In The News

EU Shoe Duty Trips Up Retailers

Juliane Von Reppert-Bismarck May 22, 2006
European consumers like bargains from Asia, but continental manufacturers expect protection from competition, fully expecting the government to increase tariffs on overseas products. So the EU trade commissioner aims for some compromise, for example, imposing tariffs on shoes for adults, but not for children. Clever retailers find loopholes with every exemption, simply labeling more shoes for...

Managing Globalization: How Diversification Can Act as a Hedge

Daniel Altman May 18, 2006
Bolivia’s steps to resume control of its natural gas industry from foreign multinational companies have not led to a drop in stock prices. Like the investors who protect portfolios with diverse investments, multinational firms rely on globalization and diverse geographic regions to protect their bottom-line profits. Of course, energy firms face limitations when it comes to diversifying based on...

Cheney Has Turkey in His Sights

David Gow May 11, 2006
When US Vice President Dick Cheney denounced Russia’s geopolitical use of its oil and gas reserves, he shed light on an unheralded strategy to turn Turkey into a key supplier of energy. A bridge between Europe and Asia for decades, Turkey is ambitious to expand its international role in the 21st century. In an effort to become the first full EU member with a predominantly Islamic population,...

Africa’s Bitter Harvest

G. Pascal Zachary May 10, 2006
For years, Souley Madi has had many advantages as a cotton farmer in Badjengo Cameroon. He requires no complex, costly machinery to plant his fields. He has a beneficial arrangement with a state-owned company that collects his harvest on time for a satisfactory rate. With these earnings, he sends his five children in school, which he believes is the key to their future. Yet Madi wonders how...

Cuba Plans Offshore Wells Banned in US Waters

Michael Janofsky May 10, 2006
The US and Cuba partitioned the waters of Florida Straits years ago, and the US never expected that Cuba would hurry to develop the underlying oil and gas fields. Cuba might not have immediate need for the energy supplies, but other nations do. So the Cuban government negotiated a partnership with emerging economic giants China and India to drill and extract oil and gas from the large underwater...

Can the Doha Round Be Salvaged?

Ernesto Zedillo May 9, 2006
The Doha Round began in 2001 as an attempt to eliminate trade barriers and encourage global commerce among developing nations. But countries submitted lengthy wish lists to the negotiators. With collective agreement required among 149 member countries of the World Trade Organization (WTO), it’s no surprise that the round has stalled. The Doha Round struggles from an inherent contradiction –...

Mideast Money Pinch

Yasmine El-Rashidi May 5, 2006
Middle East investors and shoppers are bypassing travel, education or health care in the US for friendlier opportunities in Asia and Europe. In March, the US rejected acquisition of operations for six US ports based on security concerns, but even before that, Saudi tourism to the US was down 75 percent in 2004 from 1999. Obtaining US visas has become more complicated for Arabs since 9/11, with...