In The News

“Halal” Labels Experiencing a Supermarket Boom

Peter Ziegler April 13, 2007
Religions often provide strict guidelines on food choices and preparation. With more than 1.7 million Muslims spread throughout the world, food products that abide by the rules of Islam, labeled as “halal,” are the fastest growing segment in the food market. The world’s leading meat producers in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, India, New Zealand, Great Britain and the USA are prepared to...

Transcript of Flattening World Challenges Imagination

April 13, 2007
The following is a transcript of Nayan Chanda's interview with Thomas Friedman, author of “The World Is Flat” and foreign-affairs columnist of “The New York Times,” conducted on March 30, 2007. Friedman talks about the latest edition of his bestselling book, provides advice on which categories of jobs can best be protected from outsourcing, and proposes an exit strategy from Iraq for the US...

Global Growth Can Be Sustained, Says IMF

Larry Elliott April 12, 2007
General trends such as protectionism and aging populations pose more risk to the global economy than the problems of any specific nation, according to the biannual report on the state of the global economy from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Recent stock-market jitters and the slowing US housing market are unlikely to dampen global economic growth, the IMF report notes. The US slowdown...

China and the US: To Hedge or Engage

David Shambaugh April 11, 2007
Despite extensive cooperation between China and the US, both countries remain suspicious of each other’s intent. The result has been, from the US side, a policy of hedging all the while engaging with China. This arms-length approach may not be good for either country’s interest or the interest of stability in Asia. David Shambaugh and Karl Inderfurth, China and South Asia analysts, respectively,...

Accord Key to Sustainable Economic Development

Lee Jun-kyu April 11, 2007
The US and South Korea have finalized negotiations on a free-trade agreement, which must be ratified by legislatures in both nations. Meanwhile, opponents in both countries organize, complaining that free trade could disrupt the economies of either nation, increasing income gaps or competition for specific sectors. Opponents in South Korea in particular fear that their nation could become a mere...

Even as Africa Hungers, Policy Slows Delivery of US Food Aid

Celia W. Dugger April 10, 2007
Intervention, even with the best intentions, can cause unforeseen tragic consequences. Thousands of people starve in Zambia, caught in a web of international health groups that supply drugs for AIDS, improving health yet increasing the pangs of hunger; weather patterns that deliver drought; local politicians who don’t want to release large food supplies; and wealthy nations in the West that...

Multinationals: Globalization's Offspring

April 10, 2007
Scrappy new multinational firms are emerging all over the world: Hindalco and Tata from India, Lenovo and PetroChina from China. “Just as Toyota and Samsung eventually obliged western multinationals to rethink how to make cars and consumer electronics, so today's young thrusters threaten the veterans wherever they are complacent,” notes this article in “The Economist.” The new firms are...