Asia Times - Global Economy

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href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801210521/http://www.habanostrading.com/" target="_blank"> </a> </tr> <tr> <td width="64%" valign="top">Global Economy</td> <td width="36%"> <table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td height="51" align="middle" valign="center"> <div align="right"> <script language="javascript"> function showDate(){ var monthArray=["Jan", "Feb", "Mar", "Apr", "May", "Jun", "Jul", "Aug", "Sep", "Oct", "Nov", "Dec"] var days=["Sunday", "Monday", "Tuesday", "Wednesday", "Thursday", "Friday", "Saturday"] var d=new Date(); var month=d.getMonth() var day=d.getDate() var year=d.getYear() // document.write("Today is " + days[d.getDay()] + " ") document.write(monthArray[month]) document.write(" ") document.write(day) document.write(", ") if(d.getYear()<2000){document.write(year+1900)} if(d.getYear()>2000){document.write(year)} } </script> <script language="javascript">showDate()</script> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table width="100%" border="0" align="left" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="65%" valign="top"> <table width="406" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td width="406"> <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EG31Dj01.html ">Globalization challenges Asian languages</a> Although English is an imported language, more people speak English in linguistically rich Asia than anywhere else in the world. Is the language of globalization merely a destroyer of small languages, or a key to smaller linguistic groups' prosperity and survival? (Jul 30, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EG29Dj01.html">World's trigger-happy population keeps growing</a> The world is awash in small arms, according to a new edition of a study showing that while the US now has almost one gun for every person, some surprising areas are arming themselves fast.- David Isenberg (Jul 28, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EG25Dj02.html">AIDS' devastating economic impact </a>Two new studies, one global and one focusing on Asia, have found that the economic impact of AIDS is far more damaging than economists previously thought. - John Berthelsen (Jul 24, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EG25Dj01.html">EU's sugar subsidies in a jam</a> Three of the world's five biggest sugar producers are in a trade battle with the European Union over the EU's complicated internal agricultural support programs, which are carrying expensive producers. (Jul 24, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EG23Dj01.html">Overseas labor: mother's milk for poor nations</a> While stories of overseas worker exploitation abound, the money millions of them send home is a development bonanza for the countries they emigrate from. - John Berthelsen (Jul 22, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/EG15Dk01.html ">Asia fills her boots: dollar reserves skyrocket</a> Asia's central banks are continuing to amass huge trade surpluses, now holding 70 percent of the world's dollar reserves despite US attempts to talk the dollar down. Is this a danger to the global economy? - John Berthelsen (Jul 14, '03) BOOK REVIEW <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EG12Dj01.html ">Doing a number on the investing public</a> The Number: How the Drive for Quarterly Earnings Corrupted Wall Street and Corporate America, by Alex Berenson Obeisance to quarterly earnings was just one facet of the rampant dishonesty on Wall Street that has led to the loss of billions of dollars by investors since 2000, according to this book, which tells the story of how small lies ultimately led to mammoth deception by accountants, brokers, bankers and corporate titans. - Gary LaMoshi (Jul 11, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/EG12Dk01.html">The 'freest economies in the world'</a> While Singapore and Hong Kong have been called the two freest economies on Earth, that appears to extend only to the two territories' shores. Inland, reality is considerably different. - John Berthelsen (Jul 11, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/EG10Dk01.html">HK, Singapore, top 'economic freedom' index </a>Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States rank first, second and third, respectively, in the latest edition of the Economic Freedom of the World annual report by the Cato Institute and more than 50 other libertarian think tanks around the world. Myanmar is dead last. - Jim Lobe (Jul 9, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/EG08Dk01.html ">EU subsidy reform gets feeble cheers in Asia</a> The much-touted reform of the European Union's Common Agriculture Policy has left many Asian farmers - whose products are made less competitive by huge EU subsidies - saying that for change to be meaningful the EU needs to go whole hog. (Jul 7, '03) BANKING BUNKUM <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Japan/EF28Dh02.html">Part 4c: More on the Japanese experience</a> Since the Central Bank Law came into effect in April 1998, the Bank of Japan has been struggling to revive the country's economy, stagnant now for more than a decade. The BOJ has failed because it cannot treat the disease, but can only mask the symptoms temporarily. It's just more evidence for Henry C K Liu as he continues to make his case against central banking. (Jun 27, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/EF27Dk01.html ">Asia weathers semiconductor slowdown</a> Despite a slipping growth forecast for semiconductors, Asia is experiencing positive trends - it is one of the main regions propping up