Here are some excerpts of the interview.

Q. Whether the financial meltdown affected the trade and business developments between India and the UAE in 2008 and now?

A. No negative effects of the global financial meltdown on India-UAE trade relations have been seen so far. They may emerge, after a year or so, if oil prices continue to fall in tandem with business decline in the West. India and UAE have good economic and trade relations which are growing further. The UAE is India’s third largest trade partner in the financial year 2007-08.

Q. Has the flow of Indian expatriates travelling to the UAE gone down due to the economic downturn, and it resulted in job losses of many in the UAE who toil in construction fields?

A. The current economic crisis is unlikely to have any significant impact on the recruitment of Indians as the major energy, infrastructure and real estate projects being pursued in the country would not be halted, keeping in view the readily available financial support for such projects. Major real estate developers have also assured that ongoing projects would not be slowed down or delayed.

Q. What new improvements have been gained in the two way trade ties between the two countries in 2008?

A. Non-oil trade between India and the UAE has crossed $29 billion in the financial 2007-08, up 24 per cent compared to the last fiscal year, making the UAE India’s third-largest trading partner after the US and China. India’s non-oil exports to the UAE in 2007-08 rose to $15.47 billion from $13.61 billion, a year earlier whereas, India’s non-oil imports from the UAE were valued at $13.56 billion, higher than $9.79 billion in 2006-07.

Q. What was the growth rate of Indian and UAE investors in both countries, has it been affected due to unstable developments in India ?

A. India’s main area of priority for investment is the infrastructure sector where more than $500 billion are required over a period of five years. Apart from it, the other areas for investments are telecom, energy and agriculture. Major UAE companies like Emaar, Nakheel, ETA ASCON are investing in the sectors like real estate, hospitality and tourism. DP World is actively engaged in the development of six different ports on the vast coastline of India.

UAE side has also shown interest in agriculture and food processing, and in utilising India ‘s experience for developing the consumer sector in the UAE. The UAE is supporting development of small and medium enterprises (SME) in order to develop entrepreneurial spirit in its young generation. Given India’s strengths in the SME sector, this is an important area for Indian companies. The sectors of priority interest to the UAE are: industry, services and alternative energy.

Q. Which Indian companies are investing in the UAE?

A. Indian companies like L&T, Punj Lloyd, Hinduja Group, Pioneer Cement, Oberoi Group of Hotels, have bagged projects in the UAE. Following the emergence of Dubai as a major re-export centre, Indian companies have emerged as important investors in the free trade zones such as Jebel Ali FTZ, Sharjah Airport and Hamariya Free Zones and Abu Dhbai Industrial City. Again with Dubai positioning itself as a service centre, many Indian Service Providers and leading IT companies such as Infosys, Wipro, have opened their offices here.

Q. Who are the new investors from UAE to India and what is the growth rate in health tourism sector from UAE to India ?

A. Many joint ventures have been set up by the UAE-based companies in India in recent years including those by Emaar, Dubai Ports World, ETA Ascon. With regard to health tourism, the idea of travelling to India at low-cost but for world-class medical treatment, is gaining in popularity. India has some of the best hospitals and treatment centres in the world with the best facilities. Emiratis going on self-expenses are already utilising Indian health services, including the Ayurvedic establishments and Spas.

Q. How the historical ties keep both nations attached to each other and what major events are planned for 2009?

A. From the firm mercantile foundations of the past when dates, pearls, clothes and spices were the main items of trade, commercial ties between India and the UAE have in recent years, acquired a new level of substance. Indians were present in UAE long before the oil was discovered and have played a vital role in the development of the UAE. Along with commercial relations, political and defence relations are also on the upswing.

In 2008, the India-UAE relations got new impetus by the visit of External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherjee and Minister of Commerce and Industry, Kamal Nath to the UAE. In June 2008, the second India-UAE Joint Defence Cooperation Committee meeting took place in Abu Dhabi . The first ever India-UAE Joint Air Forces exercise took place in September 2008 at Al Dhafra base in Abu Dhabi.

