The shakeup in Illinois’s Democratic primary may be making all the headlines, but pensions remain the biggest story in the Land of Lincoln. And Chicago has it worse than anywhere else; the situation is so dire that the New York Times is warning of a Detroit-like slide.According to Chicago’s official estimates, the total pension debt that falls […]

On Monday China announced new anti-subsidy tariffs on American-made polysilicon—a key component in solar panels. This marks the latest instance of a solar-producing country accusing another government of unfairly propping up the industry with state subsidies. China’s Commerce Ministry said America’s subsidized solar-grade polysilicon industry has caused China’s own polysilicon sector “substantial harm.” Reuters reports: China’s […]

The house call could be making a comeback. The WSJ reports on new options for bringing health care for the elderly back into the home and elder care communities: Nine out of 10 Americans say they want to grow old at home and keep living in their communities as long as possible, according to AARP. […]

The story of Detroit’s decline has been told and retold so many times now that you’d be forgiven for assuming there’s nothing more to say. But the Detroit Free Press has put together a new, comprehensive financial history of the city from 1950 to the present, gleaned from tens of thousands of pages of archival data on the city’s […]

Two years ago it seemed as though the Doha Round of trade talks were dead and the WTO was in critical condition. But with the organization’s biennial meeting in Bali approaching, there are new signs of life.With much of the low-hanging fruit already picked, the WTO has had trouble getting a diverse group of member states […]

Obamacare supporters have been touting California’s lower-than-expected premiums as a sign of ACA success for months now. That claim is bogus; many people are still facing premium price hikes over their current rates. Now new data suggests that the tradeoffs required to bring premiums below the expected average will be very hard to live with. LA […]

The way Tony Abbott was recently elected prime minister of Australia could have implications for center-right parties elsewhere. His coalition softened its image and won votes with a proposed parental leave program much more generous than that of its competition; in doing so, writes Reihan Salam, it proved that family-friendly conservatism can work: [T]he proposal, which aims to […]

Russian President Vladimir Putin has been racking up small- and medium-sized wins lately (Edward Snowden, Syria), but do these make up for the fact that his biggest ambition is falling apart? Putin’s dream of creating a Eurasian Union, transforming the rigor mortis of modern day Russia back into a Soviet-style superpower, has hit one roadblock […]

On January 8, RINs, ethanol credits available to fuel refiners looking to meet government-mandated biofuel production targets, were trading at 7 cents a credit. The price of credits spiked sharply this year, hitting $1.33 in late July before settling back down to roughly 60 cents a credit today.Here’s why: while biofuels targets have risen every […]

Zanzibar was once a tourist paradise, but sectarian violence is rapidly turning it into a no-go zone. The BBC reports that Rev. Joseph Mwagambwa, an elderly Roman Catholic priest, was attacked with acid and is now being treated at a local hospital. More: It follows a similar attack on two young British women there last month.Tensions […]