Entries for January 2007

Is corporate America going soft?

I was still trying to absorb the ramifications of a call for universal healthcare by the Business Roundtable–a collection of leading CEOs who famously lean Republican–when there was more shocking news: DuPont, GE, Alcoa, and seven other industrial companies were calling for major reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Anybody who blinked over the holidays might have missed important news from China. DaimlerChrysler announced that by 2008 it plans to import small "B-class" cars built by the Chinese automaker Chery, the first time a Chinese-made car will go on sale in the United States. Pfizer won a big lawsuit that, in theory, will prohibit Chinese companies from selling blue, diamond-shaped knockoff pills that look exactly like Viagra. Best Buy opened its first Chinese outlet in Shanghai. And Westinghouse nailed a deal to build four nuclear power plants for China, which will bring about 5,000 jobs to western Pennsylvania and other states.

Most CEOs favor market solutions over regulatory ones and laissez-faire economics over other kinds. Little wonder: When you're the most powerful guy in the market–or the company–things tend to go your way.