The last of the ancient kings of Rome, Tarquin the Proud, was approached one day by a woman who offered nine books of prophecy at a steep price. The king refused; the price was too high. The woman burned three of the books and offered the remaining six at the original price. Nothing doing, said […]

Public pensions are in deep trouble across the country, but you might not know it to look at some of their investing decisions. Despite the need to earn the highest possible returns on their investments for their stakeholders, a number of public pension funds are using their investment power to support pet political causes.We’ve beat […]

We are saddened to learn that David S. Landes, economic historian and author of canonical works such as The Wealth and Poverty of Nations and A Revolution In Time passed away on August 17. If you by chance are not acquainted with his work, we encourage you to start by reading Chapter 1 of his Prometheus Unbound, excerpted […]

Americans may think they’ve got it bad when it comes to commuting, but China’s got the US beat when it comes to horror commutes. The average American commute takes 25.4 minutes each way, but the average Beijing resident spends 52 minutes heading in to work, with the average commuter in Guangzhou and Shanghai taking only […]

India’s state-owned energy Oil and Natural Gas Corporation bought a 10 percent stake in Area 1, a gas field off the coast of Mozambique, for $4.2 billion today. Area 1 is estimated to contain as much as 65 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, and is one of the largest offshore gas fields in the world. […]

How bad is drug abuse in North Korea? Pretty catastrophic, by some estimates. “Almost every adult in that area (northern North Korea) has experienced using [crystal meth] and not just once,” a co-author of a recent study that’s been making the rounds told the Wall Street Journal. “I estimate that at least 40% to 50% are […]

College diplomas are one of the most expensive things a young person can buy, but for employers, at least, they’re not worth very much. Businesses and HR departments have long complained that students leave college unprepared for the workforce, and that academic success as measured by GPA isn’t a reliable predictor of employee performance. Schools […]

On August 8th, 400 protesters ripped out seedlings of a new genetically modified plant called golden rice at a testing ground in the Philippines. Genes from bacteria and corn have been added to the rice to make it a source of vitamin A. Vitamin A deficiency can lead to blindness and weakens the immune system, […]

A town in northwest Burma was lit aflame by rampaging Burmese on Sunday. The rioters carried swords and sticks and attacked Muslim homes and businesses; dozens of buildings were burned to the ground but no one was injured. Rumors that a Muslim man had assaulted a young Buddhist woman sparked the violence. According to some reports, […]

It’s no secret that a number of cities employ lobbyists to assist them with their work in state legislatures. But what is surprising is that many of these municipalities these lobbyists full state pensions—despite the fact that these lobbyists are not employed directly by the state.ABC News reports that lobbyists in over 20 different states—some […]