low added value should be moved to developing countries… so that Japan can concentrate on high technology & knowledge-intensive industry.’– Japan’s Council on Industrial Structure, 1977 (in SBD de Silva, The Political Economy of Underdevelopment)

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• Economics Not Taught – The Machines Nobody Knows – The Extraordinary Culture of Machine Tools – If we were a truly ‘developing’ country, here are the questions a national media would need to ask: A plan requires a political, economic & military strategy, which will first assess peasant & worker power, land (including natural resources), & capital, that the nation possesses, and the time needed to transform these powers into material reality:

     Here’s ee’s Index of a Real Economy or, at least, how a real economy would be measured:

1. The index of a strong economy is modern industry.

2. The index of modern industry is the production of machines.

3. Machine tools (MT) are the most important of all machines.

4. MT is needed for huge diversified metal fabricating industries (auto, electrical, etc.)

5. MT is essential for production of machines for all other industries.

6. Full data on machinery production is needed:

7. What portion of our machinery needs are supplied by machines built in Sri Lanka?

8. What is the trend? Are we producing more or less machines than we did before?

9. Data on imports & exports of machinery is needed (esp shipments of MTs & other Industrial Machinery)

10. MT production vs imports, must include: Mining & Metallurgical Machinery, Pulp & Paper Machinery, Textile Machinery, Woodworking Machinery, Logging Machinery, Sawmill Machinery, Office & Business Machines (adapted from: ee 20-26 Sept 2020).

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• Making Central Banks Independent of the People?

– anchor.fm/shiran-illanperuma/episodes

– youtube.com/watch?v=_AWg6VvTj9g

– eesrilanka.wordpress.com/2019/08/10/imf-independence-the-central-bank/

– eesrilanka.wordpress.com/2020/06/27/make-the-central-bank-independent-of-capitalism/

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• On State-Owned Enterprises and Privatization

– anchor.fm/shiran-illanperuma/episodes/On-State-Owned-Enterprises-and-the-Privatization-Debate-w-Vinod-Moonesinghe-e1vric4

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__________________________________________________________

D. News Index______________________________________________

• ee News Index provides headlines & links to make sense of the weekly focus of published English ‘business news’ to expose the backwardness of multinational, corporate controlled ‘local media’:

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D1. Sovereignty

(ee is pro-politics, pro-politician, pro-nation-state, anti-corporatist, anti-expert, anti-NGO)

ee Sovereignty news emphasizes sovereignty as economic sovereignty – a strong nation is built on modern (machine-making) industrialization fueled by a producer culture.

• The May 09^th Job – Iraj interviews Wimal

– youtube.com/watch?v=YQtCDXQMMXE

• Pakistan Naval Ship (PNS) ‘Shahjahan’ arrives at the Port of Colombo

– ft.lk/ft_tv/PNS-Shahjahan-arrives-at-port-of-Colombo-on-official-visit/10520-749034

• What if Eelam is declared in Sri Lanka – who will really rule that Eelam? – Waduge

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/24/what-if-eelam-is-declared-in-sri-lanka-who-will-really-rule-that-eelam/

• Tamil Genocide Memorial Under Construction in Canada Over Myth Promoted by Canadian PM’s Rhetoric

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/24/tamil-genocide-memorial-under-construction-in-canada-over-a-myth-promoted-by-the-canadian-pms-rhetoric/

• Canadian Government Sanctions Related to Sri Lanka

– international.gc.ca/world-monde/international_relations-relations_internationales/sanctions/sri_lanka.aspx?

• The ITAK and Tamil National Alliance break-up – Jeyaraj

– ft.lk/columns/The-ITAK-and-Tamil-National-Alliance-break-up/4-748913

• Sri Lanka’s TRC draft has nothing to solve Tamils’ concerns – Sumanthiran

– economynext.com/sri-lankas-trc-draft-has-nothing-to-solve-tamils-concerns-sumanthiran-122216/

• Wiggie to seek support from Indian Hindu groups to stop Buddhistisation of North and East

– ft.lk/news/Wiggie-to-seek-support-from-Indian-Hindu-groups-to-stop-Buddhistisation-of-North-and-East/56-749076

• JVP ready to bring Colombo under siege (over local government elections): AKD

– island.lk/jvp-ready-to-bring-colombo-under-siege-akd/

• Those Forgotten Final Days – By N Sathiya Moorthy

– colombogazette.com/2023/05/22/those-forgotten-final-days/

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/25/those-forgotten-final-days-by-n-sathiya-moorthy/

• Human Rights & War Crimes: Sri Lanka’s Ignorance Matches that of US, Parts I & II

– island.lk/human-rights-and-war-crimessri-lankas-ignorance-matches-that-of-us/

– island.lk/sri-lankas-ignorance-matches-that-of-us-ii/

• Visiting English Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Director asks about Prevention of Terrorism Act Arrests

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/28/britain-seeks-sri-lankas-cooperation-to-prevent-illegal-immigration/

• England’s Lies Boomerang on England!

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/28/britains-lies-boomerang-on-britain/

• The 53rd Session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHRC) starts on June 19

‘However, the pressure this time is less…’

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/columns/vip-smuggler-mp-travelled-to-dubai-six-times-since-march-this-year-521315.html

• UN High Commissioner for Human Rights met Archbishop of Colombo on May 22 in Geneva

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/columns/vip-smuggler-mp-travelled-to-dubai-six-times-since-march-this-year-521315.html

• SL High Commissioner to India visits International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) School

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/31/high-commissioner-moragoda-undertakes-a-visit-to-akshaya-patra-foundation-in-bengaluru-to-study-their-renowned-mid-day-meal-programme/

• Digital economy: New laws drafted for undersea cable protection

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/28/digital-economy-new-laws-drafted-for-undersea-cable-protection/

• Pathfinder Foundation & Swiss Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue CoHost Bay of Bengal Maritime Dialogue

‘Bernard Goonetilleke, Chairman of Pathfinder Foundation and Venu Rajamony, Senior Advisor, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue…Ahmed A. Jawad, Director of Pathfinder Foundation and Willem Punt, South Asia Coordinator, Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue…’

– island.lk/pathfinder-foundation-and-centre-for-humanitarian-dialogue-co-host-bay-of-bengal-maritime-dialogue

– island.lk/bay-of-bengal-maritime-dialogue-explores-issues-of-critical-concern-to-the-region/

• Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute & EU Delegation discuss Indian Ocean Region (IOR)

‘The Indian Peace Zone (IPZ) proposal, initiated by Sri Lanka in the early seventies, although seen as stillborn by many, should if possible be reactivated by the South…’

– island.lk/taxing-challenge-of-strengthening-ior-security/

• 45th Asian Summit on Remote Sensing to be held in Sri Lanka next year

‘Asian Association on Remote Sensing (AARS)…established in 1981, with over 29 member countries’

– dailymirror.lk/business/45thAsian-Summit-on-Remote-Sensing-to-be-held-in-Sri-Lanka-next-year/215-260152

