Survived the holidays (sans snow); two new kitties are keeping the household busy; and only two weeks until the new semester begins - ye gads.
More on the transnational, transcultural aspects of the IBM-Lenovo deal: David Barboza, "Outsourcing to the U.S.," NYT, 12/25/04, c1, 2, on Lenovo's relocation of its headquarters to Armonk, NY, in the wake of its purchase of IBM's PC unit.
Obituary for Richard J. Barnet, co-author of Global Reach (1974) on multinationals: NYT, 12/24/04, A16.
On the mysteries of hedge funds that trade convertible bonds (an innovation of nineteenth-century railroads, by the way): Susan Pulliam, "How Hedge-Fund Trading Sent a Company's Stock on Wild Ride," WSJ, 12/28/04, A1, 6.
One advantage of the online edition of the Wall Street Journal over that of the New York Times: WSJ articles include illustrations; those for the NYT don't, although one may purchase copies of photos (not graphics, which is a big loss for teachers like me who like to use them in the classroom--guess I'll keep clipping in some instances).
Wal-Mart, together with the Department of Defense and the Food and Drug Administration, is pushing its suppliers to adopt the new technology of radio tags and meeting some resistance: Barnaby J. Feder, "Despite Wal-Mart's Edict, Radio Tags Wil Take Time," NYT, 12/27/04, C3. Historical echoes: the fate of Philadelphia's independent, small-scale textile producers after the rise of powerful customers (department stores), and the U.S. Ordnance Department's lengthy efforts to develop interchangeable parts manufacturing technology.
Obituary for James L. Ling, builder of conglomerates: NYT, 12/26/04, 31.
