In The News

When Nike Speaks

December 10, 2002
The debate over sweatshops and corporate responsibility for factory working conditions has again made its way to American courts. When Nike issued misleading statements about its third-world labor policies, consumer groups took the company to court, charging Nike with false advertising. In May 2002, the California Supreme Court sided against Nike, allowing lawsuits against the company and...

Activity at Korean Enclave Grinds to a Halt

December 6, 2002
In the past decade, as China opened its markets to foreign investment, the northeastern city of Dandong developed into a bustling center of economic activity. But its North Korean counterpart city across the border, Sinuiju, is still languishing in bleak poverty. North Korea has made plans to imitate China’s efforts in Dandong, however, by turning Sinuiju into an administrative center. The...

Jacob Threatens Sony with Boycott Campaign

December 3, 2002
When a global firm makes decisions based on global needs, local interests can feel the pain. Thousands of Indonesians may lose their jobs if Japanese electronics giant Sony goes ahead with plans to close a factory in Indonesia. Indonesia's Manpower Minister, however, is threatening to organize a boycott of Sony products if the company can't offer "clear reasons" why it plans...

Postcards from Planet Google

Jennifer S. Lee November 28, 2002
With 150 million queries a day coming to its search engine site from more than 100 countries and in 86 languages Google is the ultimate proof that global village has arrived. As the New York Times story notes "Despite its geographic and ethnic diversity, the world is spending much of its time thinking about the same things. Country to country, region to region, day to day and even minute to...

Business Key to Internet Use in Poor Nations

Frances Williams November 18, 2002
Regional and global supply chains need to be linked in order for business-to-business internet commerce to expand. The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, Unctad, reported that poor countries lack the needed infrastructure and skilled labor to establish and expand the business-to-business sector worldwide. Although Africa and Asia enjoyed internet use growth rates of almost 46%...

Job Subsidies May Clash with EU Law

Carola Schlagheck November 15, 2002
EU antitrust regulation has placed strict restrictions on government subsidies to private businesses. The German government’s plan to create jobs by financing job placement agencies and temporary employment contracts may contradict EU policy, and infringement proceedings against the country are pending. For the one million Germans who benefit from publicly-subsidized employment, the results of...

Bill Gates to Tour India Amid Global Software Debate

Saritha Rai November 11, 2002
With a global battle shaping up between the proprietary Microsoft Windows operating system and freely available Linux, another battle is on for the hearts and minds of India’s half million software programmers . Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates is making his third trip to India in two years, with the aim of wooing the programmers to write their codes for Windows. His visit comes in the midst of...