In The News

Volkswagen Risks Clash with Union

Anke Bryson August 27, 2004
Labor strife in Germany continues, as Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, proposed a plan to reduce personnel costs by US$2.4 billion dollars. The proposal, which includes among its provisions a two-year pay freeze for VW employees, has fanned the flames in an already heated environment. Earlier this summer, both Siemens and Daimler Chrysler, after turbulent negotiations, forged deals with...

US Report, in Shift, Turns Focus to Greenhouse Gases

Andrew C. Revkin August 26, 2004
After rejecting the Kyoto Protocol on climate change in 2001 and questioning the scientific validity of reports issued by a UN climate panel, the Bush administration issued a report indicating that emissions of heat-trapping gases were the only likely explanation for global warming. The White House report to Congress is said to reflect "the best possible scientific information" on...

Singapore, Vietnam Team Up on Third-Party Projects

Audrey Tan August 18, 2004
In a synergistic effort to spur economic development, Singapore and Vietnam have made progress on a new initiative to encourage foreign investment in their respective economies. Winning joint contracts from Japanese investors, the two countries hope that by cooperating they can take advantage of Vietnam's strength in manufacturing and Singapore's connectivity to the global economy....

Taiwan's President Rejects China's 'Domestic Flights' Demand

Huang Tai-lin August 18, 2004
China and Taiwan are negotiating the opening of cross-strait air routes, but Taiwanese President Chen Shui-Bian has rejected China's assertion that the flights should be categorized as "domestic." This disagreement represents the last stumbling block in establishing what Taiwan refers to as the "three links" of opening trade, postal, and transport relations with the...

好莱坞何以主导美国影院?

Christina Klein August 17, 2004

Experts Call for Stronger Guidance to Foreign Investment

August 3, 2004
Foreign capital continues to flow into China, but its distribution remains unequal, with the majority of investment going to China’s eastern areas while a mere trickle makes its way to central and western areas. Consequently, the economy of eastern China is characterized by a higher number of foreign-funded enterprises and higher numbers of workers employed by foreign-funded enterprises. The...

Strategy for an Energy-Starved World: Go Coal!

David Dapice July 15, 2004
Gas prices are soaring, as anyone with a car well knows. But, though $40 a barrel prices are hurting wallets, economist David Dapice argues that the situation has the beneficial effect of encouraging countries to look at alternative energy sources with greater urgency. China, for example, recently signed an agreement with a South African energy and chemicals firm to build two coal-to-liquid fuel...