User:Edgard/Storylines and To-Do

Nouvelle Alexandrie

• Economic & Social:
  • Recession of 1726 and ongoing economic recovery:
    • Causes: Droughts in Alduria; the Great Skerry-Valencian Drought (1720-1728) affecting New Luthoria, Valencia. High levels of agricultural failure that lead to climbing food prices across Nouvelle Alexandrie. 1725 Constancian crisis also had ripple effects with the failure of some regional banks, affecting Nouvelle Alexandrie.
      • Departure of Floria and impending departure of Shireroth from Raspur Pact add uncertainty and instability that worsened the recession during 1727 AN. This included sabre rattling over Florian revanchism and related diplomatic spats with Shireroth and Natopia that spooked markets, leading to a huge drop in the NAX stock market.
      • Recession led to steep job losses, high levels of corporate and personal bankruptcies, and a cost of living crisis. Furthermore, high levels of corporate debt racked up over years of cheap capital and high demand before the recession - in particular in the housing, agriculture, construction, and finance sectors.
      • Lower housing demand and a recent update to regulations by the NAX Treasury Dept. led to the possibility of a full-blown property crisis, fueled by developers' excessive borrowing during an era of cheap capital and high demand when the economy was doing better;
    • Current status: Economic recovery is fragile but consistent since the end of 1727 AN and well into 1728 AN. This has led to lower inflation and slowly, back to lower unemployment. Stock market finishing in new highs, along with modest improvement across most economic sectors is fueling the recovery.
      • X.1728 AN NAX Economic Dashboard, Data
      • Real estate market is currently stable, but some of the developers and some banks are still ailing under the weight of their corporate debt. The Federal Bank of Nouvelle Alexandrie and the
      • Trade deals with Natopia, Constancia, and Oportia. 1726-1727 round of talks at Fontainebleau by the Euran Economic Union and the Community of Goldfield nations led to trade deals, technology transfers, and other measures to improve and ease commerce between the nations. Oportia joined the Euran Economic Union. Increased trade with nations such as Aerla, Cakaristan, Anahuaco, and others.
      • Ongoing droughts showed much improvement end of 1727 AN through start of 1728 AN, leading to better reservoir numbers, renewed confidence in an agricultural recovery, and improved after a period of heavy rains across many of the affected areas, bumper crop expected after heavy rains.
      • Nouvelle Alexandrie now depends heavily on food imports from the Benacian Union (Ransenar), Vegno, and Natopia to help fuel a recovery by directly addressing the high food prices fueling inflation and food insecurity in some areas of the Federation.
    • Current fiscal situation: Government pledge to retain tax levels through term to spur economic activity has largely worked in not making the recession worse, but it has led to a budget deficit of at least 110 billion ecus:
      • Budget deficit mainly due to greater spending on social programs (mainly to support the unemployed), defense, public security, transfers to the Regions, and job training/retraining programs for the unemployed/young workers;
      • There are special spending funds created prior to 1703 AN that exist today that still have significant reserves, some having been used to help the government deal with the Recession of 1726.
  • Higher criminal rates across Nouvelle Alexandrie
    • Background:
      • (opportunity to develop details about Nouvelle Alexandrie's mafia, organized crime, and how crime/law enforcement is in Nouvelle Alexandrie)
    • Causes:
      • Recession of 1726
      • (Exploration of other reasons, opportunity to develop details about Nouvelle Alexandrie's mafia, organized crime, and how crime/law enforcement is in Nouvelle Alexandrie)
    • Current status:
      • Increased spending by federal and regional governments for law enforcement/public safety and programs to reduce recidivism;
      • Pilot program started by some regions called Safe Alexandria that has obtained funding from the federal government, has shown moderate success with current implementation, but more improvement could be made to the program as it stands.
    • Criminal data:
      • 11.1728 Federal Gendarmerie Data Release
        • Violent Crimes Up by 7%, Property Crimes Increase by 5%
        • Crime rates have soared particularly in economically struggling regions (the hardest hit by the recession: Alduria, Santander, Valencia, New Luthoria), with urban centers like Cardenas, Rimarima, Piriya, Lausanne, and Punta Santiago reporting the highest spikes.
          • The Federal Gendarmerie notes a 9% increase in burglaries and a 6% rise in assaults in these areas.