ArchiveNovember 2008 Business
The second green revolution?
The global seed stock industry says it wants to eradicate world hunger with the help of high tech plants. But it is primarily interested in profits – By Tanja Busse and Christiane Grefe
The amount of land used to cultivate genetically modified crops has already grown to 114 million hectares worldwide. It is a billion dollar business for multinational corporations, which not only control the patents and seed stock trade but also keep their customers, the farmers, under surveillance. The corporations dispute that there are risks for health and the environment.
In the hands of the gods
The multi-ethnic society is still on the laborious path of nation-building – By Heinrich Bergstresser
The downfall of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has been predicted for decades. Despite this dismal prognosis, the country has not yet vanished from the map. On the contrary: this multi-ethnic state, home to 130 million people, is alive and soldiers on. It is an important part of Africa and with its natural and human resources, also part of the modern world. After many bitter setbacks, Nigeria continues along the path toward democratization it embarked on in 1999.
Searching for a global New Deal
Markets need not just an invisible hand but also a visible heart – By Theo Sommer
The state of the world’s financial markets demonstrates that turbo capitalism really does make global crises more likely. Millions of people face the prospect of falling back into the poverty they have only recently escaped.
Does capitalism make you poor?
The two main tenets of the anti-globalization movement are now widely accepted. But politicians have yet to catch up – By Hannes Koch
No social movement has done more to shape the industrialized societies over the past few years than the critics of globalization. Since the 1999 protests against the WTO conference in Seattle, they have determined our view on the development of the world economy.
Since Seattle, many people consider the global market something to be wary of. The current crisis in the financial markets seems to confirm that viewpoint – and the primary tenet of the globalization critics is that an unregulated global market not only endangers the development of poor countries but that of rich ones as well.
More courage, more trust
Poor reputation masks the country’s enormous potential – By Jochen Stahnke
German businesses are extremely reluctant to invest in Nigeria. That could soon change. Delegates attending the first German-Nigerian Business Forum in Frankfurt forged new paths to economic cooperation.
Mention Nigeria in connection with the German economy and people often talk about scandals, corruption and kidnappings. Jaiye Doherty can’t stand it anymore. “I doesn’t matter how much I reassure people,” the manager of the German-Nigerian Business Association in Lagos said. “Everyone believes the terrible press reports about our country.”
Despite being Africa’s second-largest sub-Saharan economy, Nigeria’s reputation couldn’t be worse and it isn’t always undeserved. The first German-Nigerian Business Forum wanted to demonstrate the reality of successful business ventures existing alongside the chaos and poverty. The meeting, organized by the German-African Business Association, took place in early October in Frankfurt.
Crisis in the fast lane
Germany’s automakers in the wake of the banking crisis – By Gernot Kramper
The automotive industry is the showcase sector of the German economy. Its vehicles are technological leaders: fast and sexy. But the industry is facing production cutbacks and sending workers on mandatory leave. The reason is that the real estate crisis that began in the U.S. is also hitting the car industry.
Big plans for the small grain
At the International Rice Research Institute in Manila, researchers are working to develop weather-resistant varieties of the essential food staple – By Hilja Müller
The global food crisis has convinced many countries that agriculture and research require more investment. But developing new, stress-tolerant varieties of rice is a time-consuming endeavor.
White wooden panels stand in the bright green rice fields in Los Baños in the Philippines. They bear strange inscriptions: IR 07 F290, NSIC Rc148 or PSB Rc 188. These abbreviations may be puzzling to lay people but for the approximately 850 employees at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), they are indicators of the specific variety of rice. For almost 50 years, scientists at this research center, the leading one in its field worldwide, have been developing varieties that have higher yields or are more resistant to environmental stresses. Their success or failure is of vital importance to around half the world’s population, the three billion people for whom rice is the main source of nourishment. More than 700 million people live on a dollar a day. They spend half of that on rice alone.
A fragile economic miracle
There are signs of an upturn in Nigeria. Can it be sustained? – By Mark Schieritz
As the eight-largest oil exporter in the world, and as Africa’s most populous nation, Nigeria has enormous potential. But although the country is awash in oil, it still has to import gasoline. The economy has grown strongly in the last few years and Nigerians hope that trend will continue.
Seen from a distance, the African continent looks very promising. Basic economic data indicates the continent is in the middle of an upswing. Nigeria’s GDP increased by 6.4 percent last year. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, it was 6.3 percent but in Ethiopia it was an even more impressive and astonishing 21 percent. The International Monetary Fund recently said that the African economy is booming as it hasn’t been for decades.
Starring Charlotte
A family jewelry business with a glittering future – By Nurhan Kocaoglu
Stepping into one of Charlotte’s 35 stores is like entering a showroom of theater stages where jewelry is presented as the starring act. Showcases of rings and necklaces, tiaras and pendants made of precious medals and sparkling gemstones dazzle on little podiums. But these featured starlets aren’t your typical jewelry pieces. Each composition has a component allowing one to detach say a diamond centerpiece and reattach a pearl or other precious stone instead. The magic piece these chameleons owe their ever-changing look to is no more than half a centimeter long and a couple of millimeters thick ? the spring pin.
‘The party is over’
Shipping companies and shipyards fear lean times ahead – By Meite Thiede
Maritime cargo has profited from globalization for many years. Now the financial crisis is hitting the industry hard.
When there is an exclusive gathering in Hamburg, chances are Bertram Rickmers will be on the guest list. But just a few weeks ago, this sociable and conservative shipping magnate made a gloomy forecast: “The party is over,” Rickmers told the industry journal Lloyd’s List. The freeze on the credit markets has struck the shipping industry – so accustomed to success – with full force. It is all downhill from here on, said the ship owner, an established name in the business.