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Posted: 12-16 Feb 07

Boardroom:  HBR list--
Breakthrough ideas for '07:  Every idea grows from an encounter - bet. a hypothesis & reality, between a curious mind & an anomalous fact, bet. an oyster & a grain of sand,  Harvard Bus. Rev., Feb '07 (free access for Feb)

Zambia loses
'vulture fund' case:  In '79, Romania lent Zambia money to buy its tractors. Zambia was unable to keep up payments & the two negotiated to liquidate $30m debt for $3m,  BBC News,  15 Feb 07 (Link to: Threat to developing world | Lawyer--Firm wins Third World debt fight)

T Besley & L Cord:
Delivering on the Promise of Pro-Poor Growth--Insights & lessons from country experiences (2007),  Palgrave/World Bank (Related: UNDP--Pro-poor growth: what is it?; & WB--Defining pro-poor growth: a reply [pdf])

Biggest US pension fund
tallies cost of emerging markets curbs: Fund's staff reports that investing restrictions have cost it much in potential earnings,  Reuters,  15 Feb 07[UTC] (Link to: Calpers meeting agenda & attachment [pdf] | Reports--Wilshire, Verite & Oxford Analytica)

The
incredible emerging hulks:  A new breed of global powerhouses is emerging in the developing countries. These giants that will soon be challenging the West,  by G Ringshaw,  Times of London,  11 Feb 07

Inventive
South Africa firms thrive in booming China:  Companies apply lessons learned in expanding to poor, complex markets, on their own continent, by C Timberg, Wash.Post(free registr reqd), 11 Feb 07

Economic
forecasting survey -- Is it time for a new tax on energy?:  Economists say govt should foster alternatives-but not how Bush pro-
poses, Wall Street Journal,  9 Feb 07 (Related: Mankiw--
Raise gas tax)

Companies
fall short of achieving goals in emerging markets:  Despite size & growth of emerging markets, a surprising no. of cos. are falling short of achieving their biz goals, says survey, Data Mgmt Rev, 24 Jan 07 (Link to: Deloitte--Exec sum)

Lawrence Summers: 
Lack of fear gives cause for concern--Why the divergence bet. headlines & markets? Will journalists or investors be proved right about state of world?,  FT (via Harvard site),  26 Dec 06

Hidden value:  How unlisted cos. are eclipsing the equity market -- 12
of 13 largest cos. are state oil groups from developing nations,  FT (via McKinsey site), 15 Dec 06[pdf] (Link to:
First-ever list--Top 150);and

Saudi Aramco revealed as
biggest group:  The world's biggest co. is controlled by Saudi Arabia & is not listed on a stock exchange, FT (via IsraelNetDaily),  15 Dec 06  (Link to:  Biggest unlisted cos. in oil/gas)

Peter Orszag:  Cool-headed,
warm-hearted economics -- The great British economist Alfred Marshall once spoke of the need for 'cool heads but warm hearts' in economic policy,  Boston Globe,  3 Dec 06

Mark Manyin:  Fact sheet -- US assistance to
North Korea:  Since '95, US has provided over $1.1 bln; about 60% has paid for food aid, & 40% was energy aid, Congress Res Svce (via State Dept site),  Oct '06 [pdf]
                             
Posted: 5-10 Feb 07

Curse of the black gold--Hope & betrayal in
the Niger Delta: The delta holds some of world's richest oil deposits, yet Nigerians living there are poorer than ever. What went wrong?,  National Geographic,  Feb '07 (Link to: Multimedia)

Hal Varian:  Kaizen, that
continuous improvement strategy, finds its ideal environment -- Remember when Japanese manufacturing tech-niques were all the rage?,  NYTimes (via UC Berkeley site),  8 Feb 07

EU's attempt
to avoid Hamas costs 3m euros in bank charges:  More than 3m euros of aid is being paid to bank monthly as Eur. Comm is accused of 'aid fiasco',  Guardian (UK),  7 Feb 07  (Related:  World Bank--Palest.Auth.'s performance [pdf])

World Bank
puts spotlight on anti-graft pursuit: Bank says it has inves-
tigated more than 400 graft cases in its lending, Agence France-Presse, 6 Feb 07  (Link to: 
Statement | Graft photos (scroll) | List of debarred cos.)

