A Mystery: When Did Gov’t Exempt Gulf Drilling from Detailed Enviro Reviews?

As you may have heard, before the big BP disaster the government’s chief oil drilling regulator let most drilling go forward in the Gulf of Mexico with very little environmental review. Somehow, the Minerals Management Service decided Read more

Gulf Coast Braces for Economic Disaster In Wake of BP Oil Spill

The industries that drive the Gulf Coast economy—fishing, tourism, and gaming—are bracing for the impact of the catastrophic British Petroleum oil spill, as businesses across the region face the prospect of billions in damage that could last for years to come. Read more

The great electric car race of 2010

This year, more automakers will roll out electric cars to American roadways.

For Jason Hendler and more than 50,000 others who put their names on an Internet “want list” in hopes of one day owning the Chevrolet Volt plug-in car, the wait is almost over. Read more

‘Significant chance’ of second financial crisis

There is now more than a one-in-five chance of another asset price bubble implosion costing the world more than £1 trillion, and similar odds of a full-scale sovereign fiscal crisis, a key report warned. Read more

Why debt at Dubal World is

As conglomerate Dubai World delays debt payments, most analysts look for Arab Monetary Fund to step in to avert a crisis in financial markets. That’s not likely, though, until Sunday.

How can Dubai, a tiny emirate on the Persian Gulf, shake financial markets from Shanghai to New York?

The answer is familiar to tens of thousands of Americans struggling to make payments on their mortgages or credit cards: too much debt… On Thursday, Dubai World, a conglomerate, shook world financial markets by asking for a six-month moratorium on Read more

Renters becoming latest victims as foreclosure crisis widens

From The Washington Post

Some tenants left in dilapidated buildings

NEW YORK — A new wave of foreclosures stands to hurt people who may have never taken out a mortgage: renters. In cities such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, where many investors are carrying upside-down mortgages on large rental buildings, some tenants are watching their homes fall apart along with the financing. Read more

Can Business Journalism Save the World?

From Vanity Fair.com

Can business journalism save the world? Or, to be a bit less grandiose about it: Should business writers concern themselves first and foremost with telling great stories or with educating the public. For Niall Ferguson, the Scottish-born Harvard historian who discovered the subject of finance while investigating the causes of Hitler’s rise in Germany, writing about bank balance sheets is almost a holy mission. Read more

America Begs China for Money—and the Chinese Laugh!

On Monday, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Chinese government officials that their money was safe and that America wants a strong dollar. His Chinese audience broke out in loud laughter. The cost of borrowing is going up, and America’s desperation is making it an international laughingstock.

Read more

G.M. Seeks Bankruptcy and a New Start

General Motors filed for bankruptcy on Monday morning, submitting its reorganization papers to a federal clerk in Lower Manhattan.

G.M. said it had $82.3 billion in assets and $172.8 billion in debts. Its largest creditors were the Wilmington Trust Company, representing a group of bondholders holding $22.8 billion in debts, and affiliates of the United Auto Workers union, representing nearly $20.6 billion in employee obligations. Read more

Trade War

The United States depends on other countries for its military superiority, and that’s a good thing.

Driving an import: The Army’s ultrasafe MRAP vehicle, on patrol in Iraq, relies on manufacturers in four continents.

Since U.S. President Barack Obama has taken office, the debate between Read more

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