Global Agenda articles from May 2005

Global Agenda archives from May 2005

A crisis of compliance.(Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 1968)
May 2, 2005... The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, aimed at averting a nuclear holocaust, is undergoing a month-long review. America is worried about rising non-compliance, with Iran's and North Korea's atomic dabblings of particular concern. Other...

The tragedy of the commons, contd.(fisheries)
May 2, 2005... New talks begin in Canada this week aimed at rescuing the world's fragile fish stocks. The simplest solution is tougher rules limiting fishing--but politicians have a way of caving to fishing lobbies "LET your hook be always cast. In the...

A crisis of compliance.(Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 1968)
May 3, 2005... The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, aimed at averting a nuclear holocaust, is undergoing a month-long review. America is worried about rising non-compliance, with Iran's and North Korea's atomic dabblings of particular concern. Other...

China's old foes seek an end to conflict; China and Taiwan; Lien meets Hu as old foes seek an end to conflict.
May 3, 2005... An historic meeting between the two sides in China's 1926-49 civil war--the mainland's Communist Party and the Taiwan-based Kuomintang--has ended in a pledge to seek a definitive end to hostilities and pursue economic integration. The...

The tragedy of the commons, contd.(international trade of fisheries)
May 3, 2005... Talks are taking place in Canada this week aimed at rescuing the world's fragile fish stocks. The simplest solution is tougher rules limiting fishing--but politicians have a way of caving in to fishing lobbies "LET your hook be always...

The global locomotive loses steam.(global economy)
May 3, 2005... For several years, America--and particularly the American consumer--has been powering global economic growth. Now, however, the locomotive seems to be losing momentum. Estimated GDP growth for the first quarter was a disappointing 3.1%, and...

Still earning after all these years; The Buttonwood column: Berkshire Hathaway; Why the Warren and Charlie Show still draws a crowd.(Berkshire Hathaway Inc.)
May 3, 2005... The legendary investor who stood the efficient-markets thesis on its head has hit a spot of bother. But Warren Buffett has survived such spots before "I'M WARREN. He's Charlie. We work together. We really don't have any choice, because he...

At last, an Iraqi government. Now what? Iraq's new cabinet; At last, a government. Now what?(Ibrahim al-Jaafari)
May 4, 2005... After excruciating delays, Iraq's parliament has approved a cabinet put forward by the new prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari--though a few key jobs are still unfilled. Will Iraq's ruling factions now pull together to overcome the country's...

A crisis of compliance.(nuclear non-proliferation treaty)
May 4, 2005... The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, aimed at averting a nuclear holocaust, is undergoing a month-long review. America is worried about rising non-compliance, with Iran's and North Korea's atomic dabblings of particular concern. Other...

The tragedy of the commons, contd.
May 4, 2005... Talks are taking place in Canada this week aimed at rescuing the world's fragile fish stocks. The simplest solution is tougher rules limiting fishing--but politicians have a way of caving in to fishing lobbies "LET your hook be always...

The global locomotive loses steam.
May 4, 2005... For several years, America--and particularly the American consumer--has been powering global economic growth. Now, however, the locomotive seems to be losing momentum. Estimated GDP growth for the first quarter was a disappointing 3.1%, and...

Blair looks third-time lucky.(Tony Blair)
May 4, 2005... Despite continuing accusations that he lied to the British public over the Iraq war, and some gathering economic clouds, Tony Blair looks set to win a third term of office on Thursday. But how will he handle the big challenges ahead? And how...

Still earning after all these years; The Buttonwood column: Berkshire Hathaway; Why the Warren and Charlie Show still draws a crowd.(Berkshire Hathaway Inc.)(Warren Buffett )
May 4, 2005... The legendary investor who stood the efficient-markets thesis on its head has hit a spot of bother. But Warren Buffett has survived such spots before "I'M WARREN. He's Charlie. We work together. We really don't have any choice, because he...

Progress at last; World trade talks; A breakthrough in Paris revives the Doha round.
May 5, 2005... After months of deadlock, the Doha round of global trade talks has taken a big step forward, thanks largely to an abstruse but important deal over agricultural tariffs JUST as it seemed time to declare the Doha round of world trade talks...

Struggling towards a world of services.(International Business Machines Corp.)
May 5, 2005... Compared with the shocks that rocked IBM in the 1990s, its recent problems look fairly minor. But the computer giant's decision to restructure and shed up to 13,000 workers shows that it fears slipping into a similar hole as it struggles to...