growth and it still leads in the consumer-electronics boom - as it eyes a greater role in the industry. - Tony Sitathan (Jun 26, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF27Dj01.html ">The business of $AR$</a> While areas affected by severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak are breathing a bit easier as the outbreak wanes, the frenzy over patent rights for the SARS genome and the commercial potential of a cure has just begun. (Jun 26, '03) SPEAKING FREELY <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF26Dj01.html">Draft EU constitution comes up short</a> The convention for a new European Union constitution has finished its work and sent a draft proposal to the member governments, which will deal with it at a conference in October. Political scientist Gregers Friisberg argues that this document, if adopted, will fail to make the EU better able to face the problems of globalization. (Jun 25, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF25Dj01.html ">Capitalism's mistress: Private banking</a> Calls for corporate transparency and accountability are standard fare these days. However, these concepts run counter to how much of today's capitalism is financed. Phar Kim Beng argues that the "don't ask, don't tell" policies of banks in places such as Switzerland and the Cayman Islands aren't changing any time soon. (Jun 24, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/EF24Dk01.html ">The battle over GMOs</a> European and Asian import restrictions on genetically modified organisms are costing the United States huge potential profits from GM food. The US will make its case before the World Trade Organization, and the repercussions of that ruling will be felt around the world. - Alan Boyd (Jun 23, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF21Dj01.html">New leadership traits seek brains over buzz</a> Portfolio managers and analysts worldwide want chief executive officers and board members to operate under a new set of principles that emphasize brain power over sound bites, according to a new survey. And despite recent scandals, US investors remain more likely to trust corporate information than their global counterparts. (Jun 20, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF19Dj02.html ">US fuels boom in global military spending</a> A recently released report states that the "war on terrorism" has triggered a dramatic increase in US military spending, which was up to US$335.7 billion last year - and that the rest of the world is not prepared, or cannot afford, to compete with the US. (Jun 18, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF19Dj01.html ">World tourism on the road to recovery</a> There is finally some good news for the world tourism industry, which was hit hard by the "war on terrorism" and severe acute respiratory syndrome, as international tourist arrivals exceeded the 700 million mark last year - leaving many optimistic for 2003. (Jun 18, '03) SPEAKING FREELY <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF17Dj01.html ">Euros of mass destruction </a>In 2000, Iraq cashed in its dollars for euros, then priced at just 80 cents each. They're worth quite a bit more now, so it was a smart move - or would have been, if the United States had not seized the country. However, the euro's strength is a fact not lost on other oil-rich states.  - Tony Henderson (Jun 16, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF14Dj01.html">Internet journalism's potential grows </a> Online news publishers' ad revenues leapt 40 percent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2003 as advertisers and readers increasingly turned to the Internet for their journalism needs. The rising ad revenues continue a strong new trend, with profound implications for the reporters and editors who dish up the world's daily news. In a few decades, readers appear ever more likely to get their news from the Internet, at the expense of the pencil press. - John Berthelsen (Jun 13, '03) A NEW WORLD ORDER <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF13Dj01.html">Part 2: Europe's 3D vision </a> As the United States continues down its unilateral path, its leaders could bear in mind that most European nations have won - and lost - empires of varying forms, and that "old Europe", rather than being dismissable, might have some important lessons to pass on. - Pepe Escobar (Jun 12, '03) A NEW WORLD ORDER  <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF12Dj02.html">Part 1: The South strikes back</a> The new grouping formed by India, Brazil and South Africa is a bold attempt to leverage some bargaining power for developing countries against the United States and the European Union in redressing the imbalances of globalization. Rescuing the "damned of the Earth" from poverty, though, will involve sacrifices, writes Pepe Escobar in the first article of a two-part report. (Jun 11, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF12Dj01.html">Smith & Wesson booms again</a> After a British conglomerate nearly shot down the respected maker of some of America's most famous handguns, including Dirty Harry's, Smith & Wesson has battled its way back to financial health. Once Tomkins Plc bailed out, the key was surrendering to America's gun owners - and a trick learned long ago by tobacco manufacturers: licensed usage of a powerful brand name on T-shirts, watches, steak sauce, and even cops' bicycles. - John Berthelsen (Jun 11, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF11Dj01.html ">The free trade charade</a> Developed nations tout the merits of free international trade - although most engage in providing huge subsidies to their agricultural