There’s a good story in the New York Times detailing the fight between Los Angeles’ taxi industry and a set of insurgent smart phone powered companies looking to disrupt the status quo. On the surface, this story is not that different from one we looked at earlier this year taking place in New York and DC.But interestingly enough, […]

With an election coming up, and India’s economy slowing and the currency falling (something that hurts many Indian companies who have borrowed in foreign currencies), the government is looking to juice the economy. To that end, an investment treaty with the US looks very attractive and seems to be in the works. By offering US […]

In the wake of the Fukushima disaster in Japan, the German government made the much-heralded decision to close all the country’s nuclear reactors as part of its Energiewende, or “energy revolution.” The “revolution” also included government mandates and massive subsidies for renewable energy.While Germans gleefully embraced the “Nuclear Power? No Thanks!” movement and global greens pointed […]

Houston has officially topped New York City as the greatest exporter of goods in the US—exports totaling $110.3 billion. The reasons for the shift should be familiar to anyone who’s been following the economic miracle in Texas. The FT reports: “The largest component of Houston’s exports, accounting for a third of the total at $37bn, is petroleum […]

Need cash for college? Female students are increasingly turning to a built-in revenue source: selling their eggs. USA Today reports: While payment for donated eggs can be high, ranging anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000, depending on the selected method and clinic, the process is lengthy — sometimes taking up to six months to complete. Donors […]

Meet Egypt’s new bosses: same as the old bosses: After a year of turmoil, the feloul are back in power. Tamer el-Ghobashy reports for the WSJ: Beyond the partisan rancor that has engulfed Egypt since the ouster of President Mohammed Morsi, a class of Egyptians is emerging to support the deposed leader despite disaffection with his […]

New Orleans firefighters are in deep trouble. Following an internal audit, the New Orleans Firefighters’ Pension and Relief Fund found that its investment income fell by an astonishing 83 percent last year, from $9.7 million in 2011 to only $1.6 million in 2012. As is often the case, the culprit appears to be a number of […]

Foreign students continue to fuel the growth of graduate programs across America. A new report from the National Foundation for American Policy claims that international students actually make up the majority of enrollments in U.S. graduate programs in many STEM fields. InsideHigherEd reports: [Foreign students account] for 70.3 percent of all full-time graduate students in […]

Israel plans to restructure its military with an eye on new threats and fading risks from neighbors like Syria and Egypt, the WSJ reports: Israel’s military plans to downsize its conventional firepower such as tanks and artillery to focus on countering threats from guerrilla warfare and to boost its technological prowess, in a recognition that […]

At a news conference after the Egyptian army’s not-quite-a-coup a few days ago, an Egyptian journalist stood up and demanded that reporters from Al Jazeera be excluded. The Al Jazeera team eventually left the meeting amid shouts of “out, out!”Al Jazeera was celebrated during the early days of the Egyptian revolution in 2011, when thousands […]