Locust, pocus; German capitalism; Taking aim at the foreign corporate "locusts".
May 5, 2005... Some German politicians want to blame international business and finance, not themselves, for the country's sluggish economy MANY of Germany's roughly 5m unemployed, and thousands of others whose jobs seem daily under threat, have...

Blair makes it three in a row.(Tony Blair of Labour Party (United Kingdom) has won a third term of office)
May 6, 2005... Despite continuing accusations that he lied to the British public over the Iraq war, and some gathering economic clouds, Tony Blair has won a third term of office, albeit with a much-reduced majority. But how will he handle the big challenges...

Two piles of junk?
May 6, 2005... A series of bad news for General Motors and Ford was capped this week with the downgrading to junk status of their bonds by a leading credit-rating agency. With no end in sight to their problems, what will become of the two giant Detroit...

Blair makes it three in a row.(Tony Blair of Labour Party (United Kingdom) wins third term of office)
May 9, 2005... Despite continuing accusations that he lied to the British public over the Iraq war, and some gathering economic clouds, Tony Blair has won a third term of office, albeit with a much-reduced majority. But how will he handle the big challenges...

Still jostling after all these years.
May 9, 2005... The leaders of the powers that fought the second world war met on Monday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Hitler and the start of a new world order. But they are far from united on what the global system should look like now...

Still jostling after all these years; The world 60 years after victory in Europe; The powerful at peace, but still far from united.
May 10, 2005... The leaders of the powers that fought the second world war met on Monday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the defeat of Hitler and the start of a new world order. But they are far from united on what the global system should look like now...

Junk my ride.
May 10, 2005... The downgrade of GM's and Ford's debt to junk status poses various problems for the bond and derivatives markets. But it has a silver lining IT CAN now be revealed: Buttonwood no longer owns a car. With petrol costs high and congestion...

Seifert's stock crumbles; European stock exchanges; Deutsche Borse's bosses succumb to the foreign swarm.(Werner Seifert)
May 10, 2005... It took a group of foreign investors to give Germany a taste of shareholder activism by ousting Werner Seifert as chief executive of Deutsche Borse, the world's largest listed exchange operator. With the tide of capital from abroad rising,...

Junk my ride.
May 11, 2005... The downgrade of GM's and Ford's debt to junk status poses various problems for the bond and derivatives markets. But it has a silver lining IT CAN now be revealed: Buttonwood no longer owns a car. With petrol costs high and congestion...

Something stirs in Cairo; Egypt's political reforms; Another liberal experiment, or a farce?
May 11, 2005... Egypt's rubber-stamp parliament has voted to introduce contested presidential elections--though with restrictions that are likely to bar serious opposition candidates from running. And groups opposed to President Hosni Mubarak and his...

Seeing vessels half empty? Container shipping; Maersk extends its lead as clouds form on the horizon.
May 11, 2005... The advance of globalisation and booming world trade have provided bumper profits for the world's container-ship companies. The biggest, Denmark's AP Moller-Maersk, is using some of the gains to snap up Anglo-Dutch rival P&O Nedlloyd, thus...

Glazer scores at last; An American buys the world's biggest football club; Sowing division at Manchester United.
May 12, 2005... Malcolm Glazer is set to acquire Manchester United, the world's biggest football team by revenue. Fans are aghast that an American wants to load their beloved club with debt in the search for profit. Does Mr Glazer have his tactics right? ...

Glazer scores at last; An American buys the world's biggest football club; Sowing division at Manchester United.
May 13, 2005... Malcolm Glazer has secured a majority stake in Manchester United, the world's biggest football team by revenues, and is set to launch a full bid. Fans are aghast that an American wants to load their beloved club with debt in the search for...

Lamy to the slaughter?
May 13, 2005... Pascal Lamy, the European candidate, has won the race to be the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation. Now he faces the Herculean task of getting the Doha round of talks back on track before protectionist politics derail them...

A fuel pinch; Cutting fuel subsidies in the Middle East; Iran, Jordan and Syria each must cut fuel subsidies.
May 15, 2005... Iran, Jordan and Syria each need to cut fuel subsidies The flip side of the Middle East oil boom has been the exponential rise of the costs that most of the region's governments have faced in subsidising domestic energy demand--which is...

Glazer scores at last; An American buys the world's biggest football club; Sowing division at Manchester United.(Malcolm Glazer)
May 16, 2005... Malcolm Glazer has secured control of Manchester United, the world's biggest football team by revenues. Fans are aghast that an American wants to load their beloved club with debt in the search for profit. Does Mr Glazer have his tactics right?...

