Photo: Getty Images

Yesterday in China, a group of students at Peking University laughed aloud during a speech from Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, during which he insisted the U.S. dollar was strong and that trillions of dollars of Chinese investments would not be unduly damaged by the economic crisis. "Chinese assets are very safe," was the comment that "provoked loud laughter," according to the British Telegraph, and reports of this have already been picked up by many news organizations who are shaking their heads and gravely bemoaning the incident as yet another indication of a global lack of faith in Geithner and the U.S. dollar. But we urge you to slowly repeat Geithner's statement, and consider the following: These are college students, and English is not their first language. Isn't it possible, and even likely, that they were laughing because they thought he said asses?
Geithner insists Chinese dollar assets are safe [Telegraph UK via Clusterstock]