President Obama is preparing to make history this month by becoming the first US president to visit Burma while in office. As part of a multi-country tour of Southeast Asia, Obama will stop in Burma to meet with both Burmese President Thein Sein and opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi. The BBC has more: Mr Obama’s […]

To some the GM bail-out seems like the distant past, especially since President Obama recently hailed it as a success in Midwestern swing states. But now that the election is out of the way, its true cost to the taxpayers – billions – is about to become very clear.The government still owns 32% of the auto company, […]

In September, the US trading deficit shrunk by $2.3 billion. Why? The reason is simple: the US is producing more oil. A $2.2 billion surge in oil exports accounted for more than three fourths of the reduction of the trade deficit, counteracting a small surge in imports. The WSJ reports: What’s going on? Lower demand is part of […]

Argentina under President Cristina Kirchner is wrecking its own economy. That’s bad enough, from a Brazilian point of view, as neighboring Argentina is an important market for Brazilian exports. Worse, the Kirchner government, short of hard currency and desperate to create jobs at home, is pushing a made-in-Argentina policy to build up Argentina’s manufacturing industry.But […]

China’s rise is stirring its neighbors into action, and watching Japan’s foreign policy moves in Asia is especially useful if you want to understand what’s going on in the region. Besides developing a closer relationship with far-away India, Japan is also cozying up to its island neighbor Taiwan. Like Japan, Taiwan is an off-shore trading […]

New Orleans, a city not famous for good governance, has one of the most generous — and worst funded — pension systems of any city in the country. According to an article in the Times-Picayune reporting on a study by the Bureau of Government Research, those enrolled in the particularly over-the-top fireman’s pension fund will […]

Moscow’s Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center is like no other Jewish Museum. First, there’s its size: according to its organizers, it’s the largest Jewish history museum in the world. Then, there are the exhibits. A Russian news site called it “Jewish Disneyland.” One exhibit in the massive, state-of-the-art institution virtually displays Jewish historical clothing on the […]

We reported earlier that America may be preparing to intervene in Mali. In recent months, however, the Nigerian army has been the Great White Hope, so to speak, of those looking for a regional solution to the establishment of a jihadi regime there. The regional bloc known as Ecowas (Economic Community of West African States) had […]

Argentina’s President Kirchner has really done it this time: A massive blackout in the capital has prompted 300,000 protesters to take to the streets not only throughout Argentina but also outside Argentinean embassies around the world.The demonstrations are the largest so far in the Kirchner era (including Nestor Kirchner’s term). The protesters are comparing the current political […]

It’s no longer much of a secret that America is facing a serious pensions crisis, but the severity of that crisis depends on where you live. In much of the South and the breadbasket, they’re a minor concern. In more densely populated states like New York, California, and Illinois, they’re driving state governments to the […]