An opportunity missed. If the Labor Government really does believe that using Nauru to process boat people would not work as a deterrent to people smugglers then why the hell didn’t it agree with Tony Abbott’s proposed legislative amendment? If it had done so the government really would have been able to make the Coalition carry the electoral can every time a new boatload arrived.

Now whatever blame there is will fall on the government itself.

Rupert still safe? The grumblings from corporate governance advisers to major pension funds about News Corporation continue to grow as the next election of the company’s directors approaches but it is likely to end up being just harsh words rather than harsh actions. The chairman Rupert himself certainly appears to be safe.

The market at Intrade puts the chance of him not being chairman come 31 December at a lowly 12.3 per cent.

Wanting to believe. Share buyers can be a gullible lot. They just want to believe. Every time a group of finance ministers get together and promise that action is about to be taken by them to solve the sovereign debt problem there seems to be a market rally. And every time the same ministers finally give details of their proposal the same market seems to find it inadequate and prices subside again.

Will it be different this time when the governments of Europe finally tell us what their so far secret proposals are? I doubt it.

Articulate demands before ignoring them. The best coverage I have seen so far of the Wall Street protests and its equivalents elsewhere around the world comes from The Onion. “Nation Waiting For Protesters To Clearly Articulate Demands Before Ignoring Them” it headlines.

NEW YORK — As the Occupy Wall Street protest expands and grows into a nationwide movement, Americans are eagerly awaiting a list of demands from the group so they can then systematically disregard them and continue going about their business, polls showed this week.