In The News

Globalization of Soccer Kicks Local Fans

Kanishk Tharoor February 25, 2008
Thousands of years ago, the Chinese, Greeks and Vikings all played games kicking balls about. But the modern game of soccer was born in England and the popularity of that particular sport has taken over the world. Thanks to satellite television, British soccer teams have hundreds of millions of fans all over the world and sport executives look to expand their audiences to more lucrative markets....

Bird Flu Remains Dangerous as It Continues to Mutate

Robert S. Boyd February 22, 2008
The virus that causes avian influenza continues to mutate, with seven slightly different types now identified by researchers. So far human transmission is rare. The virus has killed more than 200 people in 14 countries, and millions more birds. “The fear is that the virus will change into a form that makes human-to-human transmission quick and easy,” writes Robert S. Boyd for McClatchy...

India Back In Global Chain

Nayan Chanda February 20, 2008
The Tata-Boeing deal to supply a critical part used in the next-generation Boeing-787 Dreamliner shows that India has a chance to become a key member of the global manufacturing network, once again. Given India's long history of participation in the global world, this comes as no surprise. As Nayan Chanda points out, if Tata can meet the challenge of the production, its reputation will...

Europe’s Philosophy of Failure

Stefan Theil February 14, 2008
Two of the world’s most advanced industrial democracies use textbooks with biased and distorted lessons against capitalism, suggests an analysis by Newsweek economics editor Stefan Theil. Even as France and Germany’s political leaders attempt to open their countries’ economies to the free market and give citizens incentives to create new jobs instead of relying on the government, the schools...

Wal-Mart in Global Online Push

Jonathan Birchall February 6, 2008
For some companies, the goal is cornering the market. Wal-Mart has announced intentions to offset slowing growth in the world’s leading consumer nation, the US, by promoting internet sales and delivery of groceries and other items throughout Asia and Latin America. For now, Wal-Mart is second only to Amazon, which began selling books online and then expanded to electronics and other products....

Buyers, Not Savers, Caused America’s Deficit

Richard Duncan February 5, 2008
Financial analysts scrutinize Alan Greenspan’s 2007 autobiography, “The Age of Turbulence,” for any clues about the current economic downturn. Analyst and author Richard Duncan takes issue with the chapter in Greenspan’s book on current accounts and debt, noting that that the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve argues, “High savings and unattractive investments at home, occurring at a time...

2008: The Demise of Neoliberal Globalization

Immanuel Wallerstein February 4, 2008
Political philosophers have long debated about whether governments, corporations or other entities are most efficient in delivering services for groups of citizens or world markets. Neoliberal globalization is an old idea for achieving efficiency that gained prominence in the 1980s, according to sociologist Immanuel Wallerstein, and implies that governments should allow corporations to cross...