China isn’t the only Asian economy being buffeted by strong headwinds. Vietnam, which has averaged an impressive 6.4 percent growth rate since 2000, is now dropping to a lower cruising altitude as well. Expectations for Vietnam’s GDP growth are now in the 4 percent range—reasonable, to be sure, but a significant downgrade nonetheless.The New York […]

One green pet cause du jour is the banning or taxing of disposable plastic bags at supermarkets and other grocery stores. These measures, which are designed to encourage shoppers to use their own reusable tote bags, have been spreading widely in recent years, and have already gone into effect in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, […]

In 2008, Pastor Rick Warren hosted a forum for both presidential candidates at his Saddleback Church. The event became one of the most popular and celebrated parts of that election.Those looking for a repeat performance this year will be disappointed: Warren has just announced that he is cancelling this year’s forum because he believes the […]

Earlier this year Scranton made news by joining the ranks of cities flirting  with bankruptcy. Although it avoided that fate with an emergency rescue plan, the details of that plan are now coming out, and they aren’t pretty. In particular, Scranton residents can expect to see their taxes go up. A lot.The official statistics from […]

The China slump continues. This time, the grim news comes from the manufacturing sector, with preliminary readings for August suggesting yet another contraction—the tenth straight month of falling manufacturing activity.According to the Wall Street Journal, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 47.8 in August (anything below 50 indicates a contraction from the previous month). […]

By Chris MeadOnce a few years ago I received a perplexing phone call. It was from Jim Dunn, who was (and is) a beloved and respected community leader in Richmond, Virginia. At that time, Jim headed the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce. Jim called to suggest to me that, at the American Chamber of Commerce […]

Despite the election of a pious president, Egypt appears to be running out of money to pay its fuel import bills. That’s the news from this Reuters story, which reports that after payment delays and other hiccups, banks and other lenders have been pulling back from Egypt and that the resulting funds shortage is forcing […]

Playing with the school year apparently isn’t the only way schools are looking to game national rankings systems. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that Georgia’s high school graduation rate just fell from 81 percent to 67 percent in one year. The steep drop-off is explained by changes in federal rules for reporting dropouts. Under the old rules, […]

According to the Financial Times, a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office says that its original calculations of the impact of the fiscal cliff significantly understated the risks and the situation is  far worse than it thought: The US will be plunged into recession next year if Congress fails to strike a deal […]

During a visit to Cairo in late July, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta praised the relationship between newly elected President Mohamed Morsi and Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the longtime Defense Minister who had ruled Egypt after Hosni Mubarak’s fall from power. Ten days ago, Morsi radically changed that relationship, announcing the retirement of Tantawi […]