60 http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/countingthecost en-us Al Jazeera | Copyright 2013 iTunes feed for Counting the Cost Al Jazeera English The best of Al Jazeera's reporting on the impact of the financial crisis. Al Jazeera English podcasts@aljazeera.net no Al Jazeera English The PRISM controversy in the US has not just highlighted online privacy issues but shown up a massive security industry. The PRISM controversy in the US has not just highlighted online privacy issues but shown up a massive security industry. 2480654752001: Spies for hire: Money over privacy? Sat, 15 Jun 2013 17:24:20 +0300 1500 fbi,USA,countingcost,privacy hacking,google,youtube,cia,countingthe cost,aljazeera,online security,Whitehouse,prism <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/MJ9jQIxPANw" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2480675604001_WEB-CTC-1104-15.mp4 Al Jazeera English We look at the winners and losers of the country's political and economic reforms. Reclusive and sealed off during its five decades of military rule, Myanmar is now in the throes of democratic and economic reforms, which - if analysts are to be believed - could completely transform the country. Can Myanmar solve its social and political problems? Can business actually be part of the reform? And what is the key to moving forward economically and politically? 2451693669001: Myanmar: A land of opportunity? Sat, 08 Jun 2013 18:08:53 +0300 1500 Counting the Cost,Kamahl Santamaria,burma,youth unemployment,rohingya,countingcost,myanmar,mining Burma,myanmar investment,youtube,land grabs Burma,myanmar reform,aljazeera,economic cost Myanmar,China <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/BMkXtI4ub1E" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2455433738001_Web-CTC-412-07.mp4 Al Jazeera English We ask if Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's 'Abenomics' approach is the best way to ease the country's financial troubles. Can one man, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, revitalise the Japanese economy? It is rare for the leader of a nation to have a set of economic policies named after him. But Shinzo Abe is one rare example. This week, Counting the Cost looks at what is being called 'Abenomics', as hope gives way to volatility. Japan desperately needed to end almost two decades of deflation, weak domestic demand and another recession late last year. So Shinzo Abe produced what he calls "three arrows" to take on the challenge: fiscal, structural and monetary. So far, there has been a commitment of around $117bn to infrastructure, health and education; an inflation target set at two percent by the Bank of Japan; and, in the footsteps of the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, money printing, or "quantitative easing" as it is officially called - a massive $1.4tn programme to flood the markets with money. Now, all said and done, that will actually increase Japan's debt, remembering that it is already the most indebted nation in the world with levels of 230 percent of GDP. So is this the right track? Counting the Cost examines the issue, and speaks to Dr Seijiro Takeshita, the managing director of Mizuho International. 2423726348001: A shot in the arm for Japan's economy? Sat, 01 Jun 2013 13:47:46 +0300 1500 Stephen King,palestine,economy,us,al Jazeera,countingcost,countingthecost,Seijiro Takeshita,Shinzo Abe,youtube,india,Abenomics,Japan <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/yjPvoQJhXyo" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2423814657001_Web-CCT-336-31.mp4 Al Jazeera English Is there any prospect of a properly regulated garments industry in the country, and what would it mean for the industry? A building collapsed killing more than 1,000 garment workers in Bangladesh last month. The disaster showed the terrible working conditions, and lack of safety, for millions of workers there. Both Bangladesh and the global community are coming to terms with their roles in the disaster, because whether consumers shop at Walmart or at Giorgio Armani, the clothes they buy are probably produced in Bangladesh, which is ranks number two in the world for garment production. And that is because garment workers in Bangladesh are the lowest earners in the world. Workers expect to earn 24 cents an hour, with some wages as low as $38 a month - a