This is the headline that Western Europe doesn’t want you to see: The euro mess has driven several large fund managers away from places like Spain, Italy and France and into the debt markets of the likes of Serbia, Hungary and even Iraq. To some investors, the vulnerability of these small and politically tenuous states […]

The New York Times reports that the U.S. Postal Service is now expecting to default on a $5.5 billion payment into the fund for health benefits for future retirees when the bill comes due next month. Although this will not impede operations in the short term, it is a clear warning sign that the agency cannot […]

One of the few bright spots in the gloomy world economic picture has been the absence of inflation even as governments around the world go deep into debt and the world’s central banks print money in unprecedented quantities.Could that be changing?Energy and food are pretty much the basics of the world system, and prices may […]

Iran apologists were all over the internet yesterday claiming that Iran and its allies had nothing to do with the attack on Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, but evidence is mounting that they were wrong. U.S. officials have fingered Hezbollah as being responsible for the attack. The NY Times reports: The attacks, the official said, were in […]

Close to 100,000 Malian refugees huddle under makeshift tents in eastern Mauritania, swapping stories of jihadists’ brutal imposition of Sharia law in the northern regions. Their detailed accounts of persecution are sadly familiar: beatings in the street of women unaccompanied by men, of anyone outside their homes at night, and of those who display their adherence […]

With bombs in Bulgaria, war in Syria, murder in Colorado and meltdowns in Europe, it’s easy to forget that the most important world events are taking place in Asia, where the US, China and assorted other countries are hammering out the shape of a new Asian order. (Some days they hammer together, some days they […]

In the midst of a period of great activity in Central Asia, Obama has just chosen new ambassadors to Afghanistan and Pakistan. These are tough jobs. It’s hard to think of two more troubled countries than Afghanistan and Pakistan, and there are few U.S. allies with whom our relationship is more fraught. The New York Times reports: […]

The Obama administration has long held out hope that Vladmir Putin would eventually withdraw his support for Bashar al-Assad. After a suicide bombing in Damascus killed several members of Assad’s inner circle, President Obama again called upon his Russian counterpart to assist in Assad’s ouster. And once again, Putin refused.Putin’s obstinacy should not come as […]

On Tuesday Via Meadia reported that the Coursera program for online education has just expanded its offerings. Along with programs like MIT’s EdX and Stanford’s Udacity, Coursera offers lectures from professors presented in video format, supplemented by online coursework and reading materials. Other institutions are looking to offer hybrid coursework, in which online classes are supplemented […]

The financial crisis and weak economy has caused many families to make choices they would never have considered a decade ago, such as renting out spare rooms in their homes. Unfortunately, as the Wall Street Journal reports, many families have attempted this only to find that it is illegal. In years past, cities and counties across the […]