The European Central Bank (ECB) is providing substance to its goal of being an anchor of stability in this turbulent time.

The U.S. has had to do a lot of borrowing to pay for its programs, and IOUs are stacking up. But so much government borrowing is pushing interest rates up higher. Public Radio’s Bob Moon asks Axel where this may all lead to.

With gold reaching $1,000 an ounce and posting new highs versus all currencies, are there any hard currencies left? Over the past 100 years, we have moved further and further away from the gold standard. We see no indication for that trend to reverse; if anything, it may accelerate.

In a rare interview with Western media, Wen Jiabao, the Chinese premier, told the Financial Times (see http://www.ft.com/wen), ‘Confidence is the most important thing, more important than gold or currency’ Why is it that such wisdom comes from the leader of China, but is absent from the leaders of other countries? Do other presidents and prime ministers intentionally play a backstage role, letting their Treasury secretaries or finance ministers communicate with the public to avert blame when policies fail? That suggests that the leadership may not have all that much confidence in the programs they are promoting; or more likely, the leadership does not understand the issues. Investors and entrepreneurs take risks in search of profit opportunities.