One of the most widely accepted arguments against a government medical plan for the middle class is that it would quash competition — just what private insurers seem to be doing themselves in many parts of the U.S.

Turnabouts in European and Asian economies, along with recent gains in the U.S., are raising hopes that the worldwide recession is drawing to a close. That’s not to say the coast is clear.

Last year, as the gravest financial crisis since the Great Depression shook the banking system, Ben Bernanke seemed nearly as beleaguered as the institutions themselves.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet warned policy-makers from around the world on Saturday not to forget the lessons of the devastating financial crisis now that the worst has passed.

U.S. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Donald Kohn said on Saturday there is no inconsistency between the Fed’s pledge to keep interest rates low for an extended period while also keeping inflation low.

When the time comes for the Federal Reserve and other central banks to ward off inflation by boosting interest rates from the current super-low levels, they shouldn’t hesitate, an economist and expert on monetary policy warned Saturday.

The chairman of Lloyds Banking Group said he expected losses when his organization took over Halifax/Bank of Scotland, but was surprised at the pace at which the red ink rolled in, British media reported Saturday.