• All-inclusive Maritime Directory for benefit of local and global industry stakeholders

– island.lk/sri-lanka-launches-all-inclusive-maritime-directory-for-benefit-of-local-and-global-industry-stakeholders/

• India has done more for SL than IMF: Minister for External Affairs Jaishankar

– island.lk/india-has-done-more-for-sl-than-imf-jaishankar/

• Director of South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) met SL Fisheries Minister

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/columns/all-that-glitters-is-not-gold-controversy-over-statues-gifted-to-dalada-maligawa-521374.html

• Protests against a Buddhist shrine in Palaly in Jaffna

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/columns/all-that-glitters-is-not-gold-controversy-over-statues-gifted-to-dalada-maligawa-521374.html

• The Eastern Region and the 13th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution

– island.lk/the-eastern-region-and-the-13th-amendment-to-the-sri-lankan-constitution/

• Sri Lanka and China to commence 12th round of diplomatic consultations 29 May to 01 June

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/29/sri-lanka-and-china-to-commence-12th-round-of-diplomatic-consultations/

• China will always stand for Sri Lanka’s sovereignty and socioeconomic development – Chinese Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/30/china-will-always-stand-for-sri-lankas-sovereignty-and-socioeconomic-development-chinese-vice-minister-of-foreign-affairs/

• Visiting Chinese Minister reaffirms unwavering support for SL economic recovery

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/Visiting-Chinese-Vice-Foreign-Minister-reaffirms-unwavering-support-for-Sri-Lankas-economic-recovery/2-1141987

• President attends business roundtable on economic revival, seeks Japanese investment

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/26/president-attends-business-roundtable-on-economic-revival-seeks-japanese-investment/

• President apologizes to Japanese Government over the termination of LRT project

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/27/president-apologizes-to-japanese-government-over-the-termination-of-lrt-project/

• President urges Japan to include Lanka in Bay of Bengal partnership; membership in RCEP

‘President met Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) President Akihiko Tanaka and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) Governor Nobumitsu Hayashi…’

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/news/president-urges-japan-to-include-lanka-in-bay-of-bengal-partnership-seeks-membership-in-rcep-521428.html

• Major turn in Japan-Lanka ties

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/news/major-turn-in-japan-lanka-ties-521450.html

• Repairing dent in Sri Lanka-Japan relations caused by cancellation of LRT Project

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/columns/repairing-dent-in-sri-lanka-japan-relations-caused-by-cancellation-of-lrt-project-521227.html

• Russian Ambassador clarifies comparison between Ukraine and Afghanistan

– island.lk/russian-ambassador-clarifies/

• Tribute to Late Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala: Ravinatha Aryasinha

– ft.lk/columns/Tribute-to-Late-Ambassador-Jayantha-Dhanapala/4-748955

• The Ambassador, His Swanky New Embassy and the Limits of Diplomatic Immunity

– politico.com/news/magazine/2022/07/22/sri-lanka-ambassador-jaliya-wickramasuriya-conviction-00047017

• BRICS Ministers of Foreign Affairs & International Relations, South Africa, 1 June

– mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/1873948/

• An ‘Axis of Seven’ to Supplement Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) – Bhadrakumar |

– newsclick.in/axis-seven-supplement-sco

– indianpunchline.com/an-axis-of-seven-to-supplement-sco/

• Bangladesh Separating from Pakistan Did Not Trigger Separatism in West Bengal, India or Elsewhere in India

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/28/bangladesh-separating-from-pakistan-did-not-trigger-separatism-in-west-bengal-india-or-elsewhere-in-india/

• India’s agony and ecstasy over NATO Plus – Bhadrakumar

‘What has India got to do with ‘deterrence of Taiwan’, an entity New Delhi doesn’t even recognise?’

– deccanherald.com/opinion/nato-plus-india-china-taiwan-uniparty-narendra-modi-1224129.html

• Special Flight, Promise of Support: Indian Centre’s Big Outreach to Tamil Seers

– ndtv.com/india-news/special-flight-promise-of-support-centres-big-outreach-to-tamil-seers-4074193

• India Announces an SCO Summit in ‘Virtual’ Mode

– thewire.in/diplomacy/india-an-sco-summit-virtual-mode

• India is missing Hindu Kush for the Pacific – Bhadrakumar

‘the entire arc of countries in Central Asia (Inner Asia) is turning into a battleground. While Indian strategists are besotted with the idea of the US’s island chain strategy against China in the Pacific…’

– tribuneindia.com/news/comment/india-is-missing-hindu-kush-for-the-pacific-512126

• New US visa policy: Bangladesh’s commitment & responsibility to hold a free and fair election

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/25/new-us-visa-policy-bangladeshs-commitment-and-responsibility-to-hold-a-free-and-fair-election/

• US coercive diplomacy is generally ineffective and often counterproductive and it endangers the whole world: Dhaka

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/29/us-coercive-diplomacy-is-generally-ineffective-and-often-counterproductive-and-it-endangers-the-whole-world/

• US says China refused meeting of defence chief Li Shangfu and Pentagon head Lloyd Austin

– scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3222245/us-says-china-declined-request-defence-chief-li-shangfu-meet-pentagon-head-lloyd-austin

• North Korea plans first spy satellite to monitor ‘reckless’ US-South Korean military exercises

– southkoreanews.net/news/273848366/north-korea-plans-its-first-spy-satellite

• China takes leadership role in Central Asia – Bhadrakumar

– indianpunchline.com/china-takes-leadership-role-in-central-asia/

• NATO is creating another battlefield on European continent

– globaltimes.cn/page/202305/1291644.shtml

• Missing The Context – US Media Fail to Understand Persian Gulf Diplomacy and Action

– moonofalabama.org/2023/06/missing-the-context-us-media-fail-to-understand-persian-gulf-action.html

• Erdogan’s mediatory role on Ukraine cannot be wished away

– indianpunchline.com/erdogans-mediatory-role-on-ukraine-cannot-be-wished-away/

• Unity Is an Imperative: Reclaiming African Liberation Day, 60 Years On

‘60 years ago, on May 25, Ghana’s first prime minister Kwame Nkrumah declared , ‘[T]he struggle against colonialism does not end with the attainment of national independence.’

