World

China’s relationship with the United States is increasingly complex and competitive,

Of the five countries attending March’s BRICS summit in South Africa, only one could boast a growth rate significantly higher than 5 percent. That was China, and although its current growth of about 8 percent is less than half the 20-percent rate seen in headier days, it goes some way to explaining why it is […]

Voters went to the polls in February, and the electorate’s rejection of the austerity program carried out by a technocratic regime backed by both of the main political parties resulted in a hung parliament. The anti-euro Five Star Movement, headed by irreverent comedian Beppe Grillo, made a stunning third-place finish.

A special election was held in mid-April to fill the presidential vacancy created by the death of Hugo Chávez in early March. Chávez’s hand-picked successor, Nicolas Maduro, was heavily favored to defeat the joint opposition candidate, Henrique Capriles. However, Maduro won by less than two percentage points, compared to Chávez’s nearly 11-point margin of victory […]

Three factors hold great potential for American firms wishing to profit from the flow of hundreds of millions of Chinese investment dollars entering the American private sector annually through the Employment Based Fifth Preference (EB-5) Visa Program, also known as the Immigrant Investor Program. These factors include expertise in investment risk analysis, ROI calculation, and […]

As an exporter, I half-heartedly believed in President Obama’s proposal to double U.S. exports in five years. That pledge was made in his State of the Union address in 2010, which means the clock is ticking on his plan to double American exports from $1 trillion to $2 trillion by 2015. His National Export Initiative […]

The world is witnessing a profound economic initiative in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP): the regional free trade agreement under negotiation between the United States and ten countries in the Americas and Asia-Pacific region. It’s clear that a global free trade agreement, which includes the first and third largest economies, and all of NAFTA, will truly […]

The landmark victory of the DPJ in 2009 promised a fresh start after five decades of the LDP political dominance. But the party failed to live up to expectations, and went down to defeat at an early election that was held in December 2012 against a backdrop of growing economic pessimism. The LDP’s victory capped […]

Iran is preparing for a presidential election. It is assumed that the clerical establishment headed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will use the substantial power at its disposal to guard against a repeat of the domestic upheaval that erupted in the aftermath of the 2009 contest. Nevertheless, the next president’s power will be limited.

Economics too often makes outsourcing the manufacturing of goods a necessity, especially when a major hand assembly component is involved. And when horrific calamities strike in faraway places, such as the building collapse on April 24th in Savar, a suburb of Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, American companies whose goods come from these factories often […]

Each day thousands of freight trains and commercial trucks chug across national borders delivering vital supplies. Hulking ships carry the largest of material slabs and the smallest of cogs over international waters. The movement of commerce buzzes around the globe as nations contribute to the economic health and welfare of each other. But what happens...

In today’s dynamic and fast paced global environment, maintaining a strong and secure global supply chain is critical. But just as essential is the financial supply chain, which involves all transactions relating to cash flow from the buyer’s purchase order through payment to the seller...

In our hyper-competitive world of international business, building, managing and sustaining a global supply chain is necessary. It also can be challenging and costly. Issues regularly affecting a supply chain must be addressed in innovative ways. The bottom line: companies can optimize their supply chains by properly controlling costs, updating infrastructure, pursuing cross-functional alignment, implementing...

It is generally understood by Members of Congress, journalists and the public that exports are good for the American economy. They generate revenue, are responsible for a significant portion of U.S. economic growth, and contribute to employment. But what about imports?

China continues to suffer a labor shortage in its key coastal manufacturing regions. This, no doubt, is impacting U.S. and other foreign companies operating in China. But the labor shortage is not due to a lack of available workers. Instead, it is prompted by Chinese government policies, as well as prevailing work and living conditions […]

The leadership transition that began last year came to a close at the annual March meeting of the People’s Political Consultative Conference, the advisory body of the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The new party boss, Xi Jinping, took the reins of government from President Hu Jintao, and Li Keqiang replaced Wen Jiabao as prime […]

Everyone loves a tiger. Powerful, elegant – yet tricky to manage. Ireland was the Celtic Tiger during the boom of the ‘zeros. But now, many economists are looking at the characteristics of a tortoise – slow, controlled, non-violent — as possibly more attractive. Is this the new Ireland?

Approaching the midpoint of the current four-year parliamentary term, political conditions in Thailand remain generally calm. However, the recent gubernatorial election in the capital, at which the incumbent, a member of the opposition DP, only narrowly fended off a challenge from the candidate of the governing PTP, highlights the persistence of deep political divisions. If […]

Everyone loves a tiger. Powerful, elegant – yet tricky to manage. Ireland was the Celtic Tiger during the boom of the ‘zeros. But now, many economists are looking at the characteristics of a tortoise – slow, controlled, non-violent — as possibly more attractive. Is this the new Ireland?

Public support for Spain's governing People’s Party (PP) has fallen significantly since the party was voted into office in 2011. This is a reflection of the generalized economic misery resulting from a combination of severe austerity, economic decline, and skyrocketing unemployment.