Currencies, crude oil, commodities and equities were frighteningly steady last week, making one wonder how were millions employed in these markets earning their bread. Crude appeared to be softening for a while but eventually stayed above 70 while yield on 10 year treasuries declined to around 3.55 or so.

Politics and culture were in news. Sarkozy said ‘no burqas’ on Paris streets; probably he hates all clothing on all women. But one wonders why should the developed insist the developing be exposed to pornography, drugs and crime on the Internet? A recent survey says only two of top 100 CEOs in US have Twitter accounts and none of them writes a blog. Japanese men want exclusive rail coaches as too many are being accused of having groped women.

Lust ended the career of yet another US presidential hopeful, making one wonder why Americans tolerate infidelity of presidents but not of presidential hopefuls. India’s Harvard educated home minister is set to legalize homosexuality. Ability of these legendary places of learning to influence their disciples decades after graduation is truly mesmerizing.

The US laments that American movies can’t get in through the front door but everything is available on the streets in China. That is also true of heroin and cocaine sold on streets of New York.

King of Pop Michael Jackson died and Madonna cried for several hours. He had sold 750 mn records and would probably keep selling even after his death. The $400 mn debt he has left behind is likely to be covered by assets and the spurt in sales after his sudden death.

A rail accident in Washington DC failed to make Obama realize that at least part of the solution for climate issues lies in refurbishing the languishing rail network that carries less than 50 mn passengers (excluding local travel) a year, compared to over 700 mn passengers carried by airlines.

George Soros suggested international supervision of financial markets and demand for central clearing of derivatives is persisting in US and EU but that hasn’t prevented some hedge funds from offering bets on world economies facing hyper-inflation in the near future. People and politicians in India are praying and protesting for water but refuse to harvest and conserve it.

Global equity and bonds issues this year have crossed the trillion dollar mark while global M&As plunged 44.5% in H1, equity issues (not counting IPOs and convertibles) were down 7%, and syndicated loans are down 58%. Total number of bank failures in the US this year has risen to 45. Brands like Coca-Cola and P&G are being deserted by consumers. Total limousine industry revenue in the United States fell from 4.76 to $2.57 bn in 2008.

IBM is trying hard to legally prevent its former M&A head to work at Dell, Louis Vuitton has sued a Red Cross shop in Germany for selling a used counterfeit purse for €3, Carrefour is selling 20 stores in Poland and profits of TCL of China plunged 97% in Apr-June. Hainan Airlines of China is getting into shipping; it has ordered 30 ships. Monsanto’s earnings dipped 14% in the latest quarter,

China's largest oil refiner Sinopec is buying oil and gas exploration company Addax Petroleum of Switzerland for around US$7.24 billion, Sanofi's diabetes drug Lantus is facing safety concerns, Xstrata has proposed a $68 bn merger with mining rival Anglo American, Qantas has cancelled or deferred orders for 30 Boeing planes, and the Japanese suspect Citigroup is laundering money.

The cash rich ($52 bn in cash and securities) Toyota is to be headed once again by a member of the founding family, after incumbent president Watanabe having been scolded by chairman Shoichiro Toyoda for having let Toyota imitate the Americans. Volkswagen is mulling a 10% stake in Suzuki; both have dominant patriarchs, Piech and Osamu Suzuki.

It seems two Japanese businessmen travelling from Italy to Switzerland were found carrying $134 bn in US treasuries, suggesting currencies may be in for more volatility than what most would like to believe. US$134 bn is less than treasuries holdings of only China, Japan and Russia. Many are wondering whether the bonds were fake or belonged to some govt. In South Africa, a $2 bn ponzi scheme came to light, under which funds were being collected for funding manufacture of an AIDS drug. Perhaps the next ponzi should be related to swine flue.

Madoff is being stripped of his houses in Manhattan and Palm Beach, though the US has not been able to extract from Swiss banks names of 52,000 Americans who might have concealed assets worth $15 billion from the taxman. In this era of computerised systems, is it all that difficult to get information?

World Bank has revised its expectations of contraction in the world economy from 1.7 to 2.9% even as China’s growth forecasts are being hiked by all and sundry and its forex reserves are still rising. Perhaps the weather beaten cautious optimism is fine for now as consumers the world over are telling greedy politicians that even if investing surplus cash in derivatives is made mandatory, they would keep saving for the future. US savings rate rose to 6.9%, a 15 year high, in May. Declining yield of US treasuries clearly suggests that demand for money is finally getting aligned with demand for real goods and services.

Some 18 mn US citizens were spending more than one half of their income on housing at the end of 2007 and if the current global figure is assumed at a conservative 50 mn, one can well imagine how many will eventually end up selling their houses at distress prices.

Italy’s Berlusconi says the likes of OECD and IMF keep exacerbating a non-existent economic crisis by issuing gloomy forecasts but then flambuoyant politicians need not be taken very seriously in such complex matters. However, one has to worry about the day when girl friends of influential politicians would head central banks, the World Bank and the IMF.

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