BRIMC is a relatively new term used to refer to the combination of Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico, and the People's Republic of China.
The term derived from the Goldman Sachs investment bank thesis called BRIC. Jim O'Neill, expert from the same bank and creator of the economic thesis, stated that in 2001 when the paper was created, it did not consider Mexico, but today it has been included because the country is experiencing the same factors that the other countries first included present.[1][2] The main point of this paper was to argue that the economies of the BRIMCs are rapidly developing and by the year 2050 will eclipse most of the current richest countries of the world. A Goldman Sachs paper published later in December of 2005 explained why Mexico wasn't included in the original BRICs. According to the paper,[3] among the other countries they looked at, only Mexico and perhaps Korea have the potential to rival the BRICs, but they are economies that they decided to exclude initially because they looked at them as already more developed. According to that paper, Mexico becomes the sixth-largest economy, ahead of Russia. However, due to the popularity of the Goldman Sachs thesis, "BRIMC" is becoming a more generic marketing term to refer to these five countries, or even to newly industrialized countries in general.
The term is primarily used in the economic and financial spheres as well in academia. Its usage has grown specially in the investment sector, where it is used to refer to the bonds emitted by these emerging markets governments.[4][5][6]
The BRIMC thesis edit
It is primarily the same as the BRIC[7]. Goldman Sachs argues that the economic potential of Brazil, Russia, India, Mexico and China is such that they may become among the five most dominant economies by the year 2050. The thesis was proposed by Jim O'Neill, global economist at Goldman Sachs. These countries are forecast to encompass over forty percent of the world's population and hold a combined GDP [PPP] of 14.951 trillion dollars. On almost every scale, they would be the largest entity on the global stage. However, it is important to note that it is not the intent of Goldman Sachs to argue that these five countries are a political alliance (such as the European Union) or any formal trading association, like ASEAN. Nevertheless, they have taken steps to increase their political cooperation, mainly as a way of influencing the United States position on major trade accords, or, through the implicit threat of political cooperation, as a way of extracting political concessions from the United States, such as the proposed nuclear cooperation with India.
Other uses edit
The term is used in the financial world to describe the countries in which investing opportunities in bonds are notable and offer high rentability.[4]
Mexico edit
Since 2001, Mexico has experienced an improved debt-to-GDP ratio, pension reform,[8] tax reform,[9] and judicial reform.[10] Mexico's main parties have discussed a reform to the oil sector that would allow the state oil company to use capital from the private sector to support its operations. Any reforms to Mexico's oil sector may further improve its growth prospects over the next several decades.
Mexico's inflation and interest rates have remained lower than Brazil's and most of the rest of Latin America.
References edit
- Goldman Sachs Paper No.134 BRIMC (in English)
- ^ Le Figaro, newspaper, interview with expert Jim 0'Neill (in French)
- ^ United Nations University
- ^ "How Solid are the BRICs?" (PDF). Global Economics. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
- ^ a b Correio Da Manha, newspaper
- ^ Business Standard, "Emerging risk and return"
- ^ Company News Group, "L'oreal, first quarter sales report"
- ^ BRIC thesis Goldman Sachs Investment Bank, "BRIC"
- ^ http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/survey/so/2008/CAR082208A.htm
- ^ http://wharton.universia.net/index.cfm?fa=viewArticle&id=1414&language=english&specialId=
- ^ http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/laplaza/2008/06/mexico-reforms.html
- El Universal Newspaper (in Spanish)
See also edit
Category:International relations
Testing Testing Testing edit
Writing the Joker plot.
The story is told from the perspective of Jonny Frost, a low level thug who is sent to Arkham Asylum to pick up the Joker. Frost becomes part of the Joker's gang and assists him in trying to regain his former status as high profile gang figure within Gotham City, clashing with figures such as Two-face, The Penguin and Batman.
Plot Jonny Frost is a young, albino, two-bit Gotham City criminal without much of a future. He lives alone in a trashy flat, runs errands for a local racketeering outfit, all while contending with his ex-wife Shelly serving him with divorce papers and taking away custody of his children. Life is dull and meaningless, he gets word that his outfit's old boss, the badly scarred psychopath in clown make-up known only as "Joker" is being released from Arkham Asylum after a particularly long stay. Jonny is given the job of giving Joker a ride from the asylum into the city, where his second in command, Monty, plans to throw him a welcome-back party.
Jonny makes a good impression on Joker from the start with his vigilance and willingness to follow orders. He quickly takes the kid under his wing. The reader quickly comes to realize that Jonny greatly admires Joker, and aspires to have his own name as well known as that of his hero. While driving Joker back into Gotham, Joker requests a pit-stop at a local meat locker, the hide-out of Joker's friend and former muscle, "Croc," a massive black man with a foul temper, twisted sense of humor (explains why he and Joker get along so well), and a skin condition that makes his flesh resemble reptile scales. From Joker's conversation with Croc, we learn that Joker hasn't been so much "respect" from his old associates during his stay in Arkham. Most of his holdings were divvied up and sold amongst the rest of Gotham's underworld. Joker invites Croc and his crew to his welcome-home party, held at his former base of operations, a seedy stripclub called "Grin and Bare It."
