In The News

Kemal Dervis April 23, 2008
As the financial sector has gained dominance in the world economy, some investors have become accustomed to steady growth and double-digit profits. While the financial industry rewards efficiency and innovation among competing firms, the relentless quest for profits and a short-term mentality in some finance circles have contributed to a series of asset bubbles: the Asian-Russia financial crisis...
Mark Landler April 22, 2008
Housing prices are dropping around the globe like dominoes – and some analysts fear an extended downturn could result in economic collapse. Countries and regions with the highest prices, including Ireland and other European nations, have the most to lose, reports Mark Landler in the New York Times. Residential investment accounts for 4 percent of the US economy versus 12 percent of the Irish...
Barry Malone April 16, 2008
Using its information-technology expertise, India has launched a telemedicine project that allows doctors in Ethiopia to consult on images or lab results online with physicians, based in India, 2000 miles away. “Ethiopia's health problems are mirrored across Africa where doctors and nurses are often overworked and underpaid, villagers have to walk miles to the nearest clinic and drugs and...
Peter S. Goodman April 16, 2008
The debate over globalization’s effects on the US economy has become a focal point of the presidential campaign. Outsourcing jobs is a major concern of voters, and with good reason. In Michigan alone, as New York Times’ writer Peter Goodman notes, more than 300,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost to foreign competition during the last eight years. Yet globalization encourages foreign investment...
Jim Hansen April 16, 2008
The goal of slowing climate change takes on urgency with growing populations, increasing emissions and melting polar ice that would irrevocably change the global environment. Energy suppliers often fend off worries about climate change by suggesting that the facts are not all known. The same could be said about industry estimates on oil, gas and coal reserves, suggests Jim Hansen, director of...
Nayan Chanda April 15, 2008
In 1798, economist Thomas Malthus predicted that population growth could lead to declining resources and catastrophe. The global population was then less than a billion, and critics dismissed his concerns. Now, the human population has grown more than sixfold, and is estimated to reach 9 billion in less than 50 years. Shortages of basic resources, including oil, food and water are not uncommon in...
Elizabeth Nash April 14, 2008
Spain’s second largest city must cope with a water shortage resulting from extreme drought. Now, the city must import water by ship and rail. Barcelona has a reputation for efficient infrastructure, reports Elizabeth Nash for the Independent, but climate change and water shortages disrupt city life. The city has turned off public fountains and pools and plans to conserve the imports by lowering...