In The News

As China's Losses Mount, Confidence Turns to Fear

Ariana Eunjung Cha November 5, 2008
A global credit crisis has prompted consumers worldwide to slow spending, leading to shuttered factories in China. Leaders of China, like those throughout the world, worry that economic crisis could trigger political instability and demands for change. Growth in the domestic national product, whiles till approaching 10 percent, has been slow by Chinese standards. The government has acted...

Chinese Steelmakers Shiver, Indian Miners Catch Flu

Sumant Banerji October 30, 2008
Caution seeps throughout the global financial system, spreading crisis: In the West, homeowners struggle to pay mortgages, especially those of the high-rate, sub-prime variety; armed with less credit and confidence down, consumers in developed nations delay purchases of new cars and appliances. That has slowed steelmaking in China, which in turn has put a stop to purchases of iron ore from India...

A Lesson in the “Link”

Nayan Chanda October 16, 2008
Just as one foul ingredient can spoil a recipe, so can one sloppy procedure ruin reputations for any firm and its country. The most recent case: Chinese dairies trying to boost profits with melamine-tainted milk that went into all kinds of products, causing health problems for more than 50,000 children. It’s good business practice for companies to monitor their supply chains, down to the smallest...

Drawing the Wrong Lessons

Shashi Tharoor October 14, 2008
Some leaders from poor nations gloat about the global credit crisis and point fingers of blame at liberal, open-market policies. “In India, the debate between capitalist globalization and self-reliance required a huge paradigm shift,” writes Shashi Tharoor for the International Herald Tribune, noting that while the West associates capitalism with freedom, nations like India associate it with...

Green View: Testing Metal

October 3, 2008
Consumers take products like aluminum for granted but resent the smelly, unsightly smelters that produce the product. As a source of cheap clean geo- and hydropower, Iceland has attracted aluminum smelters. Yet increasingly, Icelanders question whether they should sacrifice their landscape for the good of the planet – with some suggesting that global consumers could do more to conserve products...

Chinese Companies Face Uphill Path for Profit in India

Wei Gu September 26, 2008
Chinese manufacturers have long been able to manufacture products at a fraction of the cost of production elsewhere, setting the standard for production models in recent years. However, with a surplus of producers in their domestic market, Chinese companies look west to India. As journalist Wei Gu notes, India is both the alluring “prize” of emerging markets as well as a steppingstone to Western...

Keeping Up With China's Olympic Shine – Part II

Alexandra Harney September 24, 2008
China has become known as factory to the world – as manufacturers invested in factories to take advantage of a labor force that accepts low wages and a government with minimal environmental standards and even less enforcement. Shoppers like low prices while the companies enjoy immense profits. China, indeed the entire world, pays a heavy price for manufacturing firms gathering in a place with...