In The News

Cost, Language Barrier Still Keeping Tourists Away

Kaho Shimizu April 20, 2004
Japan wants to attract more tourists but faces many hurdles: a confusing transportation system, limited ATM and currency exchange access, and expensive accommodation. The government has already changed the coding for Tokyo's subway system to allow tourists easier orientation. But changing ATM access will face considerable costs. At the moment, Japan's magnetic strips on bank and credit...

The Shrimp Wars

Christina Hoag April 19, 2004
When American wild pink shrimp caught in the ocean are sold for $18.99 a pound while farmed shrimp from Thailand are only sold at $7.99, the market is going to tilt. In recent years, American shrimpers have found it increasingly difficult to maintain their business – ten years ago there were 5,000 shrimp trawlers in the Gulf of Mexico, but today only about 1,900 are left. The Southern Shrimp...

US Attempt at Domination Hobbled by Contradiction

Michael Kraig April 19, 2004
Critics point to the war in Iraq and President Bush's subsequent denial of reconstruction contracts to dissenting nations as proof of Washington's hegemonic tendencies. However, argues security expert Michael Kraig, the Iraq War is just the latest manifestation of a US foreign policy that has been deeply contradictory since the fall of the Berlin Wall. During the Cold War, a...

Outsourcing, Turned Inside Out

Ken Belson April 11, 2004
While most Americans today have heard about and many already been alarmed by the outsourcing of jobs overseas, some others might not be as worried; those include the employees of South Korean semiconductor company Samsung in Austin, Texas. The company just announced that it would pump another $500 into its Texas plant, adding an additional 300 jobs to its 700-people workforce. Samsung is not...

R & D: India's New Star Industry

Swaminathan S. Anklesaria Aiyar April 10, 2004
American multinational companies are setting up research and development (R & D) centers in India, participating in a new trend in the contemporary era of global capitalism - the outsourcing of production activities.. No longer content to only look overseas for low-wage service sector jobs like call centers, large US corporations are tapping into the technical expertise and specialized...

A Shortage of Seasonal Workers Is Feared

Eduardo Porter April 10, 2004
As the summer approaches, many American companies have started their seasonal worker recruitment process, but when employers went to the US Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to submit their visa applications for their foreign employees, they found out that this year's 66,000 limit for the H-2B visa, a visa for temporary foreign workers, was already reached, putting many of the...

How Indonesia Should Respond to U.S. Economic Saber Rattling

Patrick Guntensperger April 9, 2004
Recently, the US has begun pursuing a number of threatening trade initiatives meant to end what it calls the "unfair trading practices" of other nations. Indonesia, one of the 55 nations named, is accused of hurting the US economy with excessive trade barriers. According to Jakarta-based business consultant Patrick Guntensperger, the accusations are groundless. To counteract any...