As far as major events in 2009 are concerned, there are plans to organise an exclusive India Trade Fair in Abu Dhabi in December 2009 by India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) in association with Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC). This fair will showcase India’s industrial products and will also provide space for India ‘s services sector including IT, health, education and financial services.

Q. What are the new strategies for strengthening cultural and traditional bonds between the two nations?

A. An exclusive Indian Film Festival was organised in November 2008 by the Embassy in association with Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture and Heritage (ADACH) where eight Indian films in different languages were screened along with short UAE documentaries.

The Crisis and India
The impact of the global crisis on India can broadly be divided into three different aspects: (1) the immediate direct impact on its financial sector; (2) an indirect impact on economic activities; and (3) potential long-term geopolitical implications. Fortunately, India, like most of the emerging economies, was lucky to avoid the first round of adverse affects because its banks were not overly exposed to subprime lending. Only one of the larger private sector banks, the ICICI, was partly exposed but it managed to counter the crisis through a strong balance sheet and timely government action. The banking sector as whole maintained a healthy balance sheet and, over the third quarter of 2008 –a nightmare for many big financial institutions around the world–, India’s banks reported encouraging results and witnessed an impressive jump in their profitability.

However, the indirect –or second-round– impact of the crisis has affected India quite badly. The liquidity squeeze in the global market following Lehman Brothers’ collapse had serious implications for India, as it not only led to massive outflows of Foreign Institutional Investment (FII) but also compelled Indian banks and companies to shift their credit demand from external sources to the domestic banking sector. It thereby exerted pressure on domestic market liquidity, thereby giving rise to a credit crunch. Coupled with the ensuing loss of confidence, this increased the risk aversion of Indian banks, hurting credit expansion in the domestic market.

Additionally, given the recession in the developed world, the demand for Indian exports in their major markets has almost collapsed. Merchandise exports shrank by more than 17% from October 2008 to May 2009. The decline in exports has accelerated, with a drop in May 2009 of 29.2% compared with May 2008. Likewise, exports of services are also facing a steep downturn. In the third quarter of 2008-09, growth in services exports declined to a mere 5.9%, compared with 34% in the same period a year back. Earnings from travel, transport, insurance and banking services have contracted, while the growth of software exports declined by more than 21 percentage points. The real shock came in the fourth quarter of 2008-09 when services exports contracted by 6.6% over the same period a year back.

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Shipping industry will ride the storm of financial crisis
Dubai: As the turbulence of recent weeks has rocked the previous complacency that had become embedded in the fabric of a western society that the righteous have already dubbed as irresponsible, the marine industry has begun to batten down in preparation for rough weather ahead.

While the consumer world fattened itself on the produce of its spending, shipping, too, enjoyed a smooth voyage while it supplied the needs of the spenders, automatically reaping the benefits bestowed by the boom. Such is the nature of this business.

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Some questions of Financial Crisis in America:
CEO Q > How Did We Get Here?
Med Yones > The U.S. economy got here due to spending money we do not have and not producing enough to pay back the credit. It’s like luxury-living on credit cards, at some point the lenders want their money back. Not to forget that in a new open global economy, the U.S. does not have a competitive monopoly on knowledge, technology, manufacturing, services or marketing anymore. Therefore, the growth rate of U.S. production (cars, airplanes, electronics, IT …) is not keeping up with the growth rate of the debt. The housing bubble, subprime mortgage defaults, and associated financial crisis are all symptoms of the core problem of too much debt-based spending and over-extended leverage (debt-based investing). We cannot sustain debt-driven economic growth forever.

CEO Q > When Do You Think the Economy Will Recover?
Med Yones > The timing of the economic recovery depends on several factors, the most important are the effectiveness of the new economic policies in establishing trust in the U.S. economy (such as reducing budget and trade deficits, etc.), and the performance of corporate America (profits, job creation, etc.) . The markets need at least 2 consecutive quarters of business growth and profits, so that CEOs, investors and consumers will establish the confidence to invest again and reverse the negative cycle. However, we will not see the hugely inflated stocks and real estate prices anytime soon.

