Thu, August 20
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Jackson Hole Symposium
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
This annual powwow for the world's top economists and central bankers is so hush-hush that the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, its organizer, declined to share the who, when, where, or how. But our sources tell us that the meet-up will start, as always, with dinner on Thursday, followed by two days of wonkfest -- discussions and paper presentations and, no doubt, exuberant debate about who got us into this economic mess and how to get us out. Incidentally, the world's longest-running shoot-out, hailed by Jackson Hole as a show of "frontier justice," will take place every night of the meeting in the town square. Greenspan versus Bernanke, anyone? -- AB
Thu, August 20
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Afghanistan's Presidential Election
Congrats to the winner of Afghanistan's second presidential poll: You're leader of the world's No. 1 narco state. Opium production has grown 4,000% since the Taliban's ouster in 2001, and the country now supplies 93% of the global opiates market. But there is good news. A government crackdown led to half of Afghanistan's provinces being declared "poppy free" last year. Unfortunately, that campaign also pushed many farmers toward a lucrative alternative -- marijuana -- prompting the UN to predict that Afghanistan will soon overtake Morocco as the world's top cannabis-resin producer. -- TB
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