Reading about world economies is important, but it can also be dry and boring, which is why the latest Big Mac Index, published by the Economist, caught our eye. The annual Index, which measures "purchasing power parities" around the world, has been around since 1986, but UBS Wealth Management Research has helped shape the more current incarnations. Basically, it estimates how much time an average wage earner must work to make enough money to afford a Big Mac, taking into account local currencies and wages and weighted across fourteen professions and seventy-three international cities.

Newsstand: November 19, 2009

It happens in the middle of the night on a dark, deserted road in the wilderness near Kapuskasing: Carrie McDonald's car breaks down. Her mobile phone is without a signal, and nobody knows where she is. The pavement is lit only from Carrie's headlights, and she strains to hear any approaching vehicle in the dead silence.