lot lower than the rate in the world's other big apparel producing markets. So, can Bangladesh make a change to a properly regulated garments industry? And what would this change mean for the industry? We discuss the options on Counting the Cost. 2407334666001: Bangladesh: The cost of fashion Sat, 25 May 2013 12:56:51 +0300 1500 Counting the Cost,fashion,google,evasion,Walmart,al Jazeera,countingcost,countingthecost,bangladesh,tax,apple,youtube,aljazeera,Amazon,garments <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/luHKejKx_LE" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2407453588001_Web-CCost-245-24.mp4 Al Jazeera English Can the history a debt-riddled region find relief from yet another bailout and can it survive without? Can the history a debt-riddled region find relief from yet another bailout and can it survive without? 2389941276001: Debt: Trouble in paradise Sat, 18 May 2013 17:02:06 +0300 1500 loans,countingthecost,countingcost,debt,youtube,economy,JAMAICA,aljazeera,Eurozone,netherlands <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/GJRP0HLtotw" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2390013023001_WEB-CTC-1450-17.mp4 Al Jazeera English Markets, property prices, currencies are all on the way way up, we ask if the good times are coming to a jarring end? Markets, property prices, currencies are all on the way way up... we ask if the bubble's about to burst. Also tough times explored in both Pakistan and South Africa and the tastiest computer out there - the Raspberry Pi. 2373095925001: Bursting Asia's economic bubble? Sat, 11 May 2013 15:27:38 +0300 1500 computer,pakistan,raspberry PI,countingthecost,countingcost,Kamahl Santamaria,youtube,economy,india,South Africa,aljazeera <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/ofKZNj3sRPA" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2373411257001_Web-CTCost-432-10.mp4 Al Jazeera English We look at how much longer oil has to run, and ask if new alternative energy finds have delayed the inevitable. The idea of 'peak oil' - or the point in time when maximum petroleum extraction has been reached - is an idea which has been around since the 1950s. These days though, the debate centres on whether oil has or has not yet reached its 'peak', given that we have extracted so much of it, and that reserves are declining. But as new extraction techniques evolve - things like fracking, tar sands, deep water drilling - do we really have fuel that could last for centuries? 2351314790001: Approaching 'peak oil'? Sat, 04 May 2013 14:48:12 +0300 1500 Qatar,mining,International Energy Agency,scientists,european commission,petroleum,science,oil,al Jazeera,countingcost,gems,peak oil,tax,zambia,youtube,Gemfields,South Africa,aljazeera,gold,brain <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/X5xK-MeNTNU" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2351691058001_WEB-CTC-oil-1050-04.mp4 Al Jazeera English As Europe struggles under widespread spending cuts, it seems that the theory behind austerity may, in fact, be flawed. Over the course of the last three years, Europe has changed beyond anybody's reckoning. And it has all been because of one thing, one overriding necessity forced on the people by the political class of a continent: austerity. The theory goes that growth slows when a country's debt rises above 90 percent of its GDP. In other words, too much debt means the economy cannot grow. And the theory seemed sound. So sound, in fact, that it is used by politicians - mostly in Europe - to slash their spending leading to mass unemployment, anaemic growth and struggling economies. But it does not seem to be working in Europe. And according to findings by a 28-year old graduate student, the premise upon which austerity theory was based is flawed. 2330810663001: Austerity debunked Sat, 27 Apr 2013 11:30:44 +0300 1500 Thomas Herndon,Europe,malaysia,spain,al Jazeera,austerity,countingcost,countingthecost,election,slovenia,youtube,aljazeera,Najib Razak,Eurozone <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/eXxnTuh7hRw" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2331001718001_WEB-CTC-1844-26.mp4 Al Jazeera English We look at the fallout of dipping gold prices, a cola war in Thailand and the fiscal issues bubbling in Egypt. We look at the fallout of dipping gold prices, a cola war in Thailand and the fiscal issues bubbling in Egypt. We talk to John Greeve, the managing director of miner Mutiny Gold from the capital of Western Australia, Perth; International Airlines' Willie Walsh and Pragrom Prathoomboorn a Thai business analyst. 