Emerging markets--
Q&A with Mark Mobius: After hitting record highs in '06, emerging markets continue to make strong gains. One pioneer in these markets argues that strong run should continue,  FT, 5 Feb 07

Ross McKitrick:  What the UN
won't tell you--The IPCC leaders have a point of view. Think of their report as case for prosecution,  News-
week, 5 Feb 07  (Related: Prev.
memorandum to UK House of Lords Cmte on IPCC process);  and

The IPCC report on global warming--Q&A: The report of UN's Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate Change was almost three years in the making,  by H Osborne & assoc,  Guardian (UK),  2 Feb 07 (Link to:
Climate Change 2007, pt.I)

Book value:  Shashi Tharoor--India's
quiet revolution:  Review of Ed-
ward Luce's
In Spite of the Gods--Churchill once said, 'India is merely a geographical expression.It is no more a single country than the Equa-
tor,' Wash.Post (free registr reqd), 4 Feb 07

Bradford DeLong:  Should we care
about inequality? -- What is the alternative against which to judge the degree of inequality that we see?, Project Syndicate (via Nation/Thailand),  2 Feb 07

Immanuel Wallerstein:  World Social Forum--
From defense to offense: The growth in strategy & influence is noticeable, as NGOs & intellec-
tuals coordinated on a number of reforms,  Agence Global,  1 Feb 07

Jeffrey Sachs:  The
neglected tropical diseases--Experts refer to them as 'NTDs'. They are hellish infections, yet they are far less known, partly because they are diseases that afflict only poor in the tropics,  Sci. Amer., Jan '07 (Related: Global Network on NTDs)

Business sentiment
at all-time high, says intl survey:  EU optimism overtakes US for first time, while Asia continues to be driver of global confidence, Wire services(via China Post/Taiwan), 11 Jan 07 (Link to: Grant Thornton--Intl Biz Report '07)

China tech firms gain ground:  Advances in productivity threaten edge held by foreign rivals,  by J Dean,  Wall Street Journal (via McKinsey site),  1 Dec 06 [pdf]

Coffee/tea break:  Laurence Kotlikoff -- Are
economists smarter?:  'I had always thought economists were better looking than sociologists, but smarter?,'  Economists' Voice (via Boston U),  May '06 [pdf]

                              
Posted: 29 Jan-2 Feb 07

Talking investors down
from China high:  Beijing officials have issued stern warnings and domestic stock markets could be in for a nasty correction,  Business Week,  by B Bremner,  1 Feb 07

Democrats give Bush the business on trade:  Extension of promotion authority in question,  by P Goodman,  Washington Post (free registr reqd),  31 Jan 07

TV's evangelist for capitalism: 
The man behind 'Free to Choose' with Milton Friedman,  by J Fund,  Wall Street Journal,  31 Jan 07

Top 7 political risks of 2007:  Where the top sources of global political risks are going to be - and where they aren't ('red herrings'),  Eurasia Group[pdf], 2-30 Jan 07 (Link to: More info on geopolitical risks); and

Top 10 leaders of 2007:  This is not list of 'most powerful'; instead, it aims to draw attention to individuals who will play pivotal roles in de-
fining course of domestic/intl politics and markets,  Eurasia Group,
16 Jan 07 [pdf]

Economist wants
business & social aims to be in sync:  He has built a reputation among economists & policy makers for favoring eclectic solutions that mix govt and private sector in pragmatic ways,  by L Uchitelle, NYT (via IHTribune), 30 Jan 07

Stephen Roach:  The
Davos disconnect--For a great number of major industrial nations the share of economic rewards going to labor stands at a historic low. This is not sustainable,  Newsweek,  29 Jan 07;  and

Jagdish Bhagwati:  Technology, not globalization, is
driving wages down | Q&A -- We have recently witnessed flurry of comment in US on long-running stagnation of wages, FT(via CFR/AEI), 4 & 15 Jan 07

World leaders committed to resume
Doha trade talks:  Leaders from main trading nations support 'quick resumption' of frozen trade talks after meeting in Davos,  Wire services (via MercoPress/Uruguay), 
28 Jan 07 (Link to: WEF
statement)

