Several days ago we mentioned IBM's strong sales and earnings in the context of our focus on "global services" and the Dallas Fed's new report on the topic. Today, BusinessWeek illustrates the point:
Quick quiz: Which company is more "American"—Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services, or Armonk (N.Y.)-based IBM (IBM)? Evaluate the two based on where they make their sales, and the answer is surprising. TCS, India's largest tech-services company, collected 51% of its revenues in North America last quarter, while 65% of IBM's were overseas.
Do we begin to see why the international trade statistics are misleading, if not utterly irrelevant? Do we understand that the "trade gap" is therefore not an argument for protectionist policies?