2313194366001: Gold: going for broke Sat, 20 Apr 2013 16:07:29 +0300 1500 Aviation,Counting the Cost,Qatar,Thailand,economy,Libya,John Greeve,Egypt,countingcost,countingthecost,Iberia Airlines,youtube,aljazeera,gold <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/olRE2iv8jjM" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2313664232001_WEB-CTC-1541-19.mp4 Al Jazeera English What are the challenges facing Lisbon as it tries to keep the country's deal with the IMF on track? The eurozone's economic problems are never far from the headlines. Portugal, which is already on the periphery of Europe, is perhaps drifting further after the constitutional court blocked some of its reforms. The country faces legal challenges to meeting its agreement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This week, Counting the Cost goes behind the numbers to look at the real hurdles Lisbon is facing, as it tries to keep the country's deal with the IMF on track. 2296567201001: Portugal's financial burden Sat, 13 Apr 2013 11:13:17 +0300 1500 Grant Thornton,Europe,Starwood Hotels,Iraq,Crescent Petroleum,UAE,al Jazeera,countingcost,countingthecost,Majid Jafar,dubai,youtube,aljazeera,portugal,Eurozone,Dana Gas,IMF <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/EHPyYCxwcyc" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2296628797001_WEB-CTC-1829-12.mp4 Al Jazeera English We look at how a pressing need to cut back spending is seeing drastic changes to the UK's beloved welfare state. Austerity seems inescapable, even in a prosperous developed country like Britain, which is going through some of the worst cut-backs since the Great Depression. Some of it simply comes from the UK, and so many other countries, still trying to find a way out of the financial crisis. But there is another element - a perception that things have gotten a bit too easy and that the once-beloved 'welfare state system' has gotten abused, and needs to be tightened up. Britain is instigating the biggest changes in its welfare state since the 1940's, remaking a system that has been seen as an example for developed economies. The changes are across the board: housing and sickness benefits, disability allowances, and a cap on individual welfare payments. 2279640870001: Britain: Going back to basics Sat, 06 Apr 2013 14:13:16 +0300 1500 Counting the Cost,uk,welfare,Europe,United Kingdom,al Jazeera,austerity,countingcost,countingthecost,youtube,aljazeera,benefits,britain <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/d00Yyogq3hA" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2279932732001_WEB-CTC-1630-05.mp4 Al Jazeera English We examine the BRICS, the deals, the critics and whether China can shape a new world order. It was 599 years ago that Admiral Zheng - in a show of Chinese power - sailed down the east coast of Africa. The year was 1414, and he took home with him - a giraffe. Today, China is more interested in oil and gas off the cost of Mozambique and Tanzania, and it has been welcomed with open arms, as it lavishes it wealth across the continent. Can there be partnership without plundering? Is China a new colonial power, or just misunderstood? 2263862172001: China: A new colonial power? Sat, 30 Mar 2013 17:40:50 +0300 1500 Counting the Cost,oil Tanzania,BRICs,China economy,nigeria,countingcost,Mozambique,Nepal billionaire,youtube,Africa,aljazeera,South Africa,China <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/Grsf-y4RZbU" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2264000907001_WEB-CTC-1551-29.mp4 Al Jazeera English After standing up to the institutional might of the troika, debt-ridden Cyprus looks to Moscow for financial help. Cyprus is a small nation that barely makes a dent in the eurozone's economy, but the country has been crippled by the region's sovereign debt crisis. Cyprus knocked back a bailout to save its insolvent banks from the so-called troika: the European Central Bank (ECB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Commission (EC). The bailout broke a banking taboo by partially seizing deposits in what appeared to be an attempt to target Russian