Global Agenda articles from November 2004

Global Agenda archives from November 2004

Buttiglione backs out.
November 1, 2004... Rocco Buttiglione, Italy's nominee to the new European Commission, has withdrawn his name after his controversial comments about homosexuality outraged the European Parliament. He may not be the only nominee whom Jose Manuel Barroso, the head...

The final battle begins.
November 1, 2004... The Bush and Kerry campaigns have launched last-minute blitzes, and voters are coming under a barrage of television commercials and get-out-the-vote efforts. With our new poll showing Mr Kerry just three points ahead, the race remains tight ...

Decision day--and still too close to call.
November 2, 2004... George Bush and John Kerry are continuing their frantic campaigning into election day, pulling out all the stops to get their supporters to the polling booths. With our new poll showing Mr Kerry just three points ahead, the race remains tight...

Short haircuts all round.
November 2, 2004... Argentina has unveiled a new offer to the creditors it stopped paying almost three years ago. Will this end the largest sovereign default in history? A HAIRCUT or a scalping? That is what Argentina's disgruntled creditors are asking...

Short haircuts all round.
November 3, 2004... Argentina has unveiled a new offer to the creditors it stopped paying almost three years ago. Will this end the largest sovereign default in history? A HAIRCUT or a scalping? That is what Argentina's disgruntled creditors are asking...

A clear victory this time.
November 3, 2004... John Kerry has admitted defeat in the crucial swing state of Ohio and called George Bush to congratulate him on his re-election as American president. Mr Bush's victory is much more decisive than in 2000. Will the nature of the result change...

Close, but no cigar; The Buttonwood column; The markets after Bush's victory.
November 3, 2004... Same president, same soaring deficits, same market worries? SO THE votes have been mostly counted and George Bush has been elected for a second term as president. No political analyst, Buttonwood leaves the possible socio-political...

Admen advance.
November 3, 2004... To the relief of media groups and ad agencies around the world, advertising revenues seem to be picking up smartly--and not just because of the record sums spent on the American presidential campaign THERE is a spring in the step of media...

Close, but no cigar; The Buttonwood column; The markets after Bush's victory.
November 5, 2004... Same president, same soaring deficits, same market worries? SO THE votes have been mostly counted and George Bush has been elected for a second term as president. No political analyst, Buttonwood leaves the possible socio-political...

Back in commission; The new-look European Commission; Barroso twists and shuffles.
November 5, 2004... After his first set of commissioners was rebuffed by the European Parliament, Jose Manuel Barroso, the head of the next European Commission, has revealed his new line-up STICK, twist or shuffle? It was not obvious how Jose Manuel Barroso,...

The Fallujah gamble begins.
November 8, 2004... American and Iraqi forces have begun their long-awaited operation to recapture Fallujah, despite pleas from the UN secretary-general for them not to do so. Even if they succeed in retaking the rebel stronghold, it may not quell the Iraqi...

America's privilege, the world's worry.( )
November 8, 2004... The dollar plumbed new depths against the euro this week. The greenback's fall has unnerved European policymakers. But it is their Asian counterparts who have most reason to worry CHARLES DE GAULLE, founder of France's fifth republic,...

The Fallujah gamble begins.
November 9, 2004... American and Iraqi forces have begun their long-awaited operation to recapture Fallujah, despite pleas from the UN secretary-general for them not to do so. Even if they succeed in retaking the rebel stronghold, it may not quell the Iraqi...

America's privilege, the world's worry.
November 9, 2004... The dollar plumbed new depths against the euro this week. The greenback's fall has unnerved European policymakers. But it is their Asian counterparts who have most reason to worry CHARLES DE GAULLE, founder of France's fifth republic,...

Down at the dog pound.
November 9, 2004... Why are so many investors prepared to lend to lowly rated companies at dangerously thin rates of interest? WHAT, Buttonwood wonders, is the world's most expensive security? He finds many an investment eminently resistable on account of its...

Down at the dog pound.(Column)
November 10, 2004... Why are so many investors prepared to lend to lowly rated companies at dangerously thin rates of interest? WHAT, Buttonwood wonders, is the world's most expensive security? He finds many an investment eminently resistable on account of its...

