In the just-completed summer Olympics, America's status as the globe's athletic hegemon was clearly under attack. The United States won the overall medal race, edging out China 110 to 100. But the hosts won significantly more gold medals, and favored U.S. individuals and teams fell victim to Jamaican sprinters, Japanese softball players and boxers from pretty much everywhere.

Action off the field also highlighted a similar shift in the balance of power, as viewers marveled at the impressive hardware (buildings like the Water Cube and the Bird's Nest) and software (the spectacular opening ceremonies). "None of these was an accident," says Edward Gresser, director of the project on trade and global markets at the Washington, D.C.-based Progressive Policy Institute. "They reflect the deep economic trends of a decade in which our competitors have raised their game and we haven't."

If there is a bright spot amid the chaos in the financial markets, it is that it helps to settle a debate among economists about the outlook for the European economy.

Vladimir Putin put his pals in charge to bring order out of chaos. But will their heavy hand be the ruin of Russia's boom?

Corruption remains a major obstacle to international business, according to a new survey commissioned by Control Risks and Simmons & Simmons.

Despite new laws criminalizing foreign bribery, there have been few prosecutions outside the U.S. and, honest companies are still losing out to dishonest competitors on a large scale. Host countries lose out because high levels of corruption discourage reputable businesses from investing. And, although many companies are tightening their anti-corruption procedures, overall standards of compliance remain highly uneven-–both across countries and across sectors.

Make sure you read the labels. Some things you buy might be designed in the U.S., but assembled in China. Tricky marketers are making you think you're buying American when you're not.

Few Americans truly understand what a rich and powerful country India has become – or its role as a global power, center of outsourcing, and potential partner with the United States.

Rafiq Dossani discusses India’s growing role in the global economy in his new book India Arriving. India has the world’s fourth largest economy, the largest youth population, and the current ranking of the second-most-preferred destination for foreign investment, yet its importance to the worldwide market seems to be swept under the rug. Rafiq’s book provides a deeper understanding of a country that promises to be the next major player in the world economy.

Learn how products are exported in this case study of apples being exported from a California farm to a fruit market in Taiwan.

In this third annual Music Matters Survey, the results are revealing: (1) there's a content explosion, (2) a rising music passion, (3) local content prevails, (4) content is digital, (5) mobile takes off, and (6) concerts emerge.

MTV shares its global trends and insights in this handsomely illustrated report.