Thomas Jefferson wrote “If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their money, first by inflation and then by deflation,the banks and corporations that will grow up around them (around the banks), will deprive the people of their property until their children will wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.”
The first has occurred now the question is whether we will get the predicted result..
We can weather this though it will be rough and stormy. More in my next article including how to prepare for hard days coming over the next few years. With luck we may have some extra time. With prayer plus a wake up of the American people to action, we might find the Leaders and together the ways to clean up the “mess”.and work together to rebuild, revitalize America … and I mean the United States of America and NOT the North American Union as our Country!

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According to the experts, today’s kids are much better equipped to deal with sensitive subjects than you were, as you know if you’ve already discussed sex with them without resorting to that birds & bees nonsense. The trick is in approaching them in a way that raises their comfort level and presents only the information that is appropriate to their age level.

If you don’t talk to them about the economy, they are going to hear about it anyway. So don’t worry about whether you think they’ll be able to understand what’s going on. The best thing you can do is to keep the lines of communication open.

Current Economic Crisis Tips for Parents.
Tips for Talking to Children about the Current Economy:
1. Open up the discussion. Operate on the same principle as with the Birds & the Bees talk: the older the child, the more detailed the info.

With preschoolers, says Faull, parents might say: “Mommy and Daddy are worried about money, but it’s an adult problem, and we’ll take care of it.” Vital is that your child know she’s protected. This holds true no matter how dire your situation. Should you be losing your home, say: “We’re going to move to an apartment, but we’re all going to be together. You’re safe with us.”

School-aged kids, privy to news reports and playground rumors, will know something is up. Parents can explain mortgages, banking, whatever might fit into a child’s knowledge base. But, says Faull, deliver the information “in soundbites.” Don’t burden your child with details, nor with the problems you and your spouse might be facing.

With teenagers, parents should be specific. After all, teens will be discussing the issues in school, and says Faull, “you’ll want to sift the information they’re getting through your family’s worldview.” No need to open your check ledger, but do let them know how the crisis is directly affecting the family.

2. Manage expectations. Explain, in a non-alarming way, that there’ll be some belt-tightening. Whether this means gas-saving activities—backyard camp-out rather than weekend road-trip, say—or a leaner Christmas load, your children need to be told. Says Faull: “A child who gets one birthday present instead of the usual five will feel he’s done something wrong”—unless you explain the reasons behind it. Expect kids to push your limits, whining, even tantruming, for what they’re used to. Change is never comfortable, especially when it entails loss. Allow room for emotions, but continue to affirm your new boundaries, with as much patience as possible.

3. Use the crisis as a teachable moment. Older kids need to know how credit cards work—and the dangers of spending money that doesn’t exist. Cost-cutting tricks can be a form of play for younger children: clipping coupons from the Sunday paper, say, or scouting grocery aisles for sale items. All ages can learn lessons in budgeting through the apportionment of their allowance toward spending, saving, and charity. If parental resources are stretched thin, teens with jobs might be asked to contribute to their own after-school activities.

4. Reduce the anxiety level. TV news feeds us the same info on an endless loop, breeding fear rather than providing illumination. Get the updates you need, then retire the remote. Or switch to Sesame Street, Hannah Montana—whatever! As for bickering, or battling, with your spouse about finances, do it behind closed doors, away from the kids. Find ways to vent your own stress. Pound a Stairmaster, punch a pillow, talk to friends—just don’t lash out at the kids. When you do—and, let’s face it, who among us doesn’t?—take responsibility for your words and actions. Make sure your child knows she’s not to blame.

