Chavez’s nationalization of foreign-owned industries is part of global pattern

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and Cuban leader Fidel Castro in 2004Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez’s recently announced plan to nationalize the telecommunications and electricity industries in his country sent shockwaves through the boardrooms of multinational corporations with large holdings in Latin America. While some see Chavez as the leading edge of a “socialist revolution,” research from Washington University in St. Louis suggests this latest nationalization push is nothing more than politics as usual, part of a predictable pattern of political tensions that often arise when corporations make large foreign investments.

Typhoid fever genomes to help scientists seek better vaccines

Salmonella entericaEvery year in developing nations, typhoid fever infects more than 16 million people and kills more than half a million. Researchers hoping to reduce this heavy toll have an important new tool: completed genomes for the two bacteria that are the leading causes of typhoid fever.

IMF aid to countries in crisis has negative impact on foreign direct investment

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) bills itself as an organization of 184 countries working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty. While the IMF’s objectives are laudable, a study just published in the Journal of Conflict Resolution provides compelling evidence that IMF intervention actually has a substantial negative impact on at least one important indicator of a country’s long-term economic vigor – the level of foreign direct investment in that country by private investors.