American consumers are feeling the pain both at the pump and in the grocery store. Meanwhile with real full-time unemployment rates climbing towards 10%, penny-pinching consumers are wondering just who is to blame.

Retail sales actually went up last month - how is that even possible?…The Beige Book says the U.S. economy is ‘generally weak’… The sky’s the limit for electronic money - but not so for real wealth…America’s money is snapping back… Calling into question the U.S.’s car culture…the next big thing in the search for an energy alternative…and more!

As China grapples with the consequences of its devastating earthquake, it finally also has begun to confront the destabilizing forces that are bubbling up from beneath its economic landscape.

The tragic end of the Great Moderation…deflation works on yesterday’s bubbles…the new Alpha male on Wall Street. The frogs are now richer than Americans…and more!