Pundits on both sides of the political spectrum have noted that health care outcomes in Massachusetts are among the best indicators for Obamacare that we have, given the ACA’s similarity to Romneycare. Now a new study is out on MA health care, and it doesn’t paint a pretty picture: A state report says Bay State premiums rose […]

Not to be outdone by the neighbors, many of which have launched powerful new naval assets recently, South Korea introduced a brand new “state of the art” submarine, the Kim Jwa-jin. The 1,800-ton vessel, South Korea’s fourth, was christened by President Park Geun-hye, the Defense Minister, and other senior military officials. President Park had this to say on […]

The US economy is showing some green shoots. Earlier we noted some data about falling credit card delinquencies. The WSJ piles on the good news: total household debt and bill delinquency is lower than any time since the start of the recession. More: Total household debt, including mortgages, credit cards and auto loans, fell by […]

Reports in east Asia are already emerging that say Prime Minister Shinzo Abe won’t visit the controversial Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo tomorrow, the day Japanese ministers and politicians and civilians pay tribute to the country’s war dead. Abe will instead make a personal gift to the shrine. Abe has said that his decision not to visit […]

As America’s total student loan debt nudges toward the $1.2 trillion mark, it’s becoming increasingly obvious that the burden is bad for the economy as a whole. The real estate and auto markets, for example, take a hit when large numbers of college grads avoid buying a home or a car in order to pay […]

The Eurozone got a bit of unexpected good news, as the 17-country area pulled itself out of recession and grew 0.3 percent in the past quarter. While the Wall Street Journal was quick to note that “a resolution to its banking and fiscal crises remains a distant prospect”, the numbers were a welcome reprieve from an […]

The opening of Burma’s economy should have galvanized Indian policymakers and businessmen, but Delhi has already fallen behind behind its rivals in the race to take advantage of new business and diplomatic opportunities there. Not long after Burma began its reform process, India announced it would redouble efforts in its “Look East” policy. The architects of the […]

The Spanish-British dispute over Gibraltar continues to grab headlines, with Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy using the hoopla to direct attention away from a huge campaign finance scandal in his party, as well as the nation’s economic disarray. Rajoy has even reached out to the Argentinians, who have their own simmering territorial dispute with the […]

The luster of Europe’s recent green push is fading fast. Last month, Spain cut its green energy losses after government subsidies to renewable energy production resulted in a nearly €26 billion tariff deficit (the gap between the cost of producing electricity and how much utilities were allowed to charge consumers). In places like Germany, the […]

Now that Detroit has officially declared bankruptcy, the next big battle in the Motor City will be fought over the future of city pensions. It’s generally agreed that massive pension liabilities are a major part of the city’s financial difficulties, but there is a significant argument over how big the problem is and, in some […]