Wondering why we can't get at domestic natural gas? A December 2004 Argonne National Laboratory report entitled "Environmental Policy and Regulatory Constraints to Natural Gas Production" makes it crystal clear, one roadblock at a time. (For further commentary on the topic, read Holman Jenkins' "Business World" column in the Nov. 2 edition of The Wall Street Journal.)

NAM likes some parts (reduced corporate income tax rates and depreciation reform), and has its doubts about others. The National League of Cities has its thumbs down. And the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries really, really doesn't like it. Now kick back, download the 240 pages outlining two options, and form your own opinion of the Nov. 1 recommendations of the President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform, entitled "Simple, Fair and Pro-Growth: Proposals to Fix America's Tax System."

The Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst has released "Decent Work in America ," which introduces a new tool it calls the Work Environment Index (WEI). According to the institute,the WEI is "the first social indicator that ranks the 50 states and the District of Columbia on the basis of the conditions experienced by people who work for a living or are looking for work." Among the factors analyzed were average pay, employment opportunities, employee benefits, percentage of low-income workers, fair treatment between genders and ability for employees to unionize. Some might suspect that those at the top of this ranking would rank at the bottom of corporate business climate or competitiveness rankings and vice versa, and that assumption frequently rings true. But the full comparison yields some interesting crossover territory — primarily in what many used to call "flyover territory."

The 2005 Litigation Trends Survey from international law firm Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. finds that the average company "balances a docket of 37 U.S. lawsuits. For $1 billion-plus companies in the U.S., the average number of cases being juggled at home soars to 147." The survey of 354 in-house corporate counsel (50 in the U.K.) also finds that 20 percent of real estate companies spend between 2 percent and 5 percent of gross revenue on legal costs. In companies with revenues under $100 million, 17 percent of all counsel surveyed said they had no budget at all for litigation costs. And more than 25 percent corporate counsel in companies with revenues of $1 billion or more did not know their litigation budgets. Among those that do track legal spending (only half the respondents), the average legal budget was $20.1 million, of which $8 million was directed toward litigation. Among the chief concerns of counsel? Electronic discovery and Sarbanes-Oxley compliance.

Want to get your share of the $72 million the EPA plans on granting for brownfield redevelopment projects? Better act fast, as Dec. 14 is the deadline, and you have 90 pages of proposal guidelines to get through.

Citing inadequate intellectual property rights protections that allow "infringement levels of approximately 90 percent or above for virtually every form of intellectual property," the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has officially pursued relief through a special process of the World Trade Organization that involves WTO member review of information pertaining to judicial decisions or administrative rulings. "Based on all available information, piracy and counterfeiting remain rampant in China despite years of engagement on this issue," said U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman in making the October request in concert with Switzerland and Japan. "If China believes that it is doing enough to protect intellectual property, then it should view this process as a chance to prove its case. Our goal is to get detailed information that will help pinpoint exactly where the enforcement system is breaking down so we can decide appropriate next steps." An initial response from China is expected within three months.

Two recent reports together shed some overlapping light on global R&D investment. The first, issued by Columbus, Ohio-based technology and lab management company Batelle, was published in the September issue of its R&D Magazine. It finds that the U.S. continues to lead in overall R&D spending, doling out more than $312 billion in 2005, but that the country's share of global spending is expected to decrease to 31.3 percent in 2006, while China's share will increase to 13.6 percent. A recent study of company-sponsored R&D published by U.K. Dept. of Trade & Industry shows that South Korean firms lead all comers in the growth of their R&D investment, spurred by companies like Samsung, LG Electronics and Hyundai. Korean companies in the sample grew R&D investing by 40 percent in 2005 vs. 2001.