The Port of New Orleans is one of six U.S. ports where a P&O operation would be acquired by Dubai Ports World, should the acquisition of P&O survive the current political firestorm.

If you’re a corporate real estate executive and you’ve dealt with Chinese projects, you know that logistics is a major area of scrutiny. Here’s a chance to give some feedback on one aspect of that arena: The China Supply Chain Council is conducting its first survey of environmentally controlled logistics with its Cold Chain Logistics Survey. Its aim, says the Council, is to "determine current practices, captures significant trends and establishes operational performance benchmarks in several key areas of cold chain logistics: strategic objectives, distribution and transportation practices, benchmarks and trends, outsourcing, alliances and information technology, forecasting and inventory management in China."

If that doesn’t interest you, how about another BRIC opportunity? A team of14 researchers at California State University-East Bay is seeking corporate input on the best practices of science, research and technology parks for client the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil, which is seeking US$1.2 billion in investment in a new tech park development. The researchers are nearing the end of the study, but want input from the global corporate community via a survey. Side note: The research team, all seeking an executive MBA, includes full-time managers, directors, VPs and principals with many years of work experience working in the Bay Area, including an engineering manager at Yahoo! Inc.

On February 27, the Tax Foundation released the 2006 edition of its State Business Tax Climate Index. "American companies function at a competitive disadvantage in the global economy because they pay one of the highest corporate tax rates of any of the industrialized countries," said the Tax Foundation in a release. "The top federal rate on corporate income is 35 percent, and states with punitive tax systems cause companies to be even less competitive globally." Think this has any relevance to the Cuno case before the Supreme Court, which involves the legality of tax-break deals to lure corporate investment? The foundation thinks so: "Lawmakers create these deals under the banner of job creation and economic development," says the release, "but the truth is that if a state needs to offer such packages, it is most likely covering for a woeful business climate plagued by bad tax policy."

Readers of The Wall Street Journal this week may have taken note of the call by Hoover Institution Senior Research Fellows Chester E. Finn, Jr., and Diane Ravitch to resist the urge to dumb down educational standards in order to demonstrate "progress." At issue is the frequently wide divergence between states’ definition of "proficient" and the definition proffered by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a program of the National Center for Education Statistics within the U.S. Dept. of Education. For a glimpse of the numbers in any U.S. territory, this link may be one to add to your favorites.

U.,S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow

Want a glimpse of where automotive job losses have been the most devastating over the past decade? Check out this graphic from the Feb. 20 edition of The New York Times, which featured an article on former GM company town Anderson, Ind. Two notes: 1) The highlighted cities may have substantial pools of skilled labor in addition to pools of retirees, and 2) Several non-highlighted areas of the country (Alabama) have seen automotive-related corporate investments growing like never before.

For a glimpse of what’s to come where U.S. multinational investment in Ireland is concerned, let this recent piece in the Sunday Times of London serve as fair warning from the U.S. Treasury Dept.

Looking for the latest minimum wage information from Mexico? Now you’ve found it. Need to change those pesos into dollars? Now you’ve found that too.

McKinsey has a new take on the bona fide links between management and productivity.

Dennis Cuneo, Toyota Motor North America	Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour

The Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, in partnership with Penn State University, has posted a comprehensive report from their "Symposium for 21st Century Economic Development" held on Sept. 22, 2005. The report features transcripts of presentations by such speakers as Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour and Toyota Motor North America Senior Vice President Dennis Cuneo.