A “miracle village” in India is harvesting world-record yields of potatoes and rice, and its success is drawing the attention of development experts and the scrutiny of scientists. The villagers credit a planting process called “System of Root Intensification” (SRI): Instead of planting three-week-old rice seedlings in clumps of three or four in waterlogged fields, […]

The pound is falling as investors desert the sceptered isle. Is it time for Americans to move in? The Financial Times reports: Hedge funds and investment managers are dumping sterling as disappointing economic growth in the UK, the threat of a downgrade of its debt and an upcoming change of guard at the Bank of England have […]

Eighty-four Shiites were murdered by evil fanatics in Quetta, Pakistan, last week, and, sadly, this kind of thing isn’t really news anymore. There are so many murdering fanatics on the loose, and the government is so utterly unable—or, as many mutter darkly, unwilling—to deal with the problem that it is essentially open season on anyone […]

“Where are the customers? Where is their money?” a Wal-Mart executive emailed after a dismal January. As February dragged on, another chimed in: “In case you haven’t seen a sales report these days, February MTD sales are a total disaster,” Jerry Murray, Wal-Mart’s vice president of finance and logistics, said in a Feb. 12 e-mail […]

Public pension funds in the U.S. are not only among the worst managed in the country—they are some of the worst-managed in the world. A recent paper found that U.S. public pension funds routinely take higher risks than pension funds in other countries or private-sector pension funds in America. And unlike their international and corporate […]

This week, we looked at how Obama’s Middle East policy is sending dangerous mixed signals to Iran, which now believes the U.S. will blink: Iran isn’t afraid of Barack Obama. The Ayatollahs have looked at the clues, added up the numbers, and come to the conclusion that the President will not use military force as Iran presses […]

In 2010, Michigan battery maker LG Chem was given $150 million by the US Department of Energy, but it has yet to produce any batteries. A report released last Wednesday by Energy Department Inspector General Gregory H. Friedman sharply criticized the battery-maker, General Motors, and the Energy Department itself for the waste of millions in […]

Sanctions are taking their toll on Iran, but Iranians appear ready to pay the price. A recent Gallup poll of public opinion in Iran found that while 56 percent believe sanctions have hurt Iranians’ livelihoods, and 48 percent say sanctions have hurt them personally, 63 percent think Iran should continue to develop its nuclear program […]

Consumers in Europe are revolting against their countries’ green energy policies. For over a decade, the governments of Germany and Spain have been funding their subsidies for solar and wind energy by passing on large costs to the consumer. In Germany, an extra charge is added to household electricity bils, and that charge nearly doubled […]

By now, everyone has seen the meteor that spread a shockwave over Russia last week, and watched the footage of bright lights and blown-out windows. But while the physical impact of the blast is well understood, the the light from the meteor explosion over Chelyabinsk also illuminated some realities in international politics.Apparently at least some Russians’ first […]