Worm Suspect: “I’m not the one” (MSNBC): “I am extremely concerned that the government is trying to make an example of me. I understand that the government needs to catch someone for these crimes. I’m not the one they need to get!... Even now I still don’t fully understand the charges against me. I don’t even have a copy of the complaint, and don’t have a lawyer that has explained the specific charges to me.... I want to get on with school and move towards graduating.”
China Relents (BBC): “China has bowed to US pressure to rethink the exchange rate of its currency, the yuan, which some economists have argued is hugely misaligned. After prolonged defiance of US demands for reform, China’s central bank governor, Zhou Xiaochuan, has conceded that the yuan’s value will eventually be set by the market. But he gave no timetable for liberalising the currency, and said there was still considerable room for debate about foreign exchange policy. The yuan is currently pegged at 8.3 to the US dollar, a rate that most outside observers feel gives China an unfair advantage in the export market.
Pension Funds Pinched (CSM): “Large companies from IBM to General Motors Corp. are struggling to meet their obligations to retirees. The reasons, in the view of experts, range from poor planning to a deep and surprisingly long bear market in stocks - in which pension funds invest. Whatever the cause, a rainy day has arrived, and many companies are not prepared.”
Customs Agents to Be Armed (WashPost): “The Department of Homeland Security said yesterday that it will soon begin training 5,000 customs and immigration law enforcement agents to be reserve undercover air marshals.”
Job Czar for the Jobless (NYT): “Now, a new job czar has emerged like the Wizard of Oz to signal that the presidential election cycle is upon us.”
Four Ways to Build an Index (None of them Ideal) (M. Hulbert, NYT): “Isn’t there a single fact of the matter for market performance? Unfortunately, no.”
A Symposium on Trade by Sean Corrigan (LRC): “Also ask yourself, how can there be ‘excess’ labour in the first place when so much of the world is so heart-breakingly and grindingly poor?”
Posted by Mises.org News
