China's Ministry of Commerce said in a statement on its website that it hopes "relevant parties" in the U.S. would "abandon prejudice, avoid adopting protectionist measures and treat properly investments from China and other countries" with a fair and open attitude.

WSJ: Huawei Drops Attempt to Buy U.S. Technology Assets From 3Leaf

The bill makes technical changes to the 2006 London Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Act, to ensure that existing advertising, trading, ticket touting and traffic management measures are able to be properly implemented.

BBC: London Olympics Bill clears the Commons

Properly designed, such measures would not create disincentives to work and thrift.

ECONOMIST: The city-state stays strict with the needy

Risk-adjusted measures of compensation work only if risk is being measured properly, for example, and the industry has proved how unsafe an assumption that is.

ECONOMIST: The revolution within

But in January 2009, it was placed in special measures when inspectors found poor leadership and attendance and that staff were not properly communicating with parents.

BBC: Richard Rose Academy: Teaching branded as 'inadequate'

Rather than debate esoteric matters such as how to properly adjust for inflation, however, let's examine some other measures of middle-class living standards.

WSJ: Donald Boudreaux and Mark Perry: The Myth of a Stagnant Middle Class