– blackagendareport.com/unity-imperative-reclaiming-african-liberation-day-60-years

• Violations Mar Sudan’s Soon-to-Expire Ceasefire, Paramilitary RSF Occupies Communist Party’s Office

– blackagendareport.com/violations-mar-sudans-soon-expire-ceasefire-paramilitary-rsf-occupies-communist-partys-office

• Centering Imperialism in Libya: Implications for the African Continent

– blackagendareport.com/centering-imperialism-libya-implications-african-continent

• Lavrov in Africa

– vk.com/@580896205-lavrov-in-africa

• Lavrov arrives in Burundi for visit

– tass.com/politics/1625059

• Lavrov arrives in South Africa on visit

– tass.com/politics/1626007

• Putin, South Africa, and the International Criminal Court

– blackagendareport.com/putin-south-africa-and-international-criminal-court

• South Africa guarantees immunity for participants in June meeting, August BRICS summit

– tass.com/world/1624923

• Annexation of Kharkov – Ukraine to Shrink Westward as Russia Responds to Cross-Border Attacks: Helmer

– johnhelmer.net/annexation-of-kharkov-ukraine-to-shrink-westward-as-russia-responds-to-cross-border-attacks

• Post-Bakhmut scenario in Ukraine war – Bhadrakumar

– indianpunchline.com/post-bakhmut-scenario-in-ukraine-war/

– en.interaffairs.ru/article/post-bakhmut-scenario-in-ukraine-war-game-changed/

• An appetite for a world without a hegemon is emerging

– irishtimes.com/opinion/2023/05/27/an-appetite-for-a-world-without-a-hegemon-is-emerging/

• Ukraine in the new world disorder

– news.err.ee/1608977948/fiona-hill-ukraine-in-the-new-world-disorder

• What is Ukraine doing in Shebekino, Belgorod oblast and what consequences may we expect?

– gilbertdoctorow.com/2023/06/02/what-is-ukraine-doing-in-the-town-of-shebekino-belgorod-oblast-and-what-consequences-may-we-expect/

• NATO’s big gamble in Ukraine has failed

– moneycontrol.com/news/opinion/natos-big-gamble-in-ukraine-has-failed-10733331.html

• The Quisling Doctrine – War Against Russia is War for Western Civilization

– johnhelmer.net/gorilla-radio-meets-the-quisling-doctrine-war-against-russia-is-war-for-western-civilization

• Canada on Russia’s False Claims

– international.gc.ca/world-monde/issues_development-enjeux_developpement/response_conflict-reponse_conflits/crisis-crises/ukraine-fact-fait.aspx

• US Undersecretary of State Wendy Sherman calls Dominica ‘vibrant and energetic democracy’

– blackagendareport.com/us-government-approves-abinaders-racist-violence

• Colombian president affirms that his government is target of a soft coup

– radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/324233-colombian-president-affirms-that-his-government-is-target-of-a-soft-coup

• Peru’s designated president authorizes entry of U.S. military troops into the country

– radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/324238-perus-designated-president-authorizes-entry-of-us-military-troops-into-the-country

• Evo Morales says Chilean President Gabriel Boric embraces US attacks on Venezuela

– radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/324298-evo-morales-says-chilean-president-gabriel-boric-embraces-trumps-attacks-on-venezuela

• Russia and China welcome Venezuela’s interest in joining BRICS

– radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/324290-russia-and-china-welcome-venezuelas-interest-in-joining-brics

• Uruguayans march in defense of the right to water in Montevideo

– radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/324289-uruguayans-march-in-defense-of-the-right-to-water-in-montevideo

• Brazil’s Lula calls for instituting common South American currency

– radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/324288-brazils-lula-calls-for-instituting-common-south-american-currency

• European Parliament to Join the Militarisation Path

– socialistproject.ca/2023/05/european-parliament-join-militarisation/

• France on rough road to advancing European strategic autonomy

– http://eng.chinamil.com.cn/OPINIONS_209196/Opinions_209197/16227290.html

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D2. Security (the state beyond ‘a pair of handcuffs’, monopolies of legitimate violence)

ee Security section focuses on the state (a pair of handcuffs, which sposedly has the monopoly of legitimate violence), and how the ‘national security’ doctrine is undermined by private interests, with no interest in divulging or fighting the real enemy, whose chief aim is to prevent an industrial renaissance as the basis of a truly independent nation.

• Russia says USA accessed thousands of Apple phones in spy plot

– reuters.com/technology/russias-fsb-says-us-nsa-penetrated-thousands-apple-phones-spy-plot-2023-06-01

• Former Attorney General alleges wider conspiracy behind the Easter Sunday terror attacks

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/news/mps-call-for-psc-probe-on-former-ags-conspiracy-comments-521446.html

• VIP smuggler MP travelled to Dubai six times since March this year

‘Honoured as Very Important Persons (VIPs), most users of the hallowed gateway to the world, the VIP Lounge at Bandaranaike International Airport, are Members of Sri Lanka’s Parliament.’

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/columns/vip-smuggler-mp-travelled-to-dubai-six-times-since-march-this-year-521315.html

• Judicial Service Association of Sri Lanka (JSA) opposes appointment of two nominees to High Court

– island.lk/jsa-opposes-appointment-of-two-nominees-to-high-court/

• The Colombo Plan and Scotch on the Government Account

‘The Colombo Plan was established in 1951 with 7 founding member countries based on the discussions at the Commonwealth Foreign Ministers Conference held in Colombo in 1950’

– island.lk/the-colombo-plan-and-entertaining-on-the-government-account/

• Day Three of April 1971 insurrection, on duty at Hambantota/Kataragama

– island.lk/day-three-of-april-1971-insurrection-on-duty-at-hambantota-kataragama/

• More on the Wellawaya Attack 1971 – capture of the first two Insurgents

– island.lk/more-on-the-wellawaya-attack-1971-capture-of-the-first-two-insurgents/

• Ceylon Mounted Rifles were English residents working in large firms with offices in the city

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/plus/a-fitting-memorial-520996.html

• Bhutan’s Civil Society Organisations (CSO) face many challenges despite government recognition

– economynext.com/bhutans-cso-face-many-challenges-despite-government-recognition-122338/

• Trojan Horses of His Majesty’s Government. Albany Associates

– telegra.ph/Trojan-Horses-of-HMG-Albany-Associates-05-23

• CIA Front Company Extends Intrusive Surveillance Operations in Lithuania Under Pretext of New Cold War

– covertactionmagazine.com/2023/05/22/cia-front-company-extends-intrusive-surveillance-operations-in-lithuania-under-pretext-of-new-cold-war/

• The Reconnaissance Strike Complex

‘The Soviet Union, and now Russia, have long worked on the development of twin concepts for the detection and assured destruction of high-value targets in near-real time’

– moonofalabama.org/2023/05/the-reconnaissance-strike-complex.html

• Storm Shadow Disappoints, Ukraine’s Counter-Offensive Sputters As Russian Jets Decimate Zelensky’s Troops

– eurasiantimes.com/storm-shadow-disappoints-ukraines-counter-offensive-sputters/

• Zaluzhny Kaput – Who Goes Next in the Ukrainian Collapse

– johnhelmer.net/zaluzhny-kaput-who-goes-next-in-the-ukrainian-collapse/

• The Battle of Bakhmut: Postmortem – Big Serge

– bigserge.substack.com/p/the-battle-of-bakhmut-postmortem?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

• 36 Hours in Bakhmut: One Unit’s Desperate Battle to Hold Back the Russians

– archive.is/zPFVT#selection-111.35-507.24

• Drones Strikes In Moscow – Missile Strikes In Ukraine

– moonofalabama.org/2023/05/drones-strikes-in-moscow-missile-strikes-in-ukraine-/

• Putin Confirms Russian Strike on Ukrainian Military Intel HQ in Kiev

– sputnikglobe.com/20230530/putin-confirms-russian-strike-on-ukrainian-military-intel-hq-in-kiev-1110796241.html

• Belarusian activist accused of informing on former girlfriend Sofia Sapega as he’s pardoned

– telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/05/28/nrlatus-sofia-sapega-natiobal-trust/

• Stop Canadian state-led censorship of opponents of the US/NATO war against Russia!

