Tuesday 10th July

China's trade surplus widens in June on slowing imports
China's trade surplus widened in June as import growth weakened, underscoring worries about both the domestic and global economy.
{http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-18765346}

Why Marxism is on the rise again
Capitalism is in crisis across the globe – but what on earth is the alternative? Well, what about the musings of a certain 19th-century German philosopher? Yes, Karl Marx is going mainstream – and goodness knows where it will end{http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jul/04/the-return-of-marxism}

Greeks Hide Tens of Billions From Tax Man
The economists’ conservatively estimate that in 2009 some €28 billion in income went unreported. Taxed at 40%, that equates to €11.2 billion — nearly a third of Greece’s budget deficit
{http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/07/09/greeks-hide-tens-of-billions-from-tax-man/}

The Corn Is Dying All Over America
All over America the corn is dying.  If drought conditions persist in the middle part of the country, wheat and soybeans will be next.  Weeks of intense heat combined with extraordinarily dry conditions have brought many U.S. corn farmers to the brink of total disaster.
{http://theeconomiccollapseblog.com/archives/the-corn-is-dying-all-over-america}

Summer Reading Special
It's time for summer. Here we ask some of our favourite people, from Hilary Mantel through Antony Beevor to Roy Hodgson and Lucy Worsley, what they're taking for their beach-side reading.
{http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/bookreviews/9379033/Summer-Reading-Special.html}

THE 11 BEST DATA QUOTES
Torture the data, and it will confess to anything
{http://blog.datamarket.com/2012/07/08/the-11-best-data-quotes/}

The Good Fight - Prominent scientists are in a bitter struggle over the origins of kindness. But the root of this conflict may be the most ironic part of all.
{http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/primate-diaries/2012/07/09/the-good-fight/}

What would happen if you tried to hit a baseball pitched at 90% the speed of light? {http://what-if.xkcd.com/1/}