Lamy to the slaughter?(Pascal Lamy)
May 16, 2005... Pascal Lamy, the European candidate, has won the race to be the next director-general of the World Trade Organisation. Now he faces the Herculean task of getting the Doha round of talks back on track before protectionist politics derail them...

Karimov cracks down.(Islam Karimov)
May 16, 2005... Soldiers in Uzbekistan are reported to have fired on a crowd, killing perhaps hundreds of people, to quell a revolt against the regime of President Islam Karimov. It seems he will stop at nothing to avoid becoming the next authoritarian leader...

Karimov cracks down.(Islam Karimov)
May 17, 2005... Soldiers in Uzbekistan have opened fire on crowds of protesters, killing hundreds, to quell a revolt against the regime of President Islam Karimov. It seems he will stop at nothing to avoid becoming the next authoritarian leader of a former...

A new conundrum; The Buttonwood column: bond and equity markets; Delinking, or merely redefining their relationship?
May 17, 2005... The upsurge in new financial instruments may be changing the relationship between debt and equity markets in ways that are still hard to fathom BUTTONWOOD has been wrestling with a financial Sudoku of her own this week. It started at a...

Crime and punishment; Khodorkovsky, Yukos and the Kremlin; Guilty, but of what exactly?(Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev to get prison sentence for of fraud, tax evasion, embezzlements)
May 18, 2005... Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a leading Russian oligarch, is likely to receive a lengthy prison sentence for dodgy dealing after a show trial in Moscow. Is this an isolated incident or should Russia's other businessmen and foreign investors fear that...

What do yuant from us? China's currency; Under growing pressure to revalue, Beijing is reluctant to be seen caving in.
May 18, 2005... As protectionist sentiment grows in Europe and America, China faces increasing pressure to revalue its currency. Domestic financial considerations are also making a revaluation look more attractive. But the road to a freer regime for the yuan...

Crime and punishment; Khodorkovsky, Yukos and the Kremlin; Guilty, but of what exactly?(Mikhail Khodorkovsky of OAO NK Yukos to get prison sentences for fraud, tax evasion, and embezzlement )
May 19, 2005... Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a leading Russian oligarch, is likely to receive a lengthy prison sentence for dodgy dealing after a show trial in Moscow. Is this an isolated incident or should Russia's other businessmen and foreign investors fear that...

The economy booms, the trees vanish.(growing deforestation in Amazon, Brazil and government's policies for sustainable forestry)
May 19, 2005... Alarming new figures show that the destruction of the Amazon rainforest--the world's biggest tropical forest--has accelerated. Booming agriculture, especially soya growing, is one of the main culprits IF IT were simply a matter of passing...

The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on; Stem-cell research; South Korea leads the way.
May 19, 2005... The past week saw more progress in the study of human stem cells, bringing closer the day when replacement tissues--and perhaps even entire organs--can be grown in laboratories for patients who need them. But such research remains...

Crime and punishment; Khodorkovsky, Yukos and the Kremlin; Guilty, but of what exactly?(Mikhail Khodorkovsky of OAO NK Yukos to get prison sentence for fraud)
May 20, 2005... Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a leading Russian oligarch, is likely to receive a lengthy prison sentence for dodgy dealing after a show trial in Moscow. Is this an isolated incident or should Russia's other businessmen and foreign investors fear that...

What do yuant from us? China's currency; Under pressure to revalue, Beijing is reluctant to be seen caving in.(revaluating currency)
May 20, 2005... As protectionist sentiment grows in Europe and America, China faces increasing pressure to revalue its currency. Domestic financial considerations are also making a revaluation look more attractive. But the road to a freer regime for the yuan...

Crime and punishment; Khodorkovsky, Yukos and the Kremlin; Guilty, but of what exactly?(Mikhail Khodorkovsky)
May 23, 2005... Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a leading Russian oligarch, is likely to receive a lengthy prison sentence for dodgy dealing after a show trial in Moscow. Is this an isolated incident or should Russia's other businessmen and foreign investors fear that...

European Disunion; The Buttonwood column: markets and the European constitution; Getting the jitters over the French and Dutch referendums.
May 24, 2005... Financial markets are jittery at the prospect that the French--and Dutch--may vote against the European constitution. With reason BUTTONWOOD was a fledgling finance editor in June of 1992 when the Danes said no to Maastricht, a treaty...

