In The News

China Builds Its Dreams, and Some Fear a Bubble

David Barboza October 18, 2005
China is experiencing a building boom, the scope of which means that cities like Shanghai now dwarf New York in terms of skyscrapers and vast networks of upscale apartment complexes. As a result of its unprecedented construction sector growth, China is scouring the world for energy and natural resources so that its cities, 170 of which have more than 1 million people, can meet and surpass Western...

Brazil Regrets its China Affair

Matt Moffett October 12, 2005
Two years ago, to much fanfare, China and Brazil entered into a bilateral trade partnership, hoping to propel both populous, ambitious nations to the top of the development heap. With increased exports to China, Brazil made modest economic advances since entering the trade agreement. But in the same period, the world's textile quotas expired, leaving many world economies vulnerable to China...

The Barbarians Learn How to Lobby at the Gates of Industry

Scott Kennedy October 5, 2005
While critics accuse the West of thumping the bible of market liberalism with one hand and maintaining protectionist tariffs with the other, China seems to be embracing a more consistent approach to globalization. This approach, reports Scott Kennedy, might be attributed to the concurrent interests of local companies and foreign investors. Whereas American industries often seek protection from...

Don't Tell Anybody It's Africa Calling

Nayan Chanda October 4, 2005
Six hundred years ago, France exported slaves from what is today Senegal. Now, the West African country imports jobs from its former colonial master – causing panic in France, but bringing hope to workers at home, writes YaleGlobal editor Nayan Chanda. More and more French call center companies now outsource to Senegal, where they can conduct business at a fraction of European operating costs....

Fashion Magazines Rush to Mold China's Sense of Style

Howard W. French October 4, 2005
China has come a long way from the privations of the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Today's Chinese have more economic freedom and money than ever before, and they are using those resources to enjoy the bourgeois tastes of Western fashion and lifestyle. Western magazines like Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and FHM offer Chinese consumers advice on everything from shopping to sex....

Undue Fears of China Inc?

Paul Mooney September 29, 2005
Nearly two decades after fears of a Japanese industrial takeover reached fever pitch in the United States, expansionist moves by Chinese corporations have triggered alarms around the world. Last summer, when Chinese companies CNOOC and Haier attempted to buy Unocal and Maytag, respectively, American critics imagined the sinister hand of the Chinese state wrenching control of US assets and markets...

The Great Thrift Shift

Zanny Minton Beddoes September 26, 2005
If the global economy is growing, why are interest rates so low? If the US deficit has been skyrocketing since 1999, why are Americans still able to borrow money with impunity? The answer to both questions, as put forth by American economist Ben Bernanke, may lie in a "global saving glut." On its face, The Economist acknowledges that the idea of such a glut appears absurd: For one...