– wsws.org/en/articles/2023/06/02/rfpl-j02.html

• CANSEC, North America’s largest military weapons convention in Ottawa

– socialistproject.ca/2023/06/protest-disrupts-north-americas-largest-weapons-fair/

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D3. Economists (Study the Economists before you study the Economics)

ee Economists shows how paid capitalist/academic ‘professionals’ confuse (misdefinitions, etc) and divert (with false indices, etc) from the steps needed to achieve a modern industrial country.

• Sri Lanka Chapter of the Bastiat Society discuss central bank independence vs sound money

‘will feature Lawrence H White, Professor of Economics at George Mason University in the US, and W A Wijewardene, former Deputy Central Bank Governor, of the Central Bank of Sri Lanka.’

– economynext.com/sri-lanka-forum-to-discuss-central-bank-independence-vs-sound-money-121752/

• Ranil Wickremesinghe’s contribution to securing an IMF loan for Lanka

‘Columnist D.B.S. Jeyaraj asserts the ‘IMF program was made possible largely due to the untiring efforts of the President’…economist Umesh Moramudali says ‘Ranil doesn’t own the IMF negotiations’…the ‘IMF negotiates with the government…’

– island.lk/ranil-wickremesinghes-contribution-to-securing-an-imf-loan-for-lanka/

• Eurobonds, not bilateral debts, trapped poor countries

‘Western financial institutions took advantage of inexperienced borrowers’

– pekingnology.com/p/eurobonds-not-bilateral-debts-trapped

• A world of debt: IMF, China and countries like Sri Lanka – CIA Project Syndicate

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/sunday-times-2/a-world-of-debt-imf-china-and-countries-like-sri-lanka-521220.html

• Sri Lanka Economic Association (SLEA) mourns loss of senior member Sarath Vidanagama

‘Chief Editor of the prestigious and peer reviewed Sri Lanka Economic Journal of SLEA.’

– island.lk/slea-mourns-the-loss-of-its-senior-member-sarath-vidanagama/

• Usvatte-aratchi at First Meeting (2019) to Celebrate Central Bank Governor A. S. Jayawardena

‘This meeting was organised by a group of five, all friends of Governor Jayawardena: Sarath Rajapathirana. Nimal Sanderatne, Joan Moonesinghe, Ranee Jayamaha and W.A Wijewradena…’

– island.lk/governor-a-s-jayawardenas-contribution-to-public-good/

• Where are Sri Lanka’s economists? – Devapriya

‘It is easy to understand why policies which have failed in the West, which the West is abandoning in favour of full-scale industrialisation, are still being touted, still being promoted, still being idealised, in countries like ours’

– island.lk/where-are-sri-lankas-economists/

• Why is Sri Lanka’s rupee appreciating? – Bellwether

‘Virtuous Cycle: The central bank is controlling its rupee credit, allowing its ‘deposits’ in the form of dollars to grow. When reserves are collected, a CB will operate policy tighter than a currency board’

– economynext.com/why-is-sri-lankas-rupee-appreciating-122140/

• A Candid Study & Action Plan for Economic & Social Development in Sri Lanka – Parts 3-7 – Wimalawansa

‘a closed economy such as North Korea and Russia are apparent self-inflicted disasters’

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/25/part-4-inability-to-pay-loan-traps-and-future-bankruptcy-a-candid-study-and-an-action-plan-economic-and-social-development-for-sri-lanka/

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/26/part-5-errors-of-judgement-imf-and-potential-solutions-to-avoid-bankruptcy-a-candid-study-and-an-action-plan-economic-and-social-development-for-sri-lanka/

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/29/part-6-overcoming-stagnant-gdp-reforming-subsidies-energy-and-taxes-a-candid-study-and-an-action-plan-economic-and-social-development-for-sri-lanka/

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/30/part-7-summary-leadership-needed-for-socio-economic-success-in-sri-lanka-a-candid-study-and-an-action-plan-economic-and-social-development-for-sri-lanka/

• Concrete struggles can be analysed in terms other than those of class – D. Gunawardena

– ssalanka.org/dont-use-class-as-a-weapon-to-dismiss-social-struggles-devaka-gunawardena/

• Why Separation of Exchange Rate Depreciation from Real Wages Makes for Flawed Analysis – Prabhat Patnaik |

– newsclick.in/why-separation-exchange-rate-depreciation-real-wages-makes-flawed-analysis

• Saudi crown prince turns to ‘state capitalism’ after change in the guard

– ft.com/content/321d6bb1-0eca-466a-a16d-6b9109bba077

• The Roots and Consequences of African Underdevelopment – Walter Rodney, 1979

– blackagendareport.com/transcript-roots-and-consequences-african-underdevelopment-walter-rodney-1979

• ‘Unless you devalue, you cannot increase your exports’: Ha-Joon Chang

– buenosairesherald.com/economics/ha-joon-chang-unless-you-devalue-you-cannot-increase-your-exports

• The Arc of Time: Pro-Creditor History – Hudson

‘in Greece, the word of invective was “tyrant”. If someone wanted to support popular desires to write down the debts or redistribute the land, he was called a tyrant.’

– michael-hudson.com/2023/05/the-arc-of-time-pro-creditor-history/

• US Corporate Profits Are Still Rising, If Fed Is Stripped from Data

– bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-25/us-corporate-profits-are-still-rising-if-fed-stripped-from-data

• The European Central Bank (ECB) turned 25 years on 1 June – Roberts

– thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2023/06/02/ecb-25-years/

• Acemoglu, AI and automation – Roberts

‘US and world technology is shaped by the decisions of a handful of very large and very successful tech companies, with tiny workforces and a business model built on automation.’

– thenextrecession.wordpress.com/2023/05/30/acemoglu-ai-and-automation/

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D4. Economy (Usually reported in monetary terms)

ee Economy section shows how media usually measures economy by false indices like GDP, etc., in monetary terms, confusing money and capital, constantly calling for privatization, deregulation, moaning about debt & balance of payments, without stating the need for modern industrial production.

• Gazette issued bringing several state institutions under Finance Ministry

‘1. Sri Lanka Telecom and its Subsidiaries and Allied Institutions 2. Colombo Lotus Tower Management Co. 3. North Sea 4. Sri Lanka Thriposha Co. 5. Galoya Plantation 6. National Salt Ltd. 7. Sri Lanka Cement Corporation 8. Paranthan Chemicals 9. BCC 10. State Engineering Corp. 11. Mahinda Rajapaksa National Tele Cinema Park 12. Lanka General Trading Co.

