Current Table of Contents

• Food markets: How to store and sell more stuff
  <p>Poor places need more than seeds, fertiliser or even food science</p><p> IF FOOD aid is epitomised by a single image, it is that of neat bags of grain, stamped with the Stars and Stripes and labelled a &#8220;gift from the American people&#8221;, being unloaded in some benighted place. In a long-established practice, USAID buys food from American producers and then gives it to charities who sell the produce on the markets of indigent countries, and in turn use the proceeds to finance their anti-poverty work.</p><p> This method has its detractors, who say that sales of American food depress local markets; in theory at least, all sales should be calibrated to avoid that effect. But in a switch which might help to parry those critics, USAID is now putting more emphasis on helping farmers in recipient countries to harvest, store and above all sell their own food. Many of the changes now being encouraged have no relation to food production as such; they have to do with the ways markets are organised, credit is disbursed and laws are enforced. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f207f/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922057/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577599/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922057/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577599/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lua1PtZJGtI:cdU-fhSjz9o:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lua1PtZJGtI:cdU-fhSjz9o:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=lua1PtZJGtI:cdU-fhSjz9o:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lua1PtZJGtI:cdU-fhSjz9o:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=lua1PtZJGtI:cdU-fhSjz9o:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lua1PtZJGtI:cdU-fhSjz9o:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/lua1PtZJGtI" height="1" width="1"/>
• The pros and cons of VAT: A last resort
  <p>Its advantages are oversold, but it is gaining adherents</p><p>LIBERALS oppose a value-added tax because it falls more heavily on the poor. Conservatives oppose it because it is a money machine. Larry Summers, Barack Obama&#8217;s chief economic adviser, once predicted that America would get a VAT when the two sides reversed positions. That moment may be approaching. Several prominent liberals and a handful of conservatives now see it as the most promising way to raise revenue, reduce the deficit and make the tax system more efficient.</p><p> VAT is a tax on consumption rather than income. All 30 members of the OECD levy one, save America. Unlike state sales taxes, which are charged only to the final customer, VAT is levied at each stage of production. This boosts compliance because a business, to receive credit for VAT paid on its inputs, must usually collect VAT on what it sells. VAT is usually charged at the same rate on almost everything. It thus distorts economic decisions less than an income tax, which is charged at varying rates with numerous exemptions. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f207e/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922056/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577598/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922056/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577598/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Mwplq_gKRM4:dqB0loPSel0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Mwplq_gKRM4:dqB0loPSel0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=Mwplq_gKRM4:dqB0loPSel0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Mwplq_gKRM4:dqB0loPSel0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=Mwplq_gKRM4:dqB0loPSel0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Mwplq_gKRM4:dqB0loPSel0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/Mwplq_gKRM4" height="1" width="1"/>
• The Economist commodity-price index
  <img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f207d/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922055/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577597/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922055/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577597/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=rw10iOAoDdk:MX_0fyDL5eo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=rw10iOAoDdk:MX_0fyDL5eo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=rw10iOAoDdk:MX_0fyDL5eo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=rw10iOAoDdk:MX_0fyDL5eo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=rw10iOAoDdk:MX_0fyDL5eo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=rw10iOAoDdk:MX_0fyDL5eo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/rw10iOAoDdk" height="1" width="1"/>
• Output, prices and jobs
  <img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f207c/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922054/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577596/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922054/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577596/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=r2YjrLABkMY:QvlKbeOAEhg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=r2YjrLABkMY:QvlKbeOAEhg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=r2YjrLABkMY:QvlKbeOAEhg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=r2YjrLABkMY:QvlKbeOAEhg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=r2YjrLABkMY:QvlKbeOAEhg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=r2YjrLABkMY:QvlKbeOAEhg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/r2YjrLABkMY" height="1" width="1"/>
• Vehicle-scrapping subsidies
  <p>As the world economy tumbled into recession, most rich countries&#8217; governments tried to prop up ailing carmakers by dishing out cash to drivers who scrapped an old vehicle to buy a new one. According to the OECD, America&#8217;s programme was the most generous on a purchasing-power basis, offering car-buyers an average of $4,000 in cash for their aged &#8220;clunkers&#8221;. Canadians received less than an eighth of this amount for agreeing to &#8220;retire their rides&#8221;. Germany&#8217;s programme was second only to America&#8217;s in its generosity. At 0.2% of GDP, it cost more, relative to the size of the economy, than that of any other country. Subsidies were much lower in France, Italy and Scandinavia.</p><p> ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f207a/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922053/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577594/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922053/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577594/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=oR-5d8O5lmo:utQAt2R6trY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=oR-5d8O5lmo:utQAt2R6trY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=oR-5d8O5lmo:utQAt2R6trY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=oR-5d8O5lmo:utQAt2R6trY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=oR-5d8O5lmo:utQAt2R6trY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=oR-5d8O5lmo:utQAt2R6trY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/oR-5d8O5lmo" height="1" width="1"/>
• Politics this week
