In The News

Elizabeth Becker September 9, 2003
‘French fries’ might have been replaced by ‘freedom fries’, and American tourists may have disappeared from the Eiffel Tower, but France and the US can still find some common ground at the upcoming WTO talks in Cancun. Farmers from both nations count on farm subsidies to supplement their incomes and drive down their costs. $300 billion are given by the world’s richest states to their farmers....
Juan Forero September 3, 2003
The search for profit drives companies to look for the lowest production costs possible, and that search is taking more and more American companies from factories in Mexico to factories in China. America's southern neighbor received a boom in employment after the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement in the 1990s, but China's rise as a supplier of cheap labor is now...
Immanuel Wallerstein September 1, 2003
In 2002, Brazil elected its first ever candidate from a leftist party, Luiz Inácio da Silva. Nicknamed Lula, the leader of the "Party of the Workers" was installed amid a perilous economic climate. With high interest rates and potentially explosive debt, investors expressed their concern by trading Brazilian currency for US dollars and withdrawing financial resources. However, Lula...
Stephen King September 1, 2003
To most people, the prospect of an American collapse is almost unimaginable. But to Stephen King, managing director of economics at HSBC, it is a very real possibility. In this article, King traces the economic success of the US in the 90s, arguing that this growth was due in large part to other countries which were willing to prop up the US economy. America frequently spent more than it...
Robert Kagan August 26, 2003
America's unparalleled - if benevolent - power makes even its closest allies nervous. As a result, many have begun to question the legitimacy of the superpower's actions, particularly after it went into Iraq without UN approval. Foreign policy expert Robert Kagan says, "A perceived pattern of illegitimate behavior can limit the cooperation other countries are willing to offer and...
August 14, 2003
The US may make headway on increasing automotive efficiency without federal support. Automakers General Motors and DaimlerChrysler dropped a lawsuit against a California rule requiring them to produce millions of cleaner, more efficient "hybrid" cars that operate on a combination of gas and electricity. At a time when Americans are continuing their love affair with the SUV and the...
August 5, 2003
Thousands of air passengers pass through the US each year on their way to other destinations, but after the US begins requiring them to first apply for transit visas, that process won't be so easy. Washington has cited fears of terrorism and the resultant need for increased security as the reason for the new rules, but this editorial in the Khaleej Times is skeptical of that rationale:...