In The News

Arcelor, Trying to Fend Off Suitor, Is Buying Russian Steel Company

Heather Timmons June 1, 2006
Arcelor is going to great lengths to avoid hostile takeover by Mittal Steel Company, even wooing a Russian billionaire who controls Servestal. If successful, an Arcelor-Servestal merger would create the world’s largest steel company in the world – moving Mittal to second place. Mittal is based in London and Rotterdam, yet Arcelor executives have turned to Aleksei Mordashov, describing him as a “...

Battle Over Steel Exposes Europe’s Globalization Dilemma

Jonathan Fenby June 1, 2006
Europe is polarized over globalization, unsure about whether traditions of ample social benefits can survive today's capitalism and competition from countries with low wages and labor standards. Yet consolidation through acquisitions is a trend for many industries, including steel, to reduce costs and increase economies of scale. Europe has long scooped up firms from around the globe, but...

In China, Globalization Can Be Green

Saleem H. Ali June 1, 2006
China and Taiwan’s economies have benefited immensely from growth in the manufacturing sector and produce all sorts of goods used both domestically and abroad. But the two countries’ have vastly different ranks in an environmental performance index created by Yale University, with Taiwan ranking two places above the US and China ranking 70 places below Taiwan. Before outsourcing work, foreign...

Globalization: How the New Shift of Power Is Affecting Inflation

Hamish McRae May 31, 2006
Because of globalization, manufacturers must pay increasing prices paid for raw goods like oil or minerals, and consumers discover dropping prices for products on store shelves. This analysis of the International Monetary Fund’s “World Economic Outlook” suggests that ten years ago, developed countries provided the impetus for trade, but the emerging economies of India, China and Eastern Europe...

Going Dutch Has New Meaning in Corporate Takeover Battles

Adam Cohen May 30, 2006
The Netherlands, a country long known for its tolerance and openness to outsiders, has found itself in the center of an EU-wide debate between protectionism and consolidation of industry. Luxembourg steelmaker Arcelor SA recently formed a “stichting” in the Netherlands in an attempt to keep its Canadian unit, Dofasco, out of the hands of Mittal. Dutch law, endorsed by the EU, allows for the...

Slash and Burn

Saumya Roy May 26, 2006
In developing countries, farmers often rely on growing cotton for their livelihoods. But heavy loans, power and water shortages, and natural disasters have made growing cotton a dangerous venture. Farmers facing failure in India often resort to suicide. Meanwhile wealthy governments like the US subsidize their cotton farmers, contributing to a global glut in cotton and sinking prices. Monopoly...

India’s Secret Weapon

Richard Wilder May 25, 2006
Individuals have more reason to innovate when their governments carefully guard intellectual property rights. Authors Richard Wilder and Pravid Anand argue that India is more innovative than China, largely because of moves to protect intellectual property. The software industry is growing rapidly, not so much because of low costs and outsourcing, but because of innovations that are protected by...