In a city where skyscrapers sprout like weeds, none grew as high as the Sapphire tower in Istanbul. Today, it stands as a symbol of how far the mighty may fall. Like the vast majority of new buildings that have blanketed the Istanbul hills in recent years, the Sapphire — at 856 feet it is the tallest in Turkey and among the loftiest in Europe — was built on the back of cheap loans, in dollars, that have flooded Turkey and other fast-growing markets like Brazil, India and South Korea. The money began to flow when the Federal Reserve and other major central banks cut interest rates to the bone in 2009 and cranked up the printing presses in a bid to spur recovery in United States and other advanced industrial nations.

Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) announces the completion of the Dream Chaser® Space System tow testing at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif. The ground tow tests were conducted in preparation for the upcoming approach and landing test scheduled for the third quarter 2013.