5. Count your blessings. No need to act the Pollyanna, denying today’s realities. Just open your eyes to the good all around. There’s always something to be grateful for. A younger child might enjoy doing a nightly gratitude list—alphabetized. “I am grateful for…applesauce…Ben 10…cartwheels…” All ages can be taught to look for silver linings: A laid-off parent might have more time to play at home. Fewer fancy toys might mean more creative play with whatever’s at hand.

When kids see their parents struggle honestly with challenges, overcome them or learn to accept them and live with them (rather than go into denial or flee from them), they will be better prepared to cope with their own inevitable challenges. Life pitches us plenty of curveballs. Kids who see their family come together, swing for the fence, and keep swinging even when they strike out will grow up more willing to take risks, make mistakes, learn, and grow. That strikes me as a pretty good way to pursue happiness.

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How to Invest in the Stock Market During this Financial Crisis?
Be Cautious, Do Your Research, Buy slowly.
More info about this question:

http://www.ehow.com/how_4551473_market-during-this-financial-crisis.html

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Instructions of How to Survive a Personal Financial Crisis
Step1: Make a real effort not to panic. Yes, you may find yourself in an comfortable position, but you need to make a point not to over react to the situation because that will only make it worse. Every time you feel yourself becoming upset say out loud: I’m not going there!
Step2: Sit down and go over your personal finances to see what you have. The hand you are dealt is what you are going to be playing with. Don’t be embarrassed that you don’t have a lot. Be glad you have something. And don’t feel obligated to tell a soul of your accounting. This is just for you to know how many chips you have and what you are fighting against.
Step3: Decide your priorities and cut the rest. Now we hear of all these people who could go without, yet we never go without the basis. Decide, past the basics, what you can live without and cut them. This will free some of your money up and make you switch things before they are taken away.
Step4: Start being creative with your money. If you use a lot of one item, check to see if it is easier to by in bulk. If you have errands, only go out once to save gas. Little things that save money add up quickly.
Step5: Remember to have some fun. Just because you are financially having trouble it doesn’t mean you need to be punishing yourself. Take time to deliberately set up once a week outing that is something you want to do. It could be dinner, a movie or even a walk at the park. You deserve to live so take advantage of our big world.

HeatherB’ advice:
Stacking Pennies has meal ideas for the girl on a budget:

The first step in spending less on groceries is planning, but planning takes effort, time and thought. Enter Single Servings,
a monthly column which includes a weekly grocery list, recipes, and
ideas on how to prep on Sunday to set yourself up for an easy week of
good meals.

Dawn at Frugal for Life figures out ways to keep the cost of heating your home down in preparation for the chilly weather:

My mom always used to say “heat rises” this was an answer to statement
that I was cold and would need to put on slippers, sweater or a hat to
stay warm if I didn’t want to lose that internal body heat. All three
items that when put together make you very toasty in your home in a
matter of minutes. And as I write this I realize I am bouncing my legs
up and down to keep warm and should really take mom’s advice and go put
on my fuzzy slippers and maybe even a robe or sweatshirt.

And Frugal Babe decides what to do with money deposited into her Roth IRA:

So as of the opening bell tomorrow, I’ll own 115 shares of GEX. I love
saving, and socking money away for retirement. But picking funds is
not my favorite way to spend a day. Good thing I’m a buy and hold
investor – I like only having to do this once a year. I also had
$1800 sitting in my traditional IRA from contributions I made last
year, and I used that money to buy shares in PowerShares Global Clean
Energy (PBD).

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How did we get into the current financial mess? Great question.

Turmoil in the Making

In 1910, seven men held a secret meeting on Jekyll Island off the coast of Georgia. It’s estimated that those seven men represented one-sixth of the world’s wealth. Six were Americans representing J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, and the U.S. government. One was a European representing the Rothschilds and Warburgs.

In 1913, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank was created as a direct result of that secret meeting. Interestingly, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank isn’t federal, there are no reserves, and it’s not a bank. Those seven men, some American and some European, created this new entity, commonly referred to as the Fed, to take control of the banking system and the money supply of the United States.