sectors. Marco Garrido examines how these subsidies spell doom for developing countries, and how this betrayal has put the Doha Round of trade negotiations into jeopardy. (Jun 10, '03) THE ROVING EYE <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF04Dj02.html ">That Bush-Chirac handshake</a> A bit stiff maybe, but presidents George W Bush and Jacques Chirac managed to put on an acceptable show for the cameras at the Group of Eight meeting in Evian in an attempt to show the world they have put the US-French divide over Iraq behind them. Pity about the real business of the gathering, though. - Pepe Escobar (Jun 3, '03)    <img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801210521im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EF04Dj01.html "> Little sparkle at Evian</a> BANKING BUNKUM <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/EE31Dk01.html ">Part 4b: The Japanese experience</a> The rapid change in global economics to a system driven by US dollar hegemony caught Japan, with its long-standing policy of a high-export regime and large trade surpluses, wrong-footed. The result has been a long period of economic stagnation. But, Henry C K Liu notes in this installment of his case against central banking, a new factor has entered the equation: a growing symbiosis between the Japanese and Chinese economies. (May 30, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EE31Dj02.html ">G8 focus on debt relief and arms control</a> The non-proliferation proposals that French President Jacques Chirac will put on the table at the meeting of the G8 in Evian this weekend will no doubt merit international attention, while the US has had an interesting change of heart with regard to debt relief, given its adventures in Iraq. (May 30, '03)  BOOK REVIEW <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/EE31Ad02.html ">The art of investment</a> Sun Tzu on Investing by Curtis J Montgomery It is hard to find anything new to tell equity investors, especially after the dot-com bubble burst. But a recent book that uses the insights of ancient Chinese General Sun Tzu just might have something that fits the bill. - Gary LaMoshi (May 30, '03) COMMENT <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EE31Dj01.html">The real story about free trade and jobs</a> Last week, financial analyst Lou Dobbs of CNN ran a series of shows in which he blamed free trade for America's poor economy and related problems. In this article, trade expert Dan Griswold debunks Dobbs's myths and shows how free trade has helped workers in America and abroad. (May 30, '03) THE ROVING EYE <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EE30Dj02.html">What is the G8 good for?</a> The official main theme of the G8's meeting this weekend will be how to revitalize the sputtering world economy. But if the group is to have any relevance for the wider world, the big powers must decide to open their markets to the agricultural products of developing countries. Or perhaps have a word with Brazilian President Luis Ignacio Lula da Silva. - Pepe Escobar (May 29, '03)    <img hspace="0" src="/web/20030801210521im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/arrow.gif" border="0"><a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EE30Dj01.html">Look what's not on the menu</a> THE ROVING EYE <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EE29Dj02.html ">G8 behind the barricades</a> <img hspace="2" src="/web/20030801210521im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/images/evian-small.gif" align="left" vspace="2" border="0">In overwhelmingly anti-war Europe, the usually placid shores of Lake Geneva bristle with police, helicopters, surveillance planes, fighter jets, even submarines in preparation for the Group of Eight summit in Evian, France. This is preventive war against "troublemakers" - primarily those who question the right of the privileged to call the shots for the rest of us. - Pepe Escobar (May 28, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EE23Dj01.html"> Sliding greenback highlights trade deficit</a> As the US dollar continues its steep glissade against the euro, the mercantilist Asian currencies are tracking the greenback and adding to strains on the global financial system. The Asian countries are fattening their currency reserves and trade balances at the expense of the rest of the world and eventually the world is going to have to pay the price. - John Berthelsen (May 22, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/EE10Ad03.html ">China to enjoy Evian with the big boys</a> A new world order is emerging in which the United Nations is irrelevant. What matters is not diplomacy but economics. Hence the rise of the Group of Eight as the locus of decision-making. China, once a champion of the UN, knows where the deals will be made in the future - starting with next month's summit in Evian, France. - Francesco Sisci (May 9, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EE02Dj01.html">GPS, Galileo and the China factor </a>The overwhelming dominance of the US is not confined to the Earth itself, but reaches out into space. Many Europeans would like to regain some of that control with Galileo, a satellite system that would rival the United States' Global Positioning System. Galileo has its drawbacks, however, not least of which is its estimated cost: US$3 billion. Enter the Chinese. - John Berthelsen (May 1, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Korea/ED29Dg01.html ">North Korea: Hand in the cookie jar</a> The interception of a US$48 million heroin shipment in Australia may shed light on Pyongyang's complicity in the drug and arms trade as well as give Washington