PARIS ― In 2005, at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, a prestigious exhibit sponsored by the Chinese government, “The Three Emperors,” celebrated the greatness of Chinese art. The show’s central piece was a giant painting in the European (Jesuit) style depicting the envoys of the Western world lining up to pay respect to the Chinese emperor. The message could not have been more explicit: “China is back.” The West would have to pay tribute to China in the future the way it had kowtowed to it i

The main opposition Democratic United Party is seeking to protect its embattled floor leader, Rep. Park Jie-won, no matter what. Park is facing an investigation over allegations that he received more than 100 million won in bribes from two distressed savings banks.To protect Park, a top-notch election strategist, the party is even moving to use the widely criticized practice of creating a “bullet-proof” Assembly ― prolonging Assembly sessions simply to prevent prosecutors from arresting lawmaker

A deadly heat wave is gripping the nation, prompting the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to activate a network of emergency medical facilities to take care of victims of heat stroke.According to the centers, the sweltering heat has already left six people dead nationwide. Heat waves are often called a silent killer as people who die from heat exhaustion show few symptoms of illness.Experts compare the ongoing heat wave to July 1994 when the temperature in Seoul stayed above 32 d

The prospect of Greece leaving the euro is infecting markets again like a recurring case of the Spanish flu. As Greece’s international creditors begin talks in Athens, a few deep breaths and some perspective are in order. Did anyone think Greece wasn’t still at risk of a euro departure? The election of a pro-euro government on June 17 did no more than avoid an instant Greek exit. The challenges that existed before the vote remain, and that was as clear in June as it is now. The latest hyperventi

WASHINGTON ― U.S. policy toward Syria is caught between two conflicting imperatives: President Bashar al-Assad must go, and the killing must stop. Unfortunately, it’s probably impossible to have both. A more realistic formula is that Assad must go, and the killing will continue ― with the U.S. and its allies trying to limit collateral damage. Because the U.S. seeks Assad’s ouster, the Obama administration should focus more on “the day after” ― including the near-certainty that violence will pers

For a century, incomes became increasingly equal across the U.S., as poor states such as Alabama caught up to rich places like California. Economists have long taught this history to their undergraduates as an illustration of the growth theory for which Robert Solow won his Nobel Prize in economics: Poor places are short on the capital that would make local labor more productive. Investors move capital to those poor places, hoping to capture some of the increased productivity as higher returns.

This is the last in a three-part series on corporate-governance issues. ― Ed.It is often said that social change can’t occur until what was seen as misfortune is seen as injustice. There is a corollary in the financial world. It says change can’t occur until what was seen as immaterial is seen as risky. That’s happening with executive compensation. Investors are recognizing that excessive pay for chief executive officers does more than shave a few cents off earnings; it also provides important c

TEL AVIV ― During World War II, Winston Churchill famously drew a distinction between “the end of the beginning” and “the beginning of the end.” That distinction is equally applicable to the unfolding Syrian crisis. Recent events ― the growing number of high-level defections from the regime’s leadership, the killing of three of President Bashar al-Assad’s most senior officials in a bomb attack, and the rebellion’s spread into Damascus itself ― suggest that, after a long period of gradual decline

This is the second in a three-part series on corporate governance issues. ― Ed.When I testify before Congress about corporate governance, I like to watch the faces of the committee members when I explain the rules for electing corporate directors. “I know you, better than anyone else, understand what the word ‘election’ means,” I say. “Well, in the wacky world of public corporations, you win even if 99 percent of the shareholders vote against you.” Except for the fraction of cases where someone

Time flies when you’re moving backward. With the federal minimum wage stuck at $7.25 an hour since July 24, 2009, workers now have less buying power than they did in 1997 at the start of the longest period in history without a raise.It took 10 years, from 1997 until 2007, to raise the minimum wage above $5.15. A worker would need $7.36 today to match the buying power of the $5.15 minimum wage in 1997.If you picture raising minimum wage as climbing a mountain, workers have fallen below the spot r

