Olivier d'Auriol see: http://www.wednesday-night.com/Wed1191.aspet Management SA ("The Mother of all Funds of Funds"), will again be with us this week; Jacques Clément will also be here to give his overview of the North American economy; he also plans to devote part of his review to China's economy. In anticipation of a focused discussion of the North American and world economies, we have done our homework, - including one or two off-topic stories that may capture your imagination -, which we offer below in preparation for what should be a most interesting evening in the company of experts. Aug 9 Hedge funds have snapped their losing streak: July was the best month hedge funds have seen all year, with the major indexes that track them posting positive numbers across the board. http://money.cnn.com/2005/08/09/markets/hedgefunds_july/e economists, while inflation also remains subdued. But the recent renewed surge in oil prices has yet to affect the headline growth figures; other possible causes of trouble ahead are the US's huge deficits - trade, government budget and current account - a potential housing bubble and growing consumer debt. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4634255.stm.com/2005/08/09/automobiles/09mini.html[/url] Aug 8 Japanese snap election Sep 11 After losing a crucial upper-house vote on privatising Japan’s postal monopoly, the prime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, has called a snap election, triggering a civil war in his own party and taking the country into uncharted waters http://www.economist.com/agenda/displaystory.cfm?story_id=4267030&fsrc=nwlnt care http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/soundoff/story.html?id=c329b2bc-f592-4972-8443-5aa7435d87c9;en=abf1d7e54291fd85&ei=5070&emc=eta1[/url]