an unexpected diplomatic lever as it acts to neutralize North Korea's weapons of mass destruction. - Alan Boyd (Apr 28, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/ED12Dj01.html"> Internet hacks: Web news cashes in</a> <img align="left" border="0" hspace="3" src="/web/20030801210521im_/http://www.atimes.com/atimes//images/tech.gif" vspace="3"> After the bubble years in which Internet publications burned through a phenomenal amount of other people's money, web journalism is starting to take off. It may hold ominous implications for newspapers globally, but it could well save journalism itself. - John Berthelsen (Apr 11, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/ED08Dj01.html ">The real battlefield </a>The soaring rockets, shattering bombs, death and destruction in Iraq may look impressive on television, but it is after all a conventional war that will end eventually. Meanwhile, the real war dominating our age of globalization has not let up, as evidenced by the salvos fired against each other (and many other countries) by recent Japanese and US reports on international trade shortcomings. - Jayanthi Iyengar (Apr 7, '03) COMMENTARY <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/ED05Ak01.html">The war that may end the age of superpower </a>The Iraq war will end from its own inevitable evolution. And it will not be a happy end. There is yet no discernible exit strategy for the US. After this war, the world will have no superpower, albeit the US will remain strong both economically and militarily. But the US will be forced to learn to be much more cautious, and more realistic, about its ability to impose its will on other nations through overwhelming force. - Henry C K Liu (Apr 4, '03)     BOOK REVIEW <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/ED05Dj02.html ">Economic doomsday</a> The Dollar Crisis: Causes, Consequences, Cures by Richard Duncan Postulating that the US economy is on the verge of collapse, and the whole world is going down with it, a new book offers an unabashedly alarmist view of the imminent unraveling of the global economy - an outcome the author argues has now become unavoidable. - David Peters (Apr 4, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EC20Ak01.html"> OPEC prevails in the short term </a>OPEC's commitment to not increase output has helped calm the market, but in the aftermath of war in Iraq, neighboring countries could be dragged into crises, conflicts and instability with long-term restrictive effects on their oil exports, and consequently on the global price of oil. - Hooman Peimani (Mar 19, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/EC15Dk01.html">Asia's consumer revolution gets serious </a> Asia is now at a unique confluence of circumstances that has been developing for more than a decade. The result is a consumer revolution that promises to propel world trade and industry for a generation. - John Berthelsen (Mar 14, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EC05Dj01.html ">CalPERS plays with investment fire</a> The California Public Employees Retirement System has changed its investment standards for emerging economies. Gary LaMoshi examines the controversial criteria as the pension fund takes a step away from the pursuit of returns toward becoming a global nanny - with CalPERS investors footing the bill. (Mar 4, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EB25Dj01.html"> Power and the new world order </a>Thomas Friedman, the Pulitzer-winning voice of US neo-liberalism, has rapped China for not getting on board with US foreign policy. But why should it? Indeed, why should any nation-state be a cheerleader for a World of Order that exists primarily for the economic benefit of a single entity - the United States of America? - Henry C K Liu (Feb 24, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EB19Dj01.html">Research crackdown: The real costs</a> A tough settlement being forced on New York's major investment banks to break up the incestuous relationships between financing of corporate deals and supposedly independent research is almost certain to be felt far outside the United States. But Kevin Phillips and John Berthelsen explain why, in Asia and elsewhere, it's still "investor beware". (Feb 18, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EB01Ak01.html ">OPEC in the crosshairs</a> The Bush administration has been accused of obsessing over Iraqi oil, but if one looks at the likely economic effect of Iraqi regime change (and subsequent production increases) on the world's other major oil-producing economies, one begins to suspect that the strategy may be focused less on the oil belonging to Iraq, than on the oil belonging to OPEC. - Ehsan Ahrari (Jan 31, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EA29Dj03.html ">When globalization works ...</a> Globalization is a double-edged tool. One can take advantage of it with sound national strategies, or one can do nothing and allow globalization to take advantage of us. Jose Maria Figueres, former president of Costa Rica, explains how his country adopted the former approach. (Jan 28, '03) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EA29Dj02.html ">... and when it does not</a> The theology of global neo-liberalism preaches that abundant comparative advantage accrues from free trade. But this is just propaganda: the validity of comparative advantage is limited to trade between countries with similar wage-price levels. - Gernot Kohler (Jan 28, '03) BANKING BUNKUM <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Asian_Economy/EA18Dk02.html">Part 4a: The Asian experience</a> The world's three leading economies, the United States, the