Commentary on Charles Dickens, Much Ado About Nothing in Victoria, bankrupting students, Bill Gross warns about the risk of inflation in our future, and China in a global hunt for energy assets.

Recently I saw a movie of Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby (circa 2002)  and while the tight coincidences that the author uses to move the plot along and bring conclusion to all the parallel dramas does stretch belief, still the colour of the characters is wonderful.

A review of some recent bios about Dickens.

The Mystery of Charles Dickens
Is Dickens the greatest of English novelists?

I also had the chance to see the Victoria Shakespeare Society’s staging of Much Ado About Nothing. 

Like Nickleby the play has so many bits flying around that tidying them up at the end is a bit difficult to accept such as when Margaret is let off the hook for her part in the framing of Hero. However, Benedict and Beatrice’s amazement in overhearing that the other loves them truly is one of the great moments in English theatre. The play is brisk, well done, takes advantage of the outdoor setting and offers a very inexpensive introduction to Shakespeare. They are also staging As You Like It that I hope to see later this week.

The terrible bankrupting of students.

New York Times -- False Promises
It has long been clear that an oily subgroup of for-profit schools were doing very well for themselves by recruiting students who had no real chance of graduating, pocketing their federal financial aid and leaving the students with valueless credentials — or none at all — and crippling debt.

Inflate your troubles away.

PIMCO – Cult Figures
The cult of equity is dying.

Related.

National Post -- Price Hikes Expected At Tim Horton's

Not only in Canada, eh.

Economist -- Canucks, meet CNOOC
China wants expertise even more than oil.