Applied Business and Entrepreneurship Association International
Announces Call for Papers

Sixth Annual Meeting, November 16-20, 2009 at Marriott Ihilani Resort and Spa in Ko Olina, Hawaii

Submission Deadline: August 15, 2009
Submit papers to: abeai@up.edu

Visit http://abeaic onf.googlepages.com/ for more information.

IJEB INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON INDIAN ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS ISSUES
December 18-22, 2009
New Delhi, India

To be Invited Speakers: Dr. Subramanian Swamy, Ex- Union Minister of Commerce, Government of India and Harvard Professor of Economics, Dr. Narendra Jadhav, Vice Chancellor, University of Pune; Dr. Narayana Murthy, Mentor, Infosys India and many other eminent scholars, academicians, business leaders and researchers. Invited speakers will address Luncheons and Dinners meetings on the India specific topics.

Paper & abstract submissions:
Deadline: June 1, 2009 even if early submission are encouraged. Blind review and acceptance letters out to primary author: June 1, 2009 or earlier if possible. Full paper submission deadline: October 1, 2009. Electronic submissions may be emailed to kulkarnk@mscd.edu. All paper submissions should follow guidelines listed on the journal website http://www.ijeb.com/InstructionsForAuthors.htm .
Selected papers will be published in the refereed conference proceedings which will be available to all participants at the conference.

Please send papers and registration fees to:
Dr. Kishore G. Kulkarni.
Editor, Indian Journal of Economics and Business, (visit www.ijeb.com),
Campus Box 77, P. O. Box 173362
Metropolitan State College of Denver
Denver, CO 80217-3362, USA.
Tel: 303-556-2675. Fax: 303-556-3966

China Passes Germany With 3rd- Highest GDP (Washington Post, Jan 15)
China leapfrogged over Germany to become the world's third-largest economy in 2007, sooner than predicted, underscoring how quickly the concentration of global economic power has shifted. While earlier estimates had put growth of China's gross domestic product that year at 11.9 percent, revised figures released by the government statistics bureau Wednesday show that its economy actually expanded by 13 percent to $3.38 trillion. That compares with Germany's 2007 GDP of $3.32 trillion.

Foreign direct investment in China rises 23.6% in 2008 (MarketWatch, Jan 14)
China's foreign direct investment rose by 23.6% in 2008 from a year earlier, according to media reports Thursday. China drew in a record $92.4 billion of investment in 2008, Dow Jones Newswires reported, citing figures released by the Ministry of Commerce at a press conference in Beijing Thursday.

India ranks 123rd in economic freedom index (India Post, Jan 16)
India has been described as a "mostly" controlled economy and is placed at the 123rd position in an annual ranking of countries based on economic freedom.The report '2009 Index of Economic Freedom', published by the US-based research and educational institute The Heritage Foundation and the Wall Street Journal has ranked Hong Kong as the freest economy, among the 179 countries in the list.The survey of economic freedom is based on ten components including business, trade, fiscal, monetary and labor freedom. Hong Kong that is at the top of the heap with a score of 90 is followed by Singapore (87.1), Australia (82.6), Ireland (82.2) and New Zealand (82).The world's largest economy US is at the sixth spot with a score of 80.7 whereas the second largest economy Japan has been ranked at the 19th position (72.8).

'India's economy to grow by 7-7.5 pc in 08-09' (The Hindu, Jan 16)
A key finance ministry official on Friday projected India's growth rate at 7-7.5 per cent in the current fiscal, lower than projected by the Reserve Bank as well as the growth recorded in the first half of this fiscal. "India, after remaining in high growth trajectory continuously for the last four years is now projected to grow between 7 and 7.5 per cent during the current financial year," Economic Affairs Secretary Ashok Chawla said at the Third India China Financial Dialogue here.

China to push Africa ties in 2009 (China View, Jan 15)
China will work with Africa to promote the strategic partnership of cooperation on the basis of sincere friendship, equality, reciprocity and common development, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said Thursday. Discussing Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi's official visits to Uganda, Rwanda, Malawi and South Africa from Jan. 13 to 17, Jiang said, "It has been a tradition of Chinese foreign ministers for more than ten years to make their first new year trip to African countries. "The traditional friendship between China and Africa has developed over half a century and has become an important cornerstone of China's foreign policy," she said.

