Experiments were conducted at Manhattan, KS in 2005 and 2006 to evaluate cotton response to simulated 2,4-D and dicamba drift rates at different stages of growth and multiple applications of 2,4-D. Cotton was treated with 2,4-D and dicamba at 0, 1/200, and 1/400 of the use rate (561 g ae/ha) when plants were at the three- to four-leaf, 8-, 14-, or 18-node growth stages. Injury symptoms after 2,4-D and dicamba application were more severe at the three- to four-leaf stage compared with other stages with greatest injury from 2,4-D. In general, plants partially recovered from 2,4-D and dicamba injury symptoms, and only 2,4-D applied at the 1/200 rate reduced fiber yield. In a separate study, cotton was treated with 2,4-D at 0, 1/400, 1/800, and 1/1,200 of the use rate for one, two, or three applications. Yield reduction increased as herbicide rate increased from 1/1,200 to 1/400 and the number of applications increased from one to three. In both studies, plants partially or fully recovered from injury symptoms and recovery was greater with dicamba than 2,4-D. Correlation coefficient analysis showed that visual injury ratings later in the growing season are a good predictor of yield reduction (R 2 = 0.58).

At the end of 2013 the real yields that the UK government had to pay on its debt were negative over the whole curve. Several possible explanations are available for this phenomenon – central bank action, regulatory changes, demographic developments and economic conditions. The first two can result from deliberate interaction by the state into the financial markets and can be labelled as financial repression. We explain the historic precedents for Governments to use financial repression to manage their debt, look into the influence of regulation on asset allocation for insurers and pension funds, and introduce the concept of a balance-sheet recession.