BusinessWeek, August 24 & 31, 2009

The Case for Optimism
The economic storm has been a harrowing, and now is not the time to discount the dangers that may still lurk. But opening your mind to optimism can help you seize the opportunities ahead.

Tough Love for Chrysler
Can Fiat revive an iconic U.S. brand that many have given up for dead? It hopes to succeed by using unconventional methods, such as fostering internal competition.

Kinder Credit Cards
Keep rates steady, eliminate fees, and rigorously weigh creditor risk: Giving cardholders such a deal is unorthodox in the plastic business, but PartnersFirst's model may point to the industry's future.

PDF | 25 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

The Economist, August 15, 2009

Asia: An astonishing rebound
Asia’s emerging economies are leading the way out of recession; now they must make their recovery last.

Latin America's new alliances: Whose side is Brazil on?
Time for Lula to stand up for democracy rather than embrace autocrats.

The decline of the landline: Unwired
As more people ditch landline phones for mobiles, America’s regulators need to respond.

World trade and commercial aircraft: A dogfight no one can win
Negotiation, not litigation, is the best way to limit the subsidies to Airbus and Boeing -- and stop a trade war.

Galileo, four centuries on: As important as Darwin
In praise of astronomy, the most revolutionary of sciences.

America loses its landlines: Cutting the cord
Ever greater numbers of Americans are disconnecting their home telephones, with momentous consequences.

AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac: The toxic trio
American taxpayers are ploughing billions in. Will they get their money back?

The future of astronomy: Black-sky thinking
The first of four articles from the International Astronomical Union meeting looks at a battle between Big Science and human hunches.

PDF | 4.1 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

The Economist, August 8, 2009

Illiberal politics: America's unjust sex laws
An ever harsher approach is doing more harm than good, but it is being copied around the world.

Redesigning Europe's biggest economy: Unbalanced Germany
Europe's champion is justly proud of its exporters. It also needs to worry about markets closer to home.

Britain's energy crisis: How long till the lights go out?
Thanks to its posturing politicians, Britain will soon start to run out of electricity. What should it do?

Regulating executive compensation: Pay and politics
So far, Congress is taking a surprisingly sensible approach to the problem of pay.

Generic drugs and competition: Something rotten
Regulators should put a stop to tactics that delay the introduction of generic drugs.

Islam and heresy: Where freedom is still at stake
Wanted: Islam's Voltaire.

Big drug firms embrace generics: Friends for life
Big pharmaceutical firms are learning to love their erstwhile enemies, makers of generic drugs.

Offshore private banking: Bourne to survive
Despite the woes of UBS, Swiss private banking remains in reasonable shape.

A link between wealth and breeding: The best of all possible worlds?
It was once a rule of demography that people have fewer children as their countries get richer. That rule no longer holds true.

PDF | 2.6 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

The Economist, May 2, 2009

Pandemics: The pandemic threat
It's deadly serious; so even if the current threat fades, the world needs to be better armed.

Italy: Regrettable Berlusconi
What a pity Italy's prime minister does not use his political muscle to reform his country.

South Africa: It needs an opposition
Jacob Zuma has proved he can win votes. But can he run a serious democracy?

Latin America's economies: That fragile thing: a good reputation
A reformed region cannot escape recession but it can mitigate its impact.

Tax: A nasty Brown mess
The politics behind Britain's tax changes are ugly. The economics are worse.

Warfare: All at sea
Foreign military bases have both political and practical difficulties. "Seabasing" may offer a solution.

Psychology: Life in thin slices
An ancient smile may predict a modern divorce.

PDF | 2.1 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

BusinessWeek, May 11, 2009

CEOs of Tomorrow
BusinessWeek picks 20 big-company executives most likely to ascend to the corner office.

Help Wanted
Some 3 million jobs are going begging in the U.S. Blame a skills deficit and reduced mobility.

Germany
Berlin's reforms have kept unemployment from leaping.

Info Tech
SAP's double headache: The Oracle-Sun deal and false start in cloud computing.

The Internet
As it monopoly status comes under fire, Google works overtime on a charm offensive.

