In The News

Advertisers Seek to Speak to Muslim Consumers

Liz Gooch August 20, 2010
Demographics of the global Muslim market are an advertiser’s dream – huge with growing affluence and large proportions of young adults and teens. For decades, advertisers overlooked Muslim audiences, explains Liz Gooch for the New York Times, and many Muslims became accustomed to ignoring ads for products that might violate Islamic religious codes. But companies intent on conquering international...

In Crackdown on Energy Use, China to Shut 2,000 Factories

Keith Bradsher August 12, 2010
Analysts predict that the countries that pursue energy efficiency and green technology – ending their dependence on fossil fuels – will emerge economic winners in the years ahead. Intent on not wasting energy, China applies strict targets on aging factories by ending bank loans, export credits, licenses, land acquisition, even shutting off electricity, reports Keith Bradsher for the New York...

Speculators Rediscover Agricultural Commodities

Susanne Amann, Alexander Jung August 11, 2010
The strategy is as ancient as trade: A speculator corners the market of a choice product, reduces supply and then profits on climbing prices. The best source for profits is indispensable products – like energy, housing or food. A London hedge fund now controls about 7 percent of the world’s cocoa production, bringing cocoa prices to 33-year high, reports Spiegel Online. “The turbulence in the...

Tax on Commodity Profits Could Postpone Scarcity

Joergen Oerstroem Moeller August 10, 2010
Few global citizens, let alone their political leaders, have yet to recognize a shifting economy underway from an era of plenty to an era of scarcity. For two centuries, resource-rich nations focused on job creation; downward pressure on commodity prices including oil, gas and minerals ensued. Emerging economies, particularly those of China and India, rapidly increase global demand. In the run-up...

Retailers Pay More to Get Cargo (No Guarantee)

Stephanie Clifford August 6, 2010
Shoppers may not find fully decked shelves in upcoming holiday seasons. Retailers in the US and Europe struggle with shipping schedules, competing for limited space for products made overseas. Emerging economies have also increased demand of containers for shipping. To receive shipments in a timely manner, retailers pay up to triple the prices from a year ago. With the global recession, retailers...

Hollywood on the Danube

Dan Bilefsky July 19, 2010
Setting is an essential tool for movies to work their magic – and economic hard times require directors to innovate, finding inexpensive locales to stand in for high-cost cities already overrun with tourists. Besides having its own long tradition in producing filmmakers, Budapest offers low-cost, non-union crews and European allure, reports Dan Bilefsky for the New York Times. So the city, with...

Companies Brace for End of Cheap Made-in-China Era

Elaine Kurtenbach July 9, 2010
An array of low-cost goods in stores of the West is possible because of ample Chinese workers willing to work for a few dollars a day. But the days of low-cost bounty could be ending, as more Chinese are willing to unionize and go on strike for better wages and benefits. Higher shipping costs and pressure from the West for China to increase the value of its currency add to an uncertain business...