Magnate Magnet

London excels at drawing super rich

Yet another reason London is emerging as the world's financial center is its ability to attract the most well-heeled indviduals on the planet. The Wall Street Journal reports that London is experiencing a boom in billionaires, and that they aren't home-grown. From Iceland to India, the gigawealthy are settling down in London. The paper reports that of the 10 richest individuals in the U.K., only three are originally from there. They are being drawn by low taxes, and ease of conducting business around the world. GEO

Desperately Seeking Creatives

New empirical study looks for Europe's "creative class"

The JENA Economic Research Papers group released a paper that tries to identify where Europe's creatives reside, and what impact they have on the economy. The study seeks to put numbers to Richard Florida's book, The Rise of the Creative Class, which argues that the so-called creative class is important to urban and economic development. Lures for such creatives include cultural and social institutions, and a diverse environment open to potentially hedonistic ideas. Florida argues strongly against social capital thinkers like Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone. His hypotheses are not without critics, which includes Joel Kotkin, author of The City. GEO

High Speed Rail Booms

Airlines' loss is Amtrak's gain

Just this year, the number of commuters using Amtrak has grown by 6%. The Wall Street Journal reports that the biggest surge in ridership since the 1970s. For the high speed Acela line running between New York and Washington, D.C., ridership is up 20% in just 10 months. The paper attributes the rise to increasing delays and security hassles with flying, making trains a good option for the estimated 10,000 daily train and plane commuters traveling between New York City to D.C.

Accompanying the article is an interview with Amtrak's CEO Alex Kummant. GEO