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/31/gazette-issued-bringing-several-state-institutions-under-finance-ministry/

• Protest against IMF in Colombo – Jana Aragala Viyaparaya (People’s Struggle Movement)

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/Protest-against-IMF-in-Colombo/2-1141989

• Sri Lanka CenBank is waiting for government proposal on DDR – governor

– economynext.com/sri-lanka-cenbank-is-waiting-for-government-proposal-on-ddr-governor-122100/

• No pre-determined level to stop Sri Lanka rupee appreciation: CB Governor

– economynext.com/no-pre-determined-level-to-stop-sri-lanka-rupee-appreciation-cb-governor-122090/

• President unveils govt’s roadmap for socio-economic reforms and accelerated development

‘Four key pillars: (1) Fiscal and Financial Reforms, (2) Investment Drive, (3) Social Protection and Governance, and (4) Transformation of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs).’

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/06/01/president-unveils-govts-roadmap-for-socio-economic-reforms-and-accelerated-development/

• Heads will roll unless state institutions perform; President warns

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/06/02/heads-will-roll-unless-state-institutions-perform-president-warns/

• President outlines National Transformation Road map to build the country by 2048

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/President-outlines-National-Transformation-Road-map-to-build-the-country-by-2048/2-1142001

• Sri Lankan rupee appreciates rapidly against the USD

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/29/sri-lankan-rupee-appreciates-rapidly-against-the-usd/

• Central Bank shifts gears to growth with surprise policy rate cut

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/06/02/central-bank-shifts-gears-to-growth-with-surprise-policy-rate-cut/

• Sri Lanka Foreign Debt Summary

– erd.gov.lk/index.php

• India extends underutilized $1 bln credit facility to Sri Lanka by one year

‘It has been used for urgent procurement of fuel, medicines, food items and industrial raw materials’

– economynext.com/india-extends-under-utilized-1-bln-credit-facility-to-sri-lanka-by-one-year-121816/

• ADB approves USD 350 million loan for Sri Lanka’s economic stabilization

‘Trade finance lines through ADB Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program supported the import of essential items during the crisis.’

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/29/adb-approves-usd-350-million-loan-for-sri-lankas-economic-stabilization/

• Sri Lanka welcomes US$ 350mn ADB loan to stabilise economy

‘as part of … assistance anchored by the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility for the country.’

– dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Sri-Lanka-welcomes-US-350mn-ADB-loan-to-stabilise-economy/108-260151

• World Bank considers projects to boost Lanka’s economy

‘US$ 4mn out of US$ 7.6mn to improve efficiency and transparency in public expenditure through e-procurement…A further US$ 3.5mn….towards transforming the National Audit Office (NAO)

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/news/wb-considers-projects-to-boost-lankas-economy-521448.html

• National Procurement Commission sets up office at Gregory’s Road

– island.lk/national-procurement-commission-sets-up-office-at-gregorys-road/

• UNDP and South Centre organise capacity building workshop on taxation for Lankan Govt

– island.lk/undp-and-south-centre-organise-capacity-building-workshop-on-taxation-for-lankan-govt/

• Kenji Okamura, IMF Deputy Managing Director in Colombo

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/06/02/imf-deputy-urges-sl-to-keep-up-momentum-on-economic-reforms/

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/IMF-says-economic-recovery-remains-challenging/2-1142004

– ft.lk/front-page/President-reviews-progress-of-IMF-program-with-Deputy-MD/44-748984

• Nine Asian central banks to adopt SWIFT alternative

– ft.lk/front-page/Nine-Asian-central-banks-to-adopt-SWIFT-alternative/44-749066

• Riyadh Holding Talks on Joining BRICS’ Bank – Reports

– sputnikglobe.com/20230528/riyadh-holding-talks-on-joining-brics-bank—reports-1110652600.html

• The Economic Suicide of EU Countries: Data Reveals Germany Has ‘Sanctioned’ Itself into Recession

– kolozeg.org/the-economic-suicide-of-eu-countries-data-reveals-that-germany-has-sanctioned-itself-into-recession/

• US Congress Deflects ‘Giant Sword’ of Catastrophic Default

– newsclick.in/us-congress-deflects-giant-sword-catastrophic-default

• IMF Says US Fed Will Have to Remain Tight at 5 ¼ to 5 ½ Rate Until Late 2024; Warns of ‘Unpredictable Consequences’ to Banks

– wallstreetonparade.com/2023/05/imf-says-fed-will-have-to-remain-tight-at-5-%c2%bc-to-5-%c2%bd-rate-until-late-2024-warns-of-unpredictable-consequences-to-banks/

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D5. Workers (Inadequate Stats, Wasteful Transport, Unmodern Plantations, Services)

ee Workers attempts to correct the massive gaps and disinformation about workers, urban and rural and their representatives (trade unions, etc), and to highlight the need for organized worker power

• Govt. widens tax net via new gazette targeting professionals

– ft.lk/front-page/Govt-widens-tax-net-via-new-gazette-targeting-professionals/44-748989

• 148 persons died due to drowning in a year: Navy

‘19 incidents were of suicide,18 of misfortune during fishing and 111 due to carelessness’

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/148-persons-died-due-to-drowning-in-a-year-Navy/2-1141979

• Sri Lanka maid death in police custody, mystery deepens

– economynext.com/sri-lanka-maid-death-in-police-custody-mystery-deepens-122344/

• FUTA representatives meet opposition leader to air woes

‘… the mass exodus of professionals…many unfilled vacancies in the university system. The exorbitant tax hike was also discussed…’

– ft.lk/news/FUTA-representatives-meet-opposition-leader-to-air-woes/56-748995

• Sri Lanka teachers withdraw from A/L paper marking again over unresolved payments

– economynext.com/sri-lanka-teachers-withdraw-from-a-l-paper-marking-again-over-unresolved-payments-121744/

• Public sector shrank by 135,000 workers in 2022

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/business-times/public-sector-shrank-by-135000-workers-in-2022-520943.html

• Women workers: Breaking the shackles of time limits – US Advocata

‘The Shop and Office Employees Act, Employment of Women, Young Persons and Children Act and Factories Ordinance place restrictions on a woman’s right to engage in night work.’

