"THERE'S no business like global business" might be called the theme of this week's cover story on the expansion of American industry abroad. Traditionally, in this year-end issue, TIME presents a comprehensive view of major trends and portents in the economy. This year the spotlight centers on the dramatic internationalization of U.S. enterprises--the reshaping of American companies into complex supranational entities.

The cover story, written in New York by Spencer Davidson, drew heavily on reports filed from financial world capitals, where TIME'S reporters keep constant tab on economic developments. A principal pivot was Correspondent Robert Ball, who is based in Zurich but whose beat is business anywhere in Europe. The two-page study of "The Nervous Year" in U.S. business that supplements the cover story was written by Gurney Breckenfeld. Reporters and correspondents across the country tapped their business sources for that story, with an important part of the reporting being done by the Washington Bureau's Juan Cameron, whose beat is economics as it relates to the U.S. Government. Business Editor Champ Clark was in overall charge of the project.

WE begin nearly every week of ""the year with the possibility that our biggest story--the cover--is liable to change any time up to a few hours before we are scheduled to go to press. The one issue when such a change is unlikely is that which appears in the first week of the year. That issue--next week's--is reserved for the Man of the Year. By traditional definition, he (or she) is the person who, in the judgment of the editors, dominated the news of the past year and left an indelible mark --for good or ill--on history. A year ago we chose not an individual but a whole generation that was making a special impact on life all around the world: "Youth: Twenty-Five and Under."

This year, as usual, readers are writing in to suggest or guess who the choice should or will be. One letter wryly suggested that our 1967 choice should add a chapter to last year's and celebrate People Married 25 Years. The run of facetious and semi-facetious suggestions has included Girls Who Look Good in Mini skirts, The Beatles' Guru, the Sands Hotel Vice President Who Slugged Frank Sinatra, and Sgt. Pepper. While most of the proposals have been of a more serious nature, it is remarkable that this year, while we have received a heavy flow of suggestions, no individual or idea is clearly favored among our readers.

For what the editors thought, we can only say: see TIME next week.

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