Economy
Monetary policy: Global growth challenges
Japan, that boldly charted its path to prosperity in the aftermath of the Second World War, struggles to accept reality that its economy is still in precarious health. `Denial' is hard to resist and, hence, hard to overcome. India's policy-makers
suffer from a similar malaise. Until we get over this mental hurdle, appropriate policy measures would not appear until circumstances thrust them on us.
UNCTAD's review of global FDI
THE UN Conference on Trade and Development -- UNCTAD -- brings out periodically the World Investment Outlook (WIO), a useful review of the global activities on corporate investment. The latest WIO is revealing for its insight and analysis
of investments by transnational corporations. Transnational corporation is the terminology used by UNCTAD to refer to what are commonly called multinational corporations.
Emerging market for Indian business -- Samba in Venezuela
TO THE average Indian, Venezuela is the land of beauties. In the last 50 years, Venezuelan women have been winners or runners-up at least 40 times in the international beauty contests. And for historians, it is the country of Simon Bolivar, the liberator
of Venezuela and Latin America. Bolivar was the first to try to unite Latin America, a dream being realised in parts today.
Editorial
Tackling slowdown
WITH THE FINANCE MINISTER, Mr Yashwant Sinha, finally conceding that the GDP growth this year would drop by one percentage point to six per cent, the economic slowdown is official.
Policy
Queuing up for credit enhancement scheme
WELL over an year ago, when a credit enhancement scheme was mooted for Indian companies by the Finance Ministry, it took time for the proposal to be approved by the corporate bosses.
Politics
The Nader phenomenon in US politics
THE citizens of the US went to the polls last week. While the results are normally known within a day, a cliff-hanger situation developed due a recount in Florida (arising out of a very narrow margin for one candidate) and by the time you read this colum
n, the result may be known but may not be final. Challenges to the result in court may delay the official results, though indications are that Mr George Bush will be the winner. It was such a close call between him and his opponent, the Democratic Vice-P
resident, Mr Al Gore, that at one time, Mr Gore called Mr Bush over the phone to concede the election! A sideshow arising out of the role of a fringe candidate, Mr Ralph Nader, is also of interest.
`We must put Kargil behind us'-- Mr Shaharyar Khan, Former Foreign Secretary of Pakistan
Pakistan's former Foreign Secretary, Mr Shaharyar Khan, presently the country's Ambassador to France, was in Chennai to participate in a Track II diplomacy effort to improve Indo-Pak ties. In an interview to Business Line, he hoped that t
he Indo-Pak dialogue, now in `frozen', would resume soon.
Election thriller
A WHOWONIT thriller of extraordinary suspense is being played out in the world's wealthiest and mightiest democracy. The dirty linen being washed in public in the US by the camps of both Presidential candidates, Mr George Bush, Jr an
d Mr Al Gore, has brought to light many vagaries of an unbelievably antiquated and even anarchic electoral system. This must be news to even some natives, not to speak of those in other countries who cannot be expected to be familiar with
how the US is run.
Advantage to Bengal Front
THE conventional wisdom is that the exit of Mr Jyoti Basu will weaken the West Bengal Left Front's drive once again to get back into the seat of power, at the State Assembly elections next year. But there is another view which appears more
persuasive given the complex political situation obtaining in the State. Briefly, it is that the ascent of Mr Buddhadeb Bhattacharyya to the post of Chief Minister will, in fact, help the Front's campaign, more than would have been the case
if the State went to the polls with Mr Basu in the chair.