In 1944, a meeting in Bretton Woods, N.H., led to the creation of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. While the stated purposes for the two new organizations initially sounded admirable, the IMF and the World Bank were created to do to the world what the Federal Reserve Bank does to the United States.

In 1971, President Richard Nixon signed an executive order declaring that the United States no longer had to redeem its paper dollars for gold. With that, the first phase of the takeover of the world banking system and money supply was complete.

In 2008, the world is in economic turmoil. The rich are getting richer, but most people are becoming poorer. Much of this turmoil is directly related to those meetings that took place decades ago. In other words, much of this turmoil is by design.

Power and Domination

Some people say these events are part of a grand conspiracy, and that might well be. Some people say they represent the struggle between capitalists, communists and socialists, and that might be, too.

I personally don’t participate in the debate over a possible global conspiracy; it’s a waste of time. To me, the wider struggle is for power and domination. And while this struggle has done a lot of good — and a lot of bad — I just want to know how to avoid becoming its victim. I see no reason to be a mouse trying to stop a herd of elephants from fighting.

Currently, many people are suffering due to high oil price, the slowdown in the economy, loss of jobs, declines in home values, increased bankruptcies and businesses closings, savings being wiped out, the plummeting stock market, and rising inflation. These realities are all direct results of this financial power struggle, and millions of people are its victims today.

An Extreme Example

I was in South Africa in July of this year. During my television and radio interviews there, I was often asked my opinion on the world economy. Speaking bluntly, I said that South Africans had a better opportunity of comprehending the global turmoil because they’re neighbors to Zimbabwe, a country run by Robert Mugabe.

In my interviews, I said, “What Mugabe has done to Zimbabwe, the Federal Reserve Bank and the IMF are doing to the world.” Obviously, my statements disturbed many of the journalists. I did my best to comfort them and assure them I was not an anarchist. I explained, as best I could, that Zimbabwe was an extreme example of an out of control power struggle.

After they were assured I was only using Zimbabwe to illustrate my point, I said, “If you want to understand the world economy, take a refugee from Zimbabwe to lunch.” I advised them to ask the refugee these questions:

1. How fast did the economy turn?

2. When did you know that you were in financial trouble?

3. When did you finally decide to leave Zimbabwe?

4. If you could do things differently, what would you have done?

Three Approaches to a Crumbling Economy

I spoke to three young couples from Zimbabwe while I was in South Africa. Two couples were recent refugees now living in South Africa, and one couple still lives in Zimbabwe. All three couples had interesting stories to tell.

One couple said that they would have quit their jobs earlier. Instead, they hung on, hoping the economy would change. Then, virtually overnight, the value of the Zimbabwean dollar dropped and inflation went through the roof. Even though they received pay raises, the couple couldn’t survive and soon depleted their savings. They left Zimbabwe by car with almost nothing. If they could’ve done something differently, they told me, they would have started a business in Zimbabwe and began exporting products to South Africa, so that they would have had South African currency and a bank account there before they fled.

The second couple that fled the country said they saved money and paid off their house and other debts even as the Zimbabwean dollar fell in value. Looking back, they say they would’ve saved nothing and gotten deeply in debt in Zimbabwe, allowing them to pay off their debt with the cheaper dollars. Instead, they fled after they lost their jobs, leaving behind their house and owning $200,000 in nearly worthless Zimbabwean dollars.

The third couple still lives in Zimbabwe. When they saw the writing on the wall, they set up a business in South Africa and, with the profits, began acquiring tangible assets in Zimbabwe. Often, they’ll buy an asset in Zimbabwe and pay the seller in South African currency. They believe that once Mugabe is gone and order is restored, they’ll be in a strong financial position.

Many Problems, Few Solutions

There are three major problems with the events of 1913, 1944, and 1971. The first is that the Fed, the World Bank, and the IMF are allowed to create money out of nothing. This is the primary cause of global inflation. Global inflation devalues our work and our savings by raising the prices of necessities.

