Boom and bust – the Bangla connection

Over at the Guardian Hugh Muir writes this interesting piece on how the Bangladeshi community is fighting the economic downturn while safeguarding their children’s future in the UK:

“We are all in this together, we are told. And not in a good way. Fewer jobs, the economy contracting. How to make a buck? Where to look? Bangladesh, declares my friend, the journalist Syed Nahas Pasha. Well, that's what everyone I know is doing, he says.

It's simple, to hear him tell it. Our economy is still a powerhouse, but it is retreating while Bangladesh is emerging. Interest rates here barely rise above ground level. Accounts in Dhaka can pay 10%. "The growth rate there is 6% or 7% a year," he says. "People here send money to their families over there; they have always done that. But there is quite a bit of money going on stocks in Dhaka. The government has bonds for purchase by Bangladeshis overseas – around 10%.”

Read the whole article here.