The Obama administration laid out plans Monday to work aggressively with other nations to make the Internet more secure, enable law enforcement to work closely on cybercrime and ensure that citizens everywhere have the freedom to express themselves online.
With security concerns in the Middle East receding and the commodities bubble deflating, oil prices are headed sharply lower. Gas prices should follow suit: Analysts say that prices will get 25 cents a gallon cheaper in the next few days, and drop even further as the summer rolls on.
Despite a steady six-month rally, lots of investors still haven't jumped back into equities. While plenty of official economic reports say things are getting better, these investors are following other signs -- often closer to home -- that say beware.
Two veteran observers of the global economy, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin and hedge fund manager John Paulson, offer mixed forecasts on immediate and long-term economic prospects.
Some investors have been running scared after the quake and tsunami that devastated parts of Japan and left it with an ongoing nuclear crisis. But when there's gloom in the air, there's also opportunity to buy on the dip and gain from the rebound.
Despite all the worry over the impact of rising oil prices, recall that the U.S. is now a largely services-based economy. And observe that the rising wages that have led to real overall cost rises in decades past are nowhere to be found today. Exhibit A is in Wisconsin.
As in the summer of 2008, when prices broke $4 a gallon, big jumps at the gas pump may give car buyers reason to pause and cause vehicle sales to stall. At least the carmakers now have more fuel-efficient fleets, except for Chrysler, which is still catching up.