China is world's third-largest arms exporter; Dollar keeps climbing, oil keeps falling; Job loss and the decade of distrust

1 China is world’s third-biggest arms exporter (San Francisco Chronicle) China has overtaken Germany to become the world's third-biggest arms exporter, although its 5 percent of the market remains small compared to the combined 58 percent of exports from the US and Russia, a new study says.

China's share of the global arms market rose 143 percent during the years from 2010-2014, a period during which the total volume of global arms transfers rose by 16 percent over the previous five years, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute said.

Its share of the world market was up from 3 percent in the 2009-2014 period, when China was ranked ninth among exporters of warplanes, ships, side arms and other weaponry, said the institute, known as SIPRI.

The data show the growing strength of China's domestic arms industry, now producing fourth-generation fighter jets, navy frigates and a wide-range of relatively cheap, simple and reliable smaller weapons used in conflicts around the globe. China supplies weapons to 35 countries, led by Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar, SIPRI said.

However, China's incremental growth and the yawning gap with industry leaders America and Russia show the limitations of its aspirations. The US retained a 31 percent share of the global arms market, exporting to at least 94 recipients. Countries in Asia and Oceania took 48 percent of US exports, followed by the Middle East with 32 percent and Europe at 11 percent, it said.

Russia was second with a 27 percent global share, 39 percent of which went to India — the world's largest arms importer overall. China took 11 percent of Russia's exports, followed by Algeria.

http://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/Institute-China-now-world-s-third-biggest-arms-6135813.php

2 Dollar keeps climbing, oil keeps falling (Straits Times) The US dollar maintained its rally, trading near a 12-year high versus the euro as investors considered the timeline for higher US interest rates ahead of this week's Federal Reserve meeting.

Crude oil extended its slump. The greenback was at $1.0498 per euro in Tokyo, after reaching its strongest level since January 2003. The dollar held weekly gains of at least 0.4 per cent versus the currencies of Australia and New Zealand.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures slipped 0.1 per cent following a 0.6 per cent drop in the US gauge Friday. Oil slid more than 1.7 per cent in the US and London amid concern over the deepening glut.

http://www.straitstimes.com/news/business/economy/story/us-dollar-climbs-further-crude-oil-price-keeps-falling-market-awaits-clu

3 Job loss and the decade of distrust (Khaleej Times) People who lose their jobs are less willing to trust others for up to a decade after being laid-off, according to a new research. Being made redundant or forced into unemployment can scar trust to such an extent that even after finding new work this distrust persists, found the study.

People’s willingness to trust others tends to remain largely stable over their lifetime. However, this work shows that a trauma like redundancy can shift people’s outlook of the world. “And this change persists long after the experience occurred,” said researcher James Laurence of the University of Manchester.

The study looked at the social costs of recession. Even a single experience of redundancy can lead to depressed trust. “This has important implications not just for the person involved but for society as a whole as trust can have significant benefits, from health and happiness, to social cohesion, efficient democratic governance and economic development,” Laurence added.

http://khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?section=editorschoice&xfile=/data/editorschoice/2015/March/editorschoice_March6.xml