Content Section

The Best Longreads in Business and Finance for the Week of February 24

From the science of addictive junk food to why our medical bills are so high, The Daily Beast brings you the best business and finance longreads from this week.

Business Longreads

Photos clockwise from top left: Paul Edmondson/Getty; Terry J Alcorn/Getty; Juanmonino/Getty

Once a ubiquitous sight in every world tourist destination, Chinese tour groups have been allowed in the U.S. only since 2007. More than 1 million Chinese tourists come every year. How many polo shirts can they buy?

It runs 36 pages in print, but the insanely high prices doctors and hospitals charge for medical care deserves every outraged word.

A Phoenix Housing Boom Forms, in Hint of U.S. Recovery
Susan Berfield, Bloomberg Businessweek

The housing sector is back, and has been for more than a year. Could it be strongest in, of all places, ground zero of the housing bust?

Why are print and TV still the gold standard for the advertising industry? The answer can tell us why no one (besides Google and Facebook) has figured out how to make money selling ads on the internet.

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food
Michael Moss, The New York Times Magazine

“What I found, over four years of research and reporting, was a conscious effort—taking place in labs and marketing meetings and grocery-store aisles—to get people hooked on foods that are convenient and inexpensive.”

How big are American banks? How risky are they? The answers to these seemingly simple questions depend on a years-long accounting dispute between the U.S. and Europe that isn’t much closer to being resolved.

You Might Also Like

Markets React to Fed Tapering

With news of potential Fed tapering, Julie Hyman joins In the Loop with Betty Liu on Bloomberg News to give analysis of market reaction.

  1. Mac Pro 'Looks Like a Trash Can' Play

    Mac Pro 'Looks Like a Trash Can'

  2. Is Streaming Next for Apple? Play

    Is Streaming Next for Apple?

  3. Colbert Rips 'Spreadsheet Error' in Austerity Supporting Harvard Study Play

    Colbert Rips 'Spreadsheet Error' in Austerity Supporting Harvard Study

Quartz_BlackWordmark

Business

Daniel Gross

Asymmetrical Information

Megan McArdle

Why Aren't We Creating Enough New Jobs?

Labor markets aren't adjusting to the disappearance of certain kinds of work

Latest from The Daily Beast

Can A Fetus Feel Pain?

Can A Fetus Feel Pain?

As the Republican-led House of Representatives passes a far-reaching bill that would ban most abortions after 20 weeks based on the science of “fetal pain,” Michelle Goldberg reports on whether the unborn can feel hurt.

The Believer

Sheila Heti: How I Write

Fault Lines

Heritage Widens Immigration Split

Money Money Money

John Cornyn, Triple Dipper

Dose of Reality

‘The Voice’ Names the Wrong Winner