Competition for commercial lending, they note, has been fierce not just among banks but also from the capital markets.

ECONOMIST: American banks

Governments took over note issuance from commercial banks not because the private sector was doing a bad job, but because governments wanted the profits for themselves.

FORBES: May the Best Currency Win

The wonder of a currency board is that it is not meant to allow the authorities any discretion at all: in Hong Kong's case, the three note-issuing commercial banks may print money only by surrendering equivalent dollars to the monetary authority at the set rate.

ECONOMIST: The Hong Kong dollar: Off the peg? | The

In simplified terms, what mattered to BAE - and to EADS - was that France and Germany would agree to limit their ownership and control of the enlarged business (and see my earlier note for why this was a commercial imperative for BAE).

BBC: How Germany killed the merger of BAE and EADS

Timothy Anderson, an analyst at Prudential Equity Group, wrote in a note yesterday that liver toxicities seen with Prexige could be a commercial "deal killer" but that the results may help Merck.

FORBES: Study Revives Debate On Arthritis Drugs

In the commercial, a rookie takes the long walk to his locker, where either a note to turn in his playbook or a gift from his quarterback awaits.

FORBES: UGGs Is a Hit with Women, but Can't Keep the Buzz Up for Men