Five developments that caught my eye:

• For the first time in America’s recent history, future generations may be worse off economically than their parents, warns economist Ross Gittell at the University of New Hampshire.
• China influences global public opinion by paying 300,000 people to post comments in online message boards.
• State laws requiring smoke-free casinos are hurting casino revenues. “Even relatively quick smoke breaks interrupt the in-the-zone mentality critical to keeping gamblers in play.”
• Spain is paying jobless immigrants to go home, in an attempt to cut social services spending.
• Gasoline demand in the U.S. may have reached its peak in 2007, because Americans are driving less and demanding greater fuel efficiency as a result of sustained high prices, according to Cambridge Energy Research Associates.