M: The Creativity Mystery

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In his recent State of the Union speech, President Barack Obama frequently mentioned the importance of innovation for the United States economy. One of the reasons that North America continues to dominate the global economy is that conditions are right for innovation to flourish. Creativity is the basis for innovation. Scientists have been studying creativity… Read more »

M: Dow-bt Egypt Matters to You?

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average has been up sharply in recent weeks. That all changed when protests turned to rioting in Egypt. At the same time, oil prices increased dramatically. Lenders to Middle Eastern countries are seeing the cost of protecting their investment going up precipitously. Some analysts contend that Egypt is just an excuse… Read more »

M: China’s Cotton Club

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Chinese cotton farmers are holding on to their harvest from the past season waiting for prices to climb. Estimates suggest the amount of cotton being held off the market may be close to two million metric tons representing nine percent of the world supply. This hoarding coupled with a lack of production reporting throughout Asia… Read more »

Envoys Pushing For Global Trade Deal

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At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, trade ministers from the several countries met to renew interest in the current round of multilateral negotiations under the World Trade Organization (WTO). The Doha Round of negotiations began nearly 10 years ago and discussions have been stalled for several years. The governments nearly reached an agreement… Read more »

Protests in Egypt

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Public protests that began in Tunisia have now spread to Egypt. The last several days have seen widespread public protests and riots with citizens attempting to oust President Hosni Mubarak and end his 30-year reign. More than 100 citizens may have been killed with clashes with police and the military. President Mubarak seems to be… Read more »

M: Hu’s In Town

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Chinese President Hu Jintao visited the Chicago area for four days. His stops included a very formal dinner with Chicago Mayor Richard Daley, Walter Payton Prep School, and suburban Woodridge (a town even native son Barack Obama has not visited). Big deals were made – the Chinese agreeing to purchase Midwestern soybeans for $1.8 billion…. Read more »

M: Getting Google-y About Change

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Google is a business run by committee. At least it was. Now Larry Page replaces Eric Schmidt. The triumvirate of Page, Schmidt, and innovator Sergey Brin sometimes held the company back because they could not agree. Page has the opportunity to move Google forward if by no other means than offering a more comfortable (and… Read more »

Brazil Raises Key Interest Rate

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Despite already having the highest interest rates of any major economy, the Central Bank of Brazil raised its Selic base interest rate half a percentage point this week. In an attempt to control quickening inflation, the Central Bank raised the rate for overnight lending to 11.25% from the previous 10.75%. The move is likely to… Read more »

The White House Hosts Economic Talks with China

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Chinese President Hu Jintao concluded a four-day trip to the United States this weekend. It was a rare visit from the leader of the world’s second largest economy to the world’s largest economy, China and the United States, respectively. The two nations have had increased tension in their relationship over the last year over trade… Read more »

M: You Said What?

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A new industry is emerging from the world of high tech – reputation management companies. With the rise of online customer review websites and prominence of instant communication technologies like Twitter, companies are finding the need to manage how and what kind of information is disseminated. Reputation management companies are helping companies protect their information… Read more »