  <p>Barack Obama paid his first visit to China, where he held talks with his counterpart, Hu Jintao, and the prime minister, Wen Jiabao. A &#8220;town-hall meeting&#8221; in Shanghai was attended by only carefully vetted young people, and no questions were permitted at a joint press conference by Mr Obama and Mr Hu. A long joint statement promised co-operation on trade, climate change and a range of other issues. But there were no breakthroughs. See article</p><p>Earlier on his tour of Asia, Mr Obama visited Japan. He stressed the importance to both America and Japan of their security alliance and indicated some flexibility in America&#8217;s position on a controversy over the relocation of a military base on the southern island of Okinawa. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2079/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922052/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577593/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922052/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577593/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Vq5TIRR2lCA:DuZRkbwAgvg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Vq5TIRR2lCA:DuZRkbwAgvg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=Vq5TIRR2lCA:DuZRkbwAgvg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Vq5TIRR2lCA:DuZRkbwAgvg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=Vq5TIRR2lCA:DuZRkbwAgvg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Vq5TIRR2lCA:DuZRkbwAgvg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/Vq5TIRR2lCA" height="1" width="1"/>
• Business this week
  <p>Ben Bernanke remarked that the Federal Reserve was &#8220;closely&#8221; watching currency markets, and that the central bank would &#8220;help ensure that the dollar is strong&#8221;. The weak dollar has caused commodity prices to nudge up, a potential inflationary threat. Any opinion from the chairman of the Fed regarding the value of the greenback is controversial because the Treasury handles exchange-rate policy. </p><p>Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who heads the IMF, called on China to let the yuan appreciate, &#8220;the sooner the better&#8221;. China tightly controls its currency by pegging it to the dollar&#8212;benefiting domestic exports&#8212;and has so far resisted pleas to allow it to rise. See article ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2077/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922051/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577591/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922051/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577591/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=R-rIBYBmZUw:7c9zVqN5rvc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=R-rIBYBmZUw:7c9zVqN5rvc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=R-rIBYBmZUw:7c9zVqN5rvc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=R-rIBYBmZUw:7c9zVqN5rvc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=R-rIBYBmZUw:7c9zVqN5rvc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=R-rIBYBmZUw:7c9zVqN5rvc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/R-rIBYBmZUw" height="1" width="1"/>
• Vehicle telemetry: Calling all cars
  <p>Tapping remotely into a car&#8217;s data systems provides lots of useful services</p><p>IN THE early hours of the morning two men are robbed at gunpoint and ordered out of their Chevrolet Tahoe. The thief jumps in and roars off, but he does not get far. The vehicle is fitted with a telemetry system that provides a data link to a control centre. Soon after being reported stolen, the Tahoe is located by an operator who interrogates its satellite-navigation device. A signal is then sent to the engine-management system to prevent it restarting once stopped. Finally, once a police car has the Tahoe in view and the road ahead is clear, a second signal slows the engine down. The vehicle stops and the thief tries to run for it, but he is apprehended.</p><p>The robbery took place in California last month. It was the first time the &#8220;slowdown&#8221; feature had been activated by General Motors&#8217; OnStar service to respond to a carjacking since it became available a year ago. However, 38 other cars have been slowed down remotely after other types of incident, such as the car having been stolen from a dealership, or to prevent a high-speed chase. OnStar itself was introduced in 1996 as a quick way to summon roadside assistance, but it has become increasingly sophisticated over the years and has nearly 6m subscribers in North America. Other carmakers are now offering or developing similar services, or plan to do so. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2075/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922050/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577589/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922050/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577589/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=3Wm34Xejvys:eCq_c2Swfcg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=3Wm34Xejvys:eCq_c2Swfcg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=3Wm34Xejvys:eCq_c2Swfcg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=3Wm34Xejvys:eCq_c2Swfcg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=3Wm34Xejvys:eCq_c2Swfcg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=3Wm34Xejvys:eCq_c2Swfcg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/3Wm34Xejvys" height="1" width="1"/>
• Conservation: In wolf's clothing
  <p>Wolves are being blamed for damage actually done by dogs</p><p>FARMERS have never liked wolves. That is why wolves are rare where farmers are common. Fashion, though, is swinging round to the wolf&#8217;s point of view in many places where town-dwellers are even more common than farmers and the big, bad wolf is just a fairy tale, rather than a sheep-rustling reality.</p><p>How much sheep-rustling actually goes on is a moot point&#8212;and a pertinent one when the town-dwellers are prepared to put their money where their sentiments are, to compensate farmers for the damage done by wolves. Such is the case in Spain, where about &#8364;1.5m ($2.3m) a year is paid out to farmers in compensation for damage those wolves are alleged to have done. During 2003 and 2004, for example, 432 farm animals were attacked in 154 incidents in Spain&#8217;s Basque country. Almost 95% of these attacks were blamed on wolves. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2074/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922049/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577588/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922049/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577588/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vh-FXbUUamI:QR6k8JeqoPA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vh-FXbUUamI:QR6k8JeqoPA:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vh-FXbUUamI:QR6k8JeqoPA:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vh-FXbUUamI:QR6k8JeqoPA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vh-FXbUUamI:QR6k8JeqoPA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vh-FXbUUamI:QR6k8JeqoPA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/vh-FXbUUamI" height="1" width="1"/>
• Tuna fishing: Changing tides
  <p>The bluefin tuna is still being managed badly. A trade ban is on the cards</p><p>IN A world where wildlife is under increasing pressure, good management can mean the difference between survival and extinction. In the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, the management of bluefin tuna is in the hands of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT)&#8212;and the results can scarcely be described as good. Bluefin have been fished from these waters for 7,000 years but in the past 40, while they have been under the aegis of this group, their numbers have declined by three-quarters.</p><p>In recent years the organisation, which is notorious for ignoring the advice of its own scientists, has been under some pressure. Moves have been made to transfer responsibility for the bluefin to a different body, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This organisation has the power to ban trade in an endangered species such as the bluefin entirely. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2072/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922048/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577586/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922048/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577586/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c4Zl9WC0nW0:NM4a_6SDWFw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c4Zl9WC0nW0:NM4a_6SDWFw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=c4Zl9WC0nW0:NM4a_6SDWFw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c4Zl9WC0nW0:NM4a_6SDWFw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=c4Zl9WC0nW0:NM4a_6SDWFw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c4Zl9WC0nW0:NM4a_6SDWFw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/c4Zl9WC0nW0" height="1" width="1"/>