A chance for peace, or more conflict?(death of Yasser Arafat)
November 11, 2004... The death of Yasser Arafat was announced on Thursday morning. The veteran Palestinian leader's passing should bring an opportunity to revive the deadlocked Middle East peace process. But no one would be surprised if it were allowed to slip away...

Geeing up 3G; Mobile phones; Geeing up 3G with a roll-out in Europe and Japan.(Vodafone Group PLC)
November 11, 2004... Belatedly and after a huge amount of investment, Vodafone, the world's wireless leader, is rolling out 3G mobile-phone services in Japan and much of Europe. Rivals will be watching closely ESSENTIAL "life tool" or a luxury most people can...

After Ashcroft; George Bush's cabinet; Enter Gonzales, exit Ashcroft and Evans. Will others go too?(John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales, Don Evans)
November 11, 2004... George Bush's second-term cabinet will be without the controversial attorney-general, John Ashcroft, and the secretary of commerce, Don Evans. What do these first changes portend for Mr Bush's next four years? WHEN John Kerry was running...

Winning in Fallujah, losing elsewhere?
November 12, 2004... American forces say they and Iraqi government troops have most of Fallujah's remaining insurgents cornered. But a sharp rise in violence elsewhere in Iraq suggests that even if they succeed in ridding the city of the rebels, it may not quell...

A chance for peace, or more conflict?(Yasser Arafat died)
November 12, 2004... Yasser Arafat has been buried in the West Bank town of Ramallah, after a funeral ceremony in Cairo. His passing should bring an opportunity to revive the deadlocked Middle East peace process. But no one would be surprised if it were allowed to...

After Ashcroft; George Bush's cabinet; Enter Gonzales, exit Ashcroft and Evans. Will others go too?(John Ashcroft, Alberto Gonzales, Don Evans)
November 12, 2004... George Bush's second-term cabinet will be without the controversial attorney-general, John Ashcroft, and the secretary of commerce, Don Evans. What do these first changes portend for Mr Bush's next four years? WHEN John Kerry was running...

Brutal, in every sense; European economies; Vroom, sputter, sputter, bang.
November 12, 2004... Is the European recovery over before it has really begun? THE French, it seems, do not use the word "brutal" in quite the way the English do. Jean-Claude Trichet, the French president of the European Central Bank (ECB), reached for this...

Can Palestinians go from bullets to ballots?
November 15, 2004... Elections are to be held on January 9th for a new president of the Palestinian Authority, following the death of Yasser Arafat. But a shooting incident involving one of the likely candidates, Mahmoud Abbas, is an unpromising start to the...

Farewell to Powell and his doctrine.
November 15, 2004... America's secretary of state, Colin Powell, has become the most high-profile in a number of senior officials to announce that they will not be serving in George Bush's second term. Given that Mr Powell lost numerous battles with the...

Geeing up 3G; Mobile phones; Geeing up 3G with a roll-out in Europe and Japan.
November 16, 2004... Belatedly and after a huge amount of investment, Vodafone, the world's wireless leader, is rolling out 3G mobile-phone services in Japan and much of Europe. Rivals will be watching closely ESSENTIAL "life tool" or a luxury most people can...

Brutal, in every sense; European economies; Vroom, sputter, sputter, bang.
November 16, 2004... Is the European recovery over before it has really begun? THE French, it seems, do not use the word "brutal" in quite the way the English do. Jean-Claude Trichet, the French president of the European Central Bank (ECB), reached for this...

Can Palestinians go from bullets to ballots?
November 16, 2004... Elections are to be held on January 9th for a new president of the Palestinian Authority, following the death of Yasser Arafat. But a shooting incident involving one of the likely candidates, Mahmoud Abbas, is an unpromising start to the...

Bush makes room for Rice.
November 16, 2004... America's secretary of state, Colin Powell, is resigning and will be replaced by one of George Bush's closest confidants, Condoleezza Rice. With this, the administration's most famous malcontent is making way for a fierce loyalist IT IS a...

Searching for an explanation; The Buttonwood column; Internet stocks: Searching for an explanation.
November 16, 2004... Once again, investors are rushing to buy internet stocks. Will they never learn? FIRST, an apology. Last week, in a search for the world's most expensive security, Buttonwood suggested that technology stocks, though decidedly pricey, were...

