Blackburn are believed to be on the verge of making an offer for Carson, with their first-choice keeper Brad Friedel a target for Aston Villa.

BBC: Stoke withdraw from Carson chase

"Kmart just seems to be the third choice for consumers behind Wal-Mart and Target, " says David Sowerby, portfolio manager for Loomis Sayles.

BBC: Kmart: Death of a retailing icon?

Ironically, his choice of investment target is as out of place in green-crazed Portland as he was at the Santa Fe conference.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Vendors are likely to have little choice but to play ball with Target because of its clout as the second-largest discount chain.

WSJ: Target Sends Letter Vendors Asking for Help to Combat 'Showrooming' Comparison Shopping

And Blair's idea of choice is still one handed down from on high by central government through bureaucratic target-driven initiatives like 'Choose and Book'.

BBC: NEWS | UK | UK Politics | In full: George Osborne speech

But you have to wonder whether it will also turn out to be another step towards a post-crisis world of monetary policy, where the nominal rate of inflation is no longer the target of choice.

BBC: Fed gives itself a new target