A parched earth; No innocent bystanders in global era; RIM posts loss, to shed 5,000 jobs; America's new Tiger immigrants

1 A parched earth (Khaleej Times) The summer of 2012 is turning out to be one of the worst in living memory for millions of people in the northern hemisphere, as a devastating drought ravages across thousands of hectares of farmland from the Korean peninsula in the east through China and India and on to the US Midwest. Comparisons are already being drawn to the drought of 1988 when nearly $80 billion worth of crops were lost following the failure of the rains in America. Nearly a quarter of the United States is facing drought conditions and corn prices have soared by almost 30%. The fact that the drought is affecting vast swathes of land in three of the world’s most significant economies — the US, China and India — which are also leading producers of agricultural crops means that there could be an acute shortage of food and a spurt in food prices.

North Korea, facing its worst drought in 50 years, is already posing a major challenge for the global community with a looming food shortage threatening millions. In China, more than 4.25 million people — and an equally large number of livestock — are suffering from a shortage of drinking water in half a dozen provinces. The south-west monsoon, the lifeblood of India’s agriculture economy — which provides livelihood to 700 million people — has seen a disastrous start.

Is drought 2012 a prelude to an ominous era of water scarcity caused by global warming, as some might insist? Climate patterns have been known to change dramatically over the centuries and droughts and famines have been with us for thousands of years, destroying communities and nations. Governments though must harness technology to provide solace to the millions suffering from such harsh climatic upheavals.

2 No innocent bystanders in global era (Stephen S Raoch in The Guardian) Since the second quarter of 2009, US annualised real GDP growth has averaged 2.4%. With roughly 40% of that increase attributable to exports, that means the remainder of the economy has grown at an anemic 1.4% pace. Under a flat-line export scenario, with no rise in US exports, and if everything else remains the same (always a heroic assumption), overall real GDP growth would converge on that 1.4% bogey. That is a weak growth trajectory by any standard – likely to result in rising unemployment and further deterioration in consumer confidence.

It underscores one of the more obvious, yet overlooked, implications of an increasingly interdependent world: we are all in it together. The euro crisis is a serious shock and is producing ripple effects around the world. Europe is export-led China's largest source of external demand; as China goes, so goes the rest of China-centric Asia; and, from there, the ripples reach the shores of an increasingly export-dependent US economy.

In an era of globalisation, there are no innocent bystanders. There are certainly no oases of prosperity in the face of yet another major shock in the global economy. America's growth mirage is an important case in point.

3 RIM posts loss, to shed 5,000 jobs (San Francisco Chronicle) Research In Motion delayed the BlackBerry 10 phone release, announced plans to cut 5,000 jobs and posted a quarterly loss that was five times bigger than anticipated. The stock plunged 22% after the company reported a first-quarter loss of 37 cents per share, excluding some items. RIM stock had already lost more than two-thirds of its value in the past 12 months and had fallen almost 95% from its sto ck market peak in mid-2008, cutting its market value to $4.79 billion.

4 America’s new Tiger immigrants (The Wall Street Journal) No Country on earth is in the same league as the US when it comes to the quantity of immigrants who have come here and the quality of their contributions. But lately, Americans have been questioning the benefits of immigration. Many worry that today's immigrants differ from those of the past: less ambitious, less skilled, less willing and able to assimilate. A  report released this month by the Pew Research Center shows just how much the face of immigration has changed in the past few years. Since 2008, more newcomers to the US have been Asian than Hispanic (in 2010, it was 36% of the total, versus 31%). Today's typical immigrant is not only more likely to speak English and have a college education, but also to have come to the US legally, with a job already in place.

There also seems to be some truth in the "Tiger Mom" syndrome described by author Amy Chua. While 39% of Asian-Americans say their group puts "too much" pressure on kids to succeed in school, 60% of Asian-Americans think that other Americans don't push their kids hard enough. The hard work and strong family values appear to pay off: Asian-Americans' median household income is $66,000 (national median: $49,800) and their median household wealth is $83,500 (national median: $68,529). The world's best, the world's hardest-working and the world's most ambitious are still coming our way.