Bush makes room for Rice; George Bush's cabinet; Making room for Rice.(Condoleezza Rice)
November 17, 2004... America's secretary of state, Colin Powell, is resigning and will be replaced by one of George Bush's closest confidants, Condoleezza Rice. With this, the administration's most famous malcontent is making way for a fierce loyalist IT IS a...

Merger at the mall.
November 17, 2004... Kmart and Sears Roebuck, two of America's biggest retailers, are planning to merge. In doing so, they are contributing to the changes sweeping the country's shopping malls. But the industry giant, Wal-Mart, remains in the driving seat WHEN...

Can Palestinians go from bullets to ballots?
November 18, 2004... Elections are to be held on January 9th for a new president of the Palestinian Authority, following the death of Yasser Arafat. But a shooting incident involving one of the likely candidates, Mahmoud Abbas, is an unpromising start to the...

Currency conundrums.
November 18, 2004... Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 meet on Friday, against the backdrop of a weakening dollar and a move into Asian currencies. Can they do anything to assuage the world's exchange-rate angst? WHEN the ringmasters of the...

Merger at the mall; Kmart and Sears merge; America's shopping-mall revolution.
November 18, 2004... Kmart and Sears Roebuck, two of America's biggest retailers, are planning to merge. In doing so, they are contributing to the changes sweeping the country's shopping malls. But the industry giant, Wal-Mart, remains in the driving seat WHEN...

At last, President Yushchenko.(Victor Yushchenko)
November 18, 2004... With the victory of Ukraine's opposition leader, Victor Yushchenko, in the re-run presidential election, the country's political crisis is almost over. Now for the hard part WAS it a revolution? For some hard-to-impress observers, Victor...

Currency conundrums.(Group of 20)
November 19, 2004... Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 meet on Friday, against the backdrop of a weakening dollar and a move into Asian currencies. Can they do anything to assuage the world's exchange-rate angst? WHEN the ringmasters of the...

Two Viktors, only one victor.
November 19, 2004... The final round of Ukraine's presidential election, to be held on Sunday, is officially neck-and-neck between the two candidates--one proposing integration with western Europe, the other seeking to stay close to Moscow. The outcome will be...

The government signals the end-game.
November 19, 2004... The Russian government has set a date to auction off Yukos's main subsidiary and plans to take the proceeds to cover taxes it claims the oil company owes. A break-up of the company is therefore in sight--if not yet an end to the messy and...

Currency conundrums.(Group of 20)
November 22, 2004... Finance ministers and central bankers from the G20 met on Friday, against the backdrop of a weakening dollar and a move into Asian currencies. They are struggling to assuage the world's exchange-rate angst WHEN the ringmasters of the world...

Rays of light amid the gloom.
November 22, 2004... Iraq has set a date for its elections, and a group of rich countries have agreed to forgive 80% of its debts to them. But the country's chances of achieving a viable government remain at serious risk from the continuing insurgency AS AN...

A highly dubious result.
November 22, 2004... A huge protest has gathered in Ukraine's capital amid signs that the expected winner of its presidential election, Viktor Yushchenko, was robbed of victory by ballot fraud. Will the authorities crush the protest or is a revolution--of the...

Rays of light amid the gloom.
November 23, 2004... Iraq has set a date for its elections, and a group of rich countries have agreed to forgive 80% of its debts to them. But the country's chances of achieving a viable government remain at serious risk from the continuing insurgency AS AN...

The dollar's demise.
November 23, 2004... Is the dollar's role as the world's reserve currency drawing to a close? WHO believes in a strong dollar? Robert Rubin, Bill Clinton's treasury secretary, most certainly did. John Snow, his successor but two, says he does but nobody...

Huge protests over a "stolen" election.
November 23, 2004... Up to 200,000 Ukrainians have protested outside an emergency session of their parliament, at which the expected winner of the country's presidential election, Viktor Yushchenko, said he was robbed of victory by ballot fraud. The country is now...

Europe's new divisions.
November 24, 2004... Russia and the European Union will spend much of the next few years sparring over the countries that lie between them--and much else besides LEADERS from the European Union and Russia will come together for a summit in The Hague on Thursday...

