Since Medawar said this, I believe the pace of change has increased and continues to increase. The world is becoming more and more interconnected and we're hearing something more often-contagion. The word sounds as though it should be something related to an infectious disease. However, it relates to the economic ramifications of actions occurring in seemingly very distant places. Why is this any concern to ISS members? Simply because we can no longer ignore the consequences of problems in any part of the world. The global steel industry is impacted by political and economic actions that occur worldwide. The jobs and living standards of our members are affected by decisions made in other countries and continents. Capital flows in or out of countries. This, in turn, impacts the steel industry, which, by nature, is capital intensive. Interest rates and currency exchange rates are related to this capital flow, as is any perceived risk such as political instability. One overriding factor is that organizations employing large amounts of capital keep an accurate and honest accounting of their performance. This summer has shown, at least in the United States, that this was not the case in several major meltdowns of public companies. Indeed, the watchdogs who were supposed to be monitoring true performances of shareholder investments were either asleep or aiding and abetting the malfeasance.
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