In The News

Ad Agencies Are Booking Passage to India

Geoffrey A. Fowler March 22, 2006
With American auto-insurance, credit cards, and medical x-rays, not to mention software development and IT needs, already managed by trained professionals in India, it was only a matter of time until Indian enterprise asserted itself on the culture of global consumerism. An article in The Wall Street Journal details the outsourcing potential India holds for ad and marketing agencies. Boasting a...

Big Water Companies Quit Poor Countries

John Vidal March 22, 2006
Multinational water companies are fleeing risks in developing nations that desperately need the services, reports the UN second world water development report. The report was released today with the close of the World Water Forum, which aims to raise awareness on water issues and influence policy at the global level. Companies complain about not making profits in the poor countries and...

A Floundering WTO – Part I

Edward Gresser March 21, 2006
The long-term future of global trade hangs in balance as the World Trade Organization struggles to reach consensus on desperately needed reform. A two-part series analyzes the promise WTO once held and how the pursuit of narrow and immediate gain by the richer nations may threaten the future for all. In the first article, policy analyst Edward Gresser notes that trade agreements among nations...

Australia at the Crossroads of Globalization

Ben Arnoldy March 21, 2006
Foreign investment has allowed the Australian economy to flourish – slashing unemployment, doubling the country’s wealth and reducing national debt. Once an isolated and lonely market, Australia has leveraged trade to its advantage, with mining and other industries taking advantage of the fast-growing Chinese economy. Australia citizens remain content with globalization, largely because...

Tit-for-Tat Protectionism

March 20, 2006
Western powers have lost their competitive edge in the global marketplace and are responding with a wave of protectionism. Excuses range from protecting “sensitive” industries to economic “patriotism,” but global investment is under attack. One reason could be that the West has lost a competitive edge, suggests this editorial from a Singapore newspaper. Internal friction among EU member nations...

West Urged to “Tell Truth on Globalisation”

John Thornhill March 20, 2006
Western governments must stop blaming China and other developing Asian countries for trade woes and failing to tackle their own economic problems, suggests Chinese diplomat Long Yongtu, speaking at a conference in France. His comments, urging western politicians to tell the truth about the inevitable process of globalization, responded to EU and US criticisms of China’s trade practices,...

Mauritania Calls for Help on EU-Bound Migrant Flood

Ahmed Mohammed March 20, 2006
More than 1000 Africans have died in the first four months of 2006, trying to reach the EU and the economic opportunity it represents. Increasing numbers of desperate migrants flee Africa in crowded and small fishing canoes, called pirogues, from Mauritania to the Canary Islands and the coast of Spain. Police intercepted a record 400 Africans in a single day, crowded into nine boats. In 2005...