In The News

Slowly, But Surely, Trade Erodes Global Poverty

Edward Gresser November 2, 2011
Small, everyday purchases can have far-reaching effects on poverty in distant lands, especially those on the least-developed country list from the United Nations, those with per-capita incomes averaging less than $3 a day. Only a few years ago, the outlook for this group with ineffective governments and stagnant economies was bleak. However, the first decade of the millennium shows marked...

Bollywood: To the Next Level

Amy Kazmin November 1, 2011
India’s Bollywood, a prolific producer of films, but a marginal player in the global market, has launched a film designed to win over foreign audiences. Ra.One cost $30 million, a record for Bollywood but inexpensive for Hollywood, reports the Financial Times. It combines traditional Bollywood song and dance themes with state-of-the-art visual effects and fast action to appeal to Western...

Wary of China, Its Southern Neighbors Court India

Harsh V. Pant October 28, 2011
China’s rapid ascent, along with the flexing of its muscles, has worried neighbors. They chafe at becoming too dependent, and a loose, yet perceptible balancing coalition aimed at curbing China has emerged. With the United States reorganizing its own priorities, India is viewed as an ideal partner for providing strategic balancing, explains Harsh V. Pant, a defense specialist at King’s College....

Why Is This Cargo Container Emitting So Much Radiation?

Andrew Curry October 27, 2011
Screening thousands of cargo containers that arrive daily in any global port is nonstop work. Sealed containers can have false walls and doors or removable hinges to carry illegal drugs, immigrants or difficult-to-detect nuclear weapons. In Italy, inspectors routinely check containers carrying scrap metal, efficiently gathered into groups, for radiation. A maximum radiation reading, a million...

Floods Threaten Global Trade Hub

Pavin Chachavalpongpun October 24, 2011
Monsoon rains and typhoons have contributed to record flooding that saturates Thailand. Bangkok is under threat even as authorities try to relieve pressure by reinforcing levees, draining fields and releasing floodwaters into the sea. Most of Thailand is affected with rice fields submerged, food prices climbing, and supply-chain operations of multinational firms like Western Digital and Toyota...

Imagined in America

Thomas L. Friedman October 24, 2011
China and the US are enmeshed in an unsustainable trade relationship with no quick fixes. Often on the losing side, the US considers protectionist measures, such as a bill just approved by the US Senate allowing targeted tariffs if China balks at revaluing its currency. “China is spending tons of money manipulating its currency downward and, in the process, creating domestic inflation and a real...

Foreigners' Sweetener: Buy House, Get a Visa

Nick Timiraos October 21, 2011
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.” So goes the silent call from the Statue of Liberty, symbol of US immigration, in the 1883 poem by Emma Lazarus. But the modern plea is for wealthy immigrants willing to bail the US out of its teeming troubles, including a housing market in decline. Two Senators, including...