Recession? What recession...

Another article written a while back...

As the worlds stocks and shares tumble to their all time low for many years it seems that the global financial crisis is becoming a big deal, not only for investors but for everyday people like you and me.

With the threat of a global recession looming the small island of Cuba cannot help but laugh as we in the west struggle due to financial institutions. Cuba remains unaffected by the turmoil in the world as the US have a trading embargo with the country. This means that no “western” company can have formal dealings with Cuba as doing so will mean the US will cut off ties with them. Having in effect been isolated by the world Cuba has been forced to invest in the power of its own people so solve and meet its own demands. Ethical investing is investing in companies/countries that operate ethically, provide social benefits and are sensitive to the environment.

So is Cuba an ethical investor? The answer can be yes depending on your definition. Can the rest of the world take a leaf from Cuba’s book? Well the short answer to this question is no, unless they choose to become self sufficient and reduce their dependence on any other countries. While this may not be possible in the short term educating people and companies to start thinking socially and investing locally would be a good start.

Governments could also change banking systems around the world so that banks do not rely on each other for lending money and are totally self sufficient instead, thus helping the banking system globally.

Most importantly, governments could bring in more socially conscientious people to run the failed banks as well as other companies to ensure that the same mistakes are not made again, by the same people. “If the banking system were to change globally there would be less chance of problems such as the ones we are experiencing taking place in the future, as new people are bought in with new fresh ideas that are beneficial to all” according to a John Townsend an economics student.

Shailyn Shah