Two recent phenomena--state-owned or controlled corporations in our public markets, and government-owned commercial investment funds--are challenging conventional approaches to the respective roles of government and the private sector.

Twelve years into the 21st century, the dominant financial and economic fact is that we are still living in the wake of athe vast housing and mortgage bubble, which peaked in mid-2006, almost six years ago.  

The U.S. economy has been doing poorly for so long now that it's easy to get dispirited. But there are several reasons to think 2012 might be a good one for American economic performance.

After years of war, oppression, and uncertainty, Iraqi Kurds have reason for optimism. The Kurdistan Regional Government has sold international companies rights for exploitation and development of the region's petroleum resources.

History shows us that sovereign governments often default on their loans, particularly in times of war or economic upheaval. Europe finds itself in this situation now and would do well to examine past sovereign debt crises—particularly, the European sovereign debt crisis of the 1920s—for lessons.

Saving the euro is up to them, not us. They're perfectly entitled to try to create an alternative to the US dollar as the world's reserve currency, but we are equally free to let it fail.

A major factor behind the weak recovery and gloomy outlook is a climate of policy-induced economic uncertainty. An index we devised shows U.S. policy uncertainty at historically high levels.

There is a Russian saying, lyod tronulsya, which means the winter ice on the river has cracked and begun to move, that things have begun to change deeply and significantly. This is what's happening in today's Russia.