Economy

Deflation in the euro zone is all too close and extremely dangerous

The world economy is not in good shape. The news from America and Britain has been reasonably positive, but Japan’s economy is struggling and China’s growth is now slower than at any time since 2009. Unpredictable dangers abound, particularly from the Ebola epidemic, which has killed thousands in West Africa and jangled nerves far beyond. But the biggest economic threat, by far, comes from continental Europe.

Today, The Roddenberry Foundation announced a $100,000 contribution to the Global Learning XPRIZE crowdfunding campaign to support the development of technology that will bring literacy to hundreds of millions of children.

Individual investors have returned to the stock market in a very big way. But they are putting their money into plain vanilla, no frills, passive corners of the investing world.

In today’s column, my very first for Fortune, I’d like to officially welcome you back to the stock market. According to the Federal Reserve’s latest Z.1 release, it’s official—you’re in again. In fact, you’re just about as in as you’ve ever been.

With 46% of global assets owned by the top 1% earners the income equality gap in the United States is substantial. 

Courtesy of http://infographicworld.com/wealth-in-the-united-states/

Think of a refugee camp and you're probably thinking of messy temporary lodging and throngs of displaced people. But Ken Banks, founder of Kiwanja.net and FrontlineSMS, says that refugee camps are surprising hotbeds of innovation.

When, with three bangs on a gong, Xi Jinping welcomed a freight train to the Rhine river port of Duisburg in March, he issued a call for Germany to join China in developing a “New Silk Road” between their two economies.

As markets appear to be plunging, the founding editor of strategy+business argues that the United States is about to launch an epic new wave of growth.

by Art Kleiner [Erstwhile editor of strategy+business]

If you’re wondering what this winter holds for the Mid-Atlantic, you need not look further than last winter, though not as prolonged, says Accuweather in their winter weather outlook.

Of late, the comparatively good news on the U.S. economy suggests the worst of the recession is behind us. Nonetheless, millions remain out of work; federal food and nutrition assistance outlays – one measure of the number of people struggling to get by—were at an all time high in 2013.