The arrests of four Iranian-Americans have created a chill among those in Iran working to open up civil society and led to disagreements over U.S. support for those efforts.

The negative correlation between the dollar and the price of oil was much in evidence  last week – The dollar hit a record low against the euro, and is quite weak against most of the major currencies…

A sage commenter once suggested that this blog should be titled follow the money – since it has focused, more than anything else, on trying to understand how the US finances its large current account…

Last week, I argued that the emerging world’s governments have been provided the US with an enormous credit line – one large enough to prop the dollar up – even in the absence of any formal instituti…