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APRIL 25, 2005
The Dark Side Of The Oil Economy I was stunned to notice that six oil companies made the Top 10 of "The best performers" of U.S. companies ("The BusinessWeek 50," Apr. 4). Consumption of fossil fuels such as oil is responsible for the growing pollution problems we all experience. The oil economy has another dark side -- that is, the growing power of OPEC countries and the source of financing for Mideast terrorist groups. Yet American oil companies importing heavily from these countries are flourishing. High gasoline prices at the pump are a good thing to reduce consumption of oil, improving the environment and speeding up the transition to green energy sources. But the benefit of high prices should go to governments through taxes and not to oil producers. It should not come as a surprise that a member of the Bush family, a family with very close ties to the oil business, sits in the White House. Bernardo Henriques Lisbon It looks as if there are going to be a lot of openings in your Top 50 should oil prices ever fall. I guess the invasion of Iraq does make a lot of sense after all. It sure has done wonders for Big Oil. Nick Pomazak Arlington Heights, Ill. A Risk Of Burns From Thailand's Boiling Bourse As I read "Boiling-hot bourses" (Finance, Apr. 4), I could not help but think that Assif Shameen is being too optimistic about the stock market prospects in Southeast Asia in general and Thailand in particular. The stock market will continue to be affected by rising oil prices, interest-rate hikes, and overall slower growth in the economy. Privatization and listing of large companies have been hampered by vested interests of employees and religious groups. Witness how the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) and Telecom Organization of Thailand (TOT) have both strongly opposed privatization because of employees' fears of losing benefits. Five thousand monks stormed the Stock Exchange of Thailand to protest the listing of Beer Chang, one of the greatest cash generators in Thai history. If Beer Chang (Southeast Asia's largest brewery) is not listed in Thailand, the company may well transfer to a rival market. The listings of EGAT and Beer Chang would increase market capitalization of the Stock Exchange of Thailand and be a boon to investors, but they are anything but certain. Athaporn Arayasantiparb Bangkok   China: Why Counterfeiting May Only Get Worse As a regular reader of your magazine, and particularly as a resident in China, I would like to express some ideas about Frederik Balfour's "Fakes" (Cover Story, Feb. 7). I am very depressed by the situation of counterfeiting in China for these reasons: Because the transparency of government is low, and widespread corruption exists in public sectors, the fight against counterfeiting, which is also operated by government, is completely ineffective. No matter how many laws are signed and or how many measures are taken, counterfeiting will continue as long as the system of government's operation doesn't change. Counterfeiting should be seen as a system problem. Even if the government takes measures to crack down on the fakes industry, the people who run the counterfeiting can escape from punishment or only get a light punishment by corrupt officials. And even though government established the goal of protecting intellectual property, it is hardly achieved because people lack a sense of the importance of intellectual property. China's economy is facing counterfeiting's challenge that, if not addressed immediately and effectively, will have profound implications for sustainable development. I reckon China's counterfeiting won't vanish. In contrast, it may become more rampant in the coming decade. Li Wei Nanjing, China Lessons From Europe: The Right-Not-To-Work Ethic The letter from reader Srinivas Balla ("Why Europe still has a long way to go to be competitive," Readers Report, Apr. 4 regarding "Every little reform counts," European Business, Mar. 7) suggests that more immigration into Europe from his fellow countrymen may well alleviate the unemployment and overpopulation in India and other Asian countries, but it will do nothing to improve European competitiveness. In fact, it makes the situation worse. The new immigrants soon learn from the local Europeans that Europe's high taxes and welfare-state mentality make work an increasingly futile exercise. Why bother to work if you can live on government handouts? That's the A-to-Z of the problem. Michael St. Clair-George Antwerp, Belgium Cents And Nonsense In The CPI As often done in the past, you state: "Excluding volatile food and energy prices, consumer prices rose at the one-year rate of 2.4%" ("The fed may be talking too freely," News: The United States, Apr. 4). What's the use of having a consumer price index if you remove what's going up the most? The final yearly rate will average out volatile components. Please tell me what consumer can survive without food and energy. Oscar Guidali Palos Verdes Estates, Calif. GE Should Recall Its Past Management Style So CEO Jeffrey R. Immelt is trying to change the mind-set of General Electric Co. (GE ) management ("The Immelt revolution," Management, Mar. 28). It just so happens that one of the most effective management strategies for doing so was originated at GE in the 1950s. Long forgotten at GE, it has been developed and improved to the state where it is now a key part of many countries' management systems around the world: value analysis/engineering. In the 1950s, Lawrence D. Miles created the system at GE, and it was picked up by the Japanese. It has now become the basis for many of their highly successful engineering and manufacturing methods. In recognition of his contribution to Japanese industry, Mr. Miles was awarded by the Emperor the Third Class order of the Sacred Treasure. Unfortunately, that system seems to have skipped over the U.S. with only a few touchdowns. Richard J. Park Birmingham, Mich.
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