Egypt CBank intervenes to boost pound (AP)

Late on Friday Venezuela shocked the world when instead of reporting an update on the ailing health of its leader, as many expected it would, it announced the official devaluation of its currency, the Bolivar by nearly 50% against the dollar yet still well below the unofficial black market exchange rate.

A wave of protests swept across Europe today. Two-thirds of Spain's commuter trains were shut down. In Portugal, bus and train were suspended across the country. Italy, Greece, and Belgium also saw major protests. Please consider Der Spiegel report Anti-Austerity Protests Spark Violence

[AP] - World stocks were mostly lower Friday, with South Korea's benchmark sinking after the country's central bank signaled more interest rate hikes are in the pipeline, and as anti-government protests in Egypt gathered steam.

Yesterday Ford CEO Alan Mulally said he was concerned about the weakness in the Japanese yen, the implication being that the diving currency is giving an advantage to competitors who can sell for less. This story is part of a broader meme, that there's a "currency war" going on, as various countries and their central banks attempt to manipulate their currency lower to boost exports.

The definition of fascism used by Mussolini is the “merger of state and corporate power“. Government and the big banks are in a malignant, symbiotic relationship. And our economy now exhibits a merger of state and bank power.

Egypt's stock exchange said on Thursday it is suspending trading temporarily after a sharp drop, amid the largest anti-government protests in the country in three decades.Trading will resume at 11:30 am (0930 GMT), after the suspension prompted by a drop of 6.2 percent, the bourse said in a statement, a day after the benchmark EGX 30 index fell six percent.The suspension comes amid the most serious anti-government demonstrations in Egypt in three decades.

The timing of China's exchange rate move is hardly accidental. The Chinese have said they will "increase the flexibility" of the exchange rate "to benefit the domestic economy". But in the very short term, it is in Toronto where the benefits will most clearly be felt.