These days, what happens in New York doesn’t stay in New York, especially when it comes to the economy. Events on Wall Street and Main Street in the United States ripple outward, affecting markets and lives across the globe. And likewise, if it matters to business in Beijing or Delhi, Moscow or Madrid, it matters in America as well.

Economy


Tourists Protest Paying $21 for an Ice Cream Cone in Rome

Gelateria in Rome (Photo: Shoot First, Eat Later/Flickr)

An ice cream parlor in Rome recently unleashed a wave of protests when it charged some British tourists $21 per ice cream cone. It was just the latest instance of tourists getting ripped off in the Eternal City, as Megan Williams reports from Rome.

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Invisible Workforce: An Undocumented Immigrant Caregiver Shares Her Story

Live-in caregiver Joesy Gerrish, from Fiji, with her employer Florence Tratar, who had an accident that left her in a wheelchair. (Photo: Monica Campbell)

Nannies, housecleaners, caregivers—they are sometimes called the world’s most invisible workforce. In the US alone, it’s estimated that more than 2 million people do this type of work. Most are women and many are immigrants. And pressure is growing to address their working conditions. As part of our Global Nation coverage, The World’s Monica Campbell has our first piece in a series about domestic workers.

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Lending Circles: Helping Immigrants in America Build Credit

José Quiñonez, the executive director, of The Mission Asset Fund in San Francisco. (Photo: Jason Margolis)

For most of us, when we want to make a major purchase, we apply for a loan. But what if you have no credit score? That’s the case for many immigrants living in the United States – here legally or not. But one non-profit organization in San Francisco has adopted a novel way to try and change that.

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Maasai the Brand: Firm Helping Indigenous People Claim Ownership of Their Cultural Property

Mamas meeting Longido (Photo: Light Years IP)

Marco speaks with Ron Layton of Light Years IP about helping indigenous people gaining the legal rights to their cultural property.

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Jobless, Some Spaniards Catch Entrepreneurial Spirit

Young Spanish entrepreneur Francesc Sanz at work in his downtown Barcelona office. His start-up, LaComunity.com, matches renters with apartment owners online, saving people old fashioned commissions. Sanz is part of what Spain's government hopes is a nascent trend toward creative self-employment. (Photo: Gerry Hadden)

More than half of young Spaniards are out of work and companies aren’t hiring. So the government hopes the young unemployed will go entrepreneurial and start their own businesses. But the challenges are big, both financially and culturally.

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Affordable Washing Detergent for the Poor in Chile

Algramo vending machine (Photo: Joaquin Trujillo Campos)

People in poor neighborhoods in Chile are sometimes so strapped for cash that they can’t even get the money together to buy a box of detergent. But buying it in small amounts ultimately costs them more. So a one-time student protester came up with an idea for a simple vending machine that dispenses detergent in small amounts at bulk prices.

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New Diaspora: Online Project Documents the Greek Immigrant Experience

A screenshot from a trailer for the New Diaspora web project

In Greece, youth unemployment is running at nearly 60 percent. Many young Greeks have left to find work. A web documentary project called New Diaspora aims to collect stories of the Greek immigrant experience.

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Obama to Discuss Drug War and Trade on Mexico Visit

President Peña Nieto and President Obama (Photo: Pete Souza/White House)

The drug war is on the agenda for President Obama’s visit to Mexico this week, especially after Mexico announced it wants to centralize bilateral cooperation through its Interior Ministry. But Obama and Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto both have an interest in discussing trade as well.

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Building Small Business Ties Between the US and Mexico

Mexican entrepreneur Tania Rodriguez in Austin, Texas. (Photo: Jason Margolis)

President Obama is visiting Mexico this week, the United States’ third largest trading partner. Most of the back and forth in trade originates from big multinationals. It’s much harder though for small Mexican entrepreneurs to sell their products in the United States. But those small-business ties are important. And the Mexican government is increasingly focusing on them.

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China Past Due: Land Rights

Rural scenery on the outskirts of Chengdu (Photo: Mary Kay Magistad)

Land is at the heart of any economy, and in China, the Communist Party has chosen to corner that market. Urban land is owned by the state; rural land is owned by village collectives – but, effectively, by the state. The original idea was to end feudalism and give more rights to farmers. But these days, the Party elite are flush and the farmers are the ones losing out.

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China Past Due: Facing the Consequences of Control

Parade at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing (Photo: Mary Kay Magistad)

China’s leaders face great challenges and great expectations. Economic growth is slowing, the population is aging, and the environment is in a state of crisis. In the midst of it all, the Chinese people increasingly expect a different kind of relationship with their government – one of citizens and not subjects. A five-part series by The World’s China correspondent Mary Kay Magistad.

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Musician Olafur Arnalds Explains How Iceland’s Financial Crisis Helped the Arts

Olafur Arnalds Twitter Profile Photo

Anchor Marco Werman tells us about Icelandic musician Olafur Arnalds who – despite possible outcomes of Saturday’s parliamentary elections there – feels that the arts have actually been buoyed by the 2008 banking crisis.

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In Spain, Horses the Latest Victims in Economic Slump

This mare, Katana, was found tethered to a tree in a Barcelona park, nearly dead. (Photo: Gerry Hadden)

When Spain was booming 15 years ago a lot of people bought horses. They were a symbol of status and wealth. Now, with unemployment at a record high and the economy sinking further, people can’t get rid of their horses fast enough. Too often they’re abandoned to die. A few sanctuaries are trying to rescue as many as they can, but they’re overwhelmed.

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Spain’s Financial Crisis Sends Actors Into Homes

Laura Llimona and Jose Baron, two of the actors in the Theater in Apartments company, performing, as they do, in a private home. Audiences are small, but the actors still earning a living - by passing a hat after shows. They're finding early support among a citizenry strapped for cash - and mad at the government for levying a heavy new tax on ordinary theater tickets. (Photo: Gerry Hadden)

The bad economy and new taxes have deterred Spaniards from spending on culture and many theaters are closing, but a small group of actors may have found a way to survive.

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Salaries of Heads-of-State Around the World

President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union speech on Capitol Hill in Washington, February 12, 2013. (Reuters/Charles Dharapak/Pool)

President Obama’s salary announcement Wednesday got us thinking about what other heads-of-state make around the world. Here’s a few highlights.

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