businesses, oligarchs and alleged mafia money. Nicosia has been on life support, existing in part thanks to a $2.5bn loan from Moscow. It has until June to figure out a solution before it defaults. But the ECB says it will stop providing much needed cash for its banks before then. 2245475963001: Cyprus: Is there a Russian solution? Sat, 23 Mar 2013 10:25:06 +0300 1500 US Big Oil,us,Kurd,cyprus,Iraq,oil,al Jazeera,exxon,countingthecost,Issam al-Chalabi,Troika,War,youtube,moscow,aljazeera,Russia <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/AuX5SBRJg8A" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2245661266001_WEB-CTC-1604-22.mp4 Al Jazeera English Brimming with oil and gas reserves, the country may be able to pay its debt by tapping into these natural resources. Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of oil and gas are believed trapped under the seabed around Greece - enough to wipe out the country's debt for good. But can they get to it? And who else is looking to get their hands on the energy bonanza? Some experts say the recent discoveries of oil and gas in the Aegean Sea could turn the entire region into the 'New Gulf'. But where there is oil, there is usually some sort of conflict. 2228579453001: Greece's hidden riches Sat, 16 Mar 2013 14:37:53 +0300 1500 Kamahl Santamaria,greece,Libya,Israel,oil,gas,Abu Dhabi,al Jazeera,countingthecost,Mexico,dubai,enrique pena nieto,youtube,aljazeera,syria <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/mTiAyGQ1ck8" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2228648173001_WEB-CTC-1539-15.mp4 Al Jazeera English How will the leader's death affect Venezuela's economy and did his charisma and petrodollars paper over a weak economy? As Venezuela mourns its former president Hugo Chavez, we look at his legacy and exactly where the billions of dollars in oil money ended up. And where will the nations which benefited from his largesse go now? Chavez was seen as a man who courted all sorts of attention but certainly fought the corner of the poor, in lifting their standards of living, mostly on the back of a global oil boom. During his time in power, Venezuela earned almost $1 trillion, according the Hoover Institute. And many countries in the region have depended on Chavez's generous economic aid, which was funded by Venezuela's oil reserves. So with Chavez gone, will this aid hold up? And where did that money come from? 2212270853001: Chavez: The end of a socialist revolution? Sat, 09 Mar 2013 16:57:29 +0300 1500 angola,oil money,dreamliner,Finland,latin america,us,EU,Hugo Chavez,Renault,Boeing,al Jazeera,venezuela,countingcost,countingthecost,south america,youtube,Africa,aljazeera,Peugeot,petrodollars,italy,China <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/GW6lyqpo6Kg" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2212640252001_WEB-CTC-1918-8.mp4 Al Jazeera English A special look at 'supply and demand' and whether profiteering retailers or hungry consumers are to blame. A special look at 'supply and demand' and whether profiteering retailers or hungry consumers are to blame. 2198052105001: The price of a fast-food life Sat, 02 Mar 2013 16:47:56 +0300 1500 Philippines,coconut,Indonesia,exploitation,Silvio Belusconi's Mario Monti,austerity,countingcost,countingthecost,International Labor Rights,foxconn,youtube,Bnagladesh,aljazeera,Step Vaessen,Silvio Peruzzo,Finally,italy,China <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/wxwZRNwJsuo" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2198157640001_WEB-CTC-1819-1.mp4 Al Jazeera English The resource-rich country is reforming its financial sector but is this diversification coming at a price? The resource-rich country is reforming its financial sector but is this diversification coming at a price? 2182982718001: Kazakhstan's changing fortunes Sat, 23 Feb 2013 16:07:24 +0300 1500 Counting the Cost,South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation,Kamahl Santamaria,EU,saarc,Central Bank of Kazakhstan,countingcost,countingthecost,Commonwealth of Independent States,Robin Forestier-Walker,youtube,tunisia,ASEAN,Kazakhstan,aljazeera,GCC,Gregory Marchenko,Ali Chebbi,CIS <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/podcasts/countingthecostHD/~4/g1UnmhkDMqg" height="1" width="1"/>http://bc05.ajnm.me/665003303001/665003303001_2183036516001_WEB-CTC-1741-22.mp4