– dailymirror.lk/insight/Women-workers-Breaking-the-shackles-of-time-limits/374-260139

• Political will required to abolish the Period Tax – US Advocata

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/FEATURE-Political-will-required-to-abolish-the-period-tax/2-1142002

• New wine in old bottles: Anthropologising Sinhala middle-class – Devapriya

– island.lk/new-wine-in-old-bottles-anthropologising-sinhala-middle-class/

• Special stamp and first day cover issued in commemoration of Arumugam Thondaman

– island.lk/special-stamp-and-first-day-cover-issued-in-commemoration-of-arumugam-thondaman/

• Digitize the field of foreign employment to ensure the protection of migrant workers

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/29/digitize-the-field-of-foreign-employment-to-ensure-the-protection-of-migrant-workers/

• England seeks Sri Lanka’s cooperation to prevent illegal immigration

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/28/britain-seeks-sri-lankas-cooperation-to-prevent-illegal-immigration/

• Korean arrested in Sri Lanka over attempts to send locals to foreign jobs sans valid license

– economynext.com/korean-arrested-in-sri-lanka-over-attempts-to-send-locals-to-foreign-jobs-sans-valid-license-121543/

• Six Lankan victims of trafficking repatriated from Myanmar

‘International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Eden Myanmar Foundation facilitated and extended assistance in the repatriation.’

– island.lk/six-lankan-victims-of-trafficking-repatriated-from-myanmar

• USAID’s Lankan Angel Network (LAN) partners with Ladies’ College, Colombo

– island.lk/lan-and-ladies-college-partner-for-the-schools-building-future-leaders-program/

• Daring siege of the Cultural Ministry

– island.lk/daring-siege-of-the-cultural-ministry/

• Sri Lankan expatriates in Paris, mostly Tamils who unwillingly paid kappan – Amunugama

– island.lk/sri-lankan-expatriates-in-paris-mostly-tamils-who-unwillingly-paid-kappan/

• ‘Unemployment is tip of the iceberg’: India’s lack of jobs threatens youth despite 6.5% growth

– theprint.in/business/despite-world-beating-growth-indias-lack-of-jobs-threatens-its-young/1602360/

• The Cadre: Backbone of the Revolution – Che Guevara (1962)

– redsails.org/el-cuadro/

• Peruvian workers protest against REPSOL labor abuses

– radiohc.cu/en/noticias/internacionales/324297-peruvian-workers-protest-against-repsol-labor-abuses

• 30 Years Later, Justice for Forced Sterilization Cases During Fujimori Dictatorship?

– blackagendareport.com/30-years-later-justice-forced-sterilization-cases-during-fujimori-dictatorship

• Iowa rolls back child labor laws as business owners complain over labor shortages

– businessinsider.com/iowa-gov-reynolds-signed-bill-rolling-back-child-labor-laws-2023-5

• White House Official: Biden’s Migration Is an Economic Strategy

– breitbart.com/economy/2023/05/21/white-house-bidens-migration-is-an-economic-strategy/

• Low Pay and a Four-Day Workweek in the USA

‘In 1926, Henry Ford instituted a 40-hour workweek for his auto factory employees…also because he expected they would be more productive if they worked less.’

– socialistproject.ca/2023/05/low-pay-four-day-workweek/

• Ex-Biden aide Tara Reade flees to Russia over safety concerns

– rt.com/russia/577203-tara-reade-biden-russia-passport/

• Jamie Dimon’s Deposition in Epstein Case Reveals Email Stating that Dimon Was to Be Treated to ‘Heavy Snacks’ at Epstein’s Home

– wallstreetonparade.com/2023/06/jamie-dimons-deposition-in-epstein-case-reveals-email-stating-that-dimon-was-to-be-treated-to-heavy-snacks-at-epsteins-home/

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D6. Agriculture (Robbery of rural home market; Machines, if used, mainly imported)

ee Agriculture emphasizes the failure to industrialize an agriculture that keeps the cultivator impoverished under moneylender and merchant, and the need to develop the rural home market, monetization and commercialization, to produce, rather than import, agricultural machinery.

• Sri Lanka food security improves across all provinces by 40 percent: FAO, WFP

‘The second joint FAO-WFP Crop and Food Security Assessment Mission (CFSAM) report on Sri Lanka was handed over to the Minister of Agriculture, Mahinda Amaraweera’

– economynext.com/sri-lanka-food-security-improves-across-all-provinces-by-40-percent-fao-wfp-121718/

• Food insecurity improves in Lanka but prevails within specific regions – FAO & WFP

– island.lk/food-insecurity-improves-in-lanka-but-prevails-within-specific-regions-fao-wfp/

• Food insecurity improved in Sri Lanka but prevails within specific regions – FAO and WFP

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/29/food-insecurity-improved-in-sri-lanka-but-prevails-within-specific-regions-fao-and-wfp/

• Digitalization of Agri Sector: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation extends support

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/Digitalization-of-agri-sector-Bill-Melinda-Gates-Foundation-extends-support/2-1141988

• Nine fishermen involved in illegal fishing arrested

‘The fishermen involved are residents of Mullaitivu, Mullivaikkal, Mannar and Kalpitiya’

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/Nine-fisherman-involved-in-illegal-fishing-arrested/2-1141998

• Director of South Indian Federation of Fishermen Societies (SIFFS) met SL Fisheries Minister

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/columns/all-that-glitters-is-not-gold-controversy-over-statues-gifted-to-dalada-maligawa-521374.html

• Fisheries Ministry is not allowing the Walkers Colombo Shipyard to operate

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/business-times/much-needed-forex-held-up-by-bitter-power-play-520934.html

• Guardian report harshly critical of working conditions on tea estates

– island.lk/guardian-report-harshly-critical-of-working-conditions-on-tea-estates/

• On May 21, ‘International Tea Day’, Malaiyaha Tamils call for ‘Affirmative action’

– island.lk/understanding-history-is-inevitable/

• Merril Fernando, Dilmah & AF Jones

– island.lk/an-autobigraphy-of-a-remarkable-self-made-billionaire/

• Palm Oil Industry Association (POIA) and Asian Palm Oil Alliance (APOA) urge govt. to lift ban on cultivation

‘Haritha Derana Smallholder Association President Nimal Wijesinghe, POUASL COO Yajith De Silva, POIASL Ex Co Member Professor Asoka Nugawela, Solidaridad Asia Managing Director Shatadru Chattopadhayay, and APOA Secretary General Suresh Motwani’

– dailymirror.lk/breaking_news/Palm-oil-industry-stakeholders-urge-govt-to-lift-ban-on-cultivation/108-260148

• Kerala: Rubber Farmers Hold Day-Night Protest Demanding MSP for Rubber, Withdrawal of Rubber Bill

– newsclick.in/kerala-rubber-farmers-hold-day-night-protest-demanding-msp-rubber-withdrawal-rubber-bill

• Tamil Nadu Coconut Farmers Demand Increased Support Price for Copra, Direct Procurement

– newsclick.in/tn-coconut-farmers-demand-increased-support-price-copra-direct-procurement

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D7. Industry (False definitions, anti-industrial sermons, rentier/entrepreneur, etc)

ee Industry notes the ignorance about industrialization (versus handicraft and manufacture), the dependence on importing foreign machinery, the need to make machines that make machines, build a producer culture. False definitions of industry, entrepreneur, etc, abound, and the need for a holistic political, economic and military strategy to overcome domination by merchants and moneylenders.