Fingers off the nuclear button, for now.(Democrats and Republicans protests)(conservative judges elections)
May 24, 2005... Democrats and Republicans have backed away from a potentially catastrophic clash over judges in America's Senate. A vote to confirm some conservative judges while protecting the liberal minority's rights will keep the peace for a time. But...

We can't go on like this.(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reports economic conditions of Europe and Japan)
May 24, 2005... A new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development slashes growth forecasts for Europe and Japan, and shows that the dangerous imbalances in the global economy continue to widen. But though there are clear policy steps...

European Disunion; The Buttonwood column: markets and the European constitution; Getting the jitters over the French and Dutch referendums.(Column)
May 25, 2005... Financial markets are jittery at the prospect that the French--and Dutch--may vote against the European constitution. With reason BUTTONWOOD was a fledgling finance editor in June of 1992 when the Danes said no to Maastricht, a treaty...

We can't go on like this; OECD economic outlook; The skies darken over Europe and Japan.(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
May 25, 2005... A new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development slashes growth forecasts for Europe and Japan, and shows that the dangerous imbalances in the global economy continue to widen. But though there are clear policy steps...

Preparing to say non and nee.
May 25, 2005... Despite warnings that Europe will descend into crisis if the proposed European Union constitution is not approved, French and Dutch voters look set to reject it in their upcoming referendums THEY have been warned that Europe will be plunged...

Where business meets geopolitics.
May 25, 2005... A vast new pipeline that will bring Caspian oil westwards has opened, at a cost of $4 billion. Western countries see it as important in reducing their reliance on oil from Russia and the Gulf states. Like other pipelines in the region its route...

We can't go on like this; OECD economic outlook; The skies darken over Europe and Japan.(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development)
May 26, 2005... A new report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development slashes growth forecasts for Europe and Japan, and shows that the dangerous imbalances in the global economy continue to widen. But though there are clear policy steps...

Preparing to say non and nee.
May 26, 2005... Despite warnings that Europe will descend into crisis if the proposed European Union constitution is not approved, French and Dutch voters look set to reject it in their upcoming referendums THEY have been warned that Europe will be plunged...

Preparing to say non and nee.
May 27, 2005... Despite warnings that Europe will descend into crisis if the proposed European Union constitution is not approved, French and Dutch voters look set to reject it in their upcoming referendums THEY have been warned that Europe will be plunged...

A big, loud French "non".
May 29, 2005... French voters have rejected the proposed European Union constitution by a decisive margin. The flawed constitution is now probably dead, though the EU will get by without it. For President Jacques Chirac, however, it is a crushing defeat ...

Getting greyer--and poorer too?
May 30, 2005... Populations are ageing, in rich and poor countries alike. This means big trouble for governments, who need to find some way to keep their retirees out of poverty without breaking the budget JUST this morning your correspondent plucked out a...

A big, loud French "non".
May 30, 2005... French voters have rejected the proposed European Union constitution by a decisive margin. The flawed constitution is now probably dead, though the EU will get by without it. For President Jacques Chirac, however, it is a crushing defeat ...

The same old sectarian system--but without the Syrians.
May 30, 2005... Lebanon's first parliamentary elections since Syria relaxed its military grip on the country began at the weekend. Can the Lebanese choose their leaders by merit rather than religious affiliation? Not yet--but quite a lot of them want to start...

A big, loud French "non".(Elections)
May 31, 2005... French voters have rejected the proposed European Union constitution by a decisive margin. The flawed constitution is now probably dead, though the EU will get by without it. For President Jacques Chirac, however, it is a crushing defeat ...

From here to eternity.(bonds)
May 31, 2005... In pushing ultra-long bonds, governments are looking after their own interests more than those of pensioners SOME years ago, Buttonwood was going through an old trunk and came across a letter from her great uncle. With it were enclosed some...

Germany's iron-curtain lady; Germany's next chancellor? Angela Merkel: iron-curtain lady.
May 31, 2005... Angela Merkel has been chosen as the opposition's official candidate for chancellor in Germany's general election, which was brought forward by a year, to September, after Gerhard Schroder's party suffered a humiliating defeat in a key regional...

Chirac makes a risky choice.
May 31, 2005... After French voters' decisive rejection of the proposed European Union constitution, President Jacques Chirac is seeking to assuage popular anger by appointing a new prime minister. But his choice of Dominique de Villepin, an unelected...