Worldcrunch
BEIJING — “Innovation” has become a favorite word for Chinese headline writers. From individuals to private firms and even public institutions, everybody and everything aims to be an innovator. Though the OECD Economic Outlook 2014 predicted that China will probably become the country in the world which invests most in Research and Development (R&D) within […]
In Russia’s capital, environmental protection is victim of manufacturers who don’t want to reform and a government that won’t challenge them. The result is there for all to see…and smell.
RIO DE JANEIRO — The sign outside this modest hair salon in the Rio das Pedras favela, or shantytown, of Rio de Janeiro reads “Belos Fios” (“beautiful hair”). Inside, customers can find Matrix hair color products stacked behind the salon’s two only chairs. This is just one of some 30 small salons, most of them […]
Ahead of the anniversary of Macau passing under Beijing’s control, and a delicate visit from Xi Jinping, a closer look at the troubling formula of the former Portuguese colony.
BERLIN — As the price of oil continues to fall, share prices on the Gulf region’s stock markets have plummeted in parallel. The price of oil reached a yearly low of $60 a barrel on Friday, and we’re now looking at a possible $50, which would create a truly bleak outlook for economic prospects in […]
The dominant economic idea used to be to cut all barriers to capital flows, the so-called Washington Consensus. But since the 2008 financial collapse, the tech industry’s hold on global consumption rules the day, and anything impeding it is considere
One in three people around the world is overweight, and the ratio is growing. “Globesity” investors see that airlines, hospitals, car companies and others must adapt to meet the expanding needs.
The U.S. currency is stronger on world markets than it’s been in years, which could fundamentally undermine emerging economies that have borrowed trillions in dollars.
-OpEd- BUENOS AIRES — We live in a society in which our pursuit of exponential economic growth is doing systematic and irreversible harm to the environment, challenging territories and threatening the very cycle of life. Increasing social awareness of such risks explains why debates and decisions today that used to be limited to the technical, […]
PARIS — The stage is set in the middle of the vast, empty and decidedly cold shed of the Halle Freyssinet, a building formerly used as a shipment hub for trains and trucks near the Austerlitz railway station in Paris. After the presidential lectern is installed, with French and European flags in the background, in […]
Second only to India in terms of scale, the Philippines’ customer service outsourcing industry in is growing, offering well-educated English speakers willing to work the night shift.
In recent days, China’s foreign retailers have one after another made headlines. While Tesco is withdrawing its brand from China, Walmart announced a layoff of more than 100 staff, including dozens of senior managers. Meanwhile, Carrefour is transforming itself into a convenience store to survive. BEIJING — After 10 years in China, Tesco, the world’s […]
For Renaud Laplanche, it all began with a credit card statement that seemed all wrong. Now, after helping to bring banking into the digital era, it’s time for a major IPO for his SF-based firm.
Groundbreaking on the much heralded Central American project is said to be imminent. But huge doubts linger, including the bankrolling of the project by a mysterious Chinese businessman.
Yes, the Google ‘monster’ is too big and too powerful. But EU politicians imposing a breakup of the U.S. tech giant is not the solution. A mix of arm-twisting and open competition can do the trick.
France knows the place, China has the money, and now a major joint investment fund for Africa is in the works between Paris and Beijing to help drive the continent’s economic expansion.
Referred to as ‘sponsored content,’ it is the Internet’s way of blurring lines between information and advertising – and Outbrain is leading the charge ahead of a reported $1 billion IPO.
In a reversal of economic fortunes, Sweden’s under-25s are leaving the high unemployment of their home country to seek more money and secure jobs in Norway.
Japan has slipped into recession, the ultimate mark of failure of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s ambitious but misguided efforts to turn around the nation’s economy.
Chinese public and private enterprises are looking abroad, and expanding ever more into higher technology industries. It will reshape the future for China, and the world.
Beijing wants to control nearly half the world’s robot production by 2020, but the plans to get there have some fundamental flaws. There may still be time to reprogram it all.
Peru, in particular, has had a key role since 1992, when it became the site of China’s first foreign investment. China also likes the fact that Lima puts so few ‘controls’ on commerce.
BEIJING — The Mexican government announced Nov. 4 that it had awarded its first high-speed rail contract to a Chinese-led consortium. But as the exciting news was still buzzing in the Chinese press, Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto suddenly canceled the deal five days later. As the media later reported, the consortium led by China […]
Too small and not productive enough, cocoa plantations can no longer meet global demand. Industrialists are intervening to help the farmers and save an indulgence beloved the world over.
With the region still divided into different trading blocs, Chile is leading efforts to bring Latin American nations together for a joint policy to expand global trade.
With its 391 units spread among 46 floors, the glass tower has transformed south Manhattan’s skyline. But it has been an utter business failure.
After its annexation of Crimea, Moscow is hoping to accelerate a long dormant project to build a bridge connecting Russia across the Kerch Strait. But there is the Sochi lesson to consider.
The recent purchase of the Waldorf Astoria by a Chinese company recalls Japanese companies’ buying sprees 30 years ago. And that didn’t end well.
With shrimp consumption booming in China and production falling in traditional exporters like Vietnam, Ecuador is stepping in. It’s the latest food chapter in a globalized world.
Falling crude prices spell trouble for oil-dependent economies like Venezuela and Russia, with political consequences to follow. Meanwhile, the world’s two biggest economies may fare well.
The fact that people are buying cars is touted as a good sign for the economy, which you can think about while you’re stuck in traffic or breathing in rising pollution.
China may be Africa’s largest trade partner and investor, but what China brings to the table is often regarded as sloppy, thoughtless and inconsistent with African values.
Haiphong, the third largest Vietnamese city, could become a new Asian transport hub to compete with Hong Kong and Singapore.
BEIJING — After a development period of more than 10 years, and with final approval from the China Food and Drug Administration, Guangzhou Baiyunshan Pharmaceutical Co. has just launched a generic erectile dysfunction drug based on Viagra, to be sold at half the price. At the press conference for the launch of “Jinge” (literally meaning […]
After a religious pilgrimage to Mecca, an Arab-Israeli businessman imagines how a Saudi-brokered peace across the region could help solve economic problems for all.
With slower demand expected in the world’s raw materials and consumer markets, big Latin American firms must find new strategies.
The once sleepy coastal city is now buzzing with activity, and foreign investors.
The emblematic U.S. banana firm, a confidante of 20th century Latin American regimes, with a long history of mistreating workers, tried in vain to avoid falling into Brazilian hands.
Unlike with Washington, Moscow and Beijing agree on how the state can monitor the Internet. Kommersant reports on a new Sino-Russia partnership set to be signed next month.