8/29/07

As I perused The Guardian's online newspaper today, I came across two articles in which I wish to discuss. The first article pertains to Turkey and the EU (what we discussed in class today), and the second article has an interesting subject and also has US involvement.



Title of Article: Gul sworn in as Turkey's president
Source: The Guardian (8/29/07)
Link: http://www.guardian.co.uk/turkey/story/0,,2157875,00.html

Yesterday, Abdullah Gul, a British-educated economist as well as a Muslim democrat, was sworn in as the 11th president of Turkey. This election marks the end of the military and bureaucratic elite ruling, a title held by them for the past 84 years. Soon after he was elected, Gul vowed to be a more active president and push modernizing reforms, which he hopes will in turn promote Turkey's role in the world. Gul, who recently received praise for his handling of Turkey's bid to join the EU, vows to do such things because of the country's great desire to join the prestigious EU.
Gul also plans to leave the AK party, which he helped found, to impress his skeptics who aren't buying into his vow of impartiality (most likely another ploy to gain membership into the EU). Turkey would obviously benefit from being able to join the EU (although some residents most likely think otherwise), but only time will tell if Gul's attempts will pay off, or if members of the EU will again turn down Turkey's request on account of the impending movement of people freedom and the various other benefits Turkey will receieve if accepted.


Title of Article: PartyGaming revenues drop 70%
Source: The Guardian (8/29/07)
Link: http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2158213,00.html

PartyGaming, the world's most lucrative gaming market and operator of the PartyPoker and PartyCasino websites, posted a pre-tax loss of $47m (£23.4m) for the first half of 2007 on account of the recent US ban on all online gambling. Revenues also plunged for the business, down 70% to $212.5m. This US ban knocked PartyGaming out of the FTSE 100 index after wiping out three-quarters of its business.
On the brighter side, shares in the website rebounded by nearly 10% to 25p this morning, which is a welcome change from the sharp fall yesterday. Trading figures are still matching up to City expectations as well and the website is still averaging about 1,192 new members each day. Mitch Garber, the website's chief executive, is currently working with the US Department of Justice towards a satisfactory resolution; however, the website is planning to expand its business to China and Russia to make up for the loss of business in the US.
This is obviously a major setback for the PartyGaming business. Three-quarters of its business has just been wiped out, so it's going to be tough to try and regain their losses. Administrators are handling it well, however, with talks with the US and plans to expand their business to other foreign countries. Let's just hope that China and Russia don't put a ban on all online gambling as well or PartyGaming may have to call its bluff.