Singapore: Miracle at the Center of the World

One of the globe’s smallest countries is also one of its richest cities.

Apple Dodges Billions In Taxes

Charles Duhigg of the New York Times has written another extraordinary article about Apple, this time focused on the heroic lengths Apple has gone to to avoid paying taxes to governments around the world.

10 Economists Who Changed the Course of History

Economics is one of the most important and influential fields of study one can enter: the ramifications of its theory have changed our world, and will of course continue to do so. When we think of powerful men of the past, our minds turn to politicians and leaders — the Churchills, Ghandis and even the Stalins and Hitlers who led men to glory, freedom, or doom.

How Close Is A Cashless Economy? The Answer May Suprise You

Most people think of a cashless society as something that is way off in the distant future.  Unfortunately, that is simply not the case.  The truth is that a cashless society is much closer than most people would ever dare to imagine.  To a large degree, the transition to a cashless society is being done voluntarily.

Twenty Common Sense Investing Rules

The below is for ordinary investors, not professional traders or those aspiring to become professional traders…

Where Gold Comes From And Where It Goes

The Gold Tree Infographic visualizes above-ground stock of gold, sources of gold broken down to continents and countries and uses of gold. The infographic pictures the different forms of gold investments – ranging from physical gold in the form of bullion gold to securities not backed by gold.

How much would Facebook, Google or Twitter lose if they shut down for one day?

With Wikipedia going through with its decision to shut down the site for 24 hours as part of their protest against SOPA, it’s received quite a bit of criticism in the process for the decision. The Next Web’s own Brad McCarty gave a pretty good argument for how Wikipedia could have used its site to raise awareness, in the same way it was able to raise money for its own cause.

These Economies Will Dominate The World In 2050

“The World in 2050,” a new report by HSBC economist Karen Ward, forecasts the economic prowess of the 100 largest economies. Of interest in her report is where each happens to fall, and how income per capita will grow in a number of emerging markets.

Staggering Facts About The Global Super Rich

The world economy may still be in the doldrums, but global wealth continues to grow, hitting an all-time high this year of $231 trillion, according to a new global wealth report from Credit Suisse.

Revealed – the capitalist network that runs the world

AS PROTESTS against financial power sweep the world this week, science may have confirmed the protesters’ worst fears. An analysis of the relationships between 43,000 transnational corporations has identified a relatively small group of companies, mainly banks, with disproportionate power over the global economy.

The $200 Trillion World: Who Owns All the Wealth?

The wealth of the world — from all the global stock markets, insurance funds, and families — comes out to about $200 trillion, according to the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report on investors in developing nations. Who owns all that?

Top 10: Financial Crises

The rise of capitalism as the predominant economic system around the world has seen many (although certainly not all) people benefit from increased living standards and greater prosperity. But occasionally, it is a system that goes wrong. And when it does go wrong, it can be spectacular.

Why Economic Models Are Always Wrong

When it comes to assigning blame for the current economic doldrums, the quants who build the complicated mathematic financial risk models, and the traders who rely on them, deserve their share of the blame. But what if there were a way to come up with simpler models that perfectly reflected reality? And what if we had perfect financial data to plug into them?

How Economic Inequality Is (Literally) Making Us Sick

Imagine there was one changeable factor that affected virtually every measure of a country’s health— including life expectancy, crime rates, addiction, obesity, infant mortality, stroke, academic achievement, happiness and even overall prosperity. Indeed, this factor actually exists.

Why Do So Many People Believe in the Fantasy of Infinite Growth on a Finite Planet?

How do you feel about the economy these days? How about the environment? Do you think we’re sitting in a better spot than we were ten, twenty, or thirty years ago? It’s hard to find folks who are satisfied with either economic or environmental conditions.

The big economic picture.

What about the bigger picture? Has output recovered to where it was before the 2008 financial crash?

Profit on Wall Street, recession on Main Street

In America’s deeply dysfunctional economy, unemployment is stuck at 9%, while corporate profits race ahead . In the past few weeks alone, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, Cisco Systems and Borders have all announced massive layoffs. Borders is closing its retail stores, auctioning off its holdings and letting go 10,000 employees as, due to online competition, the company is no longer profitable and filed for bankruptcy earlier this year. In contrast

As the dream of economic growth dies, a new plan awaits testing .

Even when times are supposedly good, neither society nor the environment can take the strain of an ever-expanding economyHow much of this is real? How much of the economic growth of the past 60 years? Of the wealth and comfort, the salaries and pensions that older people accept as normal, even necessary? How much of it is an illusion, created by levels of borrowing – financial and ecological – that cannot be sustained? Go to Ireland and you’ll see that even bricks and mortar are a mirage: the marvels of the new economy, built on debt, stand empty and worthless.

Nine Companies That Destroyed Their Largest Competitors.

Most companies want to be number one in their markets. Once there, however, they have trouble keeping the top spot for long. They are flanked by smaller, nimbler companies that have better products or make innovations that change the industry and how its serves its customers. Wall St. reviewed several industries in which the number one company was recently toppled from its position.