UPDATE 1-India L&T to partner Toshiba unit for nuclear power (Reuters UK, Jan 16)
India's top construction and engineering firm Larsen & Toubro said on Friday it would partner a unit of Japan's Toshiba to build nuclear reactors, hoping to tap Indian orders for power projects. The two companies plan to build 1,000 megawatt reactors in India but other terms of the partnership were yet to be finalised, M.V. Kotwal, director and head of L&T's heavy engineering business told reporters. "This is just a first step, the government is yet to make official announcement for the size of reactors and modus operandi in giving these orders," Kotwal said at a news conference.

Energy security guides China on Gaza (Asia Times, Jan 15)
China's pro-active stance in finding a settlement to the latest crisis in the Middle East - a trouble spot which does not normally figure on Beijing's list of top foreign policy priorities - suggests heightened attention to energy security for the country's power-hungry economy. Joining the calls for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, China announced it will be sending its Middle East special envoy to Egypt, Israel and Palestine to promote conflict resolution.

China, Iran oilfield co- op to help stabilize market (China View, Jan 15)
Joint commercial oilfield development by China and Iran would help stabilize the oil market, China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu said here Thursday. Iran and China signed a 1.76-billion-U.S. dollar deal Wednesday for the initial development of Iran's North Azadegan oilfield, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported. The deal was signed between the China National Petroleum Corp. and the National Iranian Oil Co.

UPDATE 1-U.S. atomic firms try to break India nuclear logjam (Reuters UK, Jan 16)
Top U.S. firms have lobbied hard in India this week for a share in the country's lucrative nuclear market, but there was little progress on key policy issues such as accident liability protection for suppliers. The visit by a 60-member delegation has been the biggest push yet by U.S. companies such as General Electric to enter the multi-billion dollar Indian market opened to global trade after New Delhi signed a deal with the United States last year.

World Bank Blacklists India's Wipro (WSJ, Jan 12)
In another blow to India's already-reeling technology industry, the World Bank disclosed it had barred two Indian outsourcing firms, Wipro Technologies and Megasoft Consultants Ltd., from doing work with the bank's headquarters. The World Bank said Wipro Technologies, a unit of Wipro Ltd., had been banned in June 2007 for four years for "providing improper benefits to bank staff." World Bank staffers said the benefits included stock offered to the bank's former chief information officer, Mohammed Muhsin, who left the World Bank in 2005. Bank officials said Satyam was also debarred because of offers of stock to Mr. Muhsin.

PENPIX-Directors on new board of India's Satyam (Reuters UK, Jan 16)
Following are brief profiles of six new directors appointed by India to oversee fraud-hit Satyam Computer Services Ltd after the outsourcer's board was dissolved following the country's largest corporate scandal.

Daily Tidbits: China's Web users match total U.S. citizens (cnet, Jan 14)
The total number of online Chinese citizens has grown to approximately 298 million, reports the BBC. According to the report, which cites data from the China Internet Network Information Center, there has been a significant increase in the number of people who use mobile phones accessing the Web, which led to a 41.9 percent increase in China's Internet population year over year. Although there are almost as many people on the Web in China as there are U.S. residents, the country has a long way to go to match Web penetration rates measured in other countries: Web penetration in China is just 22.6 percent.

iPhone Nano on the way to China first? (cnet, Jan 13)
More iPhone Nano rumors are surfacing out of China, as some are starting to wonder whether the much- rumored diminutive iPhone will ship in that region only. Digitimes picked up on a report from the Economic Daily News that chip makers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corp. (UMC) are set to get the contract to make chips for an iPhone Nano, which was described as a "low-cost entry-level" iPhone. TSMC and UMC are perhaps the two most well-known chip foundries in the business, and are perhaps getting ready to execute Apple's first iPhone chip design put together by the P.A. Semi team.