PDF | 10.8 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

The Economist, April 25, 2009

The world economy: A glimmer of hope?
The worst thing for the world economy would be to assume the worst is over.

Politics and the British budget: Desperate measures
Gordon Brown's budget is a dishonest piece of pre-election politicking.

The United States and Latin America: A new start in the Americas
Barack Obama has dangled a carrot for Cuba and Venezuela. Time for Brazil and others to show a bit of stick.

Sri Lanka's war: To the bitter end
The Sri Lankan army could turn triumph into disaster unless it shows restraint.

Cyberwar: Battle is joined
A behind-the-scenes conflict appears to be under way -- but not the sort you might think.

Computing: Mr Ellison helps himself
Oracle's takeover of Sun Microsystems is a surprise, but fits an industry trend.

Germany's high electricity prices: Power to the people (at a price)
Change is slowly coming to Germany's dysfunctional electricity market.

The PCCW case: Split decision
A pivotal ruling strengthens the hand of Hong Kong's small shareholders.

Sir John Maddox: The nature of Nature
The man who reinvented science journalism.

Treating cancer: Illuminating surgery
A clever way of highlighting tumours to make them easier to remove.

PDF | 2.3 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

BusinessWeek, May 4, 2009

Philip Morris Unbound
Under CEO Camilleri, the tobacco giant is racing to find new smokers across the globe before restrictions spread.

Digital Health
The dubious promise of electronic records.

Economics and Policy
The unequal tax burden on companies.

How to Play It
Tobacco stocks.

PDF | 11 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

BusinessWeek, April 27, 2009

What Good Are Economists Anyway?
Why they failed to predict the global economic crisis -- and why their help is still crucial to a recovery.

Blowing up Pepsi
PepsiCo Americas CEO Massimo d'Amore has been rebranding Pepsi's core products top to bottom. Creative destruction -- or just destruction?

Biofuel Bubble
Startups are sprouting everywhere, but most will fail, and Big Oil may steal the show.

Info Tech
Investing during slumps has worked for Intel in the past, but this time shareholders aren't so sure.

PDF | 19 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

The Economist, April 18, 2009

South Africa's election: Africa's next Big Man
If Jacob Zuma avoids becoming a caricature of African leadership, he could change the whole continent for the better.

Democracy in India: India's jumbo election
The worst possible way of choosing an Indian government -- apart from all the others.

American banks: Payback time
Goldman Sachs and other banks want to pay back bail-out cash. But the banking system is not in the clear yet.

Technology and medicine: Fixing health care
Technology has been a culprit behind runaway health costs. It might now help tame them.

Housing: Building castles of sand
Governments spent a fortune encouraging people to buy houses. That was a mistake they now risk repeating.

Health care in India: Lessons from a frugal innovator
The rich world's bloated health-care systems can learn from India's entrepreneurs.

Banks: The audacity of hope
Optimism that banks' fortunes have reached bottom may be premature.

Autism and extraordinary ability: Genius locus
There is strong evidence for a link between genius and autism. In the first of three articles about the brain this week, we ask how that link works, and whether "neurotypicals" can benefit from the knowledge.

Conscious and unconscious thought: Incognito
Evidence mounts that brains decide before their owners know about it.

PDF | 3.1 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

The Economist, April 11, 2009

Getting to zero: Safe without the bomb?
A nuclear-free world may never come about, but there can be safety in trying.

America, Europe and Turkey: Talking Turkey
America’s public call for Turkish entry into the European Union may backfire.

The G20 and the IMF: Banking on the fund
The IMF is getting more resources to support the world economy. If it is to succeed, it needs more reform.

Water rights: Awash in waste
Tradable usage rights are a good tool for tackling the world’s water problems.

Banks and accounting standards: Messenger, shot
Accounting rules are under attack. Standard-setters should defend them. Politicians and banks should back off.

Gay marriage: Wedding season
Supporters of same-sex marriage see hope in the Midwest -- and Vermont.

Chinese unemployment: Where will all the students go?
This year alone, more than 6m new graduates are knocking at the door.

Activist investors: Flight of the locusts
Will the retreat of activist investors give industrial bosses more leeway to manage?