Davos sessions,  World Economic Forum,  26-27 Jan 07:
         Global
economic outlook 2007 | Can central banks manage
             global
financial risks? | Commodities boom - structural or
             cyclical?
         A
business manifesto for globalization | Globalization and the
            
middle class | Nobel nightcap
         Billions in
development aid - what are the results? | Scaling
            
innovation in foreign aid | G20 agenda
         The future of the
Middle East | Voices from Iran

Dancing with Giants--Book examines global implications of India and China's growth:  What will their economic success mean for rest of the world over next 15 years?,  World Bank, 21 Jan 07 (Related:  Michael Spence's talk & Growth Commission)

Emerging-markets danger?:  Entering what's expected to be 5th year of boom, investors may be ignoring danger signals, acc. to global assn of fin. institutions,  USA Today,  18 Jan 07  (Link to:  Inst Intl Fin state-
ment)

Robert Shiller: There's still room for
the little guy in a world of profit--Most people believe that world of finance has no concern for little guy who contribute little to bottom line, Proj Synd (via Biz Report/S Afri), 17 Jan 07

John Williamson:
Safe to return?--Nearly decade after Asian fin. crisis, developing nations remain wary of intl capital markets. But an Asian capital market could lead way in issuing new less risky growth-linked bonds, Glob Ec & Intl Fin (via IIE site), Sep '06 [pdf]

                            
Posted: 15-26 Jan 07

Food vs fuel:  As energy demands devour crops once meant for sustenance, the economics of agriculture are being rewritten,  by J Carey & assoc,  Business Week,  26 Jan 07

Davos sessions,  World Economic Forum,  24-25 Jan 07:
         Update 2007--The
global economy | Regional agenda: Middle                   East | Latin America | Asia
         Regulation and
financial market competition
         Early warning and
crisis preparedness

For what it's worth, Congressional Budget Office
sees zero deficit:  Projection clashes with fiscal realities, by L Montgomery,  Washington Post (free registr reqd),  25 Jan 07

The shifting power equation:  The implications of underlying theme of this year's forum are presented from four sessions(on economics | geo-
politics
| technology & society | business),  World Economic Forum,  24 Jan 07

Control
of Lebanon takes financial turn:  The tug-of-war for control of Lebanon takes financial turn, with officials from 35 Western & Gulf nations in Paris seeking to raise billions of aid dollars, Agence France-Presse (via Peninsula/Qatar), 24 Jan 07

Asian rival moves
past Las Vegas:  Macao is now the world's biggest gambling center, surpassing Las Vegas Strip, acc. to industry analysts & govt stats,  by D Barboza,  NYTimes (free registr reqd),  24 Jan 07

US, EU yearn
for Doha deal; take on timing differs:  USTR Schwab says agreement that could break a deadlock in trade negotiations is 'many weeks away', as ministers head for a summit in Davos,  Zee News/India, 23 Jan 07 (Related: Q&A with USTR [pdf]);  and

'We are
in the endgame':  Q&A with Peter Mandelson--The EU trade commissioner says time is running out for a new global trade agreement,  Time,  18 Jan 07

Asian
central banks warn of capital inflow risks:  CB heads warn of risks from growing capital flows, a phenomenon they say could be big-
gest challenge,  BBC News, 23 Jan 07 (Link to:
Conf info | Remarks--BOJ gov. & IMF head)

The big
power shift:  As world's top bankers, CEOs, think tankers and statesmen gather for Davos '07, it raises question-what will assembled movers & shakers actually be talking about?,  Newsweek,  22-29 Jan 07 (Link to: WEF statement)

Tutu applauds
world social forum despite no tangible results:  An an-
nual meeting of social activists worldwide highlights importance of so-
cial issues,  S Afr Press Assn-Deutsche Presse Ag, 19 Jan 07 (Link to: WSF
meeting)

Asian leaders plan
free-trade area from India to NZ:  Asia will start planning free-trade zone that would rival US & EU, after overcoming China's reluctance to include India & Australia, Bloomberg, 15 Jan 07; and

Richard Baldwin:  Implications of Europe's experience for East Asian regionalism (
Intro & concl) -- EU model is non-starter for E Asia,  U Geneva [pdf],  Feb '06  (Link to: Brief earlier version via RIETI/Jap.)

