fueling the gravy train

My colleague Ron Moreau has written a damn interesting article about the Tata Group in this week's Newsweek International. He looks at Tata as a "different kind of multinational," that respects its workers, strives to develop business in places like Africa and Bangladesh, and actuall spends money on do-gooder programs, instead of just paying lip-service to "corporate citizenship." Some of the history here may be old stuff for India's business scribes, but it makes for a good read.

(A thought: Is Moreau trying to oust Thomas Friedman as India's most beloved foreign journo?--Nah, for that he'd have to come up with some cornball slogans and theories... the Tata Theory of Olive-bearing Flora or the Laughingly Obvious Matrix of Overstatement).

Another shameless plug for the guys who (mostly) pay my bills: Stefan Theil's piece on Europe's shrinking population is a must read for all Mallus and Biharis looking for soft landings abroad. How's this for a factoid: "Home to 22 of the world's 25 lowest-birthrate countries, Europe will lose 41 million people by 2030 even with continued immigration, according to the latest U.N. Population Division report. The biggest decline will hit rural Europe. As Italians, Spaniards, Germans and others produce barely half the children needed to maintain the status quo—and rural flight continues to suck people into Europe's suburbs and cities—the countryside will lose close to a third of its population, say both the United Nations and the EU."

There has to be some cheap farmland available. And, as always, I'm available for the post of commune leader.