Egypt, Tunisia, and Lebanon in Talks With the IMF

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Egypt, Tunisia and Lebanon have very high levels of public debt. They're seeking loans from the IMF to try and pad their foreign currency reserves. Egypt has made the most progress with a $3 billion agreement with the fund in December. But investors understandably are reluctant to put hard currency into a country where the currency looks overvalued.

If there is one thing Facebook’s parent company does well, it is aping other social-media features and platforms—and it is a propitious time to steal Twitter’s thunder. Deeply indebted Arab countries desperately need loans from the IMF, but have good reasons to balk at the fund’s terms (10:00). And New Yorkers love their invasive parakeets; the birds’ enormous nests, less so (18:41).

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