Public pensions are in deep trouble across the country, but you might not know it to look at some of their investing decisions. Despite the need to earn the highest possible returns on their investments for their stakeholders, a number of public pension funds are using their investment power to support pet political causes.We’ve beat […]

Americans may think they’ve got it bad when it comes to commuting, but China’s got the US beat when it comes to horror commutes. The average American commute takes 25.4 minutes each way, but the average Beijing resident spends 52 minutes heading in to work, with the average commuter in Guangzhou and Shanghai taking only […]

India’s state-owned energy Oil and Natural Gas Corporation bought a 10 percent stake in Area 1, a gas field off the coast of Mozambique, for $4.2 billion today. Area 1 is estimated to contain as much as 65 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and is one of the largest offshore gas fields in the world. […]

How bad is drug abuse in North Korea? Pretty catastrophic, by some estimates. “Almost every adult in that area (northern North Korea) has experienced using [crystal meth] and not just once,” a co-author of a recent study that’s been making the rounds told the Wall Street Journal. “I estimate that at least 40% to 50% are […]

College diplomas are one of the most expensive things a young person can buy, but for employers, at least, they’re not worth very much. Businesses and HR departments have long complained that students leave college unprepared for the workforce, and that academic success as measured by GPA isn’t a reliable predictor of employee performance. Schools […]

On August 8th, 400 protesters ripped out seedlings of a new genetically modified plant called golden rice at a testing ground in the Philippines. Genes from bacteria and corn have been added to the rice to make it a source of vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to blindness and weakens the immune system, […]

A town in northwest Burma was lit aflame by rampaging Burmese on Sunday. The rioters carried swords and sticks and attacked Muslim homes and businesses; dozens of buildings were burned to the ground but no one was injured. Rumors that a Muslim man had assaulted a young Buddhist woman sparked the violence. According to some reports, […]

It’s no secret that a number of cities employ lobbyists to assist them with their work in state legislatures. But what is surprising is that many of these municipalities these lobbyists full state pensions—despite the fact that these lobbyists are not employed directly by the state.ABC News reports that lobbyists in over 20 different states—some […]

Emerging market jitters that have thrust India, Indonesia, Thailand and Brazil into the news lately have been battering South Africa as well. Stagflation is a very real concern there—growth is anemic and inflation is high. The rand has been one of the worst-performing emerging market currencies this year, and it has fallen to four-year lows in […]

Just as things were starting to look better across the Eurozone, a bit of unwelcome news reared its head from the south: Greece appears to not be done with getting bailed out quite yet. Greek finance minister Yannis Stournas piped up over the weekend, indicating that the his country may possibly need a teensy, weensy bit more […]