70% Jump: China Becomes Leading Buyer of Brazil's Farming Goods (Brazzil Mag, Jan 15)
In 2008, China assumed the role of leading global importer of products of the Brazilian agribusiness production chain. The shift in the ranking of buyers is due to the fact that the Asian country increased its purchases of Brazilian products by 70%. Thus, China alone answered to 11% of the sector exports last year. The figures also show that, in one year's time, China went from the third to the first position in the ranking of leading global buyers of Brazilian agribusiness products.

India's Nafed to sell 19,000 T edible oils (Reuters, Jan 16)
A leading Indian farm co- operative will sell 19,000 tonnes of imported edible oils in local market in the next one month to reduce bulging stocks of the cooking medium, the firm's chief executive said. The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and some state-run firms had imported edible oils, mainly palm oil, for supply to state governments, but prices fell heavily and the importers were unable to sell.

India Sugar Output to Miss Forecast as Yields Fall (Bloomberg, Jan 16)
India, the world's second-biggest sugar maker, may produce 1.2 million tons less this year than forecast last month because of lower yields in the main cane growing state, likely tightening global supply. Production in the year ending Sept. 30, 2009, may total 18 million metric tons, compared with 19.2 million tons forecast in December, S.L Jain, director general of the Indian Sugar Mills Association, said in an interview today.

SW China's Guangxi makes room for new steel mill (Reuters, Jan 16)
A southwestern Chinese region pledged to dismantle 10 million tonnes of outdated iron and steel plant, in speedy compliance with a central government order that should allow it to build a new mill, just as big. China's state council announced on Wednesday that it would not allow new steel units, even as industry figures revealed a massive overcapacity thanks to aggressive expansion during boom times.

Ford To Start Production Of Fiesta In China (CNNMoney, Jan 14)
Ford Motor Co. (F) will begin manufacturing the Fiesta subcompact car in China on Thursday as it aims to introduce the car around the world through 2010. The Fiesta will be built at the Changan Ford Mazda Automobile Co. manufacturing facility in Nanjing, China, the company said in a statement Wednesday. The car will go on sale late in the first quarter. Ford has been touting the Fiesta as its first "global car" since a version of the vehicle - with very little changes - will be available in almost every car market where Ford has a presence. The Fiesta, which made its debut at the North American International Auto Show in 2007 under the name, "The Verve," will go on sale in the U.S. sometime in 2010.

Pakistan to be hit hardest by climate change (Economic Times, Jan 15)
Pakistan is among countries that will be hit hardest by climate change though it contributes only a fraction to global warming, environmental experts including India's R K Pachauri have said. Pachauri, chairman of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change, said Pakistan is witnessing severe pressures on its natural resources and environment.

China Faces Water Crisis (Environment News Service, Jan 15)
Eight water conservation and control projects along China's longest river, the Yangtze, will be underway by 2011 to improve water use and protect the environment, a water conservation official said Tuesday. Cai Qihua, director of the Yangtze Water Resources Commission, announced the projects during the commission's annual work meeting in Wuhan, the official state news agency Xinhua reports.

China's Largest Corporate Social Responsibility Website Unveils New Look And CSR Services (China Newswire, Jan 16)
Covering topics such as Chinese consumerism, education, environment, supply chain management, corporate giving, charities, non-governmental organizations, health, safety, labor issues, and legal oversight, ChinaCSR.com is expanding its range of topics this year with more articles on clean energy and cleantech, two areas that will have important business growth in 2009. ChinaCSR.com also is now providing over 120,000 different daily Chinese-language RSS feeds covering a myriad of CSR topics that deliver news directly to users' Web-enabled mobile devices or syndication Web 2.0 software programs.

Should Businesses Save The World? (Forbes.com, Jan 12)
Book Review: At the World Economic Forum last year, Bill Gates, who is as successful a philanthropist as he is an entrepreneur, introduced an idea he calls "creative capitalism." It's an attempt to harness the power of private ownership and laissez faire to improve lives while fixing what he sees as the major flaw in that system.

