In The News

Outsourcing Is Climbing Skills Ladder

Steve Lohr February 20, 2006
The Bush administration announced an initiative to increase spending on science education and research – to encourage more US students to take up the generally scorning the field. But the plan may be too late. Multinational companies – who always shop around for the best prices and the best talent – plan to move research and development jobs overseas, to countries with the fastest growing...

Fuss About China Is Overdone

Guy de Jonquières February 20, 2006
The world has become “mesmerized” by China – hungry for its market and fearful of its increasing strength. In this article, Guy de Jonquières speculates about the possibility of an economic downturn for China and what that might mean for the world at large. Such an event, while unlikely, could emerge with “internally generated upsets” such as a property market crash or social unrest. His argument...

Companies in Emerging Markets Show Clout in Global Deal Game

Jason Singer February 17, 2006
Some critics of globalization think of market liberalization as “neo-colonialism.” Western companies, they claim, reap profits from exploiting cheap labor of the developing world. Yet recent corporate maneuvers suggest that globalization is a far more complex process. Since 2002, companies from emerging markets like India and China have bought up Western competitors with increasing frequency. The...

Wake Up To Old-Fashioned Power of New Oligopolies

Barry Lynn February 15, 2006
While the term “monopoly” is familiar, the related term, “oligopoly” – which refers to control of markets by a handful of major corporations – is less well known. Yet business journalist and author Barry Lynn contends that the citizens and politicians must wake up to the tightening grasp of “global mega-institutions” on the global marketplace. Global oligopolies pose dangers, often associated...

How Kenya Is Caught on the Thorns of Britain's Love Affair with the Rose

Jeevan Vasagar February 14, 2006
Kenya controls a quarter of the British rose market, and the flower, now the country’s second-largest export, is fueling much of the nation’s economic growth. Once blasted over low pay and poor working conditions, Kenya’s foreign-owned rose growers have cleaned up their act and reinvest some of their profits in Kenyan communities under the principles of fair trade. The flower industry’s...

China's Powerhouse Vision for 2050

Jonathan Watts February 13, 2006
China released a report from its leading research institute with an optimistic vision for the nation’s next 50 years. The projections depend on China undergoing a transition from a predominantly agricultural society to a suburban knowledge-based economy – and moving 500 million people closer to the cities. China would also have to maintain a strong growth rate, now at 9 percent. Noting that China...

Boom Town

Adam Nicolson February 13, 2006
The future of the modern world is being raised, literally, from the sandy depths of the waters surrounding the city of Dubai. A developer’s paradise, this fastest-growing city in the world is open to all with a checkbook and an imagination. Dubai, centered between the rising powers of the East and the traditional powers of the West, is man-made, from its sky-high towers and luxury ski resorts in...