In The News

Volatility in a Flash

Nayan Chanda March 2, 2011
Multinationals depend on intricate supply chains, with manufacturing plants based around the globe in locales offering low-cost labor and specialized skills, explains Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor in his regular column for Businessworld. Chanda points out that “The success and failure of 21st century companies is increasingly determined by the efficiency of their supply chain management.”...

Germany Sells Vision for “Green Toys” to World

Melissa Eddy February 9, 2011
Germany leads the world in developing a range of renewable-energy products – and its toymakers are no exception. They are creating products to prepare children for a future requiring new energy sources. Designed to direct children’s focus on energy conservation and sustainability, the green toy “make up only a sliver of the nearly $84 billion international toy market, but their share is growing,...

China’s Green Ambition, US Sees Red

Michael Richardson January 5, 2011
As factory to the world, China is hungry for energy. The nation secures traditional sources of energy – as the largest producer and consumer of coal, ranking second in oil consumption and imports, fifth for oil production – and is also intent on dominating the global renewable-energies industry. Recognizing that the rapidly-growing industry creates jobs, China devotes a growing pile of investment...

Dream Postponed

Nayan Chanda January 3, 2011
In design and manufacture, aircraft are among the most complex of products. Outsourcing of specialized features can provide efficiencies, but Boeing may have gone too far with the Dreamliner. About 70 percent of Boeing’s aircraft relies on outsourced components, reports Nayan Chanda, YaleGlobal editor, in his regular column for Businessworld, and the aircraft is two years behind schedule. One...

Train Makers Rail Against China's High-Speed Designs

Norihiko Shirouzu December 2, 2010
China does not let the grass grow under its feet in studying and adapting high-value technology, then mastering and distributing the same. Such is the case with the high-speed rails pioneered by Japanese and European firms, with China now supplying similar technology to Saudi Arabia, the US and Brazil. Foreign makers of any product eye China’s massive market, but can expect competition to emerge...

Iran Sidesteps Trade Sanctions With Help From Chinese Firms

Ramin Mostaghim, Borzou Daraghi November 9, 2010
As Western sanctions try to punish and isolate Iran, China has surged to become its largest trading partner, with $22 billion in trade in 2009, predicted to grow to $50 billion by 2016. China supplies a range of goods, trying to replace Western expertise in infrastructure construction, energy plants, and oil and gas management. Still, some Iranians complain that Chinese firms use their position...

How Speculators Are Crippling the Copper Industry

Jens Glüsing, Alexander Jung, Thomas Schulz November 4, 2010
Volatility in copper prices – and commodity prices more generally – is a product of financial speculation. Expansion of internet market trading, ravenous Chinese demand, and large financial firms looking to diversify portfolios contribute to demand. Copper is an essential component for cables, plumbing and electronic devices, and the limited nature of natural resources like copper piques the...