"Before I go to sleep at night, I wonder if tomorrow is the day Moody's and S&P will announce a downgrade of U.S. government bonds."

Meredith Whitney of Oppenheimer talks to the Financial Times (video link)

From Bloomberg

By John Authers

Indeed, there's a growing concern among America's allies in the Middle East that the US military has to be brought back under control – indeed, that the real reason for General David Petraeus' original appointment in Iraq was less to organise the "surge" than it was to bring discipline back to the 150,000 soldiers and marines whose mission – and morals – had become so warped by Bush's policies.

Then came the National Recovery Administration to oversee a complex web of industrial regulation. This was based on the idea that too much production (not too little demand) was prolonging the slump. (FDR was no Keynesian.) The NRA slowed the recovery. When the Supreme Court shut it down in 1935, growth picked up.

Then came the National Recovery Administration to oversee a complex web of industrial regulation. This was based on the idea that too much production (not too little demand) was prolonging the slump. The NRA slowed the recovery. When the Supreme Court shut it down in 1935, growth picked up.

Freight transport rates for solid goods%u2014i.e., grains, ores, and coal%u2014have declined by 90% (!) over the past three months. In the past few weeks, China has not imported a single ton of iron ore.

By John Reed and Patti Waldmeir

By Jerome Boothe, The writer is head of research at Ashmore Investment Management