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Recent Press Releases (U.S. and international) for magazine issues and staff changes may be found below. Please note that for many issues there exists only a highlights sheet, while for others there may also be a full press release. The cover of FORTUNE's current issue is pictured at right. Please contact the appropriate communications staff member with any questions.
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Highlights of the May 16, 2005 Asia Issue of FORTUNE See attached release for more information on the 25 Cool Companies COVER STORIES/CHANGING CHINA: To say China is changing is to state the obvious. But to say that China is being changed by its interactions with the world is to invite a wide-ranging discussion. On the eve of the FORTUNE Global Forum in Beijing, FORTUNE looks at how China is being changed by its interactions with the world. From Marx to Market, by Clay Chandler, page 46As part of a larger effort to rewire the minds of China's future leaders, Tsinghua University is creating a new breed of managers—not just smart technocrats loyal to the Communist party, but true Western-style executives and entrepreneurs versed in the logic of modern markets and equipped with the skills to compete in a freewheeling global economy. To do so, Tsinghua is reaching out to the West for help, forging partnerships with America's best business schools; hiring prominent businessmen such as John Thornton, formerly of Goldman Sachs, to teach courses; and soliciting cash and advice from such multinational giants as BP, Wal-Mart, and McKinsey. At the same time, reports Clay Chandler, the school is wooing foreign specialists, many of them Chinese nationals trained abroad, with the promise of academic freedom and increasingly competitive salaries. CHINA VIEWPOINTS: China Needs a New Anchor, by Stephen Roach—Morgan Stanley's Chief Economist, page 55 China is taking on unnecessary risk tying itself to what could be world's most unstable major economy. The country's economic fate is tied too closely to the U.S. Over a Barrel, by Daniel Yergin—Pulitizer Prize winning author and leading authority on the geopolitics of oil, page 57 Energy-starved China is doing what you would expect: becoming a global oil power. Making Money, by Arthur Kroeber—managing editor of China Economic Quarterly, page 58 Foreign companies in China are finally showing some healthy profits. Arthur Kroeber gives four rules for keeping up this hypercompetitive environment. Going Green, Q&A by Brian Dumaine, page 60 William McDonough, a leading "green" architect from Virginia is facing a big challenge: remodeling China. FORTUNE China Poll: What do Chinese Executives Think?, page 61 A poll conducted earlier this year by Fortune China shows businessmen are banking on even more foreign investment. The Great Data Heist, by Daniel Roth with Stephanie Mehta, page 62 Why can't corporations keep their customers' personal data secure? Inside the world of identity theft.
Corporate America is finally owning up to a long-held secret: It can't safeguard some of its most valuable data. Over the past few years, cheaper database software and storage devices have made it much easier for companies to gather and save private information about their customers, presenting a tempting (and surprisingly easy) target for identity thieves looking to do one-stop stealing and giving companies numerous ways to screw up security. PLUS: What's the Government Doing?, by Julia Boorstin, page 71Three key laws are meant to protect consumers from identity theft-but they aren't getting the job done. That's why two new ones (which may wind up being combined before they come up for vote) were introduced last month. FEDERAL LAWS Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Financial Services Modernization Act): Aimed at financial companies. Requires those corporations to tell their customers how they use their personal information and to have policies that prevent fraudulent access to it. Partial compliance has been required since 2001. Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act: Aimed at the health-care industry. Limits disclosure of individuals' medical information and imposes penalties on organizations that violate privacy rules. Compliance required for large companies in 2003. STATE LAWS California's Notice of Security Breach Law: If any company or agency that has collected the personal information of a California resident discovers that non-encrypted information has been taken by an unauthorized person, the company or agency must tell the resident. Compliance required since 2003. (Some 30 other states are considering similar laws.) PROPOSED FEDERAL LAWS Schumer-Nelson ID Theft Bill: Would regulate companies that sell personal data, setting rules to prevent fraudulent access to information and requiring companies to disclose breaches in their security and the sale of personal information. Notification of Risk to Personal Data Bill: A broader, nationwide version of California's security-breach law that carries tougher penalties for offending companies. Proposed by Senator Diane Feinstein of California. Is AmEx Playing Its Cards Right?, by Julie Creswell, page 80 Though American Express is posting huge profits and has one of the richest price/earnings ratios on Wall Street, CEO Kenneth Chenault is about to spin off a huge unit— American Express Financial Advisors— that has long been a headache. Meanwhile the courts have recently allowed banks to issue AmEx cards for the first time, essentially handing the company the keys to a brand-new market and giving AmEx the opportunity to become a serious competitor to Visa and MasterCard in the consumer segment for the first time. Julie Creswell looks at how Chenault plans to create a "new AmEx"— a supercharged version of the 155-year-old company. Can America Fall In Love With VW Again?, by Alex Taylor III, page 73 Over the past few years, Volkswagen seems to have lost its allure in America, with a 28% drop in sales over the past three years—extreme, even by VW standards. And the cold shoulder VW has been getting in the U.S. is only a symptom of the automaker's bigger troubles. It's main problem is simple, according to FORTUNE's Alex Taylor: VW's costs are too high. The company is solidly rooted in Germany, which afflicts it with high labor costs and low productivity—and it can't pack up and move because it is partially owned by a provincial government. Another problem is quality. "But the big question isn't whether VW can get out of its current slump," says Taylor. "It's whether the company can break free of its vicious cycle—falling apart, recovering, then collapsing again every few years." DEPARTMENTS FORTUNE, part of Time Inc., is the global leader in business, known for its unrivalled access to industry leaders and decision-makers throughout the world. FORTUNE's Asia edition, based in Hong Kong, is dedicated to covering Asian business from a trademark global perspective. With an Asian circulation of 85,000 and a worldwide circulation of 1,020,000, FORTUNE is one of the fastest growing magazines in the world. Founded in 1930, FORTUNE has grown to a worldwide circulation of over one million and a readership in excess of five million. # # # For further information please contact:
Azmar Sukandar
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