Word: fief
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...state, international pariah, charter member of the "axis of evil"?North Korea is hardly an obvious place for long-term investments like tree farms. The decrepit Stalinist economy depends on international handouts to prevent widespread starvation. The Dear Leader?strongman Kim Jong Il?runs the country like a medieval fief. But Savage is confident that his $23 million, 20,000 hectare Paulownia plantation south of Pyongyang will pay off. His Singapore-based company, Maxgro Holdings, is investing $5 million in North Korea this year, and he even has plans to build a resort there, complete with a 70-room hotel...
...Political correctness, on the other hand, fits his bulky frame like a suit several sizes too small. With his heavy jowls and beetling eyebrows, he projects little charisma. Just how democratic politics will fare under a man whose portrait hangs in every office, shop and school across his fief remains to be seen. "Dostum fits straight into the pattern of Central Asian authoritarianism that's digging in across the region," says a Western official in Kabul. "Anyone who imagines this is some roly-poly Mr. Nice Guy who understands democratic give-and-take is making a mistake...
...revenue stream of giant Sony, but Samsung Electronics is growing fast. It is the best performer in the family-controlled conglomerate that spawned it, the Samsung Group. Some analysts complain that the family of founder Lee Byung Chul, who died in 1987, still treats Samsung Electronics as a personal fief and that murky financial reporting makes it hard to discern the company's true profits. But neither worry has stopped investors from pouring money into the stock, which is up 65% over the past 12 months. Korea's consumers are spending more than ever, and they just happen...
...revenue stream of giant Sony, but Samsung Electronics is growing fast. It is the best performer in the family-controlled conglomerate that spawned it, the Samsung Group. Some analysts complain that the family of founder Lee Byung Chul, who died in 1987, still treats Samsung Electronics as a personal fief and that murky financial reporting makes it hard to discern the company's true profits. But neither worry has stopped investors from pouring money into the stock, which is up 65% over the past 12 months. Korea's consumers are spending more than ever, and they just happen...
...revenue stream of giant Sony, but Samsung Electronics is growing fast. It is the best performer in the family-controlled conglomerate that spawned it, the Samsung Group. Some analysts complain that the family of founder Lee Byung Chul, who died in 1987, still treats Samsung Electronics as a personal fief and that murky financial reporting makes it hard to discern the company's true profits. But neither worry has stopped investors from pouring money into the stock, which is up 65% over the past 12 months. Korea's consumers are spending more than ever, and they just happen...