European Union and Japan, have experienced a rare synchronous slowdown while much of the developing world, including Asia, has remained mired in economic and financial difficulties. As part of a series in which he makes a case against central banking, Henry C K Liu traces this phenomenon back to the Asian and Mexican financial crises and further, to the beginnings of the Cold War. (Jan 17, '03) TWO CENTS' WORTH <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/EA10Dj01.html">The Bush plan: A global-scale disappointment </a>The world is at a very dangerous moment caused by violent political fallouts from the destructive economic impacts of neo-liberal trade globalization. All wait for the president of the United States to command the awesome power of his office to "think big" and lead the world to economic recovery. Instead, we are given the Bush "growth and jobs" proposal, which merely reinvokes dated supply-side theories and further enriches the rich. - Henry C K Liu (Jan 9, '03) BANKING BUNKUM <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DL21Dj01.html">Part 3d: The lessons of the US experience</a> As the US Federal Reserve has progressed through a series of policies whereby today's Nobel-winning economic theories explain "scientifically" last year's political expediency, one constant has stood fast: the Fed will protect the banking system at all costs, including human ones. This article is part of a series in which Henry C K Liu makes a case against central banking. (Dec 20, '02) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DL13Dj01.html">Web libel ruling bound to please tyrants</a> The Australian High Court ruled this week that material published on the Internet is subject to local libel laws in a complainant's jurisdiction. That's bad news for news businesses everywhere, but music to the ears of repressive governments that will now have another excuse to quash Internet news that originates in jurisdictions enjoying free speech. - Gary LaMoshi (Dec 12, '02) BANKING BUNKUM <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DL10Dj01.html">Part 3c: Still more on the US experience</a> In October 1987, the New York stock market crashed in a drama more spectacular than the 1929 disaster. Yet the damage was far less dramatic than the Great Depression of the 1930s. Much of the credit for that fact went to Federal Reserve Board chairman Alan Greenspan, and the super-central banker cult began. This article is part of a series in which Henry C K Liu makes a case against central banking. (Dec 9, '02) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/DL10Ad04.html">Overseas Chinese: How powerful are they?</a> The worldwide diaspora of ethnic Chinese living outside mainland China numbers about 60 million, controlling a combined estimated wealth that could be called the world's third-largest economy. But does history back the oft-heard claim that this wealth equates to power? - Phar Kim Beng (Dec 9, '02) BANKING BUNKUM <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DK27Dj01.html">Part 3b: More on the US experience</a> From its founding in 1913, the US Federal Reserve System has gone through a bewildering array of changes led by an intriguing cast of characters who have been accused of everything from engineering the Great Depression to bringing down presidents. This article is part of a series in which Henry C K Liu makes a case against central banking. (Nov 26, '02) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/DK21Ad02.html">The ominous subtext to US-China relations</a> Although the US-led war on terror has forced Beijing to improve its relationship with Washington, it is unlikely that this change represents much more than improved atmospherics. Indeed, the shadow of their impending rivalry over Asia appears to be lengthening, and the outcome won't be pretty. - Stephen Blank (Nov 20, '02) BANKING BUNKUM <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DK16Dj02.html">Part 3a: The US experience</a> In the United States, central banking was not born until December 1913 with the establishment of the Federal Reserve System. However, a long and colorful history led up to that event, which was pushed through by congressmen eager to start their Christmas holidays. This article is part of a series in which Henry C K Liu makes a case against central banking. (Nov 15, '02) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/DK14Df02.html ">The case for a South, Central Asia trade bloc</a> The recent signing of an economic cooperation agreement between China and ASEAN, which will create the world's biggest free trade area, could serve as an example for a similar initiative between South and Central Asian states that could go a long way to addressing many of the economic and security woes in the region. - K Gajendra Singh (Nov 13, '02) BANKING BUNKUM <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DK08Dj01.html">Part 2: The European experience</a> Since the Amsterdam Wisselbank, the first modern national bank, fueled the successful Dutch economy of the 17th century, the evolution of European banking has culminated in the European Central Bank, which works at cross purposes against its member governments. This is the second in a series of four articles in which Henry C K Liu makes a case against central banking. (Nov 7, '02) BANKING BUNKUM <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DK06Dj01.html">Part 1: Monetary theology</a> From time to time in the history of economics, the purpose of a national banking system has been seen as improving the well-being of the nation and its people. Nowadays, however, we have central banking, which prioritizes the preservation of the