American firms seem to have ridden a rise in hostility to the United States

EVER since the outbreak of the Iraq war, American companies have been braced for a consumer backlash in the rest of the world. Opinion surveys showed a surge in anti-American feelings in Europe and the Middle East after the outbreak of war in 2003. Anecdotal evidence also suggested that American companies were feeling the consequences of increased hostility to the United States. But one of the first detailed empirical studies, by Peter Katzenstein of Cornell University and Robert Keohane of Princeton University, debunks the idea of a backlash against American companies. Brand America may be suffering in the eyes of the world, but American brands are still prospering.

So much for all the hand-wringing.