Asia’s emerging markets remain on edge over the U.S. Federal Reserve’s actions, damaging investor confidence from India to Indonesia. However, a new survey by the World Bank suggests that foreign direct investment (FDI) flows won’t be drying up anytime soon. In its World Investment and Political Risk 2013 report released Thursday, the World Bank’s Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) said macroeconomic instability and political risk ranked “neck and neck” as the top concerns for investors over the short and medium terms.

An announcement Tuesday by the obscure-sounding Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, better known as SWIFT, may not get much ink. China's currency, it reported, was used in 8.66 percent of global trade finance transactions in October, the group said. It's now the No. 2 most widely used currency for trade finance, supplanting the euro.

One thing we learned about Twitter this week: its user base is very international and growing more so by the day. That's not an inherent problem; it may indeed be an opportunity as most global ad growth is happening outside the U.S. But this is a problem: Twitter appears to be reaching full penetration in the U.S.

When Barack Obama welcomes Manmohan Singh to the White House on Sept. 27, the Indian prime minister will voice his concerns over the US immigration bill. In its present form, the bill makes it much more difficult for Indian tech companies to get the visas they need to bring workers into the United States. Obama will listen. But if Singh wants his way, India might also try ceding some ground. It explicitly prohibits foreign direct investment (FDI) in e-commerce, though it’s opening up the market to foreign companies operating brick-and-mortar stores.

It's a country where Shah Rukh Khan remains hugely popular. If you walk around the streets of Bali, inevitably someone will ask you if you have seen Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. The soft power of Bollywood is tangible in nooks and crannies of this vast country.

The concept of “nation branding” is well established, and it’s clear what Medvedev has in mind, but it’s equally clear that calling an expression of high culture such as the Bolshoi Theater a “brand” like some commercial product merely demeans it.

All over the world, China is using its powers of persuasion — through its products, its potent economy, an increasingly sophisticated diplomatic service and the appeal of its culture — to win over consumers and make it easier for Chinese companies to enter vital markets...