At the stripclub, we find the party in full swing. Joker reunites with Monty, and puts his former underlings at momentary ease by agreeing to drink and enjoy the party. As Jonny observes, the party is all about "respect"; Monty and the rest hope to make up for selling away Joker's empire by throwing him the bash of the century. During the party, Joker's blonde haired-blue eyed girlfriend/bodyguard, "Harley", performs an enticing striptease, getting the attention of every man in the room, specifically Monty. She silently beckons Monty and Joker into the backroom for a private show.
Meanwhile, Jonny is drunk both from cheap alcohol and the thrill of officially being apart of Joker's inner circle. Suddenly, Monty staggers out of the private room, skinned from the base of his neck to the soles of his feet. He collapses dead on the stage while Joker and Harley stand cackling over him. Joker announces to all present that he is "very, very distressed" over his lack of control in Gotham. He asks the criminals present, "who wants to help me take it (the city of Gotham) back?" Jonny eagerly volunteers.
Over the course of the next few months, we see Joker, aided by Jonny, Harley, Croc, and various other nameless Gotham thugs embark on a violent killing spree through the Gotham underworld, violently eliminating any and all competition. Anyone he doesn't kill, who forces into an alliance. For example, he coerces The Penguin, (whom he derogatorily refers to as "Abner") into acting as a facilitator, funding him with money to carry out his scheme. In the meantime, he's also attracted the attention of Harvey "Two Face" Dent, the one member of Gotham's rogues gallery who currently holds the most of Joker's share, and wants to keep it that way.
During all of this, Jonny's relationship with Joker is examined. Jonny frequently shows instances where he views him almost as a father figure, whereas in other instances is completely disgusted with him. However, usually, the admiration for the man wins out. Joker also looks upon Jonny with something resembling empathy, affectionately referring to him as "Jonny Jonny" and confiding him. Next to Harley, he is the member of his crew whom he keeps closest.
Two Face notices this, and sends a corrupt cop to intimidate Jonny into meeting with Dent. Jonny refuses at first, but eventually relents after a particularly disturbing night with Joker, during which Joker, frustrated over not being able to contact Two Face, flew into a rage and blew up the Grin and Bare It, forcing he and his crew to hide out at various other locations. Joker and Jonny retired to Harley's crib, where Jonny observed, through a metaphorical story about his childhood, that Joker is becoming self-destructive. So scared is he of other criminals dismantling his empire, he is dismantling it himself. Another scene seems to imply that Joker is suicidal, when he plays Russian roulette with himself. Joker also seems to be suffering an attack of self-realization if not remorse, as he breaks down crying in Harley's lap.
Jonny meets with Two Face, who warns Jonny that only death can come from running with Joker. "Death is a punchline to him," Dent muses. Two Face offers Jonny a position in his crew, if Jonny agrees to feed him certain information about Joker. Jonny, conflicted, leaves Dent's office and walks to the top of a skyscraper and considers suicide. However, he has a change of heart and instead meets Joker, Harley, Croc and the rest of the gang at a local garage, where Joker beats Jonny for being late. Later, Joker and his crew meet with The Riddler at the garage. The Riddler, in this portrayal, is a crippled thief who runs with a street-racing gang. He delivers to Joker a suitcase which acts as MacGuffin. The Riddler also asks Joker "Where do you hide when the whole world is against you?" Implying, of course, that outside of his own tightly knit outfit, Joker has no allies in Gotham. He's killed them all, or driven them all to seek Two Face's protection. Joker laughs and says, "The best place to hide is in sanity!"
Later, while driving through the streets of Gotham, celebrating, Joker and his convoy are ambushed by cops hired by Two Face. During the shoot-out that follows, Jonny wrecks the car containing himself, Joker, and Harley. Joker staggers from the car, badly injured, and takes off down an alley-way, firing indiscriminately and killing two cops in the doing. The leader of the cops, the one who intimidated Jonny earlier, corners Joker at the end of the alley, finding him holding an empty gun. The cop has the drop on Joker, when Jonny shoots him from behind, saving Joker's life. Also banged up from the car wreck, Jonny faints in Joker's arms. Later, when Two Face emerges from his mansion to fetch the morning paper, he finds the mutilated body of the cop dangling from a tree limb.
After recovering from the wreck, Joker dispatches Croc, Jonny, and their thugs to claim retaliation against Dent's crew. Throughout all the bloodshed, Joker remains in Harley's crib, sitting by the phone, awaiting the moment when Two Face finally tires of his henchman dropping left and right, and calls him requesting a truce. The moment comes, and both the Joker Gang and the Two Face Gang agree to meet at the Gotham City Zoo.
