In The News

Taiwan Urged to Buy US Weapons

Charles Snyder June 23, 2004
In April 2001, US President George Bush proposed to sell Taiwan a weapons package to help protect itself against possible attacks by China. This week, a Taiwanese delegation made a three-day visit to Washington to discuss the prospects for buying such a weapons package. This article in the Taipei Times reports that the delegation discussed with top defense and State Department officials Taiwan...

Terrorism Could Cost East Asia 3% in Growth over 5 Years: Study

Donald Urquhart June 22, 2004
A study by Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has found that the long-term economic effects of terrorist threats are substantial. The developing economies of East and Southeast Asia are most vulnerable to negative effects, the report says, as they are more dependent on exports and foreign direct investment than developed country economies. Economic growth in the region...

Korean Businesses Ride Russian Economy

Kim Jung-min June 18, 2004
South Korean businesses' early entry into the Russian Federation and their aggressive manner in marketing seem to have paid off. Korean products have gained brand recognition among Russian consumers and are nowadays often put on the top shelves in stores around the country, some even earning the prestigious Narodnaya Marka title for "National Brands" from the government. Indeed, as...

Court Limits Sales on eBay

Kristina Merkner June 18, 2004
A Frankfurt court has decided that it will enforce a German law allowing publishers to fix the prices of their books. An entrepreneurial journalist who had sold about 40 review copies of a book on the online auction site, eBay, was in violation of the law, the court said. There was some legal debate over whether European Union free-trade regulation made the law invalid, but the German book...

'Radical' A-Mei Cancels Show in China

Chiu Yu-tzu June 14, 2004
Do pop artists' politics matter? Some students in China apparently think so. As Taiwanese pop singer A-Mei prepared to take the stage in the Chinese city of Hangzhou last weekend, local university students – her natural fan base – unfurled banners protesting her presumed support of Taiwanese independence. A-Mei is not alone, however. Other Taiwanese pop singers, who generally enjoy...

The End of Textile Quotas Will Redistribute Pain and Gain

Edward Gresser June 10, 2004
The abolition of textile quotas by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in January 2005 does not bode well for all developing countries, says Edward Gresser, Director of the PPI Project on Trade and Global Markets. Although the lifting of textile quotas will be a much-awaited victory for developing countries against rich economies like the US and Europe, its benefits will be highly uneven. Come...

Islamic Finance: Banks Have Their Work Cut Out

Siow Li Sen June 10, 2004
Islamic finance is growing at an estimated 15 per cent a year, reports this Straits Times article, but bankers in Singapore are doing little to seize the opportunity for growth. Islamic banking is popular in some Southeast Asian countries because of its certainty and principles, which prohibit usury, or the charging of interest on loans; its ethical and equitable mode of finance is derived from...