As Japan's elderly ranks swell, Toyota sees a new path to growth. According to The Wall Street Journal (12.21.05), Toyota is building on its skills in auto technologies to develop beds, lifts, wheelchairs, even houses to chase a mature crowd.

Toyota's chief executive engineer told WSJ, "This is a… more

Third homes are now within reach of an increasing number of modestly well-off Americans. The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune have recently reported on the trend. Some multiple home owners are pursuing a "season-to-season lifestyle." Others do it for work. Still others want to add a downtown perch… more

The Wall Street Journal reports that domestic movie attendance is down 7% this year. Why? Industry officials blame the lure of home entertainment -- big screen TVs, DVDs, DVRs, pay per view and videogames. But at the top of theater owners' list of what they can do to… more

Charles Davis is a New Orleanian displaced by Hurricane Katrina. He told Newsweek 12.26.05) that he was already looking forward to Mardi Gras. "'You can only take so much away from a New Orleanian,' he says. 'One thing you can't take away is Mardi Gras. It's part of our social… more

"These glimpes of the possible future could be important in helping you think beyond the expected, to see a world in which things don't operate as we imagined. And, when you think about it, that's almost surely the world that awaits us."

As we approach the start of a new year,… more