links for 2009-12-15

Sovereign debt risk is rising globally, particularly in the United States and United Kingdom, which must outline plans to manage public debt or face ratings deterioration as soon as 2011, Moody's global head of sovereign ratings said on Monday.

I can only surmise, cynically, that far more was at stake than Dubai World. That credit was dispensable. But the Islamic bond market (sukuk) was not. The market is only about seven years old and none of these deals has been tested in a bankruptcy. If the process was disorderly or looked skewed against international investors, it would have had much broader impact.

As world population expands, the demand for arable land should soar. At least that's what George Soros, Lord Rothschild, and other investors believe.

As industrialization and urbanization continue to encroach on China's arable land, the country is grappling with ways to keep enough farmland to feed its people.

It doesn't look very green. Rare earth processing in China is a messy, dangerous, polluting business. It uses toxic chemicals, acids, sulfates, ammonia. The workers have little or no protection. But, without rare earth, Copenhagen means nothing. You buy a Prius hybrid car and think you're saving the planet. But each motor contains a kilo of neodymium and each battery more than 10 kilos of lanthanum, rare earth elements from China.