Already, extra revenue in state treasuries is easing the pain of getting welfare mothers into jobs.

ECONOMIST: Use it, don��t lose it

But perhaps they will serve to prevent similar situations while also easing the pain of surviving family members.

FORBES: Federal Prosecutors Drilling Deep for Justice in Coal Mining Tragedy

In the UK, The Times says the ceasefire in Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's offer of peace to his Palestinian neighbors could aid Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas to focus on his struggle against Hamas militants -- which in turn would persuade Western governments to resume funding for the Palestinian Authority, easing the pain of the more vulnerable Palestinians.

CNN: Highlights from the world's press

Perversely, a dramatic improvement could lead to trouble: strong growth, and the easing of pain that would come with it, might well cause companies to put off reform yet again.

ECONOMIST: Japan��s tender spring

Zero rates, quantitative easing and devaluation greatly mitigated the pain and allowed the "Iron Chancellor" George Osborne to get ahead of the bond markets with pre-emptive austerity.

WSJ: Niall Ferguson on 2021: The New Europe

But in Japan, the pain makes it all the more essential to accompany reform with more aggressive monetary easing (see article).

ECONOMIST: Japan��s economy

Even though analysts have downgraded their price targets on Micron's shares amid fears of a downturn in consumer spending, they also see an upside in all the pain: Micron could grab some of the assets of rival Qimonda AG, easing some of the pricing pressure in the memory industry.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Through its program of quantitative easing, the Fed bought billions upon billions of Treasury paper to suppress American mortgage rates and ease the pain of the housing bust.

FORBES: Sell Treasuries, Again

Already there is talk of the Bank of England offsetting the pain by printing more money to buy more government bonds (a policy known as quantitative easing).

ECONOMIST: Global economic policy