Financial markets: Whistling in the dark
There are still plenty of shadows looming over the stockmarket.

Malaria: Resistance is useless
Evolutionary theory may help to fight a fatal disease.

PDF | 3.4 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

Time, March 2, 2009

Best Actress: Kate Winslet's Moment
Intense, ambitious and only slightly panicked, Kate Winslet is the finest actress of her generation.

After the Stimulus, Can Obama Tame the Deficit?
The President wants to show that he can get the deficit under control. Why a new approach to health-care costs could be the answer.

Lincoln Center's New Come-Hither Design
Performing-arts complexes want to connect with their neighborhood. One of them is succeeding.

Is Blu-ray Worth Getting?
It's the next generation of home movie-viewing -- but does that mean you should go Blu?

Twins and Aging: How Not to Look Old
Doctors studying identical twins uncover the surprising effects behavior has on aging.

PDF | 1.1 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

BusinessWeek, April 20, 2009

Mexico
Why big business is standing its ground.

Jack Bogle's Last Crusade?
The mutual fund pioneer's latest mission may be his most ambitious yet: Persuading regulators to overhaul the retirement-savings system in the U.S.

The 25 Most Innovative Companies
BusinessWeek's list of Most Innovative Companies shows not all are reining in R&D.

Info Tech
How Microsoft is fighting back (finally).

PDF | 12.8 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

Time, March 30, 2009

How AIG Became Too Big to Fail
Years of unregulated and risky deals exposed the insurance giant to catastrophic losses. Now it's paying bonuses to the same people who helped create the mess. With our money. A look at why a dark corner of the global economy is costing U.S. taxpayers $170 billion -- and counting.

The Upside of Anger
Let's channel the AIG-bonus outrage into a real fix: a tax code that makes messmakers pay.

How to Bring An End to the War Over Sex Ed
Teaching kids just about abstinence won't prevent teen pregnancies -- and neither will focusing solely on safe sex. But one county in South Carolina is finding success by doing both.

Are 3-D Movies Ready for Their Closeup?
For some of the world's top filmmakers, digital 3-D is the future of movies. Adjust your glasses.

Is Julia Roberts Still Queen of the Box Office?
In the cloak-and-dagger caper Duplicity, Julia Roberts finds mature love. It suits her.

Arianna Huffington: The Web's New Oracle
How Arianna Huffington beat the media establishment at its own game using nothing but charm, friends, money, the Internet and other people's work.

PDF | 1.1 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

The Economist, March 28, 2009

The American presidency: Learning the hard way
Barack Obama may at last be getting a grip. But he still needs to show more leadership, at home and abroad.

The G20 summit: London calling
Trade is collapsing and protectionism is on the rise. Time for the G20 to get going.

Saving America's banks: Only halfway there
Tim Geithner's toxic-asset scheme will not work unless banks are forced to sell their problem loans.

The war in Afghanistan: Say you're staying, Mr President
Barack Obama needs to act fast to dispel the idea that he is giving up on his "good war".

Emerging-market multinationals: Not so nano
The financial crisis may have strengthened the hand of the developing world's emerging giants.

The Tata Nano: The new people's car
Why the Nano alone cannot solve the mounting problems of its maker.

America's toxic-asset plan: Dr Geithner's bank rehab
There should be no shortage of buyers for American banks' rotten assets, thanks to generous subsidies. Sellers will be harder to entice.

Table-top fusion: The beast that will not die
New claims that cold fusion is no myth.

Geo-engineering: Who ate all the algae?
Using phytoplankton to trap carbon dioxide faces a snag.

PDF | 4.5 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Download link 3
Read more...

BusinessWeek, April 6, 2009

BusinessWeek 50
From 3D software designer Autodesk to steelmaker Nucor, the 13th annual list of top performers shows innovation remains the engine of success.

Three Views from the Corner Office
Ballmer on the recession and Google, NBC's Zucker on Jon Stewart, plus Dauman of Viacom.

Iraq's World-Class Oil Ambitions
It has a serious plan to more than double output. That's why 30 oil companies are now chasing deals.

An All-Out Online Assault on the iPhone
RIM, Microsoft, Nokia, and Palm are setting up their own versions of Apple's red-hot App Store.

