Finland, the United States and Sweden also occupied the top three places in the table last year, but the report indicated that the United States could have emerged at the top but for worries about current policies and attitudes in Washington.

....

It ranked even lower -- 47th out of the 117 countries studied -- on the health of its macroeconomic environment, echoing, the Forum said, growing international concern about economic imbalances, "especially as it regards public finances."

We're competative, but we're not healthy (in fact at 47 that's going to put us down there with a whole bunch of 3rd world sweatshop countries). That's the sort of thing that does not look good when you're looking at the long term.

Nordic economies lead in competitiveness, study says - Sep. 28, 2005

The most affluent one-fifth of China's population earn 50 percent of total income, with the bottom one-fifth taking home only 4.7 percent, said the report by the official Xinhua News Agency, carried in newspapers Wednesday.

"The income gap, which has exceeded reasonable limits, exhibits a further widening trend. If it continues this way for a long time, the phenomenon may give rise to various sorts of social instability," it said.

Interesting. I wonder if they were taking a shot at the US about as the respective US numbers are 50.1% at the top, with the bottom fifth making 3.4%

Gap Between China's Rich, Poor Alarming

"With the actions we take today, consumers will reap the benefits of increased Internet access competition and enjoy innovative, high-speed services at lower prices," he said.

Who the hell are they trying to kid? No competition drives prices UP not down. That's the whole point of anti-trust law.

FCC ruling gives telecoms power over Internet access

In the first study to make plain the negative consequences of such behavior, 49% of 164 female MBA graduates said in a survey that they have tried to advance in their careers by sometimes engaging in at least one of 10 sexual behaviors, including crossing their legs provocatively or leaning over a table to let men look down their shirts.

The other half said they never engaged in such activity, and those women have earned an average of three promotions, vs. two for the group that had employed sexuality. Those who said they never used sexuality were, on average, in the $75,000-$100,000 income range; the others fell, on average, in the next-lowest range, $50,000 to $75,000.

In other words, sex may sell, but it doesn't pay.

Study says flirtatious women get fewer raises, promotions

Bernard Ebbers, the folksy entrepreneur who built WorldCom Inc. into a telecommunications giant, was sentenced on Wednesday to 25 years in prison for his role in the business fraud that led to the largest U.S. corporate bankruptcy.

The sentence means Ebbers, 63, could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Ouch! Moral: It's better to fail than break the rules and get caught.

Ex-WorldCom CEO Ebbers sentenced to 25 yrs

] A move by China to revalue its currency "does not follow
] that that will lower our overall trade balance,"
] Greenspan said. "Indeed, it's probably quite unlikely."
]
]
] That's because companies are likely to turn to other
] countries, such as Thailand or Malaysia for goods, rather
] than U.S. producers. "So essentially what we will find is
] we're importing from a different area, but we will be
] importing the same goods," Greenspan said.

Yes, more mainstream news sources... Here's something that I don't think these guys have considered though. Everyone wants China to de-link, the "real" value of the yuan is something like 50% higher than what it trades at. So the real problem lies in the fact that the Chinese are holding something on the line of half a TRILLION to a TRILLION dollars worth of the current US national debt.

De-linking the currency will mean the value of those holdings will take a HUGE hit. So before they de-link, they have to dump those. But of course, they can't, because dumping that much on the market would cause the value to tank anyway. Catch-22.

The Chinese option at this pont is, take a huge hit to their economy, or let us take a huge hit to ours (with a secondary one to theirs) At some point some bean counter will getthis all figured out and the dominoes will get shoved, but either way, I don't see anything pretty coming out of this one.

Greenspan: China Revaluation Won't Help

] "Taxpayers had better buckle up because we will be in for
] a bumpy ride of bailout after bailout, as more and more
] corporations dump their pension plan obligations on the
] PBGC," said U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., referring
] to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. that already is
] operating at a more than $23 billion deficit.

So let me see if I have this right. Personal bankruptcy (primarily caused by medical bills that have skyrocketed) is now much harder to do, at the same time these guys can dump off things that they agreed to in contract decades ago? AND we get stiffed with the bill as it gets handed off to the government?

United Gets OK to Dump Four Pension Plans

] Shares of GM fell almost 6 percent and Ford shares
] declined 4.5 percent after Standard & Poor's Ratings
] Services downgraded the debt to below investment grade,
] which is commonly known as junk or high-yield status.

Sayonara US auto companies.

S&P Cuts GM, Ford Credit Ratings to 'Junk'

] He said that while the U.S. economy was "doing well," the
] danger was that deficits would keep rising as a
] percentage of total national output.
]
]
] "Unless that trend is reversed, at some point these
] deficits would cause the economy to stagnate or worse."

Thanks for the update Alan, I think there is a long list of people who have been saying this for decades.

Greenspan Warns Deficits Endanger Economy

] The current account trade deficit is closely watched by
] economists because it is the broadest measure of
] international trade, covering not only trade in goods but
] also trade in services and investment flows between
] nations. The deficit for 2004 was not only a record in
] dollar terms but also as a percentage of the total U.S.
] economy, climbing to 5.7 percent of the gross domestic
] product, up from 4.8 percent of GDP (news - web sites) in
] 2003.

And the bleeding continues. Something else of note, elsewhere in the article they make the point that the dollar has been on a three year slide, meaning foreign goods are getting more expensive, yet the trade imbalance continues to grow. Something in that says there is a huge problem.

"Don't cry for me Argentina..."

Trade Deficit at All-Time High of $665.9B