Prime Minister of Canada - Fear of ‘catastrophic event’ holding back global recovery

Stephen Harper offered a gloomy assessment of the world economy even as he used his fourth day of an Indian trade mission to plead for closer ties with the south Asian country.

The prime minister told a World Economic Forum audience in Gurgaon, just outside New Delhi, that he worries fear of a “catastrophic event” is restraining the global recovery and spurring increased protectionism.

“If I were to go back and look ahead I would say one of the things that most surprises me is that four years after this crisis, we’re still in it to some degree,” Mr. Harper told a moderator at the global business meeting.

He said the U.S. governments debt and deficit problems are one thing but a bigger more potentially imminent concern for world leaders is the risk of another economic crash.

“I do believe is that what worries big actors in the global economy, is that there will be some kind of catastrophic event as happened in late 2008 that will send everything into a tail spin.” Read more >>

Starbucks Opens First Store in India as U.S. Growth Slows

The world’s largest coffee chain will need options that are priced as much as 33 percent lower than its U.S. offerings to succeed in the Indian market, said Saloni Nangia, president at Gurgaon-based consultancy Technopak Advisors Pvt. The company opens its first outlet in the country today with partner Tata Global Beverages Ltd. in an upscale south Mumbai neighborhood that also boasts a Hermes store.

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Starbucks is entering the world’s second-most populous nation as part of a plan to counter slowing growth in the U.S. and a recession in Europe. The U.S. accounted for less than 70 percent of its sales last fiscal, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. In India, where consumption of the drink has almost doubled in the decade through 2010 to 108,000 metric tons, the chain will compete with Barista Coffee Co., a unit of Italy’s Lavazza SpA, and Cafe Coffee Day, run by Amalgamated Bean Coffee Trading Co.

“It’s a great time for Starbucks to come in because some of the base is already here, in terms of cafes, in terms of people using them as socializing hotspots,” said Nangia. “The average Indian consumer, or the current cafe consumer, is happy to upgrade to a Starbucks environment.” Read more >>