Power and money in Africa

Complications and comedy arise when an American social entrepreneur launches a battery business in rural Ghana. A review of Bright Lights, No City: An African Adventure on Bad Roads with a Brother and a Very Weird Business Plan, by Max Alexander

By John Capouya, contributor

A long time ago, a more experienced magazine editor showed me a trick. "When you get an article in,'' he declared, waving a fistful of white MORE

U.S. auto industry dodges a weak month

Stronger than expected results buoyed an industry badly in need of some victories.

By Doron Levin, contributor

FORTUNE -- U.S. auto sales, a fundamental measure of consumer confidence, rose 22% in June -- led by a rebounding Toyota Motor Corp. Toyota posted a 60% gain over last June when it was beset with post-earthquake and tsunami dislocation.

June results came in stronger than expected by analysts, who just two weeks ago were predicting MORE

The constitutional right to a free lunch

The vision of the Commerce Clause outlined in the Supreme Court's healthcare decision has long term consequences.

By Roger Parloff, senior editor

FORTUNE -- One way to summarize the new vision of the Commerce Clause outlined in Thursday's landmark healthcare ruling, National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius, might be this: We now all enjoy a constitutional right to a free lunch.

This may sound like a caustic and uncharitable way to describe a MORE