The best weekly summary of the economy I have seen - if you have friends that want to understand what is going on in the economy, 20 minutes spent reading this weekly email is all anyone needs. - Words from the (investment) wise for the week that was (July 20 – 26, 2009)- Posted by Prieur du Plessis - Investment Postcards from Cape Town

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Can Japan Avoid Another Lost Decade? - Nouriel Roubini - Much hinges on political change. -  Forbes

Daniel Gross - Why Japan Isn’t Rising - It's mellowing as its population ages. - NewsWeek

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COULD YOU SURVIVE WITHOUT MONEY? - MEET THE GUY WHO DOES - In Utah, a modern-day caveman has lived for the better part of a decade on zero dollars a day. People used to think he was crazy - By Christopher Ketcham - hat tip to Elizabeth Coppedge -

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Roach: “Liquidity is seeking return” - Posted by Edward Harrison - Here’s a nice clip from Stephen Roach from last week asking “where’s the demand?”  ... My favorite part of this video is where the presenter says: “Stephen, you sound pretty bearish. Are you not a believer at all in that green sh**ts theory?” - CreditWritedowns.com

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Excellent Read this - about Boomers, Gen X and Y : The Leaner Baby Boomer Economy -  The downturn is putting a crimp on baby boomers' free-spending ways, and the likes of Mercedes and Starwood Hotels are scrambling to keep up -  By David Welch - BusinessWeek

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Huffington Post Misery Index - update to popular misery index - CHART OF THE DAY: Now This Is A Misery Index - Clusterstock Business Insider

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Sprott: "It's The Real Economy, Stupid" - Posted by Tyler Durden - Anything that starts with "We are now in the early stages of a depression" is a must read. - Zero Hedge