Synopsis

Another month passed, and another exciting period for innovators around the world. The global economy has trudged onwards in-spite of continuingly poor economic data, but still stock markets, R&D expenditures, and employment rates are holding steady. This is bringing hope to many economists and business planners that the world will be able to weather the current economic climate and push through to a more prosperous 2013.

In Hong Kong researchers made an important breakthrough in rice supplies. Using genetic transplantation, researchers have developed rice plants that have larger root systems, allowing rice plants to absorb more water and nutrients. Europe has tipped into a mild-recession with the unemployment rate reaching all-time high. A continued rift between Germany and the rest of the Eurozone is stalling efforts to launch a continent wide response. And in North America the United States is in election year, with President Barack Obama fighting to maintain his office. With the U.S.A. facing a so-called “fiscal cliff” in 2013, the Presidential election could have large impacts on U.S. policy making.

North America

The election year in the United States is beginning to heat up. Both candidates have raised hundreds of millions of dollars in funds, and the “Citizens United” ruling now allows so-called “Super-Pacs” to spend unlimited funding on political campaigns. Total estimates for campaign spending by independent organizations and political parties combined could top an astounding 9.8 billion USD.

With the United States facing a so-called “fiscal cliff” in 2013 when Bush era tax cuts will expire and massive cuts in government spending that will automatically occur, the implications of this national election could be tremendous. Both major parties, the Democrats and Republicans, have been shifting towards firmer ideological stances and showing increasingly unwillingness to compromise. This is especially true for the Republican Party which must now cater to the whims of the far right “Tea Party.”

Who will be in office and how they will attempt to avoid this fiscal cliff will be essential for determining the long-term path for the United States. This fiscal cliff will occur if the Democrats and Republicans in Congress do not reach a compromise on controlling the United States’ spiraling deficit. Democrats are seeking to raise taxes on the super wealthy while Republicans wish to focus exclusively on spending cuts. So far neither party has offered concrete solutions and likely won’t put anything forward until after the election.

Europe

The Eurozone Financial Crisis is seemingly never ending. Despite a wide range of measures by individual E.U. governments, the E.U. organization body itself, and international organizations such as the IMF, the Eurozone is still struggling to stay afloat. Recent economic data suggests that the E.U. is now in a recession and unemployment has surged to an all-time high of 11.3 percent.

One could wonder if perhaps world policy makers are running out of options in regards to resolving the Eurozone crisis. While many E.U. leaders have been calling for increased action, Germany has resisted calls for numerous policies that would directly tie Germany’s fate with its Eurozone neighbors. For example, Germany has shot down the idea of issuing debt backed by the Eurozone as a whole, rather than by individual countries.

If the Eurozone crisis is not contained soon there is a risk that the economic downturn could spread to other countries. The United States is already struggling to maintain growth rates and reduce its high unemployment rate, while economic data coming from China and other Asian countries is looking increasingly pessimistic.

Asia

Asian nations are increasingly becoming hotbeds of world changing research. For example, researchers in Hong Kong may have made a world changing break-through. Scientists isolated a gene from the Indian Kasalath species of rice that has helped it to grow in poor soil. Essentially, the rice plants will grow an extended root network that allows them to absorb more nutrients. The research team has introduced modified species of rice for testing in Indonesia, Japan, and the Phillipinnes and has seen 20 percent increases in rice yields. The team believes that modified versions of local rice plants could be introduced to Indonesia in the next two or three years and to other countries in the next 4 to 5 years.

Other World News

In line with economic trends around the world, major South American economies are suffering from an economic slowdown. The once surging Brazilian economy has now slowed to a near stand-still. In the second quarter the economy grew at only a 1.6 percent annualized rate, compared with 7.5 percent in 2010. Still growth rates remain in the green. Across the Atlantic Ocean Africa is at risk of serious food shortages due to a dependency on imported food from the U.S. and elsewhere.