Commentary

THE IDEA OF FREE MARKETS is elegantly simple. Millions of independent decision-makers prompt sellers

What a difference a year makes. Last winter, the media was filled with stories of the dizzying decli

KEEP THE LIGHT-WATER REACTOR PROGRAMAlthough the budget deficit will surely require scaling

Mr. Secretary, on Tuesday I explained that you had been listening to the maritime lobby, not the mar

Those of us who enjoy a traditional English ale are heartened that there is at least one British ind

A powerful surge in the number of non-farm payroll jobs in February, coupled with an equally strong

THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITY'S best laid plans for ratifying the Maastricht Treaty on economic and politic

CONGRESS HAS SEIZED the initiative on deficit cutting from Bill Clinton. On Monday, House and Senate

Dear Mr. Secretary: For a couple of months now, I've been scared out of my boots. First it w

Poor Johnny. First, we discovered he couldn't read. Then we were told he couldn't add. Now we learn

"For Sale: One Careful Owner" boasts a notice pinned to a huge tunnel boring machine parked just out

AS FEDERICO PENA is learning, making policy in Washington means making hard choices. Less than two m

THE FEDERAL BUDGET is harboring yet another unpleasant surprise for future taxpayers: responsibility

The maritime industry has responded to Transportation Secretary Federico Pena's request for an indus

When news of the disastrous oil spill reached me, I was at a meeting for potential investors in ocea

Is the peace dividend slipping away? Although the Cold War is history, trends in the former Soviet U

LUXEMBOURG isn't one of Europe's economic engines, but its citizens live well just the same.

THE "BABY BELLS" are growing up and trying to leave home. Facing increased competition in th

In late January, a few days after the United States had launched a cruise missile attack against Ira

CONSIDERING THE FANFARE accompanying President Clinton's announcement of a six-month "performance re

RACKETEERING LAWS and their harsh penalties were written with the mob in mind. Instead, theyare ofte

When someone claims to be Jesus, it raises both suspicion and expectation. Ambivalence melts away an

In a bold speech in February, President Clinton repeated his campaign pledge ''to end welfare as we

"THIS LAND was made for you and me" - or so Woody Guthrie would have us believe, at least when it co

For most of America, Cuba seems today a half-remembered country, if that. Few, outside some

Multimillion-dollar salaries and stock awards for America's top executives have stirred stinging cri

SOCIAL SECURITY IS PAID-UP INSURANCEI fail to comprehend, from your Feb. 4 editorial "Touchi

JAPANESE CONSUMERS, hit hard by recession, have a soft spot for Toys 'R' Us. The U.S.-based

Ambitious and bold, the Clinton plan for invigorating industrial technology has triggered warnings o

President Clinton was quick to take credit for the decline in interest rates since he took office Ja

Local mom-and-pop bookstores are disappearing from the Japanese landscape. An upsetting television r

MANDATORY DRUG TESTING for workers in sensitive transportation jobs - those who fly planes, drive tr

BRIAN MULRONEY's decision to resign as Canada's prime minister in June will cost the United States a

BILL CLINTON is still walking a tightrope on international trade. His first major speech on the subj

THE LATEST ECONOMIC FIGURES from the Commerce Department offer a cornucopia of good news, not the le

Through little fault of its own, the European Community Commission has gone languid just when the co

NO BASIS FOR RAISING MEXICAN WAGESRequiring that Mexico's minimum wage be gradually raised t

President Clinton, in his Inaugural Address, provided hope the new administration will seek to forge

WHEN FEDERICO PENA, the new transportation secretary, meets with shipping officials this week, both

If President Clinton were really serious about reducing the deficit: * He would drop his eco