• Sex and pharmaceuticals: Arousing interest
  <p>The search continues for a pill that will lift a woman&#8217;s libido</p><p>BACK in the 1990s a drug firm called Pfizer thought it had a treatment for angina. Unfortunately, the new medicine failed its clinical trials. But a curious side-effect was seen in those trials&#8212;and Viagra was born. It has helped make Pfizer into a pharmaceutical powerhouse and, since then, people have wondered if what is sauce for the gander might ever be sauce for the goose. Many have tried, not least Pfizer, which has gallantly tested Viagra to see if it works on women, too. (It does not.) This week, though, saw the results of trials on a drug that might.</p><p>The story of flibanserin, as the new drug is known, has echoes of Viagra&#8217;s own tale. In this case its developers, Boehringer Ingelheim, had depression in mind as the target condition. But it was women, rather than men, who reported increased sexual desire as a side-effect. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f206f/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922047/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577583/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922047/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577583/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=4TGtMUziprU:qVCnNLPjHLc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=4TGtMUziprU:qVCnNLPjHLc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=4TGtMUziprU:qVCnNLPjHLc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=4TGtMUziprU:qVCnNLPjHLc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=4TGtMUziprU:qVCnNLPjHLc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=4TGtMUziprU:qVCnNLPjHLc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/4TGtMUziprU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Award: Gulliver
  <p>Gulliver, our blog on business travel, won the award for innovation at this year&#8217;s Business Travel Journalism Awards.</p><p> ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f206e/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922046/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577582/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922046/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577582/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iTdl15skB6Q:1dFjE3A1HKQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iTdl15skB6Q:1dFjE3A1HKQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=iTdl15skB6Q:1dFjE3A1HKQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iTdl15skB6Q:1dFjE3A1HKQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=iTdl15skB6Q:1dFjE3A1HKQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iTdl15skB6Q:1dFjE3A1HKQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/iTdl15skB6Q" height="1" width="1"/>
• Corporate crime is on the rise: The rot spreads
  <p>A survey reveals that desperate times have led to illegal measures</p><p>THE recession has taken its toll on morals as well as profits. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), a consulting and accounting firm, has conducted a biennial survey of economic crime for the past ten years. The most recent, published on November 19th, is not only the most thorough, based on over 3,000 responses from firms in 54 countries. In many ways it is also the most worrying. </p><p>A third of those responding reported that they had suffered at least one economic crime in the past year. The incidence was particularly high in developing countries, notably Russia; in financial services and communications; in big companies and in state-owned enterprises. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f206c/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922045/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577580/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922045/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577580/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=B9fh20wMzvA:IBGrWwmFsCY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=B9fh20wMzvA:IBGrWwmFsCY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=B9fh20wMzvA:IBGrWwmFsCY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=B9fh20wMzvA:IBGrWwmFsCY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=B9fh20wMzvA:IBGrWwmFsCY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=B9fh20wMzvA:IBGrWwmFsCY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/B9fh20wMzvA" height="1" width="1"/>
• LNG expands in Australia: Explosive growth
  <p>Australia is becoming one of the world&#8217;s biggest exporters of gas</p><p>WALLAROOS, bandicoots and other marsupials on Barrow Island off the north-west coast of Australia will watch curiously over coming months as workers start building a huge plant to liquefy natural gas there. The project, called Gorgon after the group of gasfields lying under the seabed nearby, had been on the drawing board for 30 years before a surge in demand for gas from booming Asian countries finally got things moving. Jon Chadwick, an executive vice-president at Royal Dutch Shell, which is involved in Gorgon and several other liquefied natural gas (LNG) schemes nearby, predicts that by 2020 Australia could become the world&#8217;s second-biggest exporter of LNG (it is now fifth), surpassed only by Qatar.</p><p>Australia has long been considered a &#8220;lucky country&#8221; thanks to its wealth of natural resources. Prodigious exports of iron ore, coal and other commodities have helped it survive the global downturn without a recession. Ken Henry, Australia&#8217;s most senior financial bureaucrat, talks of &#8220;a period of unprecedented prosperity&#8221; ahead. If so, gas will be one of its main drivers, dwarfing even earlier resource booms in its scale. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f206a/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922044/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577578/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922044/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577578/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WLnOoeGO-Ug:AkXQYgrY4nY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WLnOoeGO-Ug:AkXQYgrY4nY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=WLnOoeGO-Ug:AkXQYgrY4nY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WLnOoeGO-Ug:AkXQYgrY4nY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=WLnOoeGO-Ug:AkXQYgrY4nY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WLnOoeGO-Ug:AkXQYgrY4nY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/WLnOoeGO-Ug" height="1" width="1"/>
• A spat among professional networks: Class war
