THE WAR IN IRAQ, hurricanes in the Gulf, the unsettling prospect of a change at the top of the Federal Reserve Board, a president unable to persuade the majority of Americans that he can lead them to peace and prosperity, a Doha trade round that seems more rather than less likely to fail, high budget and trade deficits, consumers deeply in debt–and an economy that continues to grow at a remarkably rapid rate. That’s the news this week.