India has plenty of aspiring entrepreneurs but too many hurdles and roadblocks to starting small businesses. Old firms crowd out new ventures while financial regulators and lack of start-up capital make launching a new company a serious challenge. Over the past few years, few graduates of India’s top business schools are going into business for […]

The man who brought us the iPod has just unveiled his latest creation: the Nest, a self-programming thermostat which adapts itself to your habits. In addition to looking nice, the self-programming feature allows people to save significantly on utilities by adapting to daily patterns and turning down energy usage while the house is empty.This is […]

Cristina Fernandez won an overwhelming majority in Argentina’s elections over the weekend ushering in what she hopes will be her second four-year term. She has presided over a booming economy, but one that is built on shaky foundations. As the Economist reports: Orthodox economists have long warned that Argentina’s economy was overheating. She [Fernandez] has […]

The symbolism of the OWS demonstrator’s decision to hold their protests on Wall Street is abundantly clear: as the center of the nation’s financial system and workplace of some of America’s wealthiest, it is an obvious target for those who believe that America is run by greedy and rapacious businessmen with no regard for ordinary […]

Obama administration officials and top congressional Democrats are getting tougher on Pakistan in an ongoing series of accusations and strong language. Senator Carl Levin, echoing similar comments by Secretary Clinton, threatened the Pakistani leadership that if it did not publicly declare the Haqqani network a terrorist organization, the US would abandon its partnership with Islamabad. […]

This week’s Economist has brought something we haven’t seen in quite a long time — good news from Detroit. For a city which has become the poster child for America’s rust-belt industrial decline and urban problems, it is refreshing to see some green shoots appearing: [D]espite all the gloom, there is a bit of a […]

Investors and the government are ignoring important dark corners of our economy where improvement is simple and cheap. “Imagine a cleaner, more efficient alternative to the internal combustion engine”, writes Washington Post columnist Vivek Wadhwa. He continues: Unlike battery-powered-car start-ups and solar- and wind-power companies, the internal combustion engine has been almost entirely ignored by […]

If you couldn’t see the humorous parts of the eurozone crisis, Open Europe has been keeping track for you: they have a running list of arguments, bust-ups, and insults thrown around Europe by tense leaders.The Christian exodus from the Middle East continues. This is something Via Meadia has been paying attention to for some time; […]

The process of hydraulic fracturing – shooting water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure into underground wells to release natural gas – is a divisive issue: Some say it dumps chemicals into ground water supplies, others argue it causes earthquakes, and still others think it can revolutionize America’s energy industry.Late last week, the NYT ran […]

The Asian Great Game welcomes its newest big league player: Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta. His debut trip to Asia is something of a pep-talk express for America’s allies, bringing good tidings of continued American military and maritime presence despite deep budget cuts and increased Chinese assertiveness. From the NYT: Mr. Panetta said, “I’ve made […]