  <p>Does local beat global in the professional-networking business?</p><p>IN THE three-way fight between the biggest online professional networks&#8212;America&#8217;s LinkedIn, France&#8217;s Viadeo and Germany&#8217;s Xing&#8212;this week the French contender scored a victory. Last year LinkedIn had struck a deal with Apec, France&#8217;s best-known professional-recruitment service, to offer search functions to its huge customer base of over 30,000 companies and 500,000 executives. But on November 17th Apec made a new deal with Viadeo, having noted that although LinkedIn could reach executives at France&#8217;s biggest international companies, it failed to connect enough people in the country&#8217;s thousands of smaller firms.</p><p>In professional networking, argues Dan Serfaty, Viadeo&#8217;s founder, having local depth is better than signing up a narrow slice of the highest-powered people around the world. A typical LinkedIn member would be an investment banker at Societe Generale, a French bank, he says, &#8220;too proud to invite his friends to join or to pay for it&#8221;. In contrast, Mr Serfaty claims, Viadeo signs up branch managers for Societe Generale, who use the site often and are happy to spend &#8364;5 ($7.50) a month on a subscription. Local entrepreneurs and provincial civil servants may be less impressive as members than Bill Gates, Microsoft&#8217;s co-founder, Mr Serfaty continues, but they are more engaged. (Mr Gates has been on LinkedIn since last year, and so far has made only five connections to other members.) At Xing, too, a hyper-local network which went public in 2006, the typical member is not a senior executive but a middle manager, says Stefan Gross-Selbeck, its boss. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2069/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922043/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577577/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922043/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577577/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ZhEPWhQB1Xc:WgBq-SpD7No:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ZhEPWhQB1Xc:WgBq-SpD7No:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ZhEPWhQB1Xc:WgBq-SpD7No:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ZhEPWhQB1Xc:WgBq-SpD7No:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ZhEPWhQB1Xc:WgBq-SpD7No:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ZhEPWhQB1Xc:WgBq-SpD7No:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/ZhEPWhQB1Xc" height="1" width="1"/>
• The psychology of warranties: Protection racket
  <p>If extended guarantees are overpriced, why are they so popular?</p><p>CUSTOMERS tend to agonise over the relative merits of different models of electronic goods such as digital cameras or plasma televisions. But when they get to the till, many spend freely on something they barely think about at all: an extended warranty, which is often more profitable to the retailer than the device it covers.</p><p>Shoppers typically pay 10-50% of the cost of a product to insure it beyond the term covered by the manufacturer&#8217;s guarantee. The terms of these deals vary (and there is often a great deal of fine print), but they usually promise to repair or replace a faulty device for between one and four years. Yet products rarely break within the period covered, and repairs tend to cost no more than the warranty itself. That makes warranties amazingly profitable: they generate over $16 billion annually for American retailers, according to Warranty Week, a trade journal. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2068/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922042/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577576/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922042/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577576/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XbooBPt8m7Y:GqeqBky3Yjk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XbooBPt8m7Y:GqeqBky3Yjk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=XbooBPt8m7Y:GqeqBky3Yjk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XbooBPt8m7Y:GqeqBky3Yjk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=XbooBPt8m7Y:GqeqBky3Yjk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XbooBPt8m7Y:GqeqBky3Yjk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/XbooBPt8m7Y" height="1" width="1"/>
• Counterfeit handsets proliferate in China : Talk is cheap
  <p>Chinese firms are making and exporting ever more suspect phones</p><p>CHINESE consumers appear fixated with Apple&#8217;s iconic iPhone. It draws throngs of eager buyers in Shanghai&#8217;s Xujiahui computer market. Similarly, at the Canton Trade Fair in October, vendors hawking familiar-looking silver and black slabs were convulsed in crowds, in sharp contrast to the deserted booths of rival brands, where lonely salesmen slurped disconsolately at noodles. So how can it be that China Unicom has seen dismal initial sales under its exclusive arrangement to sell the iPhone in China?</p><p>The explanation lies in China&#8217;s huge &#8220;grey&#8221; market for handsets, which includes some genuine phones imported without the manufacturer&#8217;s blessing but is mainly comprised of knock-offs. The iPhones at Xujiahui fall into the former category; those at the trade fair into the latter. Illicit phones comprise a staggering 40% of Chinese firms&#8217; production, and 13% of the world&#8217;s, according to iSuppli, a research firm. It reckons China will produce 145m of them this year, up by almost half since 2008. This has hit sales of legal phones. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2067/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922041/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577575/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922041/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577575/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mKBb8ZJ3lnM:D1nNQqJw3EQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mKBb8ZJ3lnM:D1nNQqJw3EQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=mKBb8ZJ3lnM:D1nNQqJw3EQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mKBb8ZJ3lnM:D1nNQqJw3EQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=mKBb8ZJ3lnM:D1nNQqJw3EQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mKBb8ZJ3lnM:D1nNQqJw3EQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/mKBb8ZJ3lnM" height="1" width="1"/>
• The global crackdown on corporate bribery: Ungreasing the wheels
  <p>Governments around the world are making life difficult for corrupt firms</p><p>IF EVER a clash was inevitable between one country&#8217;s commercial law and another&#8217;s business culture, it would be between America&#8217;s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), which seeks to punish firms that bribe government officials, and China, where many businesses are owned by the government and bribery is endemic. A recent spate of prosecutions under the act of firms operating in China and other notoriously crooked places has stoked fear in the heart of many executives. Nor is the crackdown limited to America. On November 18th the British government became the latest to promise tough new anti-corruption legislation, during the annual Queen&#8217;s Speech to Parliament.</p><p>In 2005 DPC Tianjin, the Chinese subsidiary of a Californian company that makes medical equipment, admitted paying bribes to doctors and laboratory personnel. American prosecutors said this fell under the scope of the FCPA because health care in China is government-run. Yet the Chinese government is involved in much of business life. Last year, for example, Lucent paid a multimillion-dollar fine for &#8220;training&#8221; trips it had arranged for executives from state-owned telecommunications firms that involved visits to Las Vegas and Orlando, rather than factories. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2066/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922040/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577574/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922040/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577574/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=h3WyDLDuQ3Q:umj2j4tTIK0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=h3WyDLDuQ3Q:umj2j4tTIK0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=h3WyDLDuQ3Q:umj2j4tTIK0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=h3WyDLDuQ3Q:umj2j4tTIK0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=h3WyDLDuQ3Q:umj2j4tTIK0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=h3WyDLDuQ3Q:umj2j4tTIK0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/h3WyDLDuQ3Q" height="1" width="1"/>
