Word: cartelism
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...dangerous business in Colombia. The country produces no less than 90% of the world's supply of the precious green stones. Just as plentiful is the bloodshed caused by territorial fights among rival clans of guaqueros. Unlike the diamond-mining industry, which is tightly controlled by the South African cartel, De Beers Consolidated Mines, the Colombian emerald business is wide open. Though the government grants mining rights to production companies and nominally regulates the industry, the vast majority of emeralds are brought to market by independent, unregulated guaqueros. "There are no economic laws that apply," says Jack Rotiewicz, general manager...
...level that President Kennedy predicted in 1961. In commerce, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade has helped to slow the growth of protectionism. In banking, cooperation has worked to contain the threat of massive defaults and to manage the vast shifts of wealth brought on by the OPEC cartel. New opportunites for progress may exist in areas as disparate as protecting the ozone layer, stabilizing exchange rates, establishing rules for capital movements and trade, limiting nuclear weapons, or even the use of peace-keeping forces. Further possibilities will doubtless appear with increasing frequency over your lifetime...
Pisces started small, when DEA agents posing as money launderers infiltrated the U.S. branch of the Colombian drug-smuggling cartel. Over time, the undercover cops won the confidence of higher-ups through efficient, discreet service. And they obtained unprecedented cooperation from authorities in Panama, where many of the drug Mafia's ill-gotten gains were traced. Besides netting hordes of drug traffickers, the coolly efficient agents showed a profit. Operation Pisces made $4.3 million in money-laundering commissions before the DEA wrapped up the operation...
These days, though, tales of future shocks seem like distant fantasies. OPEC remains a cartel held together by the loosest of links. Three months ago the group agreed to cut production by 7%, to 15.8 million bbl. a day, and prices later jumped by about $4, to more than $19 per bbl. But OPEC's continued weakness soon surfaced. Last month certain members were reported to be cheating on the cartel's production accord, and prices fell below $15 per bbl. Even as Saudi Arabia worked last week to keep the production agreement intact, causing prices to rise about...
Still, OPEC is expected to regain its strength sooner or later, and the U.S. is doing little to defend itself against a revitalized cartel. American oil production, which had held fairly steady since the late 1970s, declined last year. Total output fell by 3%, or 300,000 bbl. a day. The Department of Energy projects that U.S. oil production will fall by an additional 440,000 bbl. a day through...