http://www.globalstrategywatch.com The RSS feed of The Smart Globalist. daily 1 2008-01-17T03:42:49Z http://www.globalstrategywatch.com/archives/current-issue/comfortably-numb OK, deep breaths everyone. Now that Secretary Paulson and Chairman Bernanke have floated a massive public rescue plan and financial Armageddon seems to have been averted (at least for the short term), it is time to take a step back and think hard about what we are doing here. No publisher bcarliner 2008-09-19T19:42:16Z Article http://www.globalstrategywatch.com/archives/current-issue/unbalanced-and-unhinged Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson attempted to soothe rattled markets on Sunday by making explicit the government’s guarantee of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s securities. Unfortunately, Paulson’s vague plan to backstop the two mortgage giants didn’t seem to add much to what the markets had assumed was already there. Fannie and Freddie have always had an implicit government guarantee, and Paulson’s plan merely confirmed what the markets had already assumed: that Agency debt and guaranteed securities had the backing of the Federal government, but equity holders didn’t. So the trade that worked so well last week – going long GSE debt but short the equity, kept working on Monday. Fannie and Freddie stock finished off 5% and 8% respectively, while the much anticipated sale of Freddie Mac short-term notes went off without a hitch. No publisher bcarliner 2008-07-14T23:08:08Z Article http://www.globalstrategywatch.com/archives/current-issue/if-we-build-it-they-will-come The American Public Transportation Association reports that the first quarter of 2008 saw a 3.3% increase in public transit use across the whole United States and a particularly strong jump of 10.3% in light rail usage. These gains aren’t limited to traditional public transit strongholds like New York or Boston. Cities like Charlotte, Minneapolis and St. Louis are seeing increases of 15% or more in light rail usage, despite being traditionally “car culture” urban areas. Other areas, like San Antonio and Denver, have experienced around a 10% increase in bus passengers. No publisher kheidinger 2008-06-05T21:21:49Z Article http://www.globalstrategywatch.com/archives/current-issue/the-bigger-they-come-the-harder-they-fall For the first time since December 1992, the Ford F-150 pick-up truck has lost its crown as the best selling vehicle in the United States. After seeing its sales implode by 33% in one short month, the F-150 dropped four full places on the best-seller list, behind Honda’s Civic and Accord, and Toyota’s Camry and Corolla. These aren’t the best of times to be a US automaker. Back in 1992, the vehicle that beat the F-150 out for the top spot on the sales list was the Ford Taurus. But since then, the US automakers have more or less abandoned the family car market to Japanese, Korean and European marques. Now that gasoline prices have risen past the $4 per gallon level and consumers want fuel efficient vehicles, US carmakers have been left without competitive products in their showrooms, and are paying the price. No publisher bcarliner 2008-06-04T21:37:56Z Article http://www.globalstrategywatch.com/archives/current-issue/book-review-how-countries-compete This book was written by a respected Harvard Business School professor who teaches and researches the links between business, government and the global economy. His book's theme is that countries compete for market share in the $44 trillion world economy and that this competition is led by governments. He examines the economic, political, social and structural dimensions of 10 countries. Based on this analysis, Vietor picks Singapore, China, India and Russia as good bets for foreign investors. He stresses the key role managers can play in shaping their countries’ competitiveness policies. No publisher Shlomo Maital 2008-06-02T18:22:26Z Article http://www.globalstrategywatch.com/archives/current-issue/the-dollar-frays The dollar seems to be fraying most around the edges. While major players like China and Japan continue to hold enormous dollar reserves, smaller, more peripheral countries continue what has become a quietly measured flight from the greenback. Recently Rachel Ziemba reported that Libya is shifting its reserves and investment away from dollars. Now, reports from Bangkok indicate that the Bank of Thailand is considering reducing the dollar weight in its reserves as well. No publisher Clyde Prestowitz 2008-05-29T19:44:29Z Article http://www.globalstrategywatch.com/archives/current-issue/americas-heartland-in-cardiac-arrest Coronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death in the United States for adults over age 20. Contributing risk factors include smoking, lack of exercise, diets rich in saturated fats as well as stress. An individual develops CHD when plaque builds up on the inside of the arteries that pump blood to the heart. Eventually, the arteries begin to clog and start shutting off the heart’s critical supply of oxygen and nutrients. At this point the heart becomes starved for oxygen and the individual might experience their first heart attack. Should the clogging continue unchecked, it is only a matter of time before a second or third heart attack occurs—each bringing one a little closer to fully cardiac arrest and death. It’s not just the heart that stops at that point, but the arms and the legs and the brain as well. No publisher kheidinger 2008-05-28T18:50:25Z Article http://www.globalstrategywatch.com/archives/current-issue/the-emerging-basket-of-reserve-currencies Recent discussions with top bankers in Hong Kong and reports in the South China Morning Post and the International Herald Tribune foreshadow the end of dollar hegemony and the rise of a triad system of reserve currencies. No publisher Clyde Prestowitz 2008-05-23T16:26:34Z Article http://www.globalstrategywatch.com/archives/current-issue/dismantling-the-washington-consensus The Commission on Growth and Development, a blue-ribbon panel of policy makers, business leaders and academics chaired by Nobel Prize winning economist Michael Spence, has just released its report on creating and sustaining economic growth in developing countries. The Commission has spent the past two years researching and writing the report, and now that the final report is out, it is striking how much the state of the debate has moved away from the ‘Washington Consensus’ and towards a strong, constructive role for states in fostering and sustaining economic development. No publisher bcarliner 2008-05-21T22:24:11Z Article http://www.globalstrategywatch.com/archives/current-issue/the-visible-hand At the first annual Women’s Forum Asia in Shanghai last week, much of the talk was of free trade and the inevitability of globalization. Top political, business, and economic leaders opined that market forces beyond the control of even the most powerful governments were now determining our destiny. So it was a refreshing reality check to read the papers in Hong Kong this morning. No publisher Clyde Prestowitz 2008-05-19T17:23:05Z Article