KABUL, Afghanistan — Fraud and mismanagement at Afghanistan’s largest bank have resulted in potential losses of as much as $900 million — three times previous estimates — heightening concerns that the bank could collapse and trigger a broad financial panic in Afghanistan, according to American, European and Afghan officials.

If you insist on joining the emerging market party at this stage of the agflation blow-off, avoid countries with an accelerating gap between rich and poor. Cairo’s EGX stock index has dropped 20pc in nine trading sessions.

People's Bank of China (PBOC) criticizes QEII as an inflationary action that triggers competitive currency devaluations, inflation, and increased asset prices. PBOC claims intent to keep yuan at same ratio to dollar, and states intent to raise bank reserves, lift interest rates, and engage in open market operations to fight inflation. PJN's analysis: PRC flexes muscles again in the wake of the Hu Jintao/Obama summit. My hypothesis is that China carried off the summit as did President Nixon in his detente era summits with USSR leaders Brezhnev and Kosygin. He engaged the Soviets in a program to lessen tensions, based on an analysis of the USSR as a declining economic and political power. Hu acted the same way in his conduct toward Pres. Obama. With regard to PBOC's professed actions, PBOC is exercising its power as the central bank of a great creditor power. Good luck fighting the PRC bubble that, when PRiCked, will, unlike a dying balloon, spew more than just hot air and saliva over the rest of the world.

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast – The piles of garbage are chest high outside a marketplace where an ongoing political crisis has halted trash collection and led to a cholera outbreak that has already left seven people dead.

A “Black Widow” suicide bomber planned a terrorist attack in central Moscow on New Year’s Eve but was killed when an unexpected text message set off her bomb too early, according to Russian security sources.

Cities snowed under by removal costs.

U.S. grain prices should stay unrelentingly high this year, according to a Reuters poll, the latest sign that the era of cheap food has come to an end. U.S. corn, soybeans and wheat prices -- which surged by as much has 50 percent last year and hit their highest levels since mid-2008 -- will dip by at most 5 percent by the end of 2011, according to the poll of 16 analysts.

wonder what collapse will look like?

Tens of thousands of people, inspired by events in Tunisia, protest in Sanaa to demand President Saleh's resignation.

Saudi Arabia's stock exchange tumbled by over 6 percent on Saturday, setting the stage for other regional markets to drop as concerns mounted about the violent protests in Egypt.