“True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. It comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. A true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., April 4, 1967

U.S.-China Trade Showdown Looms

International Herald Tribune, 1/19/09

China has now moved into a central role in the global economy, and their announcement of a significant drop in imports in the fourth quarter of 2008 leads some to believe a trade confrontation between the U.S. and China is a possibility.

Britain May Shut Doors to Foreign Workers

The Times of India, 1/19/09

With its economy in peril and unemployment reaching 2 million, Britain has decided that companies will no longer be able to advertise jobs overseas, affecting the potential immigration of workers from India and other nations.

Gasping for Gas: Former Russian Satellites in Eastern Europe are Hit Hardest of All

The Economist, 1/15/09

Since Russia has cut off gas delivery to the Ukraine, the lack of service is showing dire consequences during the harsh winter months, with schools shutting down, industrial production hampered and prisons going without heat.

Private Equity Profits Come From Loading Firms With Debt

The Guardian, 1/14/09

A new analysis from Ernst & Young has shown that more than half of the profits generated by private equity firms in Great Britain were achieved by transferring debt to companies that were being invested in, offering more testament to the questionable business practices of the industry.

India‘s Extended Family: What India Wants From Its Brethren Abroad, and Vice Versa

The Economist, 1/14/09

India’s diaspora has been a phenomenal development in recent years, and a once hands off relationship between the native Indians and their home country is now changing as they are now expected to be “permanent ambassadors”.