When Alan Greenspan presided over the Federal Reserve for 18 years, he periodically appeared before Congress to mutter some ethereal bromides about the state of the U.S. economy. Greenspan's pronouncements were greeted as Yoda-like pearls of wisdom. Every mumbled word from this financial deity was reverentially parsed ad nauseum by a herd of financial analysts; every time he raised his eyebrows and creased ...

This afternoon, I had the privilege of interviewing Volker Hoff, the minister of federal and European affairs for the German state of Hessen. We met in a deluxe, circular conference room adorned with a glittering chandelier and a balcony overlooking the grandeur of Hessen's capital, Wiesbaden. Hoff and I were joined by Bernd Kistner, head of foreign trade for the Hessian Ministry for Economic Affairs, as we ...

The fiscal tsunami triggered by the collapse of Wall Street's investment banking giants is poised to drown an entire county in Alabama. According to a report in Fortune magazine, Jefferson County, AL, which includes the city of Birmingham, is on the verge of filing for Chapter 9 protection in what would be the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. Fortune says that Jefferson County has fallen ''hope ...

In the opening scene of one of our all-time favorite TV series, mob boss Tony Soprano is chasing a guy through a Jersey parking lot with a baseball bat. The guy owes Tony some vigorish.Vigorish is local vernacular for the weekly interest payments that loan sharks charge to their borrower community. These payments don't actually reduce the amount owed, they are kind of an ''insurance policy'' -- as in, you p ...

For the third consecutive year, we've asked a select panel of industry experts to provide some need-to-know information about how, when, and why to relocate. ...

Its domestic economy may be limited, but Austria pulsates at the heart of the European Union and excels at exporting its diverse products to the United States. ...

Governor Jon Corzine is making a major effort to turn urban blight into a "gold mine" for companies relocating to big cities. ...

Tapping into fast-growing technology and energy sectors, Gov. David Paterson's economic development initiatives are helping to strengthen the state's manufacturing base while attracting new relocations and expansions. ...

Economic developers can leverage the benefits of FTZs to attract jobs and investment, while facilitating maintenance and expansion of their industrial base. ...

When it comes to innovation and a talented workforce, these are the locations that merit a close look. ...