Global pharmaceutical companies and health care insurers have increased their investments in India, drawn by India’s talent base and R&D capabilities for drug development, and its low cost of health care, which has made it a destination for so-called “medical tourists” from developed countries.

Two big, recent events underscore China’s quest to funnel more money to smaller, innovative companies it hopes will become the successful giants of tomorrow: The launching of a Nasdaq-style stock exchange and new agreements to open its financial services industry to Taiwan.

In 2001, Leonard Lauder, chairman of Estee Lauder Companies, famously noted that during difficult economic times, sales of lipstick go up as female shoppers forego more expensive luxuries. He called it the “Lipstick Index.” But during the current recession, a new index has emerged: Spam and other low-cost foods.

In the current debate in the U.S. over reforming the country’s costly health care system, what lessons can be learned from Britain’s National Health Service?

Hollywood is already producing a movie about Bernard Madoff and his ponzi scheme. Its makers should focus not only on the money he stole, but also on the trust he diminished, which could have long-term reverberations.

U.S.-Latin American relations were not the only pressing topic during the recent Summit of the Americas. Latin America is focusing its attention on overcoming the current economic crisis and avoiding any chance of repeating the “lost decade” it experienced during the 1980s.

The IMF has lowered its growth forecast for 2010, but it still sees “light at the end of this long tunnel” because of “strong policies, both on the macro and especially on the financial fronts.”

Time is running out for the smallest of the “Big Three.” But a deal with Fiat may be in the offing.