The numbers are clear: telework is up, as more businesses begin to appreciate the savings and productivity gains the practice can bring. But the Grey Lady notes that many employers are actually cutting down on other forms of flexible work.

After ordering 2,000 new trains, France was dismayed to find they’re too wide to fit most of the country’s station platforms. How could this happen?

To power its burgeoning economy, China is consuming more energy than any other country in the world. And in order to meet that demand, it is increasingly looking abroad for supplies and investing in the liberal global economy more than ever before.

A prominent Russian oligarch, hit by U.S. sanctions, has just been named Russia’s point person for its recently invigorated business relations with China. Snubbed by the West, Moscow is shoring up its geopolitical position by strengthening its ties with Beijing.

The Czech Republic has voiced its disapproval of a proposal for the EU to negotiate a single price for Russian gas. The logic of Prague’s opposition isn’t clear, but it’s the kind of conflict Putin likes to see.

The EIA reduced its estimate for Monterey shale’s recoverable oil by a whopping 96 percent, according to the LA Times. California is feeling the pain that the rest of the world has been experiencing recently.

One of the world’s biggest energy producers just inked a deal with the world’s largest energy consumer. The details of the agreement remain murky, but it’s clearly a win for both Moscow and Beijing.

For the first time, support for fracking dipped below 50 percent in Britain, signaling coalescing opposition to the controversial drilling practice there. It’s too bad UK citizens don’t have the mineral rights Americans enjoy.

China may be gearing up for instability in its neighborhood. It’s beefing up its strategic reserves of crude oil at an “unprecedented” rate.

The FT’s Edward Luce calls Obama’s current energy policy “one of the above,” and criticizes the President’s overreliance on shale gas to power this country. We’re living high today, but we need to continue to plan for tomorrow.