IBT News Blog

In the wake of the Societe Generale scandal and the US sub-prime markets issue, the heads of several European states have issued a request that banks operate with greater transparency: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7215873.stm .

The International Monetary Fund has announced that it is lowering its global economic growth forecast, however it has not intimated that it is predicting a recession. http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/business/7215957.stm .

The World Trade Organization will be deciding on its Chairman of the Geneal Council at a meeting in under two weeks. Given that important issues of international trade, such as the upcoming Doha negotiation rounds, are heavily dependent on the WTO, the installation of a new Chairman could be interesting for future trade policy. http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/01/29/business/wto.php .

This article briefly discusses the improved trade position experienced by Europe as a whole: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7215418.stm .

Last night's State of the Union address by President Bush contained several policy statements about international trade, including reference to completing bi-lateral trade agreements with Colombia and Panama. The full text of the address is available at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/01/print/20080128-13.html .

These policy statements are interesting to think about in terms of our class discussion yesterday regarding the powers of each of the federal branches and efficiency issues which result from them.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/business/27steal.html?pagewanted=2&ref=worldbusiness

Apparently Hollywood has realized that people other than Americans go to see American-made films. In fact, experts say that many movies gross more abroad than domestically. The international market for American made films is on the rise. For example, American movies made $158 million in China last year, up 38 percent from 2006.

As a result of the modernization of foreign theaters and the increasing demand, Hollywood has been consistently tailoring movies to appeal to international crowds by simplifying the content of the pictures and increasing the amount of destruction. While demand abroad is rising and New York City's skyline is falling, Hollywood's numbers are swelling, and domestic demand remains constant.