Through the port

This moring the weather wasn't as frigid as two days ago, so I went running along the coast and past the city port. I was so glad to see Spain's tourists who were visiting the castle, despite the epidemic hasn't gone to an end, and Russia's war in Ukraine enters a third week.

With regards to the war in East Europe, the rising in fuel price to all-time highs has caused many fishing boats  to stop going up to sea.

Several fishermen and vendors, also in other countries such as Japan and Vietnam, have been talking about the continued increase in oil price. Consequently, I am afraid fish prices will climb soon.

I hope things will be better soon!

Good morning

This morning I had cappuccino at the coffee bar near my house. After the waitress had prepared the cappuccino, she wrote "good morning" ("buon giorno" in Italian language) on top of it.  There was a small Italian flag painted on the cup handle.  I thought people who love their job are always kind. One week ago she made another decoretion while she was making cappuccino and coffee cups.

The picture below shows a mural that I saw while I was walking along an alley in the older part of the town. It's easy to see it was painted recently, as the woman in the mural wears a masks :-)

With regards to the mask just above mentioned (and social distancing rules), I am sorry to hear that while many people inoculated with both doses are reporting symptoms of Covid-19, scientists in South Africa have just warned of a new strain of Covid-19 ... Just in time for 2022. EU and UK say they have restricted travels from the South African region to their countries. On the one hand, the effects on the economy of the new detected variant may be devastating, because of its multiple mutations. On the other hand, today "Moderna Inc." share price is rising by 22.45% ... 😦

God Bless the South African people. 

Lunch at the beach

Since early March 2020, epidemic spreading, lockdown measures and social distancing rules have changed everything. And while big tech multinationals are trying to destroy middle class' retailers, people have no choice but to buy online many products and services they need.

In late 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic began to spread across the Northern emisphere, Amazon had announced a pilot program for a virtual medical clinic. The virtual clinic services would consist of video visits with doctors and registered nurses. It wasn't Amazon's first step outside its confort zone. 

As it is konwn, in 2019 Amazon was, and still is, a grocer, a fashion venue and its own delivery provider. As mentioned by many experts, considering Amazon's pervasive presence worldwide, no company is ever truly safe. But Amazon, Google, and Alibaba Group will never be able to serve us a fish dish at the beach on a sunny Sunday.

Have a nice Sunday and stay safe!

The Earth has another three billion years

A new year begins soon, in spite of the end of the Mayan Calendar which finishes on December 21st (or 12nd), 2012 ... and nobody seems to be worried about the theory and its hypothetical cataclysm :) The prophecy was a mistranslation that has been portrayed in the media. As you know, people tend to be sheep! The planet is going to go on and has another three billion years. But we will have to deal with other issues: unemployment and pollution in Western countries, human rights and wars in the muslim part of the world such as Syria, Egypt and Nigeria. We, people who live in the Northern emisphere of the world, have taken everything for granted, particularly fuels, commodities, environment and that sort of things. Anyway, I am reasonably optimistic although we have got to be careful: the ecological footprint of nations shows that humans are horribly depleting the world, but I think there's an optimistic future!

The photo above was taken two weeks ago when I went to Rome for shopping. It shows the big Christmas three which was set up in Vatican Square.

Happy New Year to Everyone!

Birthday cake

First of all, Thanks to my blogger friends for the kind birthday wishes :) This week, after I had celebrated my 51th birthday (The photo shows the birthday cake), I was busy enough on the job front although it gave me the opportunity to visit old villages which I would have never see. Those special places are located in the hills among an amazing nature. The small church, which you can see in the photo below,  is located far from the villages. The building can show its secular history.

Meanwhile, Italy's economic weakness increases slightly and Italians are leaving power in the hands of an enderly and out-of-touch elite: only Zimbadwe and Haiti had lower GDP growth than Italy from 2000 to 2010.

I'd like to share with you the following joke about Italian politicians:

"One day a florist went to a barber for a haircut. After the cut, he asked about his bill, and the barber replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The florist was pleased and left the shop. When the barber went to open his shop the next morning, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting for him at his door.

