Thursday Readables

- Justin Fox has tea with The Economist (how quaint). I just finished reading Fox's history of the idea of efficient markets: The Myth of the Rational Market. Very interesting and very easy to read - a good starting point for anyone interested in the topic. You get a sample of it here. In fact, there is a fair bit of both insight and common sense crammed into this 10 minute Q&A.

- Brad DeLong provides a brief history of banking and explains why we have booms & busts, but still shouldn't go back to the old fashioned approach (even if we could). I had to read it a couple times to get a good handle on it, but this is good stuff. Note the implications here for Paul Volcker's proposal to "narrow" banking activity in the United States.

- Arsenal rallies, with a touch of luck, to a 2-2 draw in Champions League play against a dominant Barca, but at huge cost. With an injury list this long, the young Gunners will need to show something special to stay in the Premier League title race.

- Update: Our friend Patrick has a guest blog over at WSJ Real Time Economics on the gains from reviving world trade negotiations