Fiddling While the Dollar Drops (David Ignatius, Washington Post): “The dollar is sinking these days on good news and bad, and the explanation is pretty simple: Investors around the world are worried that the Bush administration’s policies are eroding the value of the U.S. currency. So they’re rushing to unload greenbacks, in what could soon become a full-blown financial crisis.”
North Korea Embracing Capitalism by Another Name (Guardian, via FEE): “Although its military is locked in a nuclear standoff with the US, the world’s last cold war holdout has cautiously pursued economic reforms that are already making an impact in the countryside and on the streets of Pyongyang. Over the past year, far more cars have appeared on the formerly deserted roads - even the occasional six-vehicle tailback. Building sites dot the city, a new culture museum is under construction and the skyline has a new feature: more than a dozen giant cranes.”