Later, a cop comes in for a haircut, and when he tries to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you; I'm doing community service this week.' The cop was happy and left the shop. The next morning when the barber went to open up, there was a 'thank you' card and a dozen doughnuts waiting for him at his door.

Then an MP came in for a haircut, and when he went to pay his bill, the barber again replied, 'I cannot accept money from you. I'm doing community service this week.' The MP was very happy and left the shop. The next morning, when the barber went to open up, there were a dozen MPs lined up waiting for a free haircut."

Tomorrow, Sunday, April, 1st, I'm running 16 km and it seems that Spring weather will be perfect for running.

Nice weekend to all my blogger firends!

Next to Vatican City

Hello my blogger friends! I haven't updated my blog since February 20th, although I have been following your blogs and have left comments. I'm sorry for that, but I've been crazy busy and I'm still working in Rome and Viterbo. That's why two weeks ago I couldn't run the Rome-Ostia 21 km, which is the main important half marathon here in Italy. Stefano didn't run it because, as he mentioned on his blog,  he has got problems with his knee and I hope to hear good news soon. As above mentioned, since about three weeks I have been working in Rome, and the office is near Saint Peter's Square, which is located directly in front of St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City, the papal enclave within Rome. On Friday, 9th, While I was in Rome for job, I took these two photos. The first one shows a Swiss soldier on guard at the gates of Vatican City. Schweizergarde is the name given to the  Pontifical Swiss soldiers of Vatican City.

The second photo shows the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in Vatican City.http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/swiss_guard/swissguard/storia_en.htm

On the economic front, although unemployment in America is almost back to pre-recession levels, showing more improvement in the labor market, in Europe there’s still an economic contraction: Italian and Spanish GDP is still decreasing and Europe's politicians are dealing with  Greece’s debt restructuring. In the meanwhile, young people are afraid they can't find full-time employment at the moment.  On the other hand,  I'm glad to hear good news about  the  U.S. strongest demand for automobiles since 2008 and the increase of retail sales overseas.

Nice week to all my blogger friends!

10 km race to help charities

On Sunday, December, 18th the Liberty Christmas run starts in my town. It's its first edition and it will be organized to help many charities. I hope that hundreds of runners will run this 10 km race although in the same day another Christmas race starts in Orbetello (Tuscany).
Today I ran with the group along the race's track which is situated around the industrial area in the northern side of the town.
After the warm-up (25 mins) we did 8 x 5 mins repeats at a average pace of 5.10 min./km. It's a good pace considering that the track was hilly and it wasn't easy. At this point, I would need to lose weight, 3 kg at least. It's always the same problem before every race. So, I'm going to increase healthy foods such as fruits and vegetables ... and of course, less both red wine and beer ... in the Autumn I love having red wine with chocolate and chestnut :) Moreover, carbs (bread, pasta, pizza and potatoes) are really dangerous at dinner. Although I enjoy the kitchen table, I'll try to monitor calories ... until Sunday, December, 18th :)

On the political front, while economic newspapers in the world are writing that Europe stands on the brink of disaster, in Italy there are people who predict disaster, quite routinely, in order to justify the distruction of social security and other popular programs: I hope that conservatives in the world don't exist any more. And if they were to resurface today in the policy world they would be taken seriously by no one. 

The second photo shows the Mignone river, situated 100 km North from Rome.  Last week I was here for job.

I hope all you blogger friends will have a nice week and a happy running!

Italy's economic turmoil

Here are my thoughts about Italy's economic turmoil. Is the Italian Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, a simple cause of the Italian illness? He is a symptom of the a political system who does not offers alternatives to the right or the left. It happens in many other countries, but in Italy it is more blatant. He is obviously without conditions to lead a country in crisis, but Italian politics don't come up with other names.

The picture below is the cover of the economic British magazine "The Economist" and it was published three months ago.

Since January, 2011, French and German Banks, such as Deutsche Bank and BNP, haven't bought Italian bonds. Consequently, people's Bank of China has followed them. That's the domino effect!  This week the Italian Prime Minister said: "Italy does not feel the crisis" and he described the Italian bond sell-off as "a passing fashion ... the restaurants are full, the planes are fully booked and the hotel resorts are fully booked as well". But, while he was speaking the Italian bonds were (and are now) near the danger zone and Europe's stock markets decreased. Anyway, getting rid of Berlusconi is an essential (and first) step in getting the Italian economy back on track.

