No government permission is required to issue and trade in such a currency, except to the extent that someone tried to pay their taxes in the currency.

FORBES: Rethinking Money: The Rise Of Hayek's Private Competing Currencies

But, barring some remarkable change in attitude, Obama is mostly irrelevant except to the extent that he can make matters worse by luring Republicans into a phony tax-hike deal.

FORBES: Obama's Failed Response to the Downgrade, And What Should Be Done

The installed base of operating systems is no longer making Microsoft any money except to the extent that it favours Microsoft's other products over their rivals yet it remains a key player, as it were, in the market for new operating systems.

ECONOMIST: Big friendly giant | The