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Features of the week

The American consumer (formerly known as, "citizen" or, "a human being") has become an unwitting participant in a giant real-life simulation experiment. How so?

Helicopter drops of money rain down on us like manna from heaven, and the American consumer will, in turn, find ways to spend the proceeds, thereby generating economic growth. And jobs!

Or at least, that's the plan.

Let's see what kind of economic stimulus will shape our behavior in this Friday's edition of, "Features of the week".

1. Wall Street writedowns surpass $100 billion. Hat tip to Abnormal Returns.

2. Bush and Bernanke back fiscal stimulus. Spend, spend, spend!

3. "American GDP: Can we trust the BEA data?", asks Ronald Cooke.

4. Near record monetary growth and monetary inflation. John Williams of Shadow Statistics looks at reconstructed M3 money supply figures and sees an inflationary recession ahead.

5. Hong Kong and Singapore are ranked highest in economic freedom, according to an annual report by the Heritage Foundation.

6. Freight costs for bulk commodities fall to six month lows, as the Baltic Dry Index plunges from its recent highs.

7. DINL's latest Global Macro Roundtable letter reviews financial events of 2007 and offers their outlook for 2008. Special emphasis on commodity and energy related investements.

8. The invasion of the sovereign-wealth funds. Economist cover story.

9. The Quest for Supergenes. Bloomberg Markets article reports: "Craig Venter and rival genetic engineers are shaking up science--and venture investing--with plans for man-made organisms designed to pump out fuel and clean up waste."

Why do I get a bad feeling about this?

10. Mises and Mercola on, "Another Drug War Fallacy".

11. "The Political and Economic Agenda for a Real Gold Standard", by Ron Paul.

12. Dying to Live. A reminder: you only live once.

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Enjoy your weekend everyone.

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