In The News

US Recovery, Asian Surge Will Boost World Trade 7.5%: WTO

Ravi Kanth April 4, 2004
The US economic recovery and Asian trade growth should push global trade higher this year, according to the World Trade Organization (WTO). Yet such growth is susceptible to three risk factors: the level of the US current account and budget deficits; the extent of European economic growth and the value of the Euro; and the volatility of oil prices. With the US current account deficit set to reach...

Buying Outside the Microsoft Box

Alvin Pang April 1, 2004
Last week's landmark European Union ruling and US$613 million fine are nothing but a drop in the Microsoft ocean. The maker of the Windows operating system has already appealed, and, by the time the case is finally settled, the ruling's proscriptions will most likely be obsolete given the rate of IT development. But these developments still leave open the question of whether...

A Normal Country

Andrei Shleifer March 30, 2004
In this Foreign Affairs’ essay, Andrei Shleifer and Daniel Treisman argue that the popular image in the west of Russia as a “disastrous failure” needs to be rethought. General belief holds that Russia has failed to leave its communist past behind, and as a result, has transformed itself into “a collapsed state inhabited by criminals threatening other countries with multiple contagions.” Contrary...

OPEC Heayweights Back Production Cut

Carola Hoyos March 30, 2004
Saudi Arabia, the leading oil-producing nation, wants the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries to cut oil production by 1 million barrels per day in April. Fears of an oversupplied market, seasonal drop in demand, and US stock-building have motivated Saudi Arabia's position. Venezuela, Algeria, Libya and other members of OPEC also support the production cut. Kuwait, however, wants...

Big Pay Luring Military's Elite to Private Jobs

Eric Schmitt March 30, 2004
Fears that US military Special Operations members will depart in droves for higher paying civilian security jobs have come to light. While the departures are minimal at this stage, the possibility that their pace will accelerate has caused Gen. Bryan D. Brown, head of Special Operations Command, to meet with senior Special Op's members to discuss ways to stem the exodus. To train a Green...

A Tale of Two Cities

Kerry A. Dolan March 29, 2004
Forbes magazine compares the stories of a dozen Americans laid off in Silicon Valley because of offshoring to those of their Indian counterparts who gained some of those jobs in Bangalore, India's offshoring hotspot. Before losing their jobs, American workers in the technology industry were going about their usual business –taking home plump checks, closing on a condo, and generally enjoying...

Cashmere Moves on, and Scotland Feels a Chill

Allan Cowell March 27, 2004
For decades, the Scottish Borders region has sustained an active cashmere industry, producing lusciously soft scarves and sweaters for high-end consumers. Now, however, Chinese textile manufacturers are displacing Scottish producers from large swaths of the market. Chinese producers "are having their day as far as manufacturing goes," says one industry analyst, "and they have the...