Unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past six months, you know Detroit’s once unstoppable auto industry is dying a fast, public death. The American auto industry’s fall from grace coincides with a shift in the public’s perception of personal transportation. Higher gas prices and a new environmentally conscious ...read more

Last year, oil prices went crazy. In a matter of weeks, oil shot up as high as $147 and came right back down. Today, oil is sneaking back up. The obvious temptation is to try and time it again. The smart money, however, is looking elsewhere to take advantage. We found ...read more

Last week, the stock market fell by more than 6%. That’s a return of -24.5% for the year. While we equities here in the U.S. continue to struggle, emerging nations have been hit even harder… especially commodity-based economies. Brazil is certainly in this basket of falling markets. Fortunately for you, it ...read more

A couple of weeks ago, I was on Chicago radio and asked a simple question: How will we know that the government stimulus is working? I’m normally at no loss for words, as anyone who has seen or heard me speak will testify to, but the answer didn’t hit me ...read more

As I write, the feeling in my fingers and toes are finally returning. For the last few hours, I’ve been standing among 300,000 of the loudest, most aggressive spectators I’ve ever seen. I just got inside from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ victory parade. You see, I’m a huge Steelers fan. Believe me, ...read more

Ukraine and Russia are at it again. This time, it’s turned especially nasty, as Russia cut off natural gas supplies to a host of European countries. Tired of relying on Russia, the EU will again look for alternatives. Its eyes will wander to Turkmenistan. Back in October, while the world was busy ...read more

Two days before Christmas, a 66-inch water main burst on River Road, not far from where I live, during morning rush hour. Water spewed out at a rate of 150,000 gallons per minute, turning River Road into an actual river for a time. People at the scene described the burst ...read more

He won a decisive victory in the presidential elections and his party picked up a bunch of seats in Congress. The American economy is in the dumps and the mood is glum. The new president puts in motion sweeping new legislation and spending plans in an attempt to fix things… I'm ...read more

Outside of science and trade magazines, you probably won’t read too much about the prospects of algae energy. But the potential is certainly there. Just look at how algae stack up against our government-sponsored ethanol: One acre of corn can yield about 28 gallons of oil in one year. In more ...read more

We may be on the cusp of a great global boom in the automotive industry. That may be hard to believe given all the ink spilled on the troubles at the mossbacked mastodons known as GM, Ford and Chrysler. But there are reasons to believe something big is afoot here ...read more