What I hope Obama is most bipartisan about is maintaining and improving the good relationship Bush developed with India. The south Asian nation is fast becoming an essential democracy and important part of the global economy. What is making India nervous is the prospect of internationalizing the conflict in Kashmir, so America and our allies will need to be most delicate about that.

Floyd Norris writes that "the countries that opened the most to the international capital markets, and that sought to bring in business with relatively lax regulations, now are suffering the most. Iceland was the wonder economy of the world; now it is broke."

Kenneth S. Rogoff, the Harvard economist, noted at the International Monetary Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week that India, which has "comparatively stringent restrictions on international capital flows," also seemed to have the most optimists and seemed to be in line for economic growth in a year when few countries are.

"Thank heavens for the strong regulatory framework we have in our financial system," he quoted one Indian corporate executive as saying.

Meanhwhile on the homefront, instead merely offshoring work to help it deal with the economic crisis, IBM is attempting to offshore workers:

Big Blue is offering its outgoing workers in the United States and Canada a chance to take an IBM job in India, Nigeria, Russia or other countries.

Through a program dubbed Project Match, IBM will help interested workers whose jobs are on the chopping block to "identify potential opportunities in growth markets and facilitate consideration by hiring managers in those markets," according to an internal company document obtained by CNN.

The company also will help with moving costs and provide visa assistance, it says.

What companies like IBM are finding is that they like the low labor costs, but don't like the lower quality labor or work they are getting in return.

In related news, A.Q. Khan was set free. Say what you want about Musharaff - and I think it was good he was pushed off the stage, relatively peacefully - at least he kept that guy under house arrest. Holbrooke has his work cut out for him and we here at Negative Outlook? wish him the best.