In The News

More Jobs, Worse Work

Stephen S. Roach July 22, 2004
Since the trough of the last recession in November 2001, private sector payrolls in the US have risen a mere 0.2 percent, well below the nearly 7.5 percent average increase in the 31-month period after each of the last six American economic recoveries. In this opinion article for the New York Times, Stephen S. Roach, chief economist for Morgan Stanley, writes that the reason for this anemic...

Latortue Leads Delegation Urgently Seeking Cash Aid

Michael A.W. Ottey July 20, 2004
Haiti's interim Prime Minister, Gerard Latortue, has asked for $924 million while at a two-day international donors conference that ends today at World Bank headquarters. Latortue says the money is part of an estimated $1.3 million necessary to get the country back on its feet after the fiscal mismanagement and political upheaval brought on by the administration and subsequent flight of...

Ex-Dictator Had Millions in U.S. Bank

Andres Oppenheimer July 15, 2004
Augusto Pinochet, the dictator of Chile from 1973 until 1990, was found by US Senate investigators to have deposited upwards of $8 million in Washington-based Riggs Bank under names of phony firms. According to American law, US banks are supposed to investigate deposits of foreign government officials for drug trafficking or corruption problems before opening an account. The Senate...

Quo Vadis America?

Immanuel Wallerstein July 13, 2004
The world has long been divided between those who hail the US as a leader of global forces for human freedom and those who see it as an imperialist power. It is only recently, however, under the presidency of George W. Bush, that those who had negative feelings about the US were mostly citizens of Western countries, including the US itself. Social theorist Immanuel Wallerstein argues that an...

¿Quo vadis, Estados Unidos?

Immanuel Wallerstein July 13, 2004

¿Quo vadis, Estados Unidos?

Immanuel Wallerstein July 13, 2004

Fags and Fiction

Alison Benjamin July 8, 2004
US tobacco company Phillip Morris is trying to be more socially responsible by decreasing the health risks of its product and discouraging underage smoking. Though the fact that much of Phillip Morris’ tobacco is grown in the Third World makes it a candidate for classification as a fair-trade good, the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation has no current plans to consider the market and is instead...