A boy stands in front of the new Trabant nT concept car at the Frankfurt International Auto Show IAA in Frankfurt, Sept. 15, 2009. (Johannes Eisele/Reuters)
The Trabant: An East German marvel makes a comeback
Want your own "little Sputnik?" You may soon get the chance.
NEW YORK — After the Berlin Wall fell on Nov. 9, 1989, news footage of East Germans rolling across the border in boxy little cars was broadcast across the world.
With those grainy broadcasts, millions outside Germany were introduced to the Trabant, or “Trabi,” as it is affectionately known. A small car with a two-stroke engine and a series of identifying...
Recent on Commerce:
Teacher in a box: Outsourcing homework to India
Saritha Rai - India - November 20, 2009 16:28 ET
Need help with that term paper, young American? Meet Saswati Patnaik.
Back to the Azores: a brand-new world
Ken Shulman - Europe - November 20, 2009 10:25 ET
The reverse flow of migration to this small chain of Portuguese islands is a modern marvel.
Cuba tries to keep the lights on
Nick Miroff - Cuba - November 20, 2009 06:55 ET
Cuba gets plenty of oil from Venezuela. So why is it adopting "extreme measures" to avoid blackouts?
How can 39 million buffalo be wrong?
Jason Overdorf - India - November 19, 2009 06:30 ET
Indian farmers discover the beauty of mozzarella.
Analysis: Obama in China: It's about the money
Kathleen E. McLaughlin - China and its neighbors - November 18, 2009 10:57 ET
How, and why, Obama is treating the dragon differently.
Silicon Sweatshops: A promising model
Jonathan Adams and Kathleen E. McLaughlin - China and its neighbors - November 18, 2009 06:54 ET
There's no easy way to police supply chains in Asia. But one US high-tech firm and its Taiwan supplier are taking a creative approach that might just work.
Special report: Silicon Sweatshops
Jonathan Adams and Kathleen E. McLaughlin - China and its neighbors - November 17, 2009 15:05 ET
Despite strict "codes of conduct," labor rights violations are the norm at factories making the world's favorite high-tech gadgets.
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What do you think about Silicon Sweatshops?
News Desk - China and its neighbors - November 17, 2009 15:04 ET
Are high-tech supply chains in Asia good business or exploitation? You decide.
Silicon Sweatshops: Shattered dreams
Jonathan Adams - China and its neighbors - November 17, 2009 07:24 ET
Migrant workers making gadgets at Taiwan's high-tech parks sign deals that make them modern-day indentured servants.
Silicon Sweatshops: The China connection
Kathleen E. McLaughlin and Jonathan Adams - China and its neighbors - November 17, 2009 07:22 ET
For migrant workers, an electronics factory job can be a ticket into China's booming middle class. But for many, it turns into a nightmare of poor working conditions and indifferent bosses.
Silicon Sweatshops: Disposable workforce
Jonathan Adams - China and its neighbors - November 17, 2009 07:22 ET
Laid-off Taiwanese workers accuse their firm of violating industry codes even when times were good.
Video: The Chinese on Obama
Josh Chin - China and its neighbors - November 16, 2009 19:16 ET
Japan’s downward spiral
Gavin Blair - Japan - November 16, 2009 18:17 ET
One in six Japanese are now poor. The new government has vowed to tackle the problem, but how?
Asia's pushback to big tobacco
Patrick Winn - Thailand - November 15, 2009 12:30 ET
The cigarette industry wants a bigger slice of Asia. Activists want them to butt out.
International visitors buoy US tourism industry
Susan E. Reed - Worldview - November 15, 2009 09:30 ET
Despite dreary economic times, a favorable exchange rate beckons foreign tourists to the majestic Grand Circle and beyond.
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Obama in Japan: Reassuring an old friend
Justin McCurry in Tokyo - Japan - November 14, 2009 16:58 ET
America's first "pacific president" extends a hand. But it's not all smiles.
Obama in Beijing: What you will see. And won't see.
Kathleen E. McLaughlin - China and its neighbors - November 14, 2009 15:56 ET
In China, anything is possible. Nothing is easy.
How other US presidents handled the dragon
Kathleen E. McLaughlin - China and its neighbors - November 14, 2009 11:31 ET
From Nixon, to Ford, to Reagan, Clinton and both Bushes, dealing with China has never been simple.
On Location: Haryana — India's looming food crisis
Jason Overdorf - India - November 12, 2009 16:45 ET
Fat in Japan? You're breaking the law.
David Nakamura - Japan - November 11, 2009 08:40 ET
As the health care debate rages in the US, Tokyo lawmakers set a maximum waist size. Are you too fat for Japan?
Global Blogs:
Portugal: Gateway to Expansion
globalEDGE Team - Commerce - November 20, 2009 18:16 ET
Portugal may be known to many for port wine and perhaps even fado music, but there are far more opportunities in the Portuguese market than people may realize. And realizing this is something that...
The First Three Things I Do Every Morning
Lipsticking Lipsticking - Commerce - November 20, 2009 12:15 ET
By Guest Blogger, Mary Schmidt, Marketing Troubleshooter From my "match your marketing tactics to your (best) customers" fileAdmit it – were you anxiously awaiting this to pop up in your RSS feed? Are you waiting in breathless anticipation to the next email popping up...
Blogging LIVE at the World Entrepreneurship Forum in Lyon, France
Global Small Business Blog - Commerce - November 20, 2009 10:46 ET
I had the great honor and opportunity to listen to Minister Lee Yi Shyan, the State Minister of Trade and Industry, in charge of Entrepreneurship, Singapore talk about Singapore's strategy on...
Liya Kebede stars in Somali supermodel Waris Dirie’s biopic
Annansi Chronicles - Commerce - November 19, 2009 16:39 ET
Supermodel Waris Dirie’s book Desert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey Of A Desert Nomad, published in 1999, helped fuel the open discussion of female genital mutilation in her native Somalia. After spawning two follow-up books, Desert Dawn and Desert Children, the original...
Out Now: America's Blueprint for Bashing China
Emmanuel, Editor/International Political Economy Zone - Commerce - November 19, 2009 12:04 ET
As you can probably tell, I pretty much got it right when I said that nothing much would come from Obama visiting China. Trade, human rights, climate change...there wasn't much assent between these two budding antagonists. Most of the interaction was highly scripted and the...
Prospects for the coming year
Rogue Economist Author - Commerce - November 18, 2009 20:37 ET
As we near the end of the year, I'd like to make an overview of my current views of where we might find ourselves next year. This is an aggregation of much of recurring themes in this blog plus some additional points made by similarly-oriented blogs in recent weeks. First the...
Gold Rising on Insolvency Risk, not Inflation...
Sean Maher, Auther/Dead Cats Bouncing - Commerce - November 18, 2009 10:51 ET
In one way, gold's surge to $1150 simply reflects the tidal wave of excess liquidity that is lifting all asset prices from US junk bonds to the most obscure emerging market indices. That unprecedented money supply growth, while largely insulated from the real economy thus far by...
U.S.-China Clean Energy Announcements
The Policy Innovations writers and contributors - Commerce - November 17, 2009 22:17 ET
Today the U.S. Department of Energy released the following announcement, which details several U.S.-China energy initiatives very much consistent with the recommendations of our recent Carnegie...
Carlos Ghosn, global CEO of Renault-Nissan Alliance, and the future of...
Edward Iwata, Author, "Cool Global Biz" blog - Commerce - November 16, 2009 19:01 ET
"Nissan Leaf" by exoduz, under a Creative Commons license on flickr.com. LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A. -- The future of the global auto industry may have finally arrived. Let's...
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