When the next Forbes billionaires list is released, 32 new names will be on it. And while most hail from the sort of countries you'd expect -- the United States, China, EU nations -- a half dozen made their fortunes in more surprising places.
China's trade growth plunged in June, hurt by weak U.S. and European demand and a Chinese slowdown, with a potential impact on economies as far-flung as Africa and Australia.
Walmart's numbers have been stagnating in the U.S. lately, but overseas in emerging markets, the world's biggest retailer has been coming on strong. Its stock has been hovering in the low $50s -- and you won't believe where Trefis puts its estimate for the real value of the low-price giant.
With U.S. gas prices near historic highs, Americans are anxious about the cost of filling up. But we still feel far less pain at the pump than drivers in many other developed nations. On the flip side, if you drive in the right world cities, you can still pay less than $1 a gallon.
Major League Baseball's worldwide spread is facing slow going in China and Africa. But America's favorite pastime is working hard to find friends in both areas, starting with footholds in Taiwan and South Africa. MLB is clearly keeping its eye on the ball overseas.
If you want to know how the rural developing world could get cheap, easy wireless Internet access, just follow the money: Remittances to those regions total tens of billions each year, and the money flow isn't very efficient. The profits from micro-telcos taking over the business could prime the pump for an information revolution in the hinterlands.
South Africa has some lofty expectations about the boost the World Cup will bring to its economy. Economists are skeptical that the soccer tournament will live up to those expectations and history shows that it most likely will not.
Forget Austin Powers. The real "international man of mystery" is President Umaru Yar'Adua of Nigeria, who hasn't been seen in public for weeks. The absence comes at a tricky time for U.S.-Nigerian relations, as a Nigerian has been charged with trying to blow up a U.S. airliner and Obama needs Nigeria's help to counter Al-Qaeda's growing influence in the region.
