Although American officials these days do not seem to press the Saudis very hard to become democratic or to uphold human rights, America's media and its rights lobbies are relentlessly critical.

ECONOMIST: The Saudis are hedging their bets

It becomes very hard to reverse this process and lock the metals up again, although it can be done.

FORBES: Fracking With Bad Water

Although the new post- Sarbanes-Oxley accounting regulator, the PCAOB, has been working very hard to update and strengthen many of these standards for the benefit of investors, they have, in reality, had a hard time making substantial changes to many of them.

FORBES: Judge Kaplan: Ernst & Young Must Defend Lehman Investor Lawsuit