A funny thing happened to the world economy this year: it tilted. Pretty much ever since the 60s, America had been the undisputed centre of business. It had the biggest economy; the No 1 economic model (or so the zealots kept telling everyone); the blue-chip banks; the world-beating businesses. Le défiaméricain was how France referred to Ford, IBM and the rest, meaning the American challenge.
Then came last summer and the biggest banking crisis America has had in decades. The economy? Almost certainly in recession. The model? Obviously, no longer so exemplary. The banks? Some of the biggest are being propped up by money from governments in the Middle East and China.
Amid all this, Asia is booming. China is the world's fastest growing economy, and India's national income is rising like never before. This shift of economic power from west to east, and other developing countries, has been going on quietly for a long time - but the credit crunch has both accelerated and exposed it for all to see.
Then there are the business deals, those rough and ready reckoners of where economic power lies. Tata announced this week that it would take over Jaguar and Land Rover. Both firms are in the DNA of British manufacturing and the seller is Ford, one of those American corporate imperialists so deplored by the French. Whatever this deal's strategic purpose, its symbolic significance is undeniable. Full story...
See also this and this and this...
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