Not content to sit on its laurels, Minnesota several years ago instituted an innovative school-choice program offering parents a mix of tax credits and deductions to help them send their kids to the schools of their choice.

FORBES: Fact And Comment

Also in the mix were Chinese teams from the Tsinghua-Berkeley Global Technology Entrepreneurship Program (GTE).

FORBES: Student Entrepreneurship Is Humming At Elite Universities

Until now, the surge in Japanese shares had been driven mainly by a weaker yen triggered by optimism that the central bank's massive bond-buying program and Mr. Abe's mix of stimulus and growth strategies would steer the economy out of deflation.

WSJ: Tokyo Stocks' Rally Shifts Gears

The market for talent is very important, but so is getting the program right--balancing rewards with performance and risk, and providing the right mix of kinds of pay.

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Go to a Web site like the one for rapper Sir Mix-A-Lot, a 180 partner, and it says you must download 180's Zango program if you want to hear free new music.

FORBES: Mr. Manners