• Schumpeter: Remembering Drucker
  <p>Four years after his death, Peter Drucker remains the king of the management gurus</p><p>IN THE normal run of things the management world is divided into dozens of mutually suspicious tribes&#8212;theoreticians versus practitioners, publicity-hogging gurus versus retiring academics, supporters of &#8220;scientific&#8221; management versus advocates of the &#8220;humanistic&#8221; sort. But this month has seen unusual comity: the leaders of all the management tribes came together to celebrate the centenary of the birth of Peter Drucker, a man who is often described as &#8220;the father of modern management&#8221; and &#8220;the world&#8217;s greatest management thinker&#8221;.</p><p>The celebrations took place all around the world, most notably in Vienna, where Drucker was born, in southern California, where he spent his golden years, and in China, where he is exercising growing influence. The speakers were not limited to luminaries of management: they also included Rick Warren, the spiritual guru of the moment in America, Frances Hesselbein, a former head of the American Girl Scouts, and David Gergen, an adviser to both Republican and Democratic presidents. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2065/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922039/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577573/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922039/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577573/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=wL1bxv7o2B0:e6PT_2QjTfk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=wL1bxv7o2B0:e6PT_2QjTfk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=wL1bxv7o2B0:e6PT_2QjTfk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=wL1bxv7o2B0:e6PT_2QjTfk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=wL1bxv7o2B0:e6PT_2QjTfk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=wL1bxv7o2B0:e6PT_2QjTfk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/wL1bxv7o2B0" height="1" width="1"/>
• University students abroad: And is there honey still for tea?
  <p>Luring foreign students is getting harder</p><p>IN MEDIEVAL times, the choice was simple. A Christian man of means could enroll at one of a handful of universities, two of which were in England. Since then, continents have been discovered, everyone has got smarter and richer, and students have grown more demanding. How competitive are British universities today?</p><p>Although America leads the world in attracting foreign students to its campuses, Britain and Australia are not far behind. Almost 672,000 foreigners were enrolled in American universities in the autumn of 2008, compared with 183,000 in Australian universities and 342,000 in British ones in 2007 (the most recent year for which data are available). ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2063/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922038/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577571/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922038/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577571/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-ovHs3jp0Jk:uxswfTNeTtY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-ovHs3jp0Jk:uxswfTNeTtY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=-ovHs3jp0Jk:uxswfTNeTtY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-ovHs3jp0Jk:uxswfTNeTtY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=-ovHs3jp0Jk:uxswfTNeTtY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-ovHs3jp0Jk:uxswfTNeTtY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/-ovHs3jp0Jk" height="1" width="1"/>
• Municipal Wi-Fi : Metro-net
  <p>Public wireless internet has had a tough time in America. Can Britain do better?</p><p>ON A cold and drizzly autumn day, no one would mistake Swindon, a prosperous mid-sized town near Bristol, for northern California. But it does lie on the M4 corridor, a cluster of high-tech firms that includes several names familiar from Silicon Valley. Local employers include Intel, a chipmaker, and Motorola and Alcatel-Lucent, two telecoms firms. </p><p>No surprise, then, that the borough wants to be the first in Britain to offer free wireless internet access to all its residents. Other cities have experimented&#8212;Bristol, for instance, offers wireless access in the city centre, and Norwich ran a trial between 2006 and 2008&#8212;but Swindon reckons it is the first to offer free access throughout the borough. The first phase, covering Highworth, a market town just north of Swindon itself, will be completed in December. The rest is due by April 2010, whereupon Swindonians will be able to stay online as they ride around on buses, lounge in parks or drink in pubs. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2061/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922037/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577569/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922037/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577569/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Qwt9MknB3u4:W3ggkk5QzGI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Qwt9MknB3u4:W3ggkk5QzGI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=Qwt9MknB3u4:W3ggkk5QzGI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Qwt9MknB3u4:W3ggkk5QzGI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=Qwt9MknB3u4:W3ggkk5QzGI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Qwt9MknB3u4:W3ggkk5QzGI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/Qwt9MknB3u4" height="1" width="1"/>
• Reforming financial regulation: A one-trick bill
  <p>An exercise in bank-bashing which may just please consumers</p><p>CRACKING down on financial services was always likely to be a highlight of the Queen&#8217;s Speech, which sets out the government&#8217;s legislative priorities until the general election next year. With the cost of bailing out banks approaching GBP90 billion so far, lending to businesses still anaemic and bonuses once more rising, bank-bashing is now a national pastime. But the proposed new measures say more about the government&#8217;s determination to show it has bankers under control than they do about any bold new approach to financial reform. More detail was expected as The Economist went to press. </p><p>The bill sets out to strengthen regulation, in four main ways. The most eye-catching concerns bankers&#8217; pay. The Financial Services Authority (FSA) is to be allowed to tear up contracts if it thinks a bank&#8217;s bonus structure encourages risky behaviour. Its enforcement powers are likely to be strengthened in other respects too&#8212;for example, by allowing it to curb business activities as a punishment for past transgressions. Banks will be required to prepare &#8220;living wills&#8221;&#8212;blueprints for winding down the business in the event of looming bankruptcy. And a new Council on Financial Stability is to monitor risk in the system. Headed by the chancellor of the exchequer, it will include the Treasury, the Bank of England and the FSA. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f205f/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922036/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577567/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922036/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577567/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YN1_kVPJ-HA:CztyrGLXUHA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YN1_kVPJ-HA:CztyrGLXUHA:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YN1_kVPJ-HA:CztyrGLXUHA:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YN1_kVPJ-HA:CztyrGLXUHA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YN1_kVPJ-HA:CztyrGLXUHA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YN1_kVPJ-HA:CztyrGLXUHA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/YN1_kVPJ-HA" height="1" width="1"/>