Is Ukraine set for conflict or compromise?
November 24, 2004... Supporters of Viktor Yushchenko, Ukraine's opposition presidential candidate, have continued to protest against alleged fraud in Sunday's election. But the country's electoral commission has declared the official candidate, Viktor Yanukovich,...

The government signals the end-game.
November 25, 2004... The Russian government has set a date to auction off Yukos's main subsidiary and plans to take the proceeds to cover taxes it claims the oil company owes. A break-up of the company is therefore in sight--if not yet an end to the messy and...

Europe's new divisions.
November 25, 2004... Russia and the European Union will spend much of the next few years sparring over the countries that lie between them--and much else besides LEADERS from the European Union and Russia came together for a summit in The Hague on Thursday...

A court freeze on a contested election; Ukraine's political crisis; A court freeze on Ukraine's contested election.
November 25, 2004... As huge protests continue in Ukraine, the country's supreme court has suspended the publication of official results from Sunday's presidential vote while it judges claims by the opposition candidate, Viktor Yushchenko, that widespread ballot...

Et voila; Airbus and Boeing; Anything you can do, we can do better.
November 25, 2004... Airbus is to unveil three new planes. Its battle with Boeing has never been more intense IT IS always the way with Airbuses: you wait for years, and then three come along at once. In January, the European aircraft manufacturer will roll...

The government signals the end-game.
November 26, 2004... The Russian government has set a date to auction off Yukos's main subsidiary and plans to take the proceeds to cover taxes it claims the oil company owes. A break-up of the company is therefore in sight--if not yet an end to the messy and...

Election results frozen, talks begin.
November 26, 2004... Ahead of Ukraine's supreme court ruling on the country's bitterly contested presidential elections, the two rival candidates have been called to talks with international mediators ON FRIDAY November 26th, as huge protests over Ukraine's...

Looking for a way out; Japan's economy; Looking for a way out of the deflationary doldrums.
November 26, 2004... A spike in food prices brought inflation back to Japan last month for the first time in five years. Is the era of falling prices, so damaging to the economy, almost at an end? TO BUY a lettuce in Japan last month, customers had to part with...

Looking for a way out; Japan's economy; Looking for a way out of the deflationary doldrums.
November 29, 2004... A spike in food prices brought inflation back to Japan last month for the first time in five years. Is the era of falling prices, so damaging to the economy, almost at an end? TO BUY a lettuce in Japan last month, customers had to part with...

Growing pressure for a fresh vote.
November 29, 2004... As Ukraine's supreme court begins hearing the opposition's accusations of widespread fraud in the presidential election, pressure is growing for a new vote to be held--this time, a clean one THOUSANDS of supporters of Ukraine's rival...

The changing of the guard; Old France, new France; Sarkozy, Chirac and the battle of ideas.
November 29, 2004... As Nicolas Sarkozy takes over Jacques Chirac's party, it signals the beginning of a battle of ideas over the future of France IN THE summer of 1975, at a party congress in Nice, an energetic and ambitious young French centre-right prime...

Growing pressure for a fresh vote.(Ukraine Supreme Court)
November 30, 2004... As Ukraine's supreme court hears the opposition's accusations of widespread fraud in the presidential election, pressure is growing for a new vote to be held--this time, a clean one UKRAINE'S supreme court continued to hear allegations of...

A clouded outlook.
November 30, 2004... Rising oil prices have dimmed the world economy's prospects, the OECD says in its latest economic outlook. But it is hard to put numbers on some of the biggest worries for the world economy EACH year, the 30 relatively wealthy nations of...

All that glisters; The Buttonwood column; What's behind the high price of gold?
November 30, 2004... Is the rise in the price of gold merely the flipside of the dollar's fall? Or does it point more broadly to a loss of faith in central bankers' promises? ALAS, the nearest that Buttonwood gets to visiting jewellery shops these days is a...

Et voila; Airbus and Boeing; Anything you can do, we can do better.
November 30, 2004... Airbus is to unveil three new planes. Its battle with Boeing has never been more intense IT IS always the way with Airbuses: you wait for years, and then three come along at once. In January, the European aircraft manufacturer will roll...