The Influence of Warren Buffett on American Finance

Number of words: 4,469 After the worst financial collapse since the Great Depression, three officials from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission visited Warren Buffett at his office in Omaha, Nebraska. They wanted to ask America’s most successful investor about his 24 million shares in the credit-rating agency Moody’s. The commission would later identify Moody’s and other rating … Read more

The Science Behind Emergency Preservation Techniques

Number of words: 923 New Scientist reports that doctors have used therapeutic suspended animation for the first time as part of a carefully designed human trial. The procedure, called Emergency Preservation and Resuscitation (EPR), is a way to try to save the lives of people with severe traumatic injuries like gunshot damage—patients who have lost the majority of … Read more

The Debate Over Stents: What Patients Need to Consider

Number of words: 651 An international study with significant participation from India has found no extra benefits from coronary stent implants or bypass procedures over strategies that use medicines and lifestyle changes to treat moderate or severe heart disease. The study involved 320 sites worldwide, including 19 government and private Indian hospitals. It found no … Read more

The 1990s Consensus: Lessons Learned on Free Trade

Number of words: 2,614 Paul Krugman, Nobel-prize winning economist and avowed champion of free trade, admits he and his colleagues got a few things seriously wrong about globalization, in particular around its downside impact on local labor markets.  “We missed a crucial part of the story,” Krugman wrote in a Bloomberg article in October, referring to members of … Read more

The Relentless Pursuit of Success Among Silicon Valley Millionaires

Number of words: 3,331 In 2007, Gary Rivlin wrote a New York Times feature profile of highly successful people in Silicon Valley. One of them, Hal Steger, lived with his wife in a million-dollar house overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Their net worth was about $3.5 million. Assuming a reasonable return of 5 percent, Steger and his wife were … Read more