• The Conservatives' media policy: Nice guys may finish first
  <p>A shadow culture secretary begins to makes his mark</p><p>THE Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) has rarely been the frivolous sideshow suggested by its Whitehall nickname, &#8220;the ministry of fun&#8221;. It was a training ground for some of Labour&#8217;s brightest prospects, including James Purnell and Andy Burnham. It has a big role in staging the London Olympics in 2012, perhaps the biggest grand projet undertaken by this government. And media policy cannot be politically dull in a country with a national broadcaster funded to the tune of GBP3.5 billion by a licence fee levied on any home with a television. </p><p>The importance of the portfolio is shown too by the man who carries it for the Conservatives. The shadow cabinet has some unvaunted stalwarts in big jobs (such as Chris Grayling and Andrew Lansley, who speak on home affairs and health respectively) and promising talents lower down (Nick Herbert on rural affairs, for one, and Greg Clark on energy). But of those junior aspirants, only Jeremy Hunt, the 43-year-old culture spokesman, is mooted as a future Tory leader. Telegenic and successful in business, he is liked by the party&#8217;s high command. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f205a/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922035/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577562/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922035/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577562/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=uiKVGPAozm8:vSvU-QMX-eA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=uiKVGPAozm8:vSvU-QMX-eA:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=uiKVGPAozm8:vSvU-QMX-eA:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=uiKVGPAozm8:vSvU-QMX-eA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=uiKVGPAozm8:vSvU-QMX-eA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=uiKVGPAozm8:vSvU-QMX-eA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/uiKVGPAozm8" height="1" width="1"/>
• Financing Scottish start-ups: Better up north
  <p>New firms are finding funds in Scotland, despite the downturn. Why?</p><p>THESE are tough times for venture capitalists. According to their trade association, the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA), investment in new and fledgling firms fell by 17% in 2008. The National Endowment for Science, Technology, and the Arts, a government-funded body that aims to stimulate innovation and invests in new firms, reckons private funds available for start-ups plunged 72% last year. But Scotland is bucking this trend. More money was put into young businesses last year than in 2007 (see chart) and the queue of investors is lengthening.</p><p>This doesn&#8217;t sound right. Statistics show Scotland to be one of the least enterprising parts of Britain, with a business birth rate about a third lower than the average. A survey by Aston and Strathclyde Universities in 2008 found that Scotland&#8217;s total early-stage entrepreneurial activity rate, which measures both new businesses and attitudes towards starting them, was the second lowest of Britain&#8217;s regions (only Yorkshire and Humberside was worse). Research and development spending by existing firms is abysmally low. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2053/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922034/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577555/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922034/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577555/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5hpi4qfIhm4:Nm3HJVwlg3M:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5hpi4qfIhm4:Nm3HJVwlg3M:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5hpi4qfIhm4:Nm3HJVwlg3M:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5hpi4qfIhm4:Nm3HJVwlg3M:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5hpi4qfIhm4:Nm3HJVwlg3M:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5hpi4qfIhm4:Nm3HJVwlg3M:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/5hpi4qfIhm4" height="1" width="1"/>
• Lending to small companies: Now, worry about the upturn
  <p>Small firms risk financial starvation just as the economy recovers</p><p>JUST when you thought an upswing was around the corner it seems that smaller firms have yet to face the worst. Nick Hood, executive chairman of Begbies Global Network, an insolvency firm, predicts an increase in insolvencies in the second quarter of next year and continuing into 2011. Insolvencies, like unemployment, are a lagging economic indicator. Both rose markedly after downturns in 1974, 1980 and 1990.</p><p>But other factors are exacerbating matters now. One is the lack of competition among lenders. Foreign institutions, which used to account for about 40% of company lending, have mostly gone home; domestic players have merged; and the market is dominated by four big banks. When they do find a willing lender, small firms are paying through the nose. The difference between the average interest rate on their loans and the central bank&#8217;s base rate shrank from April to July, but increased again in August to 3.5 percentage points, according to the Bank of England. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f204c/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922033/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577548/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922033/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577548/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=T0PRz5_MwC0:bBadF6Y7fYU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=T0PRz5_MwC0:bBadF6Y7fYU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=T0PRz5_MwC0:bBadF6Y7fYU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=T0PRz5_MwC0:bBadF6Y7fYU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=T0PRz5_MwC0:bBadF6Y7fYU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=T0PRz5_MwC0:bBadF6Y7fYU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/T0PRz5_MwC0" height="1" width="1"/>
• America's fiscal deficit: Stemming the tide
