Inc.com writes that “Azerbaijan and Albania lead the world in pro-business reforms, while Singapore remains the best place to start a business, according to the World Bank. In an annual global report, Central Asia and Eastern Europe ranked highest in terms of business-friendly regulatory reforms. Last year, a total of 113 countries implemented 239 pro-business reforms, the most recorded in a single year since the report was launched in 2004. Two-thirds of East Asia’s economies instituted reforms, up from less than 50 percent last year.”
In less positive news for Asia, the Wall Street Journal has an article today on how “[s]liding consumer confidence and a bursting housing-price bubble [in China] are driving automotive and real estate advertisers into hibernation.”
PC Authority reports that “[t]he steadily-climbing unemployment rate in Silicon Valley has reached a shocking four-year high of 6.6 per cent. Recent statistics indicate that the percentage of unemployed workers in the sunny state of California has increased to 7.7 in August – up from 7.4 per cent in July. Various South Bay counties also recorded month-over-month job losses in trade, transportation and utilities.”
According to the Guardian, British prime minister “Gordon Brown’s plans to give families £700 so that all children have internet access at home has been warmly welcomed by teachers and educationalists. But they warn that the estimated £300m to finance the scheme must not come from other education budgets. And they also stress that simply installing computers in homes won’t make children or parents use them for educational purposes. […] Christine Blower, acting General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers, said the government ‘must be congratulated for trying to end the digital divide in education.’”
An interesting article in this week’s BusinessWeek discusses what the crisis gripping Wall Street means for the online advertising business. One prediction: “Mobile and social networks will be hit” [because] “[i]t’s harder to prove that ads placed on a social network or embedded in a video are effective in luring Web surfers to a site or enticing them to make a purchase.”