BREAKING NEW GROUND
Booming energy and materials costs and looming greenhouse gas penalties spark a variety of projects.
by Janet Kreiling

BUBBLE UP OR UNDER?
The metals industry, riding high on the current wave of strong prices and demand, can’t help but hope the good times never end. But they will end—won’t they?
by Steve Lawrence

Publisher’s Note
THE MEANING OF CHANGE
by M. Robert Weidner, III, publisher

Under the Radar
STANDARD DEVIATION
The SEC’s push for International Financial Reporting Standards could mean an end for LIFO in the not-too-distant future.

Under the Radar
SHELF LIFE
Forward editors review the latest books on business, economics and trade.

Workplace
HARD SELL
Manufacturing seems to have lost its luster in the eyes of young job seekers, but trade groups and metals companies are working hard to bring it back.
by Maya Payne Smart

Column
THE NEXT BIG IDEA
How businesses can best find opportunities in innovation.
by Clark Gilbert