Word: cheaping
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...reputation for drinking and fighting and talking about the weather. The annual conferences of Britain's three largest political parties traditionally provide ample opportunity to indulge in all three pursuits. They take place in sequential weeks of September and October, mostly in out-of-season resorts where the cheap hotels are accustomed to tipsy guests, and amusement arcades are open from morning to night...
...haven't these countries' currencies been gaining on the dollar? Because their governments won't let them. China's dollar peg, established in the mid-1990s, is often portrayed in the U.S. as a mercantilist attempt to sell more stuff here (if the Chinese yuan is cheap relative to the dollar, imports from China are cheaper too). But there's much more to it than that: by reining in the often pointless fluctuations of currency markets, countries can bring stability and encourage trade...
When Tata first suggested an ultra-cheap car a few years ago, other manufacturers scoffed, saying the project was a pipe dream. But if Tata lures away even 10% of the 6.5 million Indians who buy motorbikes every year, not only will it have a hit on its hands, it also will have expanded India's car market by more than half. Competitors aren't willing to cede that kind of market share without a fight. Carlos Ghosn, head of Renault-Nissan, recently announced that his company was looking at building a $3,000 car in India. Fiat, General Motors...
Carmakers aren't just targeting India. Tata Motors has plans to export its econobox to Southeast Asia and Africa. Ratan Tata, chairman of Tata Motors' parent company, Tata Group, believes his company can eventually sell as many as 1 million cheap cars a year worldwide. That may be a realistic assessment. Globally, up to 3.7 million such vehicles could be sold annually within the next few years, mostly in fast-growing markets like Brazil, China, India and Russia, says Abdul Majeed, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Chennai (formerly Madras). "It's all about affordability and fuel efficiency," says Majeed...
Building ultra-cheap cars is possible in large part because of low manufacturing costs in developing countries. Tata and other Indian automakers estimate that their engineering costs alone are about half what they would be in Europe or the U.S. At the same time, Tata has tapped the skills of Italy's Fiat, with which it has a joint venture in India, and of engine designers from Britain's West Midlands region, some of whom had been jobless after closures in Britain's auto industry over the past few years. Indian producers are relentless cost cutters. Many, including Tata...