• Chevron Lubricants Profits Depend on Removing fuel quota & import ban on vehicle imports

– island.lk/brighter-outlook-for-chevron-lubricants-plc-depends-on-relaxation-of-fuel-quota/

• Sri Lanka Army plans to produce ammunition, cutting forex outflow; State Minister

‘Currently, uniform materials, body armors, and combat helmets are being produced for troops in the army-owned manufacturing facilities in Veyangoda.’

– economynext.com/sri-lanka-army-plans-to-produce-ammunition-cutting-forex-outflow-state-minister-122085/

• Queues at fuel sheds, as owners fail to order stocks

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/Queues-at-fuel-sheds-as-owners-fail-to-order-stocks/2-1141999

• Sri Lanka to ramp up weekend fuel deliveries after petrol price cut

– economynext.com/sri-lanka-to-ramp-up-weekend-fuel-deliveries-after-petrol-price-cut-122310/

• Sri Lanka to make state interventions on cement, steel, aluminum prices: Minister

– economynext.com/sri-lanka-to-make-state-interventions-on-cement-steel-aluminum-prices-minister-121880/

• Sri Lanka to offer land for investors to build industrial zones

‘In Thulhiriya, Sri Lanka’s MAS group was offered land at the site of a defunct textile factory.’

– economynext.com/sri-lanka-to-offer-land-for-investors-to-build-industrial-zones-121644/

• Electricity bill revision drags Sri Lankans into misery again

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/business-times/electricity-bill-revision-drags-sri-lankans-into-misery-again-520911.html

• Government removes PUCSL Head for opposing CEB’s unjust electricity tariff hike

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/columns/unplugging-pucsl-chief-govt-accuses-him-of-playing-power-politics-521341.html

• Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC) offers way to beat dollar woes

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/business-times/slintec-offerings-a-way-to-beat-dollar-woes-520940.html

• Drug controller investigating medicine exported to Sri Lanka after loss of eye sight complaint

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/06/02/drug-controller-investigating-medicine-exported-to-sri-lanka-after-loss-of-eye-sight-complaint/

• Christian Medical College Vellore donates Rs 20 Mn worth medical supplies to Jaffna hospital

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/Christian-Medical-College-of-Vellore-donates-Rs-20-Mn-worth-medical-supplies-to-Jaffna-hospital/2-1140351

• Phony claims about Sri Lanka’s holiest tree harmed by 5G mobile signals

– ft.lk/front-page/Phony-claims-swirl-around-Sri-Lanka-s-holiest-tree/44-749068

• Exploring the untapped clay industry

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/06/01/exploring-the-untapped-clay-industry/

• Driving into Colombo’s money spinning car parks!

– dailymirror.lk/news-features/Driving-into-Colombos-money-spinning-car-parks/131-260089

• Hela Apparel Holdings completes FY 2022/23 with resilience amidst challenges

‘with 10 manufacturing facilities across Sri Lanka, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Egypt, as well as design centres in Sri Lanka, the US, England, and France, providing direct employment to over 20,000 people’

– ft.lk/business/Hela-Apparel-Holdings-completes-FY-2022-23-with-resilience-amidst-challenges/34-749000

• An energy deal will usher in new avenues in Dhaka-Kathmandu relations

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/29/an-energy-deal-will-usher-in-new-avenues-in-dhaka-kathmandu-relations/

• Qatar-Bangladesh LNG deal: What’s the message for the energy hit world during the global energy crisis?

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/06/01/qatar-bangladesh-lng-deal-whats-the-message-for-the-energy-hit-world-during-the-global-energy-crisis/

• India Must Take a Leaf From China’s Book as its Passenger Jet goes Commercial

– newsclick.in/india-must-take-leaf-chinas-book-its-passenger-jet-goes-commercial

• Tesla shares rise as Elon Musk meets with China’s foreign minister

– cnbc.com/2023/05/30/tesla-ceo-elon-musk-meets-chinas-foreign-minister-touts-expansion.html

• How the US War on Taiwanese Semiconductors Might Benefit Japan

– newsclick.in/how-us-war-taiwanese-semiconductors-might-benefit-japan

• ‘De-Americanize’: How China Is Remaking Its Chip Business

– nytimes.com/2023/05/11/technology/china-us-chip-controls.html

• Colombia doubles down on shift away from oil and mining

‘Colombia wants to restore industries such as textiles, fertilisers and metalworking as it seeks to cut its account deficit and wean the country off oil and mining, Bogotá’s new finance minister said.’

– ft.com/content/d489c7d6-0813-460a-adde-f7c458be510a

• Pentagon rethinks F35 engine program

– defensenews.com/air/2023/03/13/pentagon-rethinks-f-35-engine-program-will-upgrade-f135/

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D8. Finance (Making money from money, banks, lack of investment in modernity)

ee Finance tracks the effects of financialization, the curious role of ratings agencies, false indices, etc., and the rule of moneylenders, preventing investment in modern production.

• Eight companies guilty of operating illegal pyramid schemes

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/Eight-companies-guilty-of-operating-illegal-pyramid-schemes/2-1141981

• People’s Bank reports Rs.4.6 bn consolidated PAT for 1Q23

– dailymirror.lk/business/Peoples-Bank-reports-Rs-4-6bn-consolidated-PAT-for-1Q23/215-260153

• Damith Pallewatte to be next CEO of Sri Lanka’s Hatton National Bank

– economynext.com/damith-pallewatte-to-be-next-ceo-of-sri-lankas-hatton-national-bank-121663/

• New Evidence Emerges that the Investigation of the US Fed’s Trading Scandal by the Inspector General Has Been a Coverup from the Beginning

– wallstreetonparade.com/2023/05/new-evidence-emerges-that-the-investigation-of-the-feds-trading-scandal-by-the-inspector-general-has-been-a-coverup-from-the-beginning/

• JPMorgan Chase Transferred $347 Billion in Debt Securities Over the Last 3 Years to Inflate Its Capital Using a Controversial Maneuver

– wallstreetonparade.com/2023/05/jpmorgan-chase-transferred-347-billion-in-debt-securities-over-the-last-3-years-to-inflate-its-capital-using-a-controversial-manuever/

• Disgraced Silvergate Bank Hints It May Not Be Able to Cover All of Its Deposits; US Fed Slaps It with a Cease and Desist Consent Order

– wallstreetonparade.com/2023/06/disgraced-silvergate-bank-hints-it-may-not-be-able-to-cover-all-of-its-deposits-fed-slaps-it-with-a-cease-and-desist-consent-order/

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D9. Business (Rentierism: money via imports, real-estate, tourism, insurance, fear, privatization)

ee Business focuses on the rentier diversions of the oligarchy, the domination by a merchant mafia, making money from unproductive land sales, tourism, insurance, advertising, etc. – the charade of corporate press releases disguised as ‘news’

• Hemas posted revenue of at least Rs. 113.9 billion for the financial year 2022/23

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/business-times/hemas-poised-to-meet-challenges-head-on-520916.html

• Sunshine Group revenue of at least Rs Rs. 51.9 billion for year ended 31 March 2023

– island.lk/healthcare-consumer-and-agri-propel-sunshine-holdings-strong-fy23-performance/

• Court dismisses case filed by Cooperative Insurance Company Chairman

– ft.lk/business/Court-dismisses-case-filed-by-Cooperative-Insurance-Company-Chairman/34-749049

• Firms fined most by regulators still on English government’s list of top suppliers

•’PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY – the ‘big four’ – are on the Strategic Suppliers list.’

