Global Agenda articles from November 2003

Global Agenda archives from November 2003

The exotic doctor calls it a day; Mahathir steps down; Malaysia at a crossroads.
November 3, 2003... Malaysia has a new leader after 22 years of the exotic Mahathir Mohamad. How will the largely unknown Abdullah Badawi cope? ON Saturday November 1st, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over the running of one of the most successful countries in...

Mutual recriminations; Mutual-fund scandals; Spitzer's latest crusade.(Eliot L. Spitzer's investigations in to mutual fund scandal)
November 4, 2003... The rapidly widening probe into the mutual-fund industry's practices in America is likely to result in big changes to the way money is managed UNTIL this summer, most of the anger generated by three years of falling share prices was...

Pennies on a volcano.(analysis of securities industry)(Column)
November 4, 2003... A corporate-bond primer, for investors big and small EVER willing to confess his limitations, a thought struck Buttonwood recently as he was chatting to a former colleague. Too often, he writes for institutions rather than individuals. Not,...

Today Putnam, tomorrow the rest; Mutual funds; The regulators' new whipping boys.(attorney general Eliot L. Spitzer's investigations in to mutual funds scandal)
November 4, 2003... The chief executive of one of America's biggest fund managers has lost his job following a regulatory probe and the filing of charges. Now regulators and politicians are out to get the rest of the industry AS THE big Wall Street investment...

The crisis rumbles on; Russia's oligarch wars; The Kremlin splits over Yukos.
November 5, 2003... The crisis that has followed the arrest of Russia's richest man and the seizure of his stake in Yukos, an oil giant, shows no sign of going away. The Kremlin is split and investors remain nervous A WEEK and a half after it erupted, the...

Dimming the prospects for peace; Sri Lanka; A war within a war.
November 5, 2003... Political conflict between Sri Lanka's president and prime minister risks wrecking the best chance so far of resolving the 20-year civil war with Tamil separatists SINCE the Tamil Tigers launched their vicious terrorist campaign for an...

Only a start.(Afghanistan's constitution)
November 6, 2003... Afghanistan has unveiled a draft constitution. But even if the document is approved and President Hamid Karzai wins next year's elections, the country's problems will be far from over DRAFTING a country's constitution is no easy task....

That awful Vietnam comparison.(results of military operations)
November 6, 2003... This week's bold assaults on American forces, including mortars fired at coalition headquarters in Baghdad, are sending shudders through Americans back home. Could Iraq become President George Bush's political Achilles heel? "I'M TIRED of...

Reed's rejig; The New York Stock Exchange; Scaling down the Big Board.
November 6, 2003... Governance of the New York Stock Exchange is to change dramatically under plans unveiled by its interim boss, John Reed. But his proposal that the exchange keep its regulatory role will disappoint many JOHN REED, the interim chairman and...

Playing different games; World interest rates; The cycle turns but the Fed's not for following.
November 6, 2003... The world economy is picking up. Will interest rates follow? THE Australians are a competitive lot. Their cricketers reign supreme and their rugby players are currently vying to win the World Cup. Australia's central bankers are no slouches...

Big Brother is still watching.(European Union membership)
November 6, 2003... Six months before they are due to join the European Union, prospective members get their knuckles rapped IF THE ten countries due to join the European Union in May 2004 thought it was all over when they signed their accession treaties last...

Playing different games; World interest rates; The cycle turns but the Fed's not for following.
November 7, 2003... The world economy is picking up. American firms are hiring again. But Alan Greenspan is still sitting on his hands THE Australians are a competitive lot. Their cricketers reign supreme and their rugby players are currently vying to win the...

A fair fight, at last.(election in Japan)
November 7, 2003... However the voting goes in Japan this Sunday, the general election has been a step forward CHANGE the government, change Japan. That simple choice, at long last, will be open to Japanese voters as they head to the polls on Sunday November...

A bold vision for the Middle East; George Bush's Middle East vision; Good luck.(President George W. Bush's foreign policy)
November 7, 2003... President George Bush has laid out an ambitious vision for a free and democratic Middle East. But with America still struggling to bring order to Iraq, success will not come easily TWENTY years from now, will President George Bush be seen...

