A roundup of the best economic posts on the Web
Zimbabwean dollars are finally worth something
The New York Times picks up an AP report that "Western tourists visiting this hyperinflation-plagued country are snatching up trillion-dollar Zimbabwean notes for their novelty, not their value as a means of exchange."
What the North and South Koreans can learn from the reunification of Germany
From The Economist, what Seoul can expect if the two enemies turn their swords into ploughshares.
"The collapse of its rogue dictatorship — improbable but not unthinkable — would replace a military threat with a variety of economic perils, including a possible flood of cheap migrant labour and costly obligations to support the North's people and infrastructure. Germany's example is hardly reassuring."
Why are taxpayers subsidizing Facebook, and the next bubble?
Simon Johnson, former chief economist at the IMF, wants to know why Goldman Sachs is being allowed to create a fund that will give its best clients a chance to invest in Facebook.
"Remember that Goldman Sachs is now a bank-holding company – a status it received in September, 2008, at the height of the financial crisis, in order to avoid collapse. This means that it has essentially unfettered access to the Federal Reserve's discount window – that is, it can borrow against all kinds of assets in its portfolio, effectively ensuring it has government-provided liquidity at any time."
Would you be bullish about a country with five years of negative real ROE?
Chart of the day, with a hat tip to Naked Capitalist.