value of money over the monetary needs of a sound national economy. This is the first in a series of four articles in which Henry C K Liu makes a case against central banking. (Nov 5, '02)  <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DJ15Dj01.html">US economy: A casualty of war </a>President George W Bush has spoken of rebuilding Iraq's economy should Saddam Hussein be ousted from power. All well and good, but there are ominous indications that the administration should as a matter of urgency pay some attention to the fragile US economy. - Ahmad Faruqui (Oct 14, '02) OIL AND WAR <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/DJ02Ak01.html">Part 2: Crude assumptions </a>If the US plays its cards right, it could be on its way to a strategic grand slam, with Americans running the show in Iraq, and Americans running the show in Saudi Arabia. That could be a strong hand - except for the many jokers in the pack, headed by Russia. - Dinkar Ayilavarapu (Oct 1, '02) TWO CENTS' WORTH <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DI28Dj01.html">Crippling debt and bankrupt solutions </a>A movement to tackle distressed sovereign dollar debts through an international bankruptcy regime has gained momentum in neo-liberal circles. But the proposals favored by creditors focus on the wrong models in bankruptcy law, and would serve to enslave debtor nations further while leaving the global economic system at risk. What is needed is a debtors' revolt. - Henry C K Liu (Sep 27, '02) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DI17Dj01.html ">Extremists' financial 'tentacles' hard to sever</a> The real frontline for the US war on terror is the labyrinth of financial cells that prop up the operations of extremist groups. Cut off the tentacles, declared US President George Bush, and the body will quickly wither away. But a year later, the body is still evidently well nourished - largely because of widespread money-laundering in Asia. - Alan Boyd  (Sep 16, '02) TWO CENTS' WORTH <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DI14Dj01.html ">Perils of the debt-propelled economy </a> To less creative minds than those of leverage kings and Enron executives, debt is a liability, not an asset. And yet economies around the world are on the edge of a precipice, pushed there by the neo-conservative-inspired shift from public to private debt, most damagingly in foreign currencies, dooming billions to poverty. - Henry C K Liu (Sep 13, '02) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DH14Dj01.html ">The economics of global empire</a> To find the true source of empire in today's world, take a page from Watergate lore and simply "follow the money". You'll find that the trail leads to the world's low-wage exporting nations - notably China - which unwittingly spent the past 20 years funding the US hegemony that they now deplore. - Henry C K Liu (Aug 13, '02) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Global_Economy/DH01Dj01.html">Bad apples: It's the barrel that's rotten </a> The US Congress has tried to portray the ongoing saga of corporate malfeasance as a series of individual acts by immoral characters. This demonization of the bosses of Enron, WorldCom and others is in itself fraudulent, an attempt to cover up the systemic flaws in finance capitalism as currently practiced. - Henry C K Liu (Jul 31, '02) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/DG25Ad01.html ">China and the global security web </a> Investors, both Chinese and foreign, are turning to the burgeoning Chinese market as a promising place to put their money. And there are solid reasons to do so. However, Francesco Sisci notes in the second of two articles, China's position outside the US-Europe-Japan security network threatens its market's long-term security. (Jul 24, '02) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/DG24Ad04.html ">Crisis in confidence: The China factor </a>Investors turned off by the "creative accounting" scandals in the United States and by the lack of cohesion and innovation in Euroland are increasingly turning to China. But is there any more reason to put confidence in the Chinese economy than in those of the US-Europe-Japan bloc? This is the first of two articles by Francesco Sisci on that question. (Jul 23, '02) <a href="/web/20030801210521/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/China/DG23Ad04.html">China vs the almighty dollar </a> Global capitalism is the tool by which world economies are kept subservient to the United States economy through dollar hegemony. Asia, in order to service its dollar-denominated debts, is thus forced to keep wages low and provide Americans with cheap imports. But China is now in a position to change this state of affairs. - Henry C K Liu (Jul 22, '02) </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="65%" valign="top"> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td width="10" valign="top" background="/web/20030801210521im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/line.gif"><img height="1" src="/web/20030801210521im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="9"></td> <td width="130" align="left" valign="top"> <table width="117" border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801210521/http://192.168.9.94/atimes/advertise.html"></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td height="5"><img height="5" src="/web/20030801210521im_/http://www.atimes.com/images/f_images/1pix.gif" width="5"></td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20030801210521/http://www.wsicorporate.com/business.asp?id=5292" target="_blank"><img hspace="0" 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