The leading index increased 0.3 percent, the coincident index increased 0.4 percent, and the lagging index decreased 0.2 percent in January. Taken together, the three composite indexes and their components show a strong economy: The coincident indicators show that the economy continued to expand through the first month of the year. With the release of January data, the economy has tied the expansion of the 1960's as the longest expansion in U.S. history. The leading indicators point to a continuation of the expansion during 2000. The lagging index shows that cyclical imbalances were not a problem in January.
On March 1 the Center for Defense Information welcomed its new President, Mr. Bruce G. Blair. Mr. Blair takes the helm from retired U.S. Senator Dale Bumpers, whose steady hand guided the Center as it made the transition from the 20th to the 21st Century. Mr. Blair brings to the job first-hand knowledge of the U.S. military and how it works, having served in the U.S. Air Force for four years following his graduation from the University of Illinois. He, like his predecessor, adds another highly complementary and invaluable dimension to CDI's base of experience: more than a decade spent in intense study and research into what may be the two most important continuing national security questions of the 21st century – the future of nuclear weapons and the future of Russia.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Defense Policy, and Economics
What moves faster than an intercontinental missile, leaps over rational scientific and diplomatic arguments, and defies the pull of fiscal constraints more surely than gravity governs the universe? With apologies to Superman for using his motto, the answer is the cost of the National Missile Defense (NMD) system that the Administration and Congress seem intent on developing and deploying by 2005 and maintaining for at least another 25 years.
Topic:
International Relations, Security, Defense Policy, and Economics
A decade into financial sector liberalization, there has been little concerted effort at restructuring the Indian public sector banks (PSBs). Though there has been significant progress in banking regulatory reform in the decade, the lack of restructuring has slowed down the assimilation of the incentive structures inherent in the new regulations.
More than 80 percent of the cocaine in the United States comes from Colombia. Substantial amounts of the heroin seized in the United States are also from Colombia. For the United States the impact of illegal drugs is devastating, not only in terms of human misery and lives lost, but also the billions it costs to combat this illegal trade; house the prison population of drug offenders; to provide health care to drug users; and sustain the loss of productivity in the economy. One estimate puts the dollar cost at $100 billion a year. This is a staggering amount, even in an $8 trillion economy. The cost to Colombia, however, is disproportionately higher. Consider the corruption and economic distortion $5 billion of illicit profits causes in Colombia, whose GDP is about $90 billion.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Civil Society, and Economics
Political Geography:
United States, Colombia, South America, and Latin America