RGE Monitor's Brad Setser argues that concerns about the dollar losing its status as global reserve currency may be overstated. He argues that rapid growth in total reserves probably means that recent months have seen a net increase in dollars held by foreign central banks.

Britain and America may have less in common than is widely assumed, says The Economist.

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard, International Business Editor at The Telegraph, argues that Iceland's contagion may spread far and wide. "As Iceland goes, so go the Baltics, the Balkans, Hungary, Turkey, and perhaps South Africa. All are living far beyond their means, plugging the gaping holes in their accounts with fickle flows of foreign finance."

They’re horrid and useless. Why do pennies persist?

The New Yorker has a great audio summary on the anatomy of the subprime mortgage crisis.

Have a great weekend!