Harold Maass of The Week The Best of Today's Business

Global shares wilt

Shanghai stocks dropped by 1.6 percent today after former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan said China's booming market could be headed for a "dramatic contraction." Other Asian markets also struggled. "His comments sent a little bit of a shiver across the global markets," said Lucinda Chan of Macquarie Equities in Sydney. (MarketWatch) European shares edged lower in early trading. (Bloomberg) U.S. stocks lost gains fueled by takeover news after Greenspan's remarks yesterday. (AP in Yahoo! Finance) U.S. stock futures edged lower, as luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers added to the gloom by reporting that the housing downturn sent its quarterly profits plummeting more than expected. (MarketWatch)

Congress threatens to get tough with China

Senators renewed calls for trade sanctions against China after economic talks ended without a promise from Beijing to stop boosting its exports by keeping its currency, the yuan, cheap against the dollar. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said China "faces the real prospect of veto-proof trade legislation" if it doesn't speed up reform. People's Bank of China Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said, "We have already tried our best." (The Wall Street Journal) The U.S. and China did agree to increase passenger flights between the two countries to 23 a day, from 10, by 2012, and China said it would ease regulatory restrictions on U.S. financial firms. Chinese Vice Premier Wu Yi called the talks a "complete success." (AP in Yahoo! Finance)

Gas relief that doesn't really help

Gasoline prices won't hit an inflation-adjusted record today, after all. But that doesn't mean relief for motorists. The nationwide average should continue rising beyond $3.22 a gallon, which the statistical arm of the Energy Department had said matched the March 1981 price of $1.42. But the agency recalculated using new inflation figures re-set the record at $3.29 a gallon. (USA Today) Oil companies warn that high prices could linger, partly thanks to the push to use more ethanol and other biofuels. Barclays Capital said that the ethanol boom "is likely to deter and delay" desperately needed investment in oil refineries, which could crimp future supply. (The New York Times, free registration required)

Discounters thrive in generic drug war

Wal-Mart, Target, and other big-box stores have boosted business recently by offering $4 monthly supplies of prescription generic drugs. The program brings in customers, who buy other products. The prices also add transparency to the generics market -- one study found that generics makers mark up prices as much as 4,000 percent. But, at least at Target, the discounts have hurt pharmacy profits. The stores can't keep prices this low forever, so whoever holds out longest wins, said Robert Passikoff of brand consultancy Brand Keys. "It's a game of marketing poker," he said. (BusinessWeek.com)

BEST COLUMNS OF THE DAY

Greenspan: There he goes again

"History will have to wait another day," says Andrew Farrell in Forbes.com. The S&P 500 was flirting with a record close for the third day in a row until former Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan spoiled things by warning that China's "frothy" stocks were headed for a fall. But don't worry. Demand for big-name U.S. stocks remains high, and "record acquisitiveness from private equity" should help investors shrug off the latest bombshell from Greenspan.

"Anyone else grown tired yet of Alan Greenspan's Cassandra act?" says David Calloway in MarketWatch. After 16 years of "mumbled (and sometimes jumbled) assurances" as Fed chairman, Greenspan is "suddenly shouting from the rooftops." It's fine for the man to make "a bundle on the chicken dinner-speech circuit." But someone should tell him not to throw around language like "dramatic contraction" with "people who aren't used to hearing you say those words."

GOOD DAY FOR: Keeping secrets, as Joya Williams, a former secretary at Coca-Cola, was sentenced to eight years in prison for trying to sell Coke secrets and test samples to rival soft-drink maker Pepsi. (AP in USA Today)

BAD DAY FOR: Making a dishonest buck, as the House passed a bill that would punish energy firms and their employees for charging gasoline consumers "unconscionably excessive" prices. The White House opposes the gas-gouging bill, saying it would amount to price controls and could result in "long gas lines reminiscent of the 1970s." (AP in Yahoo! Finance)

NOTED: Nearly six years after the Sept. 11 attacks on New York's World Trade Center, the site's developer and his insurers settled all remaining claims relating to the attack for $2 billion. Along with earlier payments, the settlement ensured that $4.55 billion in insurance money would be available to rebuild. The insurers said it was the largest single settlement ever. (The New York Times, free subscription required)

Peter Weber contributed to this report.