Decline in Fall

Presently, the stock market is sucking wind on its way to erasing some or all of the bear market rally that began in earnest in March. At the same time, the U.S. position as global hegemon shows signs of erosion almost on a daily basis. If it is not moves by foreign powers to replace the greenback as the global reserve currency, it is developments like the ones reported at the links below.

The first story is not something I would make too much over, though the abject failure of Chicago's bid to host the Olympics (especially in the context of President Obama's strong support) does at least cause a wrinkle to form on one's brow. More serious and telling, at least to this observer, is the report that the U.S. has been made to cede some measure of control over the internet. It's hard to know what this will mean for you and me, if anything, with respect to access and quality, but I don't think it's too hard to discern what it means for Uncle Sam.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/sep/30/icann-agreement

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Chicago+eliminated+after+first+round+Olympic+voting/2059298/story.html

For reasons I can't fathom, links do not seem to be connecting. In short, you may need to resort to cut and paste to read the above articles.