In The News

Too Much Consensus

September 2, 2004
Deciphering world policy jargon is often a daunting task. Fortunately, Foreign Policy magazine clarifies a few key ideas in its "Field Guide to the Consensuses." After the 1990 Washington Consensus, John Williamson's expression of support for market theory, the world has witnessed the births of a few other "consensual" ideas. The Beijing Consensus, antithetical to its...

Singapore, Vietnam Team Up on Third-Party Projects

Audrey Tan August 18, 2004
In a synergistic effort to spur economic development, Singapore and Vietnam have made progress on a new initiative to encourage foreign investment in their respective economies. Winning joint contracts from Japanese investors, the two countries hope that by cooperating they can take advantage of Vietnam's strength in manufacturing and Singapore's connectivity to the global economy....

Ex-Dictator Had Millions in U.S. Bank

Andres Oppenheimer July 15, 2004
Augusto Pinochet, the dictator of Chile from 1973 until 1990, was found by US Senate investigators to have deposited upwards of $8 million in Washington-based Riggs Bank under names of phony firms. According to American law, US banks are supposed to investigate deposits of foreign government officials for drug trafficking or corruption problems before opening an account. The Senate...

Death Knell for Cross-Border Leasing Deals

Heidi Sylvester June 25, 2004
When the US Congress voted to close a tax law loophole this month, some German city governments began to worry. Over the past seven years Germany municipalities have signed more than 150 cross-border leasing agreements with US investors. Under the agreements, Americans leased German infrastructure facilities – sewage plants, waste water facilities, etc. – and wrote off the lump-sum cost from...

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...

China is Just Catching Up

Yasheng Huang June 8, 2004
China’s so-called 'rise' in the last two decades must be put into perspective, says Yasheng Huang, associate professor at MIT’s Sloan School of Management and author of "Selling China". In recent times, Huang notes, blaming China’s buoyant economy for financial uncertainties in other parts of the world has come into vogue. But the hysteria and exaggeration expressed by...

China: The Missing Member at the G-8 Table

Jeffrey E. Garten June 3, 2004
China's key position in the world economy is increasingly obvious. A slew of indicators, from car usage and steel output to population size, shows that China cannot be ignored. Yet, writes Jeffrey E. Garten, Dean of the Yale School of Management, China will not be attending the upcoming Group of Eight summit in Georgia. Americans and others should wake up to China's importance for even...