This post provides links to a number of interesting articles I have read over the past few days that you may also enjoy.

Bénassy-Quéré, Kumar and Pisani-Ferry (RGE Monitor): G20, Not G7, September 25, 2009. A striking outcome of the global financial crisis has been the substitution of the G7 for the G20 as the key forum for international coordination. There is something like a paradox in such substitution since the agenda of G20 meetings has so far focused on financial regulation issues, which are of more concern for G7 than for non-G7 G20 countries. Indeed, it has so far been much more specific on financial regulation than on trade, global imbalances or the reform of Bretton Woods institutions, where the views of non-G7 G20 countries are highly needed.

WSJ Blogs - Real Time Economics: Marc Faber takes on Krugman, links Bernanke and Mugabe, September

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I thought we would put up a link to this piece from the New York Times, as it highlights how the situation in Urumqi, China has spiraled out of control - in a way that has the Russian leadership very concerned.

"Where were the police while people were being killed?" said Cheng Wei, 41, a landscaper whose neighbors, poor fruit vendors from Henan Province, lost a son in the riots. "They were completely useless."

Large street protests that turn violent, and that officials and security forces have been powerless to stop, have been on the rise in recent years, analysts say. The government usually avoids reporting the number of protests or riots in China, but an article in January in Outlook Weekly, a policy magazine published by Xinhua, the state news agency, said there were 90,000 such events in 2006, up from 60,000 in

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This post provides links to some thought-provoking articles I have read over the past few days that you may also find of interest.

• Randall Forsyth (Barron’s): The market’s formula: a square-root rally, June 4, 2009. After nailing a 40% surge since early March, Doug Kass sees “potholes” in the road ahead.

• Donald Luskin (SmartMoney): Good news has arrived for investors, June 5, 2009. Three months ago, within days of the bottom in stocks, aggregate forward earnings started to turn around. It was less than a ringing endorsement at first. It just meant that the decline in earnings was now expected to get less bad - not that earnings would actually grow. But it was a perfect buy signal. And now aggregate forward earnings are on the verge of forecasting that earnings growth is back. It’s a buy signal. And if the pattern holds,

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With investors trying to figure out the most likely direction of stock markets, the US dollar, government bonds, commodities and gold attracted a fair bit of attention - also from the producers of this week’s video footage.

Commentators in the selection below include Josh Rosner, Byron Wein, Stephen Jennings, Paul McCulley, Ed Yardini, Doug Kass and David Rosenberg.

The compilation kicks off with Congressman Alan Grayson uttering some harsh words at The Big Picture Conference - Capitalism After Crisis & Recession, and concludes with a fun ditty - a Wild Life Boogie, AKA The Economy Song.

Yahoo Finance, Tech Ticker: Cost of Fed expansion of balance sheet is $30K per American

“Those were just some of the harsh words Congressman Alan Grayson of Florida had this morning regarding Washington’s handling of the financial crisis so far. His remarks were part of The Big Picture Conference - Capitalism After Crisis &

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Despite what you might be hearing about a global recession, consumer capitalism is alive and well in China. And it’s still fueling growth. Take a stroll through Beijing’s trendy Wangfujing area, a quick walk south of Tiananmen Square or the six-story Shin Kong Place in Beijing’s Dawanglu area, and you’ll find more than 100 top international designer brands on sale, including Prada, Gucci, Bvlgari, Dolce & Gabbana, and others. While you’re on the prowl, don’t forget Xidan Market, which the locals prefer. It’s also bursting at the seams from countless stores, fashionable-clothing shops and, of course, the ubiquitous and ever-present Starbucks (SBUX). In contrast to other global markets, like the Ginza, Beverly Hills’ Rodeo Drive or London’s Oxford Street, for example, where a heavy silence hangs over the once-bustling ...