PDF | 13.2 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Download link 3
Read more...

Reader's Digest, April 2009

What's Wrong with Cancer Tests
Screenings can detect cancer early. So why do some experts say they can do more harm than good?

Four Ways of Looking at an Egg
Egg-cellent ovals, from the White House lawn to a Paris auction house.

Quick Study: Income Taxes
Hard times demand a hard look at how we're taxed.

2 Trapped Boys, 5 Tons of Ice
A family hike in the Cascade mountains turns into a terrifying race against time.

Going Green
Simple answers to 13 common questions.

Home of the Brave
How 7 remarkable men and women found refuge -- and new hope -- in America.

Your Next Job
Advice on moving up, making more, and managing your career: part 2 of special report.

PDF | 14.8 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Download link 3
Read more...

Time, March 23, 2009

10 Ideas Changing the World Right Now
#1 Why Your Job Is Your Most Valuable Asset
#2 Recycling the Suburbs
#3 The New Calvinism
#4 Reinstating The Interstate
#5 Amortality: Forever Young
#6 Africa: Open for Business
#7 Need Land? Rent a Country
#8 Biobanks: Saving Your Parts
#9 Survival-Store Shopping
#10 Ecological Intelligence

Keeping Homeless Kids in School
With more students losing their housing, can districts help them stay in class?

Obama's Reform Agenda: Is He Trying to Do Too Much?
Yes, he's still riding high in the polls. But Barack Obama's big reform agenda won't get off the ground unless he fixes the banks first. The case for doing one thing at a time.

Paul Rudd: Everybody's Buddy
Trolling for friends with leading nice guy Paul Rudd.Financial giants are wobbling. Lending is tight. The FDIC is murder on start-ups. But there's never been a better time to open a small bank.

While the Giants Reel, Many Small Banks Are Thriving
Financial giants are wobbling. Lending is tight. The FDIC is murder on start-ups. But there's never been a better time to open a small bank.

A Flu Strain Goes Kerflooey
With a common flu type now drug-resistant, researchers race to improve vaccines.

PDF | 1.5 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

The Economist, April 4, 2009

The rise and fall of the wealthy: The rich under attack
Going for the bankers is tempting for politicians -- and dangerous for everybody else.

The G20 and the world economy: Be bold
Despite unprecedented stimulus, the biggest risk is still that governments overall do too little.

Religion and human rights: The meaning of freedom
Why freedom of speech must include the right to "defame" religions.

Democracy in South-East Asia: The Indonesian surprise
The world's biggest Muslim country has changed from authoritarian basket-case to regional role model.

Russia and the rule of law: The Trial, round two
The second trial of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, like the first, will help determine Russia's future.

Israel's new government: Change your tune
Or the prospect of peace with the Palestinians will grow dimmer than ever.

America's car industry: Time for a new driver
General Motors gets a new boss, but Barack Obama is really in control.

Neuroscience and social deprivation: I am just a poor boy though my story's seldom told
How poverty passes from generation to generation is now becoming clearer. The answer lies in the effect of stress on two particular parts of the brain.

A special report on the rich
After decades of prospering mightily, the wealthy may now be in for an extended period of austerity.

PDF | 5.7 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

BusinessWeek, April 13, 2009

GM: Who's in Charge Here?
It will be tough for the new boss to maneuver with other hands on the wheel.

Signs of Life
With foreclosures luring speculators and first-time buyers enjoying low interest rates, there's cause for cautious optimism in housing.

From Great to Good
With CEO Jeff Immelt facing few good options, General Electric is losing its powerful glow.

Toxic Taxes
Obama's new tax credits will be a boon for preparers -- and a likely stimulus for fraud.

PDF | 36.4 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...

BusinessWeek, March 23 & 30, 2009

Game-Changing Ideas
The economic crisis demands new thinking. Smart leaders are gleaning insights from emerging markets, social networks, and their suppliers.

Economics & Policy
Public debts, hired guns.

Info Tech
A great divide in spending.

Global Crisis
Boom turns to gloom in a Russian factory town.

PDF | 29.3 MB

Download link 1
Download link 2
Read more...