Crouching in a verdant pasture in the early summer sun, Eduardo Sousa plucks a few blades of grass and extends them toward a flock of geese. "Hello, my darlings," he coos. "Hello, hello, hello." It is the Spanish farmer's first visit to the Stone Barns Center, a farm and education center dedicated to sustainable agriculture in Pocantico Hills, some 30 miles north of New York City, and Sousa is impressed with what he sees. "If I ...

At $1.95 trillion, China's international reserves are more than enough to fund America's entire budget deficit next year, which the U.S. Treasury estimates will reach $1.3 trillion because of the government's massive stimulus spending. There is no direct correlation between these two numbers, but they highlight a reversal of fortune. China now has the cash to cherry-pick the world's best assets, while America has no choice but to pawn its future to finance today's needs. As it is, ...