Red crystal becomes additional protective emblem:  The possibility of using red crystal will make it easier for national societies who do not wish to use red cross or red crescent emblems to be recognized,  Red Cross/Crescent, 12 Jan 07

Nariman Behravesh:  Top 10
economic predictions for 2007--Whether rest of world has become immune to US cycles (even a mild one) is one of larger uncertainties about outlook,  Global Insight,  15 Dec 06

                             
Posted: 1-12 Jan 07

Reconstruction effort to emphasize Iraqi jobs:  Economic component of 'new Iraq strategy' is centered on making smaller, more incremen-
tal progress,  Wash.Post (free registr reqd), 11 Jan 07 (Related:
Devel.
Fund
for Iraq; & Govt Accountability Ofc)

Newsroom:  Medecins Sans Frontieres
issues 'Top 10' underreported humanitarian stories of '06 -- 'We know media coverage does not generate improvements on its own. But it is often needed for increased assistance,' Reuters, 9 Jan 07

Joseph Stiglitz:  Will the
dam break in 2007?--The world survived '06 without major econ. catastrophe, but there are warning signs concern-
ing its future performance,  Proj Synd (via Edge/Malaysia),  8 Jan 07

Emerging pitfalls:  Sizzling markets in developing countries look even riskier,  by R Farzad & assoc,  Business Week,  8-15 Jan 07

Where's the party? In emerging markets:  Bond investors seldom find themselves with stocklike gains. But those who have been buying debt of Brazil, Russia & other such markets are reveling,  NYT (free registr reqd), 7 Jan 07

Jeffrey Sachs: The
$10 solution--Listen for moment to dignified voices of Africa's mothers. Despite their burdens of poverty, they will tell not of their endless toil but of hopes for their children,  Time,  4 Jan 07

Economic
forecasting survey -- US economy poised for '07 rebound, forecasters say:  Weakness in housing, manufacturing is likely to take a lighter toll,  Wall Street Journal,  2 Jan 07

Paul Romer: 
Economic growth -- In modern version of old legend, an investment banker asks to be paid by placing 1 penny on 1st square of chess board, 2 pennies on 2nd square, 4 on 3rd, etc., Concise Encycl. Economics (2007) [via Stanford U, pdf]

Mouse & wo/man: Despite Asian
Internet breakdown, system works--The reason is existence of large amount of spare capacity in network of undersea/terrestrial cables looping globe, IHTrib, 1 Jan 07 (Related: NYT--Asia scrambles to repair quake damage to data cables)

Dani Rodrik:  Goodbye
Washington Consensus, Hello Washington Confusion?--The debate now is not over whether Wash. Consensus is dead or alive, but over what will replace it,  J.Econ.Lit. (via Harvard site, pdf], Dec '06 (extended);  and

From our archive:  John Williamson -- The
'Washington Consensus': The phrase I coined came to be interpreted as manifesto for 'neolib-
eral' right, or revelation of what Wash.-based intl institutions were try-
ing to impose on rest of world, Inst Intl Econ, 24 Sep 04

Financial
Market Update:  Markets appear complacent despite down-
side economic risks and underlying changes in financial conditions, Global Markets Monitoring Division,  posted by IMF 28 Dec 06 [pdf]

Jeffrey Garten: 
Bracing for a rough patch--The Microsofts & GEs of future are rising in developing world, but they face a tough stretch ahead, Newsweek, 25 Dec-1 Jan 07 (Link to: The Emerging Markets Century [2007])

Will super-high growth in China continue?:  China's astonishing growth inevitably inspires question - How long can it keep it up?,  Natl Bur Ec Res Digest, Nov '06 (Link to: The sustainability of future high Chinese growth [via Ctr Intl Gov Innov, pdf])

Energy security will be one of main challenges of foreign policy:  Q&A with Daniel Yergin-We are living in new age of energy supply anxiety. What we see is rebirth of '70s-style resource nationalism,  Der Spiegel (via CERA site), July '06

                           
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