In The News

Argentina Acts to Protect Local Films

Jude Webber September 7, 2011
More often than not, protectionism represents desperation. The Argentine state film institute has begun imposing fines on foreign film, reports Jude Webber for the Financial Times. The extra fees, to be levied on films shown on more than 161 Argentine screens, are intended to curtail mass releases of Hollywood blockbusters, Webber reports, and collect revenues “to protect national filmmakers.”...

Fall of Gaddafi: Policy Challenge for China and Russia

James M. Dorsey September 7, 2011
As rebels organize to govern Libya, global powers pay their respects to new rulers of a nation ranking ninth in the world with oil reserves. NATO supported overthrowing the Gaddafi regime, while Russia, China, India, Brazil and South Africa abstained from voting on Resolution 1973, approved in March, authorizing UN member states to protect Libya’s civilians. Now abstainers are scrambling to win...

Chinese Tycoon Seeks to Buy Tract of Iceland

Andrew Ward and Leslie Hook September 2, 2011
Big land purchases attract public scrutiny, especially if the buyer is a foreign national. A Chinese real estate investor has set out to buy 300 square kilometers of Icelandic wilderness for an eco-tourism project. The tract, partly under public ownership, represents about 0.3 percent of the island and government approval is required, reports the Financial Times. Investor Huang Nubo is a former...

Slouching Toward a Double-Dip, For No Good Reason

Robert Reich August 30, 2011
With the US on the verge of another recession, consumers hesitate to spend. The job crisis in the US has reduced revenues, adding to the debt crisis. Yet the US focuses on the wrong priority, slowing spending to ease a debt crisis rather than investing in programs to end the job crisis. Robert Reich, author and former US labor secretary, warns against shallow comparisons that equate US and...

Chasing Rare Earths, Foreign Companies Expand in China

Keith Bradsher August 30, 2011
Besides a huge market and inexpensive labor, China’s lure for foreign firms has now been revealed to be its vast holdings of rare earth minerals, essential for manufacturing cell phones, hybrid cars and other electronic products. “Companies that continue making their products outside the country must contend with tighter supplies and much higher prices for the materials because of steep taxes and...

Making the Desert Bloom

August 30, 2011
The North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994 gave Mexico great potential, but the country also became among the hardest hit in the Americas by the global debt crisis, notes the Economist. Some analysts urge ongoing diversification of trade partners to strengthen the economy: “The Inter-American Development Bank, the biggest lender in the region, describes a ‘two speed’ Latin America, in which...

Only 3 Percent of What You Buy Is Made in China, But It's the Most Important 3 Percent

Greg Lindsay August 25, 2011
For four decades, corporations have outsourced manufacturing operations to Asia, reducing costs. Shifting manufacturing off-shore eliminated jobs and also “sacrificed the know-how to think of new ways of manufacturing goods,” explains Greg Lindsay for Fast Company. In all, services represent two thirds of the US economy. Manufacturing’s role is small: San Francisco Federal Reserve economists...