Day five of the great European airspace shutdown, and we are all eagerly awaiting the resumption of flights. (Hard to believe that there is so much dust up there, given how sunny southern England has been in recent days – though sadly not today.) Among millions of travellers who have been stranded around the world [Read more...]

Having returned from a week-long trip to Cambodia (and several other Southeast Asian countries) during Christmas, I was pleased to find that the two cities that I visited there – Phnom Penh (the capital) and Siem Reap – appear to be relatively prosperous. I acknowledge that my perceptions of Cambodia are probably skewed given that [Read more...]

Risk Watchdog has just returned from Greater Tokyo, where I spent a week trying to get a handle on what’s happening in Japan. Regular readers will recall that I have generally been bearish on Japan’s economy, so this was a good opportunity for a first-hand refresher.

I say ‘Greater Tokyo’, because I also visited Tokyo’s [Read more...]

Please consider ‘Mexico eases drug possession law’:
The Mexican government has enacted a law decriminalising the possession of small amounts of drugs, including cocaine and heroin. Mexican prosecutors say the move does not amount to legalisation. They say it is designed to prevent corrupt police from seeking bribes from small-time drug users, and to encourage addicts [Read more...]

By now you’ll be well aware that the strong yen is crippling Japanese exports, and by extension the economy as a whole, but less widely discussed is the impact this is having on Japan’s tourism industry.

With Japanese firms having shifted so many manufacturing jobs to China in recent years, and with an ageing and [Read more...]

RiskWatchdog’s discovery that Caribbean tourism endured something of a slump in 2008 is hardly worthy of front page news. After all, with credit in thin supply, jobless numbers on the rise and confidence at record lows, the last thing on the minds of most consumers last year was the need to top up tans and [Read more...]