Several of you noted an article in The Economist on China, the U.S., and protectionism. I wanted to point out that in the same issue, there is a three-page spread on the hub of India's IT boom: the city of Bangalore (and the state of Karnataka).
The article nicely mixes the appeal of outsourcing and the constraints built into the process. You will probably all find something to agree with in the article -- those of you who find outsourcing a frightening prospect and those of you who are assuaged by its limitations alike.
As a general rule of thumb, flipping through a copy of The Economist (hard copy available in the reading room in Leyburn) is highly educational. The last few pages, for instance, have detailed data each month on economic variables such as exchange rates, interest rates, and trade deficits. Dry reading, perhaps, looking at the charts, but it does put many of our conversations in perspective. They are good about noting current rates vs. rates a year ago, and so on, so you can see how things have changed recently as well. For example, the $US on April 20th was worth only about 5/6 of what it was worth in 2000...
Just food for thought.
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