SOME TROUBLING ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS:

After a long drawn out, and highly fraught, negotiation that pushed right up against the deadline, America and South Korea have inked a new trade deal. It is the largest America has signed since NAFTA. However, tensions between the Bush administration and resurgent protectionists in America’s new Democratic Congress make it highly uncertain that the pact will be ratified. In related news, China is protesting an about-face on anti-dumping suits by America’s Treasury department, which has resulted in punitive tariffs on paper products.

There’s no surer way to get a global recession, or worse, than to have a round of trade wars break out.