Over the past year or so, it’s become increasingly clear that something has changed in the world of outsourcing. Rising labor costs in China and Eastern Asia and the new abundance of energy resources in America are combining to push manufacturing projects back to the U.S. A new study from the Boston Consulting Group suggests that this onshoring […]

It isn’t nukes, it isn’t aircraft carriers, it isn’t submarines. China’s key weapon in its territorial disputes with its neighbors is its economy, and signs are emerging that China has unleashed a vast horde of ravening bureaucrats against Japan in the latest stage of the Asian Game of Thrones.Specifically, it has turned its customs agents […]

Iran’s developing nuclear capability is on the forefront of everyone’s mind, as is its capability to do damage around the Gulf and in Israel should a pre-emptive strike against its nuclear facilities occur. But NBC reports that Iran has been working on its cyberattack capabilities, and has been flexing its muscles for the past week […]

Speaking at gathering in southern China for ASEAN leaders, Chinese heir apparent Xi Jinping sought to reassure his southeastern neighbors that China is committed to the peaceful resolution of all territorial disputes. Reuters: “We are firm in safeguarding China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity and are committed to resolving differences with neighbors concerning territorial land, […]

Another blow for the green power: A $1 billion-a-year tax break that has benefitted wind energy producers for years is likely to expire this winter. Bipartisan support has traditionally allowed the measure to be renewed without much struggle, but opponents are now digging in their heels.This comes at a particularly bad time for the wind […]

The U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan, which began in 2009, ended this week. As the Times aptly notes, the conclusion of one of Obama’s biggest military endeavors has come and gone with little fanfare. The president is doubtless happy about this, as the mission has been far from an unqualified success: The milestone, which still leaves 68,000 American […]

“Many politicians are now thinking that taking hawkish positions toward China and South Korea will earn them votes,” Yoshiaki Yoshimi, a history professor at Chuo University, told the WSJ. “I am very concerned.”His worries are justified. In a recent poll, 31 percent of respondents said they support the opposition Liberal Democratic Party. That’s a huge increase from […]

German cars sell like hotcakes in China, partly because of the added prestige of the Communist Party’s fondness for luxury Audis. Still, we believe Audi’s parent company, Volkswagen, when it says that a violent anti-Japanese sign at a Chinese Audi dealership doesn’t represent the company’s views: In the undated photo, dealership employees smiled at the […]

As we reported earlier today, California’s cities are going bankrupt left and right and are desperately awaiting help from the cash-strapped state government. Unfortunately, it looks like they’ll have to keep waiting: a new report from the State Budget Crisis Task Force shows that the state’s debts are much higher than originally thought. The New York Times has […]

California, America’s answer to Greece, is continuing to unravel. Via Meadia readers are already familiar with the state’s unaffordably lavish pensions and collapsing housing bubble, as well as the bankruptcies in Stockton, San Bernadino and Mammoth Lakes, but now even more cities are on the verge of bankruptcy.What may finally break the back of local […]