The bottom line is that corporations are finding it much more difficult and costly to make a buck in China. Others may follow Google’s lead and leave the country entirely. Or, they may complain to their governments to apply diplomatic pressure. The end result could be an ugly trade war, which would hurt all parties involved. That’s an outcome that will make the Great Recession even greater.

The Looming Trade War With China « Great Speculations – Forbes.com

Germans are popular in India and Pakistan, but not always for the right reasons. Many in South Asia have nothing but admiration for Adolf Hitler and still associate Germany with the Third Reich. Everyday encounters with the love of all things Nazi makes German visitors cringe.

The Führer Cult: Germans Cringe at Hitler’s Popularity in Pakistan – SPIEGEL ONLINE – News – International

Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada on Wednesday did not rule out the possibility nuclear weapons may be brought into Japan by U.S. forces in a future crisis, while reiterating that the government still adheres to the nation’s three nonnuclear principles.

In-country nukes a crisis option: Okada | The Japan Times Online

Thanks to the ongoing debacle in Greece, we’ve become all too aware about the dangers of the rapid build-up of government debt throughout the developed world in the wake of the financial crisis. The potential consequences of that trend are made ever more frightening in a new study by economists Carmen Reinhart of the University of Maryland and Kenneth Rogoff of Harvard University (authors of the book This Time is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly). They conclude that there is a “strong link” between banking crises and sovereign defaults. In fact, they state, banking crises can help predict sovereign debt crises. Their study spans two centuries and 70 countries, in both the developed and developing world, and makes for some nail-biting reading. Here are their main conclusions:

Are sovereign debt crises inevitable? – The Curious Capitalist – TIME.com

“Regrettably, we have seen attempts to limit Russia’s access to the exploration and development of the Arctic mineral resources,” he said. “That’s absolutely inadmissible from the legal viewpoint and unfair given our nation’s geographical location and history.”

Russia claims a large part of the Arctic seabed as its own, arguing that it is an extension of its continental shelf. In 2007, scientists staked a symbolic claim by dropping a canister containing the Russian flag onto the seabed from a small submarine.

The Associated Press: Medvedev: Russia must tap Arctic resources

Second, by detailing how the Pakistani government was involved in nuclear transfers to Iran, Khan raises new questions about Beijing’s role. Why? The Pakistani nuclear weapons program is essentially an extension of the Chinese one. China, beginning around 1974, transferred bomb technology to Pakistan. Beijing’s assistance was crucial, extensive, and continuous. As Gary Milhollin of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control has noted, “If you subtract China’s help from Pakistan’s nuclear program, there is no nuclear program.” Moreover, Beijing has remained involved in Islamabad’s nuclear efforts, long after the events Khan so meticulously describes in Sunday’s statements.

FOXNews.com – Iran Tried to Buy the Pakistani Bomb. What Was China’s Role?

North Korea has increased its missile arsenal by 25 percent in the past two years to about 1,000, expanding the threat the state poses to the region, the South’s defense chief said Wednesday.

Pyongyang’s arsenal includes intermediate-range missiles that can hit targets at up to 3,000 km (1,860 miles) away, Yonhap news agency quoted Kim Tae-young as telling a forum of business leaders.

North Korea Has 1, 000 Missiles, South Says – NYTimes.com

“As I see it, it is the greatest bubble in history with the most massive misallocation of wealth,” Rickards said at the Asset Allocation Summit Asia 2010 organized by Terrapinn Pte in Hong Kong yesterday. China “is a bubble waiting to burst.”

Rickards joins hedge fund manager Jim Chanos, Gloom, Boom & Doom publisher Marc Faber and Harvard University professor Kenneth Rogoff in warning of a potential crash in China’s economy. The government has raised banks’ reserve requirements twice this year after economic growth accelerated and property prices rallied.

China in Midst of ‘Greatest Bubble in History,’ Rickards Says – Bloomberg.com