The Week Unpeeled
Government leaders, thought leaders and media scribes have been busy convening a lot lately with US presidents in Texas making an appearance for the opening of the George Bush library (with US media commenting how Hillary Clinton looked so presidential herself); the World Bank and IMF finishing its round of huddles (amid talk of less austerity more growth); White House correspondents red-carpeting annual dinner in Washington (boycotted by Tom Brokaw who says it’s more about celebrity than news, and President Obama saying he will be opening the Blame Bush Library soon), and the Milken Global Conference kicking off this week in Beverly Hills.
Elsewhere, less convening, more real headlines:
- Boston marathon alleged bomber search found evidence of plans for a second attack in Times Square;
- Washington is confronting allegations that Syria appears to have used chemical weapons, which Obama said would “change his calculus” but many seem unsure what that really means;
- The AP Twitter account was hacked with a Tweet of White House terrorist attack, briefing sending markets sharply lower;
- Koch brothers of libertarian bent made headlines in their exploratory bid for a group of newspapers that include The Chicago Tribune and The Los Angeles Times;
- Apple increased its return of cash to shareholders by $55 billion to about $100 billion over three years;
- The UK economy narrowly missed a third recessionary dip with slight signs of growth;
- Nasdaq OMX is expected to pay $10 million to US regulators for botched Facebook listing (separately $62 million expected to go to brokers); and
- The Dow ended the week slightly higher at 14,703.
