NEW YORK, Oct. 12, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- This week's Wall Street Journal Weekend Edition centerpiece focuses on the workers of Myanmar - forced to cross borders into neighboring countries to find work in factories, due to the sanctions placed on the country by the Western world.
"Isolated Myanmar, where military rulers last month crushed peaceful protests led by Buddhist monks, offers an especially raw example of the border-crossing pressures and dilemmas unleashed by international trade," writes Journal news editor Andrew Higgins in this week's Weekend Edition. "Globalization is reaching into the most remote and politically toxic nooks and crannies of the world economy. U.S. and European sanctions stop most Western companies from setting up shop in Myanmar. But the long arm of trade gets around the barriers in places like this border zone, by sucking labor into neighboring countries."
Mr. Higgins adds, "Myanmar also poses an ethical conundrum for Westerners concerned about the role multinationals may play in propping up rogue regimes. Myanmar is such an economic wasteland that its people lust for jobs few others want to do. Cost-conscious factory bosses across the border, while acting simply out of self-interest, end up providing jobs that both the people of Myanmar and its military government need."
Factories in Thailand and Myawaddy employ many Myanmar workers. While labor laws require the registration of each immigrant worker, many companies have no qualms about failing to register workers. Labor activists denounce what they say is systematic exploitation in the border zone, yet many others argue that without the work, the abuse would be shifted to other places with low labor costs.
Additional stories appearing in this week's Weekend Edition of The Wall Street Journal include the following:
Money & Investing:
* Bet the House on the Currency Market: Here's a way to bet the
house on the currency market -- take out a mortgage denominated
in Swiss francs, Japanese yen or euros. Interest rates can be
much lower, but the risks are obvious. Some banks are beginning
to offer these loans.
* Beauty Inventions: Venture capitalists have traditionally shied
away from the vanity niche, better known for hype than scientific
innovation. But with American adults of all ages spending
more to look good, investors are lately expressing strong
interest in new inventions that lift sagging bodies and
rejuvenate aging skin.
Weekend Journal:
* Little-known Producer Crafting Hits: Nate "Danja" Hills is one of
the little-known producers helping to shore up the struggling
pop-music business, crafting tracks from the ground up for
artists from Britney Spears to Madonna to Justin Timberlake. The
Journal goes inside his hit-construction factory.
About The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal, the flagship publication of Dow Jones & Company (NYSE:DJ) (www.dowjones.com), is the world's leading business publication. Founded in 1889, The Wall Street Journal has a print and online circulation of nearly 2.1 million, reaching the nation's top business and political leaders, as well as investors across the country. Holding 33 Pulitzer Prizes for outstanding journalism, The Wall Street Journal provides readers with trusted information and knowledge to make better decisions. The Wall Street Journal print franchise has more than 750 journalists world-wide and is part of the Dow Jones network of nearly 1,800 business and financial news staff. Other publications that are part of The Wall Street Journal franchise, with total circulation of 2.6 million, include The Wall Street Journal Asia, The Wall Street Journal Europe and The Wall Street Journal Online at WSJ.com, the largest paid subscription news site on the Web. In 2007, the Journal was ranked No. 1 in BtoB's Media Power 50 for the eighth consecutive year. The Wall Street Journal Radio Network services news and information to more than 280 radio stations in the U.S.
Editor's Note: WSJ reporters are available to discuss these topics.
The WSJ Weekend Edition logo is available at http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=3504