– theguardian.com/politics/2023/may/28/firms-fined-most-by-regulators-still-on-uk-governments-list-of-top-suppliers

• Unlawful privatisations in Lanka – Role of the Auditors (2009)

– sundaytimes.lk/091011/FinancialTimes/ft42.html

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D10. Politics (Anti-parliament discourse, unelected constitution)

ee Politics points to the constant diversions and spectacles and the mercantile and financial forces funding the political actors, of policy hijacked by private interests minus public oversight.

• Politics in Sri Lanka Part 4F, G, Ha, Hb

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/24/politics-in-sri-lanka-part-4f/

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/26/politics-in-sri-lanka-part-4g/

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/06/01/politics-in-sri-lanka-part-4ha/

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/06/01/politics-in-sri-lanka-part-4hb/

• Who ruined the country? – Dullas asks RW

– ft.lk/front-page/Who-ruined-the-country-Dullas-asks-RW/44-749071

• Please, take charge of the Poson celebrations: A respectful proposal to the Mahanayake Theras

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/30/please-take-charge-of-the-poson-celebrations-a-respectful-proposal-to-the-mahanayake-theras/

• Jerome Fernando and his Profane Gimmicks – I & II: Wasala

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/24/jerome-fernando-and-his-profane-gimmicks/

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/25/jerome-fernando-and-his-profane-gimmicks-ii/

• Govt refutes accusations over funding for Poson Programme

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/31/govt-refutes-accusations-over-funding-for-poson-programme/

• Cultural closure, poverty pandemic, SJB stagnation and Premadasa paradox

– ft.lk/columns/Cultural-closure-poverty-pandemic-SJB-stagnation-and-Premadasa-paradox/4-748952

• Racist and anti-religious statements taking country towards danger: National Movement of Social Justice (NMSJ)

– ft.lk/front-page/Racist-and-anti-religious-statements-taking-country-towards-danger-NMSJ/44-749069

• Sri Lankan Ministerial Code does not regulate ‘the private and personal lives’ of MPs

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/editorial/they-are-all-honourable-men-521313.html

• King Charles III blessing ceremony at London Buddhist Vihara

– sundaytimes.lk/230528/sunday-times-2/king-charles-iii-blessing-ceremony-at-london-buddhist-vihara-521190.html

• Kerala set to host second gurdwara in state

– newindianexpress.com/states/kerala/2023/may/28/kerala-set-to-host-second-gurdwara-in-state-2579267.html

• Kissinger’s final warning – On the eve of his century, Washington’s man has been exiled

– unherd.com/2023/05/kissingers-final-warning

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: Sheepdogging and Liberal Fantasy

‘Will his supporters end up like those who worked for Jesse Jackson, Dennis Kucinich, or Bernie Sanders, who believed in their candidate only to be told that they had to support Mondale or Dukakis or Kerry or Clinton or Biden?’

– blackagendareport.com/robert-f-kennedy-jr-sheepdogging-and-liberal-fantasy

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D11. Media (Mis/Coverage of economics, technology, science and art)

ee Media shows how corporate media monopoly determines what is news, art, culture, etc. The media is part of the public relations (corporate propaganda) industry. The failure to highlight our priorities, the need to read between the lines. To set new perspectives and priorities.

• Dilith Jayaweera, Readership, Advertising & Media Happiness – Nalin de Silva

– kalaya.org/2023/05/blog-post_48.html

• CID arrests SL Vlog’s Bruno Divakara

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/31/cid-arrests-sl-vlogs-bruno-divakara/

• Anonymous Mouse – Nathasha Edirisooriya & Followers of Fool’s Paradise: Waduge

‘Comedy Central that featured Nathasha Edirisooriya is a sister channel owned by SL Vlog… SLVlog is funded by USAID/IREX. The owner of SLVlog Manju Nissanka also runs Singularity Sri Lanka.’

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/29/anonymous-mouse-nathasha-edirisooriya-followers-of-fools-paradise/

• Satanic Verses – Jihad Cartoons & Freedom of Expression for Comedian Nathasha: Waduge

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/05/30/satanic-verses-jihad-cartoons-freedom-of-expression-for-comedian-nathasha-in-sri-lanka/

• After Two Centuries of Indulging in Hate Speech, Anti-Sinhala and Anti-Buddhist Elements Have to Adjust to ICCPR World Order

– lankaweb.com/news/items/2023/06/01/after-two-centuries-of-indulging-in-hate-speech-anti-sinhala-and-anti-buddhist-elements-have-to-adjust-to-iccpr-world-order/

• Current rating system of television channels not correct: Committee on Public Accounts

– sundaytimes.lk/online/news-online/COPA-told-current-rating-system-of-television-channels-is-not-correct/2-1141983

• Resurrecting a forgotten architect

– himalmag.com/resurrecting-a-forgotten-architect

• Defense Contractor Funded Think Tanks Dominate Ukraine Debate

‘84% of the top US think tanks accepted funding from defense contractors.’

– quincyinst.org/report/defense-contractor-funded-think-tanks-dominate-ukraine-debate/

• The role of the media in the U.S. war on Afghanistan

‘You have written about how the MSM ‘discovered’ women’s rights leading up to the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan, inundating the public with imagery of, in your words, “’burqa-clad women in need of liberation,’ and then ‘rediscovered’ these women following the withdrawal in order to justify sanctions. Can you talk about the media’s selective focus on ‘human rights’ and how it erases the harm caused by the violence of US wars?’

– blackagendareport.com/afghanistan-news-update-18

• Breaking The Colonial Grip on African Journalism

– blackagendareport.com/breaking-colonial-grip-african-journalism

• Why the People’s Republic of China Embraced Paul Robeson

– orinocotribune.com/why-the-peoples-republic-of-china-embraced-paul-robeson

• ‘Artificial Intelligence’ Is (Mostly) Glorified Pattern Recognition

– moonofalabama.org/2023/06/artificial-intelligence-is-mostly-pattern-recognition.html

• Reading Turgenev in a Time of War Against Russia

– johnhelmer.net/reading-turgenev-in-time-of-war-against-russia/#more-88044

• The West’s Tone Drastically Shifts – Simplicius The Thinker

– simplicius76.substack.com/p/latest-headlines-digest-the-wests

• The US Democratic Party’s Crucifixion of Matt Taibbi

– chrishedges.substack.com/p/the-democratic-partys-crucifixion?

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email: econenews@gmail.com

blog: eesrilanka.wordpress.com

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