“In Nigeria, stylists use the light of their cellphones to cut hair because they can’t find affordable fuel for the gasoline-powered generator. In Britain, it costs $125 to fill the tank of an average family-size car. Hungary is prohibiting motorists from buying more than 50 liters of gas a day at most service stations. Last Tuesday, police in Ghana fired tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators protesting against the economic hardship caused by gas price increases, inflation and a new tax on electronic payments.” The gas prices and inflation that have some American politicians pointing fingers at each other is not just a domestic issue (not that we ever let reality interrupt our political discourse). NYT (Gift Article): Skyrocketing Global Fuel Prices Threaten Livelihoods and Social Stability.

+ Barry Ritholtz: Who Is to Blame for Inflation.