For example, when gas prices soared, many people said that the price of oil was going up. In reality, the main cause of the high price of oil is the decreasing value of the dollar. The Fed, the World Bank, and the IMF, like Zimbabwe, are mass-producing funny money, thereby increasing prices and devaluing our quality of life.

The second problem is that our economic crises are getting bigger. In the 1970s, the Fed faced and solved million-dollar crises. In the 1980s, it was billion-dollar crises. Today, we have trillion-dollar crises. Unfortunately, these bigger crises mean more funny money entering the system.

Apocalypse Soon

The third problem is that in 1913, the Fed only protected the large commercial banks such as Bank of America. After 1944, the Fed, the World Bank, and the IMF began bailing out Third World nations such as Tanzania and Mexico. Then, in 2008, the Fed began bailing out investment banks such as Bear Sterns, and its role in the Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac debacle is well known. By 2020, the biggest of bailout of all will probably occur: Social Security and Medicare, which will cost at least a $100 trillion.

Even if we find more oil and produce more food, prices will continue to rise because the value of the dollar will continue to decline. The dollar has lost over 90 percent of its value since the Fed was created. The U.S. dollar will continue to decline because of those seven men on Jekyll Island in 1910.

Granted, the funny-money system has done a lot of good — it has improved the world and made a lot of people rich. But it’s also done a lot of bad. I believe somewhere between today and 2020, the system will break. We’re on the eve of financial destruction, and that’s why it’s in gold I trust. I’d rather be a victor than a victim.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” is an investor, entrepreneur, and educator whose perspectives on money and investing fly in the face of conventional wisdom.

In arguing that “old” advice — get a good job, work hard, save money, get out of debt, and invest for the long term — is obsolete and flawed, Kiyosaki has earned a reputation for straight talk, irreverence, and courage.

“Rich Dad Poor Dad” is the longest-running best-seller on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and BusinessWeek best-seller lists. It held a top spot on the New York Times list for nearly five years and was USA Today’s No. 1 money book for 2004. Prior to writing “Rich Dad Poor Dad,” Kiyosaki created the educational board game Cashflow 101 to teach individuals the financial and investment strategies that his rich dad spent years teaching him.

Born and raised in Hawaii, Kiyosaki is a fourth-generation Japanese-American. After graduating from college in New York, he joined the Marine Corps and served in Vietnam as an officer and helicopter gunship pilot. Following the war he went to work in sales for the Xerox Corporation and, in 1977, started a company that brought the first nylon and Velcro “surfer wallets” to market. He founded an international education company in 1985 that taught business and investing to tens of thousands of students throughout the world. He sold his business in 1994 and, through his investments, was able to retire at the age of 47.

For more information about Robert Kiyosaki, visit his web site

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THE CAUSES OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS
The Debt-Based Money System Slams Into
Greed and Peak Oil

Several times recently, Treasury Secretary Paulson (and many others) have claimed that the “root cause” of the current financial crisis is “the housing correction.” This is completely wrong–and unless policy makers realize that it’s completely wrong, they’re not likely to make the right policy decisions.

Just today, in his testimony before the Senate Banking Committee, Paulson said:

And that root cause is the housing correction which has resulted in illiquid mortgage-related assets that are choking off the flow of credit which is so vitally important to our economy. We must address this underlying problem, and restore confidence in our financial markets and financial institutions so they can perform their mission of supporting future prosperity and growth.

Now, first of all, the proposal doesn’t address the housing correction–it addresses the illiquid mortgage-related assets (by buying them)–so it’s still a step removed from what Paulson claims is the root cause. (Directly addressing the housing correction would involve buying houses, not buying loans.) But that’s neither here nor there, because the root cause is not the housing correction. The root cause was the housing boom.

Roughly speaking, an average household needs to earn enough money to be able to afford an average house. You can adjust that a bit–smaller, younger, poorer households can be left out of the calculation if you assume that they’ll rent rather than own–but after leaving them out, it’s just not sustainable for the average house to cost more than the average household can afford to pay–who else is going to buy it?

