As the world struggles to emerge from the economic near-collapse, one sub-group in the United States has slid below the waterline in record numbers: formerly middle-class women. A new report shows that about 1 million American middle-class women will find themselves in bankruptcy court this year. Their number is more than the women who will "graduate from college, receive a diagnosis of cancer, or file for divorce", according to economist Elizabeth Warren. Their plight, symptomatic in many ways of the plight of women around the world, holds lessons for us all.

When it comes to stock trading, age does not necessarily equal wisdom.

David Beckham and Brad Pitt are believed to be among the celebrities and sportsmen who bought villas in Palm Jumeirah in Dubai, a luxury development that juts out into the Gulf. But when the property bubble burst this year, residents saw the value of their investments collapse. Yesterday their situation worsened as Nakheel, the developer, and its state-owned parent made a request to suspend debt repayments.

There is something a little tawdry about tables and cases filled with old jewelry purses, watches, duck decoys and golf clubs, even if they once belonged to a wealthy crook. The man who orchestrated the greatest Ponzi scheme in U.S. history is behind bars with a 150-year prison term, and now many of his belongings also have new homes.

"I love power. But it is as an artist that I love it. I love it as a musician loves his violin, to draw out its sounds and chords and harmonies." --Napoleon Bonaparte

Hurun list of the richest women in the Chinese mainland was released on October 15. Zhang Yin tops the list with personal wealth of 33 billion yuan.

REMEMBER the good old days, back when you just filled out a form, signed your name, and got a cool credit card and a bunch of gifts right there on campus? Well, don't expect that to happen again anytime soon. Recently, China's major commercial banks stopped handing out credit cards to college students because of payment problems. In fact those problems with credit cards are a phenomenon that existed long before the banks recent decision.