Concentrates attention on the implications of events in Eastern Europe for the private sector rather than the popular debates on the macroeconomics and politics of the situation which are important for private business only in so far as they shape the commercial environment in these economies....

The ‘barter’ of goods (or services) for goods (or services) between companies, either on a bilateral basis or (more usually) via the intermediation of a broker, has been growing rapidly in recent years. In the United States, barter transactions between US companies amounted to an estimated...