In The News

Germany Profits from International Division of Labor

Patrick Welter April 29, 2005
Recent WTO announcements suggest that Germany is effectively handling with the forces of globalization to maintain a flourishing and beneficial trade position, writes F.A.Z. Weekly. Germany's exports have increased steadily, especially compared with other euro countries whose exports have declined due to the falling dollar. Though countries like China have seen dramatic leaps in their trade...

Terrorism and the Computer

Mohamed Sid-Ahmed April 26, 2005
This month's bombing in Cairo's Islamic Al-Azhar quarter illustrates the degree to which technology and terrorism are growing in concert. The man who detonated the bomb, Hassan Raafat Basha, was an engineering student who spent hours on his computer, a member of a generation that is no stranger to technology. Bashandi's attack may well have been ordered by a hidden terrorist...

All That Gas

Alam Srinivas April 25, 2005
Across the world – in countries like China, the United States, and the European Union – reliance on foreign oil imports is increasing. At the same time, most experts expect the world's oil supply to decrease sometime in the near future, with supply peaking anywhere from 2007 to 2037. Brazil is the largest and lowest cost producer of ethanol, a more environmentally friendly substitute to...

The New Nationalism

David Ignatius April 20, 2005
As examples of nationalist sentiment appear around the globe, it seems that the world has entered a new era. Contrary to many analysts' beliefs, writes Washington Post columnist David Ignatius, a more interconnected world has not, in fact, eliminated the need for political borders; it has actually increased the intensity of nationalism. Citizen protests, market protectionism, nuclear...

Companies Question Benefits of Outsourcing

David Wighton April 19, 2005
A new survey by Deloitte Consulting shows that outsourcing information technology and other services may be more trouble than it's worth in many cases. Three-quarters of the companies surveyed reported that the savings were far less than expected, and the complexity of outsourcing often required more management than was expected. Large companies like Dell Computer and Capital One are now...

'Wake Up and Face the Flat Earth' – Thomas L. Friedman

April 18, 2005
In his previous book, "The Lexus and the Olive Tree," New York Times foreign affairs columnist and author Thomas L. Friedman wrote about this shrinking world. Discussing his recent book, "The World Is Flat," with Nayan Chanda, editor of YaleGlobal Online, Friedman observes that not only has the world shrunk to a tiny size thanks to a communication revolution, it has even been...

'Wake Up and Face the Flat Earth'

April 18, 2005
Since Columbus discovered the New World in 1492 and reconnected peoples that had been separated for ten millennia, globalization has become increasingly fast-paced. The interconnected world, facilitated by information technology and trade liberalization in the late 20th century, is the most recent wave of human societies' efforts to connect each other even more closely. In his previous book...