In The News

The New Barons of Bordeaux

Pallavi Aiyar September 12, 2012
Globalization is both blessing and curse for enchanting regions like Bordeaux. Even as Europe struggles with debt and austerity plans, centuries-old vineyards and chateaux languish on the market, and their winemakers must compete with upstarts from South Africa, South and North America. An increasingly prosperous China has become a major export market for Bordeaux wines, and Chinese investors...

What’s Next for Europe?

Alistair Burnett May 23, 2012
Politicians in power since the 2008 financial collapse, regardless of their political stripes, find themselves in peril. Analysis of the recent French and Greek elections followed three lines of thought – that voters soundly rejected strict austerity measures, blamed incumbents, and abandoned mainstream political parties for more extremist leadership, both right and left. The three...

India’s Iran Challenge

Harsh V. Pant February 17, 2012
While the international community agrees that Iran’s development of nuclear weapons will destabilize the Middle East, responses to the West’s call for sanctions against Iran highlight diverse foreign-policy approaches, especially from India and China, ranked fourth and second, respectively, as the world’s largest oil consumers. China unequivocally prioritizes its domestic interests and energy...

China's Real Estate Bubble May Have Just Popped

Patrick Chovanec December 26, 2011
China’s real estate scene is reminiscent of the 2007 US market: developers are slashing prices and infuriating owners who paid top yuan for properties. Problems in the real estate market are extending into steel, banking, mining and other sectors. Vacant developments are numerous because wealthy Chinese savers have few alternatives for investing growing wealth. “Beijing's response to the...

Mongolia Opens Doors for Foreign Investment

Steven Borowiec October 21, 2011
Foreign investment in Mongolia’s mining sector – coal, copper, gold and more – is fueling rapid growth. Like other developing nations, Mongolia wrestles with how to control the development and spread wealth throughout a dispersed population of 2.7 million in sustainable ways rather than passing it on to a handful of elites or creating a welfare state, explains journalist Steven Borowiec. He...

With Growing Confidence, India Pursues Mergers Abroad

Vikas Bajaj October 6, 2011
With India removing protectionist shackles, its businesses are no longer content with large market shares in the country and now seek a global reach, reports Vikas Bajaj in a blog for the New York Times. In the last year and a half, Indian companies have spent more money on outbound mergers and acquisitions than foreign companies have spent on Indian deals, according to one accounting firm....

SEC Seeks Offshore Cash Disclosure

Helen Thomas September 26, 2011
The US Securities and Exchange Commission is “pushing” companies to disclose to investors their offshore cash holdings, reports Helen Thomas for the Financial Times. Such disclosures could “be relevant and material to understanding a company’s liquidity,” Thomas adds. US regulations require companies to pay taxes of up to 35 percent on income earned overseas and repatriated to the US, providing...