Further, Albany corruption, which is always an issue in statewide campaigns, is expected to be a bigger issue next year after this spring's unprecedented string of arrests and charges.

WSJ: Prosecutor was GOP pick for NY attorney general

As long as the unemployment rate keeps falling through the spring, he should be home and dry in next year's election.

ECONOMIST: The not-quite-so-jobless recovery

For a start, the new Xbox 360 is launching several months before its main rival, Sony's PlayStation 3, which is expected to appear in Japan next spring and in America only later in the year. (Nintendo's next console, the Revolution, is also due in 2006.) One of the reasons the PlayStation 2 did so well was that it got to market before its rivals, which never caught up.

ECONOMIST: Microsoft