Antibi otics Kill Eighty Thousand Chinese a Year (Natural News, Jan 14)
Ministry of Health official Wu Yongpei told China Youth Daily that in 2007, antibiotics were prescribed to approximately 74 percent of hospital patients and about 21 percent of outpatients in China -- a rate far higher than many other countries. "Some patients and even doctors consider antibiotics as a panacea and use them often in minor illnesses. Many doctors even do not know the basic use rules for such medicines," Youngpei stated. He added that another reason for overuse of antibiotics was money. Hospitals in China earn more when they prescribe high priced antibiotics, whether patients need them or not. A national survey in China found that antibiotics drugs accounted for about 26 percent of drug sales at 124 hospitals in the country. To try to change the dangerous and too often deadly improper use of antibiotics, China's health authorities began a program last week to train up to 45,000 doctors nationwide in the appropriate use of antibiotics at public hospitals.

Chinese Companies Go Abroad (Part 6: The Pharmaceutical Sector) (Seeking Alpha, Jan 12)
China's pharmaceutical market will likely become the world's fifth largest by 2010, up from its current rank as ninth, due to rising demand from China's large population and rapidly growing middle class. In light of the financial crisis, the Government has also outlined increased medical coverage and investment as a key priority so that older Chinese feel more comfortable about covering skyrocketing medical costs and start fueling domestic consumption, which should also provide a boost to the sector. While the industry is still young-90% of China's pharmaceutical manufacturers are small or medium- sized enterprises, and the ten largest companies generate only 13% of the industry's overall revenue, versus 40-50% in developed markets from firms like Merck (MRK) and Pfizer (PFE) - many companies are already looking overseas for their next growth opportunities going forward.

I ndia plans to move WTO as EU confiscates drugs in transit (domain-b, Jan 16)
India is planning to drag the European Union to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the recent confiscation of a pharmaceutical consignment of Dr Reddy Labs by Dutch authorities. The $50,000 consignment of bulk drug `losartan' to Brazil was seized in transit by the Dutch authorities on charges of patent infringement. "It is a concerted move by MNCs to disrupt the growth of Indian generic industry," said commerce secretary G K Pillai.

India port strike over (Journal of Commerce Online, Jan 14)
Truckers at India's southern Port of Cochin called off their week-long strike Tuesday following negotiations between truck owners, port officials and local cargo clearing agents. Truckers were protesting a recent decision by the authority to levy parking charges for vehicles entering the port area. Under the agreement, clearing agents have agreed to pay parking fees for vehicles staying more than eight hours, and authorities would consider allocating additional parking space to ease congestion.

Economic stimulus package to boost transport information market (China Business News, Jan 16)
A huge transportation information market is revving up in China, boosted by the large amount of money to be invested in the development of the country's transportation infrastructure and digital transportation information facilities as part of the Chinese government's economic stimulus package, Troy Mao, CFO of Nasdaq-listed China TransInfo Technology Corp. (CTFO), told Interfax recently.

Microsoft to invest in Gujarat's education sector (Hindustan Times, Jan 16)
Global software giant Microsoft will invest in training teachers in Gujarat and enhance the use of IT in the education sector. Microsoft India Pvt Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Gujarat government at the Vibrant Gujarat Global Investors' Summit this week. Microsoft will invest in enabling educators in the state to connect with each other, increase their access to technology and training for learners in classrooms and campuses and thereby enhance career opportunities.

Six Sigma Training Surges 25% as Economy Slows (msnbc, Jan 14)
Searches for the term "Six Sigma Certification" in Google have been up over 25% according to Google Trends. Similar results have been seen for the terms "Lean Six Sigma," "Six Sigma Training," and "Six Sigma Black Belt." "Individuals that have skills in reducing waste within an organization are in high demand right now," says Craig Setter, President of Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online. "We have seen a growing demand in the range of 25-35% since the recession has begun."

International Contributors Editorial Board
RJ Paulsick - Co-Editor
Roxanne Russell - Co-Editor
Geoff Hiscock - Australia
Harsha Harjani - Hong Kong
Dr. Nilay Yajnik - India
Farhad Mirzaei - Iran
Ajay Sharma - Netherlands
Melissa Steinmetz - UK
Dr. Daney Jackson - USA
Dr. John R. McIntyre - USA
Dr. Sudhanva Char - Academic Resources
Shree Pandya - Engaging Youth
Laurel Askue - Environment & Conservation
Christopher Chan - Intellectual Property