I'm boring you with Italian economic issues :) On the running front, I haven't plan to run any race this month, although my training is going well enough. The photo below was taken while I was  running  the Ostia's 30 km race, on October, 9th.

I hope my blogger friends will have beautiful running adventures!

Referendum

Almost 95% of Italian voters have rejected nuclear energy program which was issued by Italian Government. The same voters also rejected other laws:

1. Water privatisation;
2. A law allowing Mr. Berlusconi (Italian Prime Minister) to avoid court appearances.

As you know, Italy's image has recently been damaged by Berlusconi's sex parties and his sexual friendship with a minor. In my opinion, the Rubygate trial has been useful to hide other Berlusconi's crimes such as fraud, false accounting and bribery. That's why he always try to change the penal law!

The Italian Prime Minister ran a Media empire and became the richest man in Italy. Since 1994 he has dominated politics and now he don't leave the position of power. Last week a very interesting article about Italian Prime Minister was published by a British newspaper: Silvio Berlusconi's record, the man who screwed an entire country.  You can read it on the website below:
http://www.economist.com/node/18805327 .
Thanks to my blogger friends who wrote comments on my blog about the Referendum and the nuclear power program .

Once Italian people reject the nuclear power program the Government will need to develop sustainability and improve renewable energy.

In this perspective, this year four photovoltaic stations will begin to produce renewable energy in the U.S. Mojave desert and a new big photovoltaic station will be built in Australia (Mildura). The Australian photovoltaic plant will be built on a 600 hectare site about 10 kilometres south of Mildura and it will generate enough green power to run 60,000 homes each year.
Moreover, there are important projects about the production of photovoltaic energy in South Africa (Upington) and Israel (Negev desert). Anyway, the development of renewable energy isn't  related  to a desert or a sunny country: I saw photovoltaic panels on the rooftops in the centre of  Munich! You can see them in the photo above which I took three months ago while I was in Germany.

On the running front, this month I am not running any race and I've planned to run two races in July. I'm trying to lose weight although it isn't easy :)
I hope all you have nice runs! 

Environment and Democracy

Today Italy began to vote to decide about a new nuclear power program. The previous referendum had been held in 1987 and it brought Italy in the stoppage of nuclear production. Since July 2009 the Italian Government have worked to define a new nuclear power program. Italy is bounded in the north-east by Slovenija, which is a small country where there are 2 (two) nuclear power stations, the north  by Swiss, where there are 5 (five) ones and the north-west by France, where there are 58 (fifty eight) nuclear power stations!!!
On the other hand, last month Germany has decided to suspend its activities nuclear.
In my opinion we need to improve energy efficiency because a more consistent effort to develop sustainability and an increased contribution of renewable energy production (green economy) would prevent the need of nuclear production. But, from a strategic point of view, nowadays Italy needs at least a small share ( 5% ) of nuclear production, although there are the high radioactive waste disposal costs. The world energy demand will grow in the period 2012-2020. Of consequence, the price of carbon and crude oil will rise too!

Today Italian people have to chose about the new nuclear power program!
What do you think about nuclear production? I'm curious of your opinion!

Nice Sunday to all my blogger friends!

Tourist sector sharply shrank

An Italian financial daily has reported today that people cut expenses for beach holiday this summer. But on Sunday people are crowding beaches which become deserted during weekdays. Although the price of hotels decreased by 40 percent, same Italian towns as Venice, Florence and Rome lost a lot of tourists from 2007 to 2009. Of course unemployment rate rose in tourist sector too. The weakness of U.S. and European labour market, which limits wages and threatens to erode consumer spending, will prolong the recession.

Black Knight Navy members, who Stefano has shown on his blog, are going swimming across the see twice a week.

The situation remains uncertain

As matter stand, most investors want to see signs of recovery. Althought there is more money going in to the market than coming out, there aren't signs of stabilization and unemployment would may rose again. While some companies last week were forecasting a earning decrease in 2009, the German group Arcador, where there are 43,000 employees, decided to go bankrupt. G-8 finance ministers said yesterday after a meeting in Lecce, Italy, there are “signs of stabilization,” though “the situation remains uncertain.”

