God & Mammon

The prohibition on charging and paying interest is a cornerstone -- along with withholding investments from trades such as alcohol and pornography -- of the rapidly emerging industry known as "Islamic finance." There are about 270 Islamic banks with more than $265 billion in assets, according to sponsors of the International Islamic Finance Forum, a semiannual industry conference that meets in Switzerland this fall. Most of the banks are found in wealthy Muslim nations, such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Dubai and Malaysia. In addition, many Western banks, such as industry giants Citibank and HSBC,...

Ascension Health saw an offer too good to refuse when a rival cancer hospital offered $20 million for its safety net hospital in east Detroit....The tentative sale underscores how Roman Catholic-affiliated Ascension has grown in less than 10 years to become a financial and commercial powerhouse within healthcare. At a time when not-for-profit healthcare faces criticism for its care of needy and vulnerable patients, Ascension's market-friendly approach stresses innovation, efficiency and financial strength with an urgency that would impress Wall Street....But Ascension's financial savvy, strategic...

This spring, four bastions of serene extravagance--Buddakan, Buddha Bar, Megu Midtown and Moksha--opened in New York alone. Om, in Cambridge, Mass., just opened its doors, with aromatherapy cocktails and specially commissioned Buddhist art from a master painter in Nepal. Tao opened a Las Vegas playground last September. What would Buddha do? Drinking liquor, eating meat and, in general, spending huge sums on sensual indulgence would seem to conflict with the core Buddhist tenets of simplicity, vegetarianism and moderation.