regulation

Everyday products, from baby-bottles to beer, contain particles manipulated by unregulated and potentially dangerous nanotechnology, according to a new report by Friends of the Earth.

The report, "Out of the Laboratory and On To Our Plates," identifies 104 products -- like Miller beer brands, Baby Dream's "Nano Silver" milk bottle, and Samsung refrigerators -- with particles artificially manipulated at the atomic level. Nanoparticles are more chemically reactive than their larger counterparts, can be more toxic to human cells, and can more easily invade our tissues and organs. The authors advocate a moratorium until governments test their safety -- and, perhaps more critically, require companies to label products that contain them. MORE

Desperate to inject liquidity into the market, the Federal Reserve has been unusually willing to lend money.

William McChesney Martin, the longest serving Fed chairman, once remarked that the job of a good central banker is to take away the punch bowl just as the party gets going. Over the last week, Ben Bernanke seems to have reversed that dictum: he's the host wandering from guest to guest with a tray of Jell-O shots. MORE

On Sunday, Gordon Brown announced that his government would nationalize Northern Rock, a bank with a history of betting on risky mortgages.

Britain's "New" Labor is looking elderly these days.  The word "nationalization" has brought back echoes of the "old," quasi-socialist Labor movement, supposedly vanquished thoroughly and finally by Thatcher. 

But this is hardly a second red revolution.  A bank run forced the government's hand.  The government guaranteed Northern Rock's deposits to keep panicky depositors from pulling out and tipping the bank into insolvency.  Unable to find a buyer willing to assume the considerable downside risk, the government had little alternative to outright nationalization.  The government plans to operate the bank at arm's length.

This sticky situation may offer the best argument for American style deposit insurance.  Complaints that deposit insurance encourages both banks and depositors to behave irresponsibly are common.  But though these guarantees are expensive and economically distorting, they may be comparatively cheap if they insure against boondoggles like the Northern Rock fiasco.