In The News

Portugal’s Jobless Graduates Flee to Africa and Brazil

Lucy Ash September 13, 2011
Despite troubled histories, colonial powers and their former colonies have maintained close relations, largely due to shared languages. This often resulted in what’s been called “brain drain,” the large-scale immigration of professionals from the former colonies to the former colonial powers in search of economic opportunity. Lucy Ash of BBC News describes a reversal in the traditional migration...

Argentina Acts to Protect Local Films

Jude Webber September 7, 2011
More often than not, protectionism represents desperation. The Argentine state film institute has begun imposing fines on foreign film, reports Jude Webber for the Financial Times. The extra fees, to be levied on films shown on more than 161 Argentine screens, are intended to curtail mass releases of Hollywood blockbusters, Webber reports, and collect revenues “to protect national filmmakers.”...

Making the Desert Bloom

August 30, 2011
The North American Free Trade Agreement of 1994 gave Mexico great potential, but the country also became among the hardest hit in the Americas by the global debt crisis, notes the Economist. Some analysts urge ongoing diversification of trade partners to strengthen the economy: “The Inter-American Development Bank, the biggest lender in the region, describes a ‘two speed’ Latin America, in which...

Top Indian Technology Firms TCS, Infosys, Wipro, Aegis and Others in US Are Going for Local Hiring

Shruti Sabharwal August 22, 2011
Indian IT firms are seeking to employ more Americans as a result of the high US unemployment rate and criticism of outsourcing. “In response, IT firms are now pulling out all the stops to be seen as job creators with a stake in local economies,” writes Shruti Sabharwal for the Economic Times. Sensitive to charges of stealing jobs, the Indian firms have joined a number of US initiatives: Wipro...

The Eurozone Fights for Survival – Part II

Joergen Oerstroem Moeller August 18, 2011
Lenders are in the habit of putting profits over borrowers’ interests. Many players in the financial markets – the credit markets, banks, economists and analysts – took little notice as small eurozone economies like Greece amassed huge debts based on fiscal records of strong partners like Germany. Massive lending led to crisis, and an abrupt halt, hiking interest rates, aggravated the...

The World Consequences of US Decline

Immanuel Wallerstein August 16, 2011
For the past decade, analysts around the globe have suggested that the United States – its economy, innovations, political will and global influence – are in decline, and many US citizens agree, especially since the nation’s AAA credit rating was reduced by Standard & Poor’s. US citizens aren’t handling the decline well, and lash out at their political system and government officials. Other...

The Eurozone Fights for Survival – Part I

François Godement August 16, 2011
The debt crisis rocking Greece, Portugal or Italy not only threatens the stability of the eurozone, but also raises serious questions about the region’s relations with the world. This two-part series examines the European crisis and its ramifications. In the first article, François Godement, senior policy fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations, points out that minimal attention is...