Now, you can back things up yet another step in your search for root cause: How did house prices get too high? The answer to that question (which has mostly to do with bad interest rate decisions from the Fed interacting with bad public policy in financial market regulation) will help us prevent the next financial crisis. But for addressing this financial crisis, all we need to understand is that the correction is not the root cause. The root cause is that house prices got so high that the average household couldn’t afford an average house. Once that happened, a correction was inevitable.

The way to address the root cause is to let house prices drop to where an average house is within the means of an average household. (Or, alternatively, boost the income of the average household to the point that they can afford an average house. But that’s very hard. Letting houses prices go on falling, although painful for everyone who owns a house or who has lent money to someone who owns a house, is very easy.)

Now, some sort of bailout plan may be necessary to keep the financial system from simply collapsing under the weight of all that bad debt. But if that plan is focused on keeping house prices from falling, it’s a hopeless plan. If you successfully kept house prices up, we would remain mired in this problem until incomes rose enough to make house prices affordable.

Effects of the financial crisis:
Looking broadly, I see at least five broad economic trends affecting the clean energy market over the next few years.

The credit crunch. Banks are having a hard time of it right now. This is an unequivocally bad thing for the clean energy sector. Clean energy projects typically entail massive up-front capital outlays, followed by relatively low ongoing costs. Banks provide the money for those up-front expenditures in the form of loans.

Except that right now, banks have retreated into their pillow forts. One analyst projects that, by 2020, the clean energy sector in Europe will require about 85 billion euros per year in financing to meet EU goals. Given the current pace of lending, debt finance will fall about 21 billion euros short. I’d put very low confidence in these specific numbers, but they are illustrative of the problem faced by energy developers who need cash to turn blueprints into megawatts. A secondary likely effect of the credit crunch is consolidation in the clean energy industry, as financially healthy energy developers (especially in Europe) snap up sound-but-cash-strapped counterparts.

Fossil fuel prices. To simplify: dirty energy competes with clean energy. High fossil fuel prices make clean energy projects look more attractive.

There are people paid much more money than to me predict the direction of fossil fuel prices, and I won’t pretend to have any special insight here. Based on my own analysis, which involves drawing a supply and demand curve on piece of graph paper with a crayon, I predict that fossil fuel prices will continue to gradually rise for years to come, while also exhibiting high volatility. The underlying upward trend in fossil fuel prices will be positive for clean energy development, but the volatility will blunt some of the benefit by injecting a high degree of uncertainty into the market.

Supply chain constraints. Whatever the state of the present economy, clean energy has been booming for several years now. One inevitable consequence of the growth is that manufacturers are having a hard time keeping up with demand for basic infrastructure, such as wind turbines. This situation should eventually right itself, but it will remain a brake on growth in the near term.

Global carbon policy. In fits and starts, governments worldwide are putting a price on carbon. And though the shortcomings of these early attempts have been well noted, in aggregate policymakers are stumbling in the right direction. These efforts are helpful, even if they aren’t anywhere near enough.

The economy. Although it is very difficult to make predictions about the direction of the economy, it appears likely the current downturn will continue for some time. Which is bad for the climate, mainly because of the way that a weak economy interacts with the other items on the list.

For example, slow growth saps the political will for dramatic action on climate change. Some legislative efforts, such as California’s AB32, are probably too far along to be at major risk for derailment. RGGI in the northeast is also pretty far along, but not so far along that New York Governor David Paterson wouldn’t consider bolting from the agreement. And, of course, federal legislation continues to lurch zombie-like around the halls of congress. The next president will have to expend a lot of political capital to pass a national carbon cap even under the best of circumstances. These are not the best of circumstances.

So the scorecard on macro trends in the clean energy sector reads: credit crunch, very bad; high fossil fuel prices, very good; supply chain constraints, bad but self-righting; global carbon policy, nascent but directionally correct; overall economic malaise, generally dampening.

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