A cheesey bailout

While the rest of the world seems to be bailing out banks (and even car companies), Italy is coming to the rescue of parmesan cheese. In an effort to help producers of the cheese, often grated over spaghetti and other pastas, the Italian government is buying 100,000 wheels of Parmigiano Reggiano and donating them to charity. Even though demand for parmigiano is strong in Italy and abroad, producers have found it difficult to make money for years, putting the future of Italy's favourite cheese at risk.

Economists might suggest actually letting a few producers fail, that way supply shrinks, prices rise, and the producers left will become more profitable... or maybe that's too simple a solution.