Today's deal introduces a lot of certainty to US income tax rates but it leaves nearly all the key spending issues up in the air - and it does not pave the way for the rise in tax revenues, relative to GDP, which most economists think will be crucial to filling the long-term hole in America's federal budget.

BBC: Cliffhanger: Still hanging

The issue, which is a little bit more substantial, is whether all this diligent chivvying by Mr Bailey will be deemed by the Bank of England's Financial Policy Committee to be adequately filling the hole in bank's balance sheets - a hole described by Sir Mervyn King in late November as "material" (see my previous pieces here and here).

BBC: Who can boss the banks?

"In the end, this isn't about helping Google 'catch up to iTunes' -- it's about filling the big, gaping, musical hole in Google's mobile business, " Peter Kafka wrote for All Things D.

CNN: Google Music: iTunes for Android or something more?

Davy Jones was so eager to cough up its bounty from a massive high-quality reservoir 200 feet thick that McMoran several months ago had to control the flow by filling the hole heavy drilling mud.

FORBES: Updated 11:30 Central.