The centuries-old process of globalization – people in search of the best locations for their families, the best ideas for organizing daily life – has become an easy target in a more crowded world: workers fear factories and jobs relocating overseas, environmentalists worry about development...
Click here for the article on Der Tagesspiegel.
Strict interpretation of Islamic law discourages interest payments associated with debt. Banks in fast-growing areas of the Middle East, like Dubai, created a special group of bonds – or sukuk market – described as Shariah-compliant, which allow payment through the exchange of assets rather than...
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Once a good idea is out in the open, the benefits visible to all, others will rush to copy. The European Union organized a group of nations with different currencies and languages – and profits followed. Now the Association of South-East Nations (ASEAN) explores if its members can’t try the same...
If there is one Southeast Asian leader who knows the value of integration, it is Lee Kuan Yew, the former prime minister of Singapore. He succeeded, after all, in harmonizing the disparate cultures and races of his...
Panama is the most globalized country of Latin America, and Brazil is the least, according to the 2006 Latin American Globalization Index from “Latin Business Chronicle.” Member nations of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement lead the list of most globalized nations in Latin...
Click here to read the article in the "Latin Business Chronicle."
After World War II, Korea was divided into two nations, north and south. The Korean War began after forces from the north invaded the south in 1950, after rival factions could not agree on a system of governance. Train service crossing the border ended in 1951 and did not resume after the 1953...
Click here for the original article on The Economist.
There’s danger in “trying to be all things for all people,” as the old saying goes. In many ways, the world has multiple expectations for China, the world’s largest country: engine of economic growth or villain that snatches jobs away; peacemaker or potential aggressor; a developing country with...
Click here for the original article on The Financial Times.
US authorities arrested a 27-year-old Seattle man, describing him as one of the world’s top 10 spammers, and charged him with 35 counts including mail fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering. Robert Soloway’s arrest marks the first time that officials have used identity-theft laws to...
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As Asia celebrates ongoing economic growth, the nations that ring the South China Sea cannot resolve their dispute over geographic features that dot the sea. The waters could cover rich reserves of oil and gas, and more than half the world’s merchant fleet sails across every year. Nations that...
"Creeping assertiveness": Chinese border forces exercise
in waters off the Paracel Islands, while fishermen skirmish in South China Sea
SINGAPORE: Given the generally peaceful state of the South China Sea for the...