FRONT PAGE: "Global Stock Rally Is Strongest Since 1991," by Joanna Slater and Neil Shah, Wall Street Journal, 1 May 2009.

COVER: "A glimmer of hope?" The Economist, 25 April-1 May 2009.

LEADERS: "A glimmer of hope? The worst thing for the world economy would be to assume the worst is over," The Economist, 25 April 2009.

Very funny cover art here: one of those hugely frightening deep-water fish that traps unsuspecting prey by dangling its glow antenna in front of its scary teeth.

Editorial makes the basic case for assuming the worst is over, and then says that would be the worst thing to do, because politicians would soon shirk from necessary duty, like America and Asia dealing with the huge and unsustainable structural imbalance that has united us greatly in the past (and financially today) but could prove a point of huge division in the future (Will China spend more? Will the U.S. spend less?).

Still, the good news is welcomed, and one hopes Obama is the sort of far-sighted leader he seems to be.