Despite China's emergence as an economic power and all the talk about how America has become a service economy, U.S. manufacturing is alive and well. But there is a fly in the ointment -- the U.S. has become dangerously dependent on imports of raw materials needed to keep the economy moving.

Despite China's emergence as an economic power and all the talk about how America has become a service economy, U.S. manufacturing is alive and well.

An article in the International Business Times shows that China continues to hit the brakes on the exports of rare earths.

Forty years ago today, the entire world was launched into a brand new financial experiment. Viewing matters from 2011, how do we like the results?

Join us for a discussion of the rare earth elements and the policy ramifications of their scarcity, geographic distribution, environmental impacts, and near-monopolistic market.

The U.S. is more active on trade policy than it has been in years.  President Obama is meeting with Canada and Mexico about new agreements, Congress will hold hearings on changing decades-old trade law, and the federal government will more broadly be bringing several cases before the WTO.

Yet, in constructing...

India's problems do not stem from crony capitalism but crony socialism, the continued hold of an often corrupt and inept political class on economic decision making. Like most countries, India could do with greater competition and fewer barriers to entry for new businesses. But it's India's politicians and bureaucrats who need reining in, not its billionaires.

Ineffective drugs take lives, waste money and make precious cures useless. Drugs have been recycled after their expiry date; they have been contaminated with fatal toxins; they have been made too weak or with no active ingredient at all.