Does Mitsubishi Really Need To Be In The Car Business?

Re "Mitsubishi zips past the scrap heap" (Asian Business, Oct. 24): All the reorganization in the world, as well as cost-cutting measures, will not change the fact that Mitsubishi should not be in the car business -- not with Toyota (TM

), Honda (HMC

), and Nissan (NSANY

) taking up virtually all of the market. Mitsubishi is a huge conglomerate that does not need to make cars. It's time they called it a day and shut down their automotive division.

A.J. Buttacavoli

Oakland, Calif. Re "The Best Executive MBAs" (Special Report, Oct. 24): Could U.S. standards of educational quality be any further removed from the needs of Asia-based business students? Next time, please inform me of the educational star institutions in Asia rather than trotting out a bunch of overpriced U.S. degrees. Your professionals talk about cross-functionality yet continue to purvey "Made in America."

Daniel Costello

Gangneung, South Korea

Have you considered including more European schools in this ranking? The University College Dublin Smurfit School was the first to offer an EMBA in Europe, in 1964. There is a long-established relationship between the U.S. and Ireland. But you may not be aware that while U.S. corporations have created nearly 100,000 jobs in Ireland, Ireland is responsible for nearly as many jobs in the U.S. and that Ireland is also one of the top 10 foreign investors in the U.S. How well Ireland educates its business leaders is of direct relevance to the U.S. in this case.

Damien P. McLoughlin, Dean

UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business

Dublin Re "First restrain spending, then ax the AMT" (Editorials, Oct. 24), calling for the elimination of the alternative minimum tax, I have an alternative: Make the AMT a flat tax immediately. No deductions, just a straight percentage of all income from all sources. As you have mentioned in previous articles, a flat tax has helped many new economies do well (Estonia, for example), and in my opinion it would have the same effects here in the U.S. By using the AMT as a vehicle to introduce a flat tax, you get to phase it in gradually and at the same time vastly simplify a whole chunk of the tax code.

John Page

Saratoga, Calif.