In The News

Germany a Gateway to Europe for Chinese Businesses

Mark-Werner Dreisörner July 16, 2004
For years German investors have taken advantage of China’s low wages and huge market potential to expand their operations, but a recent trends show investment flowing the other way: from China to Germany. Hamburg alone now hosts over 300 Chinese businesses, and growth in Chinese investment across the country is likely to continue since Germany is seen as a gateway to Europe. Wang Yan of...

The Big Chill

Clare Longrigg July 14, 2004
The big fridge, product of 1950’s and 60’s American suburbia, has made its way across the pond. British sales of the larger, American refrigerators are booming, specifically in the double-door variety which now constitutes 8% of the growth of the British cooling business. Increased popularity of these appliances is based on interest among a clientele of affluent professionals and young families...

EU Faces Rise in Welfare Migration

Hans-Werner Sinn July 12, 2004
Traditionally Western Europe has faced both “good” and “bad” immigration, the former being the result of international income differentials and a healthy economy, and the latter being the result of immigrants seeking to take advantage of the welfare state. Hans-Werner Sinn, an economist at Munich University, contends that the adoption of the EU’s new directive on freedom of movement will result...

Schröder's Agenda

Aaron Kirchfeld July 9, 2004
During NATO’s Istanbul Summit from June 28 to 29, member countries agreed to expand the alliance’s presence in Afghanistan and consented to take on a training role for officers of the new Iraqi army. On both accounts, however, NATO’s commitment fell short of what was hoped for by the US, perpetuating the feeling that a rift has developed between the US, on one side, and France and Germany on the...

Give the Transatlantic Alliance a Fresh Start

Charles Powell June 28, 2004
Transatlantic relations are in a "terminal" stage and must be mended, writes Charles Powell, former adviser on foreign affairs and defense to Margaret Thatcher. The transatlantic alliance once enjoyed great heights – especially during the cold war – but now differences over the Iraq War have cast doubt on the concept of ‘the West’ as a global leader. Currently politicians and laypeople...

Globalize Soccer? Not in Your Lifetime, Chum

Edward Rothstein June 26, 2004
From outward appearances, soccer epitomizes globalization by enjoying worldwide appeal and trading players internationally. The culture of soccer, however, refuses to homogenize across borders or even across towns. Instead, says this article in the New York Times, local soccer teams come to embody the specific nationalist or tribal emotions of their local fan bases. For example, over the last...

Death Knell for Cross-Border Leasing Deals

Heidi Sylvester June 25, 2004
When the US Congress voted to close a tax law loophole this month, some German city governments began to worry. Over the past seven years Germany municipalities have signed more than 150 cross-border leasing agreements with US investors. Under the agreements, Americans leased German infrastructure facilities – sewage plants, waste water facilities, etc. – and wrote off the lump-sum cost from...