At the meeting, Joker mocks Dent when the latter attempts to reason with him (a running joke throughout the book is Joker's referring to Dent as "The Harveys" and making light of his split-personalities). Dent suggests that they cut a deal, but Joker insists that the only way that could happen is if Dent agrees to "try begging." Two Face then reveals that Shelly, Jonny's ex-wife, has been seeing Dent. In fact, it was him who drew up the unfair custody papers against Jonny, and used these to threaten him (Dent, after all, used to be a lawyer). Two Face then threatens Joker, telling him that unless Joker listens to reason, he will call a certain "man" who will make the contents of Joker's prized suitcase disappear (it's unclear if this man is Batman, or just a MacGuffin like the case itself). When Two Face takes out a cell phone, Joker attacks him, slashing his wrists with shards of jagged metal which he has wedged into his own fingers. Two Face's men draw their guns, only to be mowed down by Harley, disguised in a gorilla suit this whole time. Joker, having subdued Two Face, imforms him that he will now be his personal "checking account"; anytime Joker wants cash, Dent will have to facilitate. Joker then whispers something unintelligible in Dent's ear. Joker and the crew leave, taking Jonny's ex-wife Shelly with them.
As a punishment for her betrayal of Jonny, Joker rapes Shelly in the back of a car. Jonny sits off to the side by the river, sickened by what Joker has become and what he himself has become as a result of running with him. Joker tells Croc to pay Shelly "for whatever it was worth" and send her home, and then asks Jonny if they are square. Jonny agrees that they are, and Joker invites him "to stay out tonight." The pair trashes a convenience store and Joker kills the clerk. Jonny muses on the irony that he is now on the inside, with Joker, just like he always wanted to be...only now he would rather be anywhere else. He realizes that he was crazy just for wanting to be like Joker, and though he now finds himself sickened by the man, he still "goes along for the ride," which includes the completely pointless butchery of an elderly couple in their home. After the murder, Joker tells Jonny what he hates most in the world; apologies. This most likely symbolizes Joker's completely chaotic, fatalistically existentialist view of the world. He considers it to be cruel and unfair, and the less apologies it offers him, the more of an excuse he has to watch it burn.
Meanwhile, Two Face gains control of the Bat-signal, and contacts the Batman. Batman answers, and Two Face puts aside his own hatred of the Dark Knight to beg him to stop Joker. Apparently, what Joker whispered in his ear at the zoo, is that he has figured out a way to kill Dent. Batman embarks, subduing Harley first at her apartment.
Joker and Jonny drive through the streets, and Joker tells a story about a man who was obsessed with driving around the world. Every time he drove a car into the ground, he killed someone else and took their car, repeating the process until the day he died. Joker explains that the point being is, the man refused to acknowledge that his mission was impossible. "I admire that," he says. This story represents, in all probability, both the natures of Joker and Batman; Joker cannot destroy Gotham completely, and Batman cannot completely clean up the crime. Still, they devote their lives to their causes, and make no apologies. This also hints at the twisted admiration that Joker has for Batman which goes along with his hatred of the vigilante.
While in the car driving to meet Croc, Joker suffers mental breakdown, babbling that "he's got his hands on the rug-he's let me-we've got to get off the rug, Jonny!" When Jonny asks what he means, Joker snaps, "Goddamn it, can't you feel it slipping away!?" Joker is referring to Batman again, and the fact that Batman, absent for most of Joker's killing spree, is now coming after him. The "he's let me" fragment is also part of Joker's realization that the reason his old foe never came after him before was because he wanted Joker to kill those men, as they were criminals themselves. Now that all the other rogues are dead or in hiding, Batman will now be coming after Joker. This point is solidified when Jonny and Joker reach Croc's hide-out, and find him beaten and tied up in the meat locker.
With that, Jonny and Joker completely snap and run through the streets of Gotham, setting fires and laughing insanely, hoping to draw Batman out into the open. Upon reaching the Gotham Bridge, Joker suddenly turns on Jonny pulling a gun on him, and announcing that he "disgusts" him with his obviousness. At first, the reader is led to believe he's talking about Jonny, but when a batarang enters the frame and slices Joker's forehead, it's realized that he's talking about Batman. Joker grabs Jonny and holds a gun to his head as Batman drops down from the bridge scaffolding. Joker asks Batman why, even though he wants to be seen as a monster, as something more than inhuman, a wraith, he still leaves a portion of his "perfection", i.e., his chin and mouth, out in the open. "Chiseled good looks," Joker calls them. "To mock you," Batman answers.
Enraged, Joker shoots Jonny in the throat. As Jonny crawls off, bleeding heavily, Batman attacks Joker and they engage in a familiarly staged battle. Obviously dying, Jonny says that he feels "on top of the world looking down", and that all he can see is "you" (Joker) "a disease" that has infected Gotham, and of which there is no cure. The book ends with Batman and Joker fighting, Jonny bleeding to death, and the line, "No cure. Just a Batman."