Meanwhile North Korea said any U.S. effort to enforce international sanctions over the communist nation’s nuclear program would be considered an act of war and be met with military force. The sanctions also call for new restrictions on loans and money transfers to North Korea. We have to think what theese global news mean for the market.

This morning while I was running I saw an old Italian war ship and I took a photo. You can see the old ship in the picture above posted. On the other side of the sea harbour there was an Italian aircraft carrier. Its photo is down here.

“We’re not out of the woods”

It isn't a matter of pessimism or optimism. The 5th of May 2009 I posted something about the rise of the Nasdaq index which generally indicates the major trend in the global stock market. Actually, during the last two months the world's stock market grew more than forecast. For example, the Standard & Poor's 500 index rose by 40 per cent since the March 9th lows and a Goldman Sachs report shows that it, which reached last week the level of 940, won't increase within next six months. Although, China and other emerging nations didn't increase their demand of raw materials, we saw the growth of price commodities as crude oil $ 69 and copper $ 230. We need to understand the behaviour of investors considering the decrease of world's consumer goods and the growth of unemployment rate. U.S. payrolls fell by 345,000 in May, less than forecast, while the unemployment rate hit a 25-year high of 9.4 percent. Meanwhile, here in Europe, Irish unemployment reached 11,8 percent.

In this perspective, actual rise of prices is probably related to an irrational behaviour of investors, who think that stock market has reached the bottom. Next month we will likely see the beginning of the summer drop (traders sometimes say "sell in may and go away"). As soon as the slight decrease of stock markets is remarkable investors will see good shares to buy of course. In my opinion the overall trend since March 9th lows should be up to sideways. We will see a horizontal trend with a result of the prices traveling between strong levels of support and resistance. Most experts said that the latest rally may be a “trader’s rally” instead of a bull market. They added “We still have more problems to be worked out.”

 

The photo above posted shows the delivery of new cars in Civitavechia's harbour.

development of the green economy

Halfway through last year, while the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was falling 10 percent, the green energy shares rose 30 percent. And during the two "panic selling" bottoms of October 2008 and March 2009 all the shares linked to renewable energies climbed easier than the Standard & Poor's 500 Index. In this perspective, most people think that the economic phenomenon called green economy will gradually cause the new speculative bubble of global stock markets (http://personalfinanceandinvesting.com/).

Although some green energy shares are actaully overweight I think that the environmental sector of the global economy will increase. Nowadays United States and Spain are the most important makers of renewable energy in the world. Next year a new big photovoltaic station will be built in Australia (Mildura). Four photovoltaic stations will begin to produce renewable energy in the U.S. Mojave desert in 2011. Moreover, there are important projects about the production of photovoltaic energy in South Afrika (Upington) and Israel (Negev desert).
The UNDP report on green employees shows that the jobs linked to sustainable development and "green economy" in the world are 2,3 million of which 670,000 jobs in photovoltaic sector only. The development of "green economy" may increase the employment because it needs technicians, installation firms and designers. Of consequence, the growth of employment, which improve consumer spending, may give strenght to the global economy.
In the U.S. stock market there is one of the most important company which makes photovoltaic panels. The name is First Solar and since May 2008 its share price have fallen from $ 317 to $ 130. General Electric and the Danish company Vestas are the world leaders of the wind turbine. In the end, in the green business of stock market there's the Swedish company Abb.

Chinese gold reserve

A survey of Xinhua News Agency shows that chinese government increased the gold reserve by 75 percent from 2003 to 2008. The chinese gold reserve has grew during the last five years from 600 to 1054 tons. Other asian countries increased their gold reserves too.

Of course, on the basis of the law of supply and demand, from 1999 to 2008 the price of gold rose from $ 250 to $ 900. But recently in the first three months of 2009 the price of gold fell. In a picture of financial volatility, investors think buying gold may be interesting against the uncertainty of stock markets. Moreover, some asian governments will probably decide to increase further their gold reserves.