The fall of a clandestine empire that has shaped modern history Throughout history we have seen examples of the birth, development and expansion of an empire. Eventually they become too large, unwieldy and like an economic bubble, appear to burst and contract very rapidly, even though it is usually associated with a long…
The value of the arts to the economy has always been an elusive figure – until now. For the first time, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, part of the Commerce Department, has quantified art’s impact, finding in a study released Thursday that 3.2 percent – or $504 billion – of the…
United Nations’ early assessment of the 2013 crop found farmers were planning to plant more poppy than last year, marking the third annual rise in the drug’s cultivation. UN officials predict the increase will push this year’s crop close to 2007’s record level and again see Afghanistan responsible for more than 90 per cent of…
Cheapest Place Today Worldwide to Buy Gold Coins Jim Rogers: It’s Going To Get Really “Bad After The Next Election” By Terry Weiss, Money MorningIn a riveting interview on CNBC, legendary investor Jim Rogers warns Americans to prepare for “Financial Armageddon,” saying he fully expects the economy to implode after the U.S. election….
Near Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica, the Country Brand Index’s highest ranked Latin American country Conducting business meetings isn’t easy when people don’t even know you exist. Just ask Eduardo Clari, an investments specialist. Paraguay’s state export and investment promotion agency. “They confuse us with Uruguay. Or else they think we’re part of Brazil,” says…
Public officials have been caught repeatedly in usury-related scandals in the wealthy southeastern city of Wenzhou. Not only is it a betrayal of public trust, it exposes an economic system that too often relies on illegal money lending. Recently, a couple of moneylenders from Wenzhou China ran off with 1.3 billion…
Knowledge clusters” are being built in France to kick start hi-tech industries In the United States, Europe and in rising powers such as China, there is a growth-hungry drive to invest in hi-tech research and innovation. They are looking for the ingredients that, like Google, will turn a university project into a corporation. They are…
SHAME was the first response of many people in Britain to the riots that started in the Tottenham neighbourhood of London on August 6th, skipped across the capital in the following days and nights and spread to Manchester, Birmingham and many other cities. Alongside the shame, there was a jolting bafflement. The…
The Global Temper Tantrum Fury is spreading. But the mobs ignore the real culprit behind broken economies. Yiorgos Karahalis / Reuters-Landov Riot police at a protest against austerity measures in Athens on June 28, 2011. This is the age of indignation. Politics in the Western world are becoming more emotional—because our problems are so intractable….