Election won, civil war resumed; Japan's general election; Koizumi's flawed victory.
November 10, 2003... The ruling coalition won Japan's general election on Sunday, but the opposition's strong showing will soon have the prime minister and his party back at each other's throats JUDGING by the photographs, it was a stunning victory for the...

A bloodied kingdom.(terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia)
November 11, 2003... The latest terrorist attacks in Saudi Arabia have left at least 17 people dead, most of them Arabs from neighbouring countries. The perpetrators seem intent on bringing down the kingdom IN President George Bush's view, Iraq is the "central...

Cold steel; Trade politics; Transatlantic tussles, contd.(European Union's retaliation against America's illegal steel tariffs)
November 11, 2003... After a World Trade Organisation ruling in its favour, the European Union is set to retaliate against America's illegal steel tariffs. The transatlantic dispute over export subsidies is also coming to a head FLAT-ROLLED, hot-rolled or...

A tale of two Citis.(Citigroup Inc. )
November 11, 2003... American banks are making lots of money. Japanese banks aren't. Even so, it may be time to sell Citigroup and buy Mizuho IN A previous life, John Reed, who is now being paid a dollar (and huge dollops of Schadenfreude) to sort out the mess...

Dangerous dabbling; Iran's nuclear programme; Coming clean, up to a point.
November 12, 2003... Iran has moved closer to admitting--and perhaps abandoning--all its experiments with fissile materials. But there is still a long way to go before the world can be sure it is not trying to make nuclear bombs IT WAS, said the head of the...

Cold steel; Trade politics; Transatlantic tussles, contd.(European Union's retaliation against America's illegal steel tariffs)
November 13, 2003... After a World Trade Organisation ruling in its favour, the European Union is set to retaliate against America's illegal steel tariffs. The transatlantic dispute over export subsidies is also coming to a head FLAT-ROLLED, hot-rolled or...

Dangerous dabbling; Iran's nuclear programme; Coming clean, up to a point.
November 13, 2003... Iran has moved closer to admitting--and perhaps abandoning--all its experiments with fissile materials. But there is still a long way to go before the world can be sure it is not trying to make nuclear bombs IT WAS, said the head of the...

Fanning the flames of liberty.(political aspirations of the people of Middle East)
November 13, 2003... The "third wave of democratisation", which has been sweeping the world since the 1970s, has yet to reach swathes of East and Central Asia, North Africa and the Middle East, where billions still suffer under repressive regimes. Is this about to...

Speeding up Iraqification.(political aspects )
November 14, 2003... After another grim week in Iraq, Paul Bremer returns to Baghdad determined to hasten the transition to Iraqi sovereignty THE rosy hue that the White House has been painting on America's occupation of Iraq is slowly fading. This week Paul...

A prettier picture.(art market forecasts)
November 14, 2003... The art market seems to be recovering, but Christie's and Sotheby's still have reasons to worry CHRISTIE'S and Sotheby's, the two auction houses that dominate fine-art sales on both sides of the Atlantic, are beginning to be more confident...

A tale of two Citis.(banking industry acquisitions)(Column)
November 17, 2003... American banks are making lots of money. Japanese banks aren't. Even so, it may be time to sell Citigroup and buy Mizuho IN A previous life, John Reed, who is now being paid a dollar (and huge dollops of Schadenfreude) to sort out the mess...

Another crash, and a crackdown.(efforts to root out Iraqi militants)
November 17, 2003... Following another deadly helicopter crash, American troops have redoubled their efforts to root out Iraqi militants. America will hand back sovereignty to an interim national assembly, with representatives from all Iraq's provinces, by June ...

An industry littered with casualties; St Paul merges with Travelers; Is property-casualty insurance turning a corner?
November 18, 2003... The merger of St Paul and Travelers has been hailed by some as the start of long-awaited consolidation in America's property-casualty insurance industry. Don't bet on it THE property-casualty insurance industry (also known as "general"--as...

Lands of the cautiously rising sun.
November 19, 2003... Is Germany's economy following the path of Japan's? Until recently that prospect brought fear. Now it brings a glimmer of hope GERMANY has spent the past year or so hoping to avoid becoming the next Japan. Disappointing growth, dilatory...

