[Adam Minter] Why is eBay returning to china?

About a decade ago, eBay made a legendary retreat from the Chinese auction business in the face of growing local competition. It was a defeat so humiliating it became a business school case study. Since then, however, the Chinese e-commerce market has changed drastically -- and so has eBay. As the company makes its return to the mainland, it may be at the forefront of an important trend in online trade.EBay recently announced it‘s partnering with Ningbo, a major port and manufacturing hub, to he

Feb. 26, 2017

[Other VIew] Welcome, new cosmic neighbors!

To adapt the Bard of Avon: “O, wonder! ... O brave new world.”Or seven of them, as it happens. Researchers revealed last week that they’ve uncovered these intriguing planets swirling outside the solar system, all of them rocky and Earth-sized. Three seem temperate enough to support life. And all are orbiting a small, dim star just 40 light-years away.The planets’ orientation should allow detailed study of their atmospheres -- meaning that, if they do support life, it should soon be evident. All

Feb. 26, 2017

[Reg Henry] The wisdom of keeping time on paper

As a member of a generation that knew no computers or personal devices, I think I have adjusted fairly well to the electronic marvels that people take for granted today. But there is one convenience that I cannot embrace. I still depend on a paper calendar to plan my days.My wife has urged me to get with the modern program. She has adopted technology so enthusiastically that her iPhone beeps messages at all hours, so marriage with her is like being the spouse of R2-D2 from “Star Wars.” That remi

Feb. 24, 2017

[Los Angeles Times] Looking back with shame

Seventy-five years ago, President Franklin Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066, declaring parts of the United States to be military zones from which particular groups of people could be “excluded” for security reasons. The order set the stage for the relocation and internment, beginning the following month, of 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry, most of whom were American citizens living on the West Coast.　To our lasting shame, here’s what the Los Angeles Times editorial page had to say about

Feb. 23, 2017

[Sandra Navidi] How Trumpocracy corrupts Democracy

American democracy is a complex, self-organizing system. In terms of network science, President Donald Trump is a “superhub”: the most well-connected human “node,” located in the center of the network. While Trump does not have control over the entire system -- he himself is subject to its systemic forces -- he has enough influence that he could cause it to fail.Complex systems don’t fail easily. They are generally adaptive and self-correcting. When they become too skewed, circuit breakers kick

Feb. 23, 2017

[David Ignatius] The Trump bump in Moscow's market

Financial markets have been sending an interesting message about President Trump and Russia. After Trump’s election, investors seemed to be betting that sanctions against Moscow would soon be eased. But this confidence collapsed in late January, and Russian stocks plummeted.The numbers tell the story: From Nov. 7, the day before the election, to Jan. 27, the MICEX index of leading Russian stocks rose 26 percent. The index for Russian financial stocks increased 19 percent over that same period. B

Feb. 23, 2017

[Other View] Europe needs a higher price on carbon

Europe’s promise to lower greenhouse gas emissions looked bright a dozen years ago, when its leaders created the first big market for trading carbon permits. Sadly, though, its system has failed to encourage investment in clean technology and appreciably lower carbon dioxide emissions. Until the European Union trims the number of permits traded enough to drastically raise the cost of emitting carbon dioxide, its market will remain dysfunctional.　The idea behind the Emissions Trading System was s

Feb. 23, 2017

[Joseph E. Stiglitz] How to survive the Trump era

In barely a month, US President Donald Trump has managed to spread chaos and uncertainty -- and a degree of fear that would make any terrorist proud -- at a dizzying pace. Not surprisingly, citizens and leaders in business, civil society, and government are struggling to respond appropriately and effectively.Any view regarding the way forward is necessarily provisional, as Trump has not yet proposed detailed legislation, and the US Congress and courts have not fully responded to his barrage of e

Feb. 22, 2017

[Matthew A. Winkler] Where crony capitalism rose and prosperity fell (and vice versa)

With populists emulating autocrats from Azerbaijan to Zimbabwe, free markets are being forced to confront crony capitalism.　One response is visible in the reversal of fortunes of Malaysia and Indonesia. The two nations still wrestle with the politics of ethnicity and religion at odds with the capitalism of market competition. In Indonesia, Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, a Chinese Christian who is the governor of Jakarta, is running for office while defending himself against charges of blasphemy against

Feb. 22, 2017

[Dan K. Thomasson] For nation’s sake, Trump and intelligence community must get along

The White House disarray we’ve witnessed of late can’t be good for the US’ national security. Having a president kept out of the intelligence loop can only invite disaster.　Having fired Michael Flynn as his national security adviser for a lack of trust born of bizarre dealings with Russians and subsequent lies, Donald Trump quickly reversed thrust and portrayed Flynn as a victim of the agencies we rely on to keep track of our enemies and often our friends. The spies, he said, took down the good

Feb. 22, 2017

[Other View] Yes, the press is the enemy -- of secrecy

How should the press respond to President Donald Trump’s claim that “the fake news media” are “the enemy of the American people?”By doing its job. And doing it well.Trump’s comments have pushed the discussion about the importance of the press in our democracy into overdrive. They have also fueled an already simmering fire over what should happen to the White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner, an annual event designed as a celebration of a free, independent press but often criticized for c

Feb. 22, 2017

[Michael Schuman] Asia’s strongmen aren’t strong enough

Across Asia, the world has supposedly been witnessing the return of the strongman.Chinese President Xi Jinping has been grasping more and more control since claiming power in 2012. Two years later, Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India and President Joko Widodo (known as “Jokowi”) in Indonesia won office by selling themselves as forceful economic and political reformers. All three were heralded as the firm hands these giant developing nations needed to rejuvenate their promising but troubled eco

Feb. 21, 2017

[Leonid Bershidsky] Facebook plans to rewire your life -- be afraid.

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s manifesto, penned clearly in response to accusations leveled at the social network in the wake of the bitter US election campaign, is a scary, dystopian document. It shows that Facebook -- launched, in Zuckerberg’s own words five years ago, to “extend people’s capacity to build and maintain relationships” -- is turning into something of an extraterritorial state run by a small, unelected government that relies extensively on privately held algorithms for social

Feb. 21, 2017

[Other View] Good, bad and fake news on vaccines

Childhood deaths have been falling worldwide since 1990. In their foundation’s annual letter last week, Bill and Melinda Gates estimated that science had saved 122 million children in the last quarter-century.That’s a population larger than three Californias. What saved them? Vaccines, mostly.The percentage of children receiving basic immunization is now at a historic high, internationally speaking. It’s “incredible progress,” the Gates Foundation report said, a triumph of foreign aid, charitabl

Feb. 21, 2017