In The News

Why China Should Not Revalue

Francis Scotland October 2, 2003
China should continue to ignore US calls to revalue its currency. At present, the Chinese currency renminbi or yuan is pegged to the dollar at a rate of 8.4 to 1, a rate which many say makes the Chinese currency significantly undervalued. Nonetheless, the author argues that the Chinese currency peg allows the hyper-stimulative US monetary policy to be exported to the rest of the world economy...

Piracy Shaves 11% Off Music Sales

Tim Burt October 1, 2003
Internet file sharing and downloads, as well as illegal CD manufacturing, have caused a global decline in music sales. While this may strike fear in the hearts of shareholders of the five music majors – Universal, Sony, EMI, Warner, and BMG – all is not lost. DVD sales increased by 55% in the first half of 2003, offsetting the decline in CD revenues. Yet, a representative of the major music...

A Very Dangerous Game

Martin Wolf September 30, 2003
Overspending in America to stimulate its economy has pushed the US fiscal deficit way out of balance – up to about six percent of US GDP. To service this debt, the US government has sold US$870 billion in Treasury bonds to foreign governments since 1999, creating a significant current account deficit. Martin Wolf argues that the US has mortgaged its economy by selling overpriced treasury bonds to...

Dateline Dubai

Mohamed Darwish September 29, 2003
In stark contrast to the scene at the WTO meetings this month, anti-globalization activists did not make their presence known at the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) annual meeting in Dubai, UAE. Air-conditioned tents set up for them by the government were left empty, as civil society representatives instead tried to engage in dialogue with the officials. Though hostilities with...

A Swirl of Foreboding in Mahogany’s Grain

Juan Forero September 28, 2003
The towering mahogany tree has long been coveted for its color and strength. Now, fueled by international demand, trade in mahogany wood has become a multimillion-dollar industry that threatens large swaths of the Amazon rainforest. Logging of the wood far bypasses the stringent limits set by international regulations, raising fears that loggers operating outside legal areas will decimate the...

Global Anti-GM Sentiment Slows China's Biotech Agenda

Valerie Karplus September 26, 2003
Genetic modification of agricultural products like cotton, rice, and tomatoes has recently allowed small farmers in China to avoid spraying toxic pesticides on their crops. Pesticides – laborious to apply and proven to be harmful to your health – are now becoming obsolete because genetically modified (GM) crops are automatically resistant to the most common agricultural threats. But despite early...

Globalization: Preserving the Benefits

Anne. O. Krueger September 25, 2003
Facing mounting criticism around the world, proponents of globalization have risen to its defense. IMF First Deputy Managing Director Anne Krueger argues for a renewed commitment to the principles of free trade that have fueled the last half-century’s ever-increasing economic expansion. Though she accepts the frequently valid misgivings of globalization’s critics, Krueger claims that its...