Everyone's making money except the customers.(mutual fund scandal)
November 20, 2003... The mutual-funds scandal is merely the latest in a long line of embarrassments that have eroded trust in America's financial intermediaries. The small investor has every reason to feel aggrieved THE road from house prices in Chiswick to the...

An awkward guest.(American president George W. Bush visits United Kingdom)
November 20, 2003... As George Bush begins a state visit to Britain, tens of thousands of protesters get ready to march. They are likely to do more damage to Tony Blair than to his American friend LONDON has seen plenty of drama over the centuries, but this...

Terror where east meets west.(bombimg of diplomatic buildings in Turkey)
November 20, 2003... Explosions have wrecked the British consulate and a bank in Istanbul, following blasts at two synagogues in the city last week. Suspicion falls once again on al-Qaeda IT HAS been a deadly week for Turkey. On Thursday November 20th, a bomb...

An awkward guest.
November 21, 2003... Tens of thousands of Britons have marched to protest against George Bush's state visit. But the president has come away largely unscathed LONDON has seen plenty of drama over the centuries, but this week's events will surely earn a...

Fed up with protectionism; The American economy; Protectionism and the deficit.
November 21, 2003... The current-account deficit is benign, says Alan Greenspan, but protectionism is dangerous. America's garment makers do not agree. Its European creditors may be having second thoughts too THE United States spends over $500 billion more each...

A taste for democracy; Hong Kong elections; A signal to Beijing.
November 24, 2003... Democrats' strong showing in Hong Kong's local elections sends a signal to Beijing ONCE again the Chinese government is facing a rousing call for more democracy from its most troublesome territory, Hong Kong. On Sunday November 23rd,...

Ghosts from the past; The Balkans; Return of the nationalists.(Yugoslavia peace talks)
November 25, 2003... A revival of hardline nationalism in the former Yugoslavia may hamper the Balkans' progress to lasting peace and prosperity. The UN's war-crimes trials are only complicating matters AFTER the collapse of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, and...

Terror where east meets west; The Istanbul bombings; Terror on the edge of Europe.
November 25, 2003... Suicide bombers linked to al-Qaeda have attacked two British targets in Istanbul, killing Britain's senior diplomat in the city and at least 26 others. The blasts came within a week of bombs at two synagogues in the city, raising Turkish fears...

The riddle of the bonds.(economic analysis)
November 25, 2003... The American economy's third-quarter growth has been revised up to a dizzying 8.2% on an annual basis. But do bond investors believe in the Bush Boom? AS A young bond trader, Buttonwood was given two pieces of advice, trading rules of...

One last chance.(International Atomic Energy Agency's regulation for nuclear research in Iran)(United Nations)
November 26, 2003... European governments have persuaded America not to have Iran dragged before the UN Security Council over its suspicious nuclear experiments. But Iran has been told it had better keep its promise to mend its ways AFTER struggling for...

Georgia's velvet revolution.(President Edward Shevardnadze forced to step down due to political revolution)
November 26, 2003... A peaceful revolution in Georgia has forced Edward Shevardnadze to step down as president, just three weeks after his party's "victory" in a rigged election. What had looked like a grave crisis may have ended up as a triumph for democracy ...

On the defensive; Turbulence at Boeing; CFO ejected, more trouble ahead.(chief financial officer Mike Sears of Boeing Co.)
November 26, 2003... Boeing has sacked its chief financial officer and a former US Air Force official for improper dealings over contracts for military aircraft. This comes as the aircraft-maker faces a probe into industrial espionage and trouble across its range...

Unpicking the fiscal straitjacket.(the European Union is forced to rethink fiscal policy in the face of German and French budget deficits)
November 27, 2003... France and Germany have escaped punishment under the stability pact for their big budget deficits. The pact itself may not escape a long-awaited demise NEVER has a straitjacket seemed so ill-fitting or so insecure. The euro area's...

One last chance.
November 28, 2003... European governments have persuaded America not to have Iran dragged before the UN Security Council over its suspicious nuclear experiments. But Iran has been told it had better keep its promise to mend its ways AFTER struggling for...