  <p>Unprecedented levels of government debt may require radical solutions</p><p> STUDENTS at National Defence University in Washington, DC, were recently given a model of the economy and told to fix the budget. To get the federal debt down, they jacked up taxes and slashed spending. The economy promptly tanked, sending the debt to higher levels than before. The lesson: &#8220;You&#8217;ll never get re-elected and you may do more harm than good,&#8221; concluded Eric Bee, an air-force colonel who took part in the exercise.</p><p>This is the ugly arithmetic of America&#8217;s public finances. Recession and aggressive fiscal stimulus have hugely swollen the federal deficit. Stimulus was essential to cushion a collapse in private demand. In spite of that, the economy has barely emerged from recession and unemployment is still rising, feeding speculation that more stimulus is needed. Yet at the same time voters are growing alarmed at the tide of red ink, and it may be only a matter of time before markets do, too. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2046/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922032/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577542/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922032/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577542/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-QptIRQ_tXE:gpNvMQfxsyY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-QptIRQ_tXE:gpNvMQfxsyY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=-QptIRQ_tXE:gpNvMQfxsyY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-QptIRQ_tXE:gpNvMQfxsyY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=-QptIRQ_tXE:gpNvMQfxsyY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-QptIRQ_tXE:gpNvMQfxsyY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/-QptIRQ_tXE" height="1" width="1"/>
• Feeding the world: If words were food, nobody would go hungry
  <p>Investment in agriculture is soaring. So, worryingly, is distrust of markets and trade</p><p>&#8220;THE world&#8217;s attention is back on your cause.&#8221; That was Bill Gates talking to agricultural scientists gathered recently to honour the late Norman Borlaug, father of the Green Revolution. The tycoon-turned-philanthropist was right. This week, the world&#8212;in the guise of 60-odd heads of state including the pope&#8212;held the first United Nations food summit since 2002. As the world&#8217;s attention turns from the receding financial crisis, it is switching to one emerging in agriculture.</p><p>The UN conference on food security took place at a point of relative calm between two storms. The first occurred in 2007-08, when world food prices experienced their sharpest rise for 30 years. Food riots swept through three dozen countries and two governments (Haiti&#8217;s and Madagascar&#8217;s) were overthrown by the events that the price rises set in train. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2045/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922031/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577541/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922031/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577541/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5y7BICpwLUw:V1Qhm_OXFyY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5y7BICpwLUw:V1Qhm_OXFyY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5y7BICpwLUw:V1Qhm_OXFyY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5y7BICpwLUw:V1Qhm_OXFyY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5y7BICpwLUw:V1Qhm_OXFyY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5y7BICpwLUw:V1Qhm_OXFyY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/5y7BICpwLUw" height="1" width="1"/>
• Monsanto: The parable of the sower
  <p>The debate over whether Monsanto is a corporate sinner or saint</p><p>FEW companies excite such extreme emotions as Monsanto. To its critics, the agricultural giant is a corporate hybrid of Victor Frankenstein and Ebenezer Scrooge, using science to create foods that threaten the health of both people and the planet, and intellectual-property laws to squeeze every last penny out of the world&#8217;s poor. The list of Monsanto&#8217;s sins dates back to when (with other firms) it produced Agent Orange, a herbicide notorious for its use by American forces in Vietnam. Recently &#8220;Food Inc&#8221;, a documentary film, lambasted the company.</p><p>To its admirers, the innovations in seeds pioneered by Monsanto are the world&#8217;s best hope of tackling a looming global food crisis. Hugh Grant, the firm&#8217;s boss since 2003, says that without the sort of technological breakthroughs Monsanto has achieved the world has no chance of doubling agricultural output by 2050 while using less land and water, as many believe it must. Mr Grant, of course, would say that. But he is not alone. Bill Gates sees Monsanto&#8217;s innovations as essential to the agricultural revolution in Africa to which his charitable foundation is committed. Josette Sheeran, the head of the United Nations World Food Programme, is also a fan. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20be/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922030/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577662/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922030/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577662/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xZJlnOFQUEM:YZWtAFww2ms:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xZJlnOFQUEM:YZWtAFww2ms:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=xZJlnOFQUEM:YZWtAFww2ms:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xZJlnOFQUEM:YZWtAFww2ms:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=xZJlnOFQUEM:YZWtAFww2ms:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xZJlnOFQUEM:YZWtAFww2ms:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/xZJlnOFQUEM" height="1" width="1"/>
• Hope and worry in Zambia: Less poor, less free
  <p>The president is making the country&#8217;s well-wishers anxious</p><p> WHEN Zambia (formerly Northern Rhodesia) got independence from Britain in 1964, it was one of Africa&#8217;s richest and most developed countries. It has vast copper-ore deposits and some of the best land and most copious water in the continent. Yet now, largely due to poor leadership, it is one of the poorest. Under President Levy Mwanawasa, who ran the place from 2002 until he died a year ago, things began to look up. But after a year in the job his successor, Rupiah Banda, is beginning to raise fears, especially among foreign investors and donors, that his country may be returning to some of its bad old ways.</p><p> One reason is that Mr Banda, who was foreign minister under Zambia&#8217;s founding president, Kenneth Kaunda, has been chumming up with Mr Kaunda&#8217;s disgraced successor, Frederick Chiluba. Apart from the successful privatisation of the mines, Mr Chiluba&#8217;s ten-year reign from 1991-2001 is remembered mainly for its economic mismanagement and corruption. In 2007, in a civil case brought by Zambia&#8217;s government before London&#8217;s High Court, Mr Chiluba was found guilty of embezzling GBP46m (then $95m) of public funds. The ruling has yet to be enforced in Zambia. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20bd/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922029/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577661/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922029/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577661/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=HQw7qBtSO00:wG35eS5-yGg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=HQw7qBtSO00:wG35eS5-yGg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=HQw7qBtSO00:wG35eS5-yGg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=HQw7qBtSO00:wG35eS5-yGg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=HQw7qBtSO00:wG35eS5-yGg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=HQw7qBtSO00:wG35eS5-yGg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/HQw7qBtSO00" height="1" width="1"/>
• Yemen's war: Pity those caught in the middle
