Crises seem to be blossoming all over Europe. From Dominque Strauss-Kahn in France to financial crises in Greece, Spain, Ireland, and now Italy, the whole continent seems caught up in turmoil. In particular, however, one issue that caught my eye (and that has, perhaps, more far-reaching implications than l'affaire DSK)...

Healthcare-acquired infections, or "HAIs", have not been given a lot of airtime in the continuing debate on healthcare. This is really surprising given that 1.7 million hospital-based infections (and 99,000 associated deaths) occur each year in the U.S. and as much as $33 billion in healthcare costs annually....

For a business executive, there's nothing worse than an environment you can't trust. Of course, no corporation or investor ever has the benefit of perfect information, but you can always make well-informed decisions and take calculated risks so long as everyone is playing by -- and sticking to -- the...

In recent years, the U.S. has worked diligently to stop overfishing by targeting its root cause -- harmful and economically-damaging fishing subsidies that have been undermining the bounty and viability of our world's fish. Ending these subsidies is the key to preserving a global commercial enterprise that has been vital...

Our lives have transformed so dramatically when it comes to utilizing technology to communicate. We have our hand-held devices, our iPads and tablets as well as our Facebook pages. But, what is most exciting is that we are finally seeing the wireless generation being applied to help advance the care...

The housing market in the U.S. still faces considerable pressure -- even two years into "an economic recovery" (albeit a jobless one). This is best evidenced by the fact that 23.1% of homes in the US with a mortgage had negative equity at the end of 2010, up from 22.5%...

So, here's the good news: The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP), created in early 2009 from the TARP funds by the Obama Administration, uses federal funds to reduce borrowers' monthly mortgage payments to about a third of the borrower's (pretax) monthly income. The program's website says the program...

How could Oliver Stone be so fond of Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela, and hawk his new documentary about a man that many of us think may become the next Fidel Castro?

The film, South of the Border, has not exactly won rave reviews. And how could it? The...

Since 2003, our country has been fighting an escalating and elusive war. The battlefield injuries just keep breaking my heart. Despite the obvious dangers that our troops face in hostile areas -- whether in mountainous regions or heavily-populated cities, it seems that our own government exacerbates problems further by providing...

President Obama recently released a much-needed national HIV/AIDS strategy that aims to slash new infections by 25% in the next five years. This major domestic policy initiative will take aim at the elephant in the room: the American HIV/AIDS epidemic.

How did we ever miss this? Admirably, the focus...

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA), the first U.S. auto company IPO in 54 years, opened trading Wednesday at over-subscribed and at $17 a share. That would be enough of a victory, considering it was facing a $14-$16 consensus target. When you consider shares gapped up about +40% in their debut, it makes the...

The answer is "no."

The events since the May 6 "flash crash" have brought back painful memories of the collapse of 2008 and early 2009. Many investors remained on the sidelines as the market turned upwards into its meteoric rise from March 2009 through April 2010. So, there was this...

As tattoos become yesterday's style and employers are requiring tattoos to be "out of sight"; the price of making this colorful trend disappear is very painful and costly.

Making tattoos disappear is a multi-billion dollar business and growing. As unemployment continues to plague our economy and job hunters need to...

Now they're finished with the postmortem of the Massachusetts Senate victory for Republican Scott Brown, Beltway elites are engaging in a new favorite parlor game: Who's to blame for health care crashing?

Clearly, the original ideology behind reform was built on the very important premise that our country must fix...

In recent weeks, politicians, pundits, market commentators and even some economists have conveyed an improving employment outlook. Their reasoning is predicated on the decline in the number of people that continue to collect unemployment insurance payments as reported weekly by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL). However, this so-called "key...

When it comes to clean energy, those of us who are die-hard supporters are relentlessly fighting to see our big dreams become a reality. We all know that we can make our country cleaner, healthier and safer.

The dream is for energy to be produced through a clean process,...

For the American economy, this holiday season meant two things: shopping and travel. The financial ramifications of shopping are clear enough: companies hoped consumers would spend a lot; consumers hoped to get good deals and to spend within their budgets. Holiday travel would seem to follow the same dynamics. Except...

You know a health care bill isn't right for the American people when it carves out a legal monopoly for Big Pharma and Botox, but I suppose it helps when the sponsor of these Congressional goodies is good friends with the Speaker of the House.

If there were an award...

Utilities stocks were traditionally considered one of the best places for investors to put their money. Dividends were dependable and investors knew that these "boring" companies would always come through with consistent earnings. But now, many of these utilities are experiencing a double-whammy of financial and political pain.

Many utilities...