This is the first of three articles on corporate governance issues. ― Ed.We don’t let students grade their own exams, but we let CEOs chair their own boards. At 281 of the S&P 500 companies, the chairman is the current chief executive officer. At 38 of the 500, the chairman is a former executive or has some other connection to the CEO or company. And at 72 others, the chairman is listed as an independent outside director, yet a closer look too often reveals relationships that squeezed through lo

The Obama administration has quietly issued new bureaucratic rules that overturned the popular welfare reform law of 1996. This illegal move completely undoes years of progress that helped millions of Americans.The 1996 reform replaced the old Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program with a program called Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). At the core of TANF were federal work standards that required able-bodied welfare recipients to work, prepare for work, or at least

The main opposition Democratic United Party is seeking to revise a set of labor laws in its bid to enhance the fundamental rights of workers. Yet the party’s move could undermine the current relative stability in industrial relations. The party is focusing on workers’ rights as part of its campaign to “democratize the economy.” Economic democratization ― a new buzz word among domestic political parties ― involves two key aspects. One is to level the playing field between large and small companie

The Fair Trade Commission has slapped a subsidiary of Lotte Group with a 650 million won ($562,000) fine for providing unfair financial support to a zombie sister company. The fine was imposed on Lotte PS Net, an affiliate that takes care of automatic teller machines installed at the group’s department stores and discount stores. According to the commission, Lotte PS Net purchased a total of 3,534 ATMs between September 2009 and last month. The acquisition was made not directly from the manufact

When I was a little kid, there was a game I used to play while out and about with my family. Every time we came upon an escalator, I’d run ahead and charge up it as fast as I could, just so I could then stand at the top and “pull” everyone else up by the moving handrail. When they joined me at the top, I’d proudly claim full responsibility. No one could escape being pawns in my victory if they were on that escalator. It was their own fault if they didn’t take the stairs.I was about 5 at the time

WASHINGTON ― Because of the breakdown of political decision-making in the U.S. and Europe during the Great Recession, the burden of response has fallen largely on two big central banks: the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. And down the road, they are going to pay for it. The balance sheets of these institutions have ballooned as they’ve pumped out cash ― adding so many new obligations that some economists worry the central banks may be sowing the seeds of the next financial crisis.

Assad’s regime should be finished. There have been numerous defections: a Syrian pilot, a brigadier general, and a high ranking diplomat. Assad’s grip on power has been crumbling. His regime even desperately lashed out by attacking a Turkish fighter jet. This is likened to a wounded animal that is taking vicious last bites before it dies. Meanwhile, the U.N. is doing pretty much nothing about ending his regime sooner. Instead, we are letting the regime inflict extraordinarily heinous crimes agai

Every now and then, an army of experts goes around proclaiming the end of China’s economy. Since mid-July 2012, the new song is about China being a bubble and the bubble bursting. Giving the answers right away: Yes, China’s economy is weakening; Yes, there are troubling signals; No, China is not a bubble; No, the bubble is not bursting.What is wrong with China?Chinese economic authorities have revised their growth-forecast from 8 percent to 7.5 percent for the year 2012. This rate, taken for fac

The U.S. presidential election, by some accounts, is sinking to record depths of negativity and nastiness, with unprecedented attacks on Wall Street, especially the private-equity industry. It’s enough to send the children inside. Except that it isn’t true. There are still more than 100 days to go, but so far the tone and tenor of the contest between President Barack Obama and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is tame by historical standards. The Republican candidate has said the preside

BANGKOK ― Fifteen years ago this month, the world’s eyes turned to Southeast Asia and then to South Korea and across the Asia-Pacific region as what would become known as the Asian financial crisis unfolded, ending a period of business euphoria about the so-called Asian miracle. In Thailand, after a decade of economic growth averaging 9 percent per year, the bubble burst first, when the government was forced to float its currency in July 1997. The crisis spread, as the value of currencies and eq