  <p>A bitter local conflict threatens to spread across the region</p><p>MUHAMMAD REDWAN and his family were being hammered from all sides. In early August, rebels from Yemen&#8217;s Houthi clan took over his village in the rugged mountains of the Malahid district, near the border with Saudi Arabia. First they harassed him, telling him not to listen on his television to music that &#8220;contradicted the values of Islam&#8221;. Then they told him he was &#8220;praying in the wrong way&#8221;&#8212; with arms raised, as is the custom elsewhere in Yemen. But then he got squeezed from another side, when Saudi armed forces, entering Yemen from across the border, issued warnings by loudspeaker. &#8220;If you want to stay alive, leave your homes immediately,&#8221; they blared. </p><p>A 35-year-old smuggler, Mr Redwan took the hint. After a three-day journey of 100km (62 miles)&#8212;by donkey, in a truck and finally by foot&#8212;he, his wife and six children managed to reach Mazrak Camp, south-west of the regional capital, Saada. This is where more than 10,000 recently displaced Yemenis now languish in misery. The UN-run camp cannot cope with the thousands of people who are arriving every week. Tens of thousands of other displaced people have recently sought refuge in villages and towns scattered across a swathe of northern Yemen. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20bc/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922028/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577660/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922028/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577660/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=kXsdDqmvAGw:8CmKJ4JwC_c:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=kXsdDqmvAGw:8CmKJ4JwC_c:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=kXsdDqmvAGw:8CmKJ4JwC_c:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=kXsdDqmvAGw:8CmKJ4JwC_c:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=kXsdDqmvAGw:8CmKJ4JwC_c:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=kXsdDqmvAGw:8CmKJ4JwC_c:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/kXsdDqmvAGw" height="1" width="1"/>
• Iraq and its neighbours: A regional cockpit
  <p>A regional competition for influence in Iraq</p><p>Editor's note: Following an emphatic denial from the United States Central Command, we have removed this story from our site pending further investigation.</p><p> ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20bb/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922027/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577659/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922027/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577659/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-xbhKoLpils:TrtySW0TEw0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-xbhKoLpils:TrtySW0TEw0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=-xbhKoLpils:TrtySW0TEw0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-xbhKoLpils:TrtySW0TEw0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=-xbhKoLpils:TrtySW0TEw0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-xbhKoLpils:TrtySW0TEw0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/-xbhKoLpils" height="1" width="1"/>
• Sierra Leone's corruption problem: A mortal enemy
  <p>The government is having some rare success in trying to eradicate an old sore</p><p>IN MOST African countries, the fight against corruption is deemed important but hardly a matter of life and death. In Sierra Leone it is exactly that. </p><p>In 1991 the country descended into one of Africa&#8217;s most terrible civil wars. It lasted a decade or so, killed tens of thousands of people and spawned a new lexicon of words and images that shocked the world: &#8220;blood diamonds&#8221;, drugged-up child soldiers, warlords and militiamen amputating the hands of their victims for doing nothing worse than voting. At the end of it all, a Truth and Reconciliation Commission appointed by the government decided that one of the war&#8217;s main causes had been the rampant corruption that had infested every level of government in the preceding decades. If Sierra Leone was to avoid a repeat of the 1990s, corruption was the biggest vice to be eradicated. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20ba/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922026/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577658/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922026/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577658/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=0cYYI9kaql0:cblPMHlQH-4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=0cYYI9kaql0:cblPMHlQH-4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=0cYYI9kaql0:cblPMHlQH-4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=0cYYI9kaql0:cblPMHlQH-4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=0cYYI9kaql0:cblPMHlQH-4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=0cYYI9kaql0:cblPMHlQH-4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/0cYYI9kaql0" height="1" width="1"/>
• Congo's constitution: Democracy under threat
  <p>Is Congo&#8217;s President Joseph Kabila flirting with dictatorship?</p><p>AFTER 32 years of rapacious dictatorship under Mobutu Sese Seko and nearly a decade of chaos following his demise in 1997, Congo&#8217;s elections in 2006 marked the first time the people of the former Belgian colony had gone to the polls in a free and fair vote for four decades. It was a rare moment of hope for a better future. But the latest signs are less auspicious. In recent parliamentary sessions, it emerged that President Joseph Kabila had called for a special constitutional review commission to consider amending Congo&#8217;s four-year-old charter. Among various suggestions, it may ask for presidential terms to be extended from five to seven years and perhaps for term limits to be junked altogether. Another idea being touted is for the president to become head of the Superior Council of Magistrates, the country&#8217;s most powerful judicial body. But the constitution specifically forbids amendments in all of those areas.</p><p>In the past three years the 38-year-old president has shown increasingly little interest in living up to the democratic promise that impressed the West when he won at the polls in 2006. Not that such hopes lasted very long. Just a few months after he was sworn in, he brought the opposition to heel by defeating fighters loyal to Jean-Pierre Bemba, who came second in the presidential contest, in deadly street battles in the capital, Kinshasa. Soon afterwards he clamped down on parliament&#8217;s largest opposition group, which is led by Mr Bemba, who is anyway due next year to stand trial for war crimes at the International Criminal Court at The Hague. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20b9/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922025/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577657/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922025/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577657/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ogkC67JOZCQ:1NhuFo9nCbU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ogkC67JOZCQ:1NhuFo9nCbU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ogkC67JOZCQ:1NhuFo9nCbU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ogkC67JOZCQ:1NhuFo9nCbU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ogkC67JOZCQ:1NhuFo9nCbU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ogkC67JOZCQ:1NhuFo9nCbU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/ogkC67JOZCQ" height="1" width="1"/>
• Trade, exchange rates, budget balances and interest rates
  <img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20b8/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922024/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577656/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922024/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577656/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=yODe46aZlJg:