CL Hong Kong's postal service confirmed today that new hires will no longer receive permanent positions, a policy shift the government described in careful, procedural language built to avoid the word "downgrade." The mail will still arrive. The people delivering it will simply do so with less job security than the letters carry postage.-- CL

MB The Iranians and Americans let a deadline pass the way people let a phone ring out, both technically available, neither picking up, and Washington marked the occasion by threatening to bomb Oman, a country whose main offense is proximity to the argument. Hong Kong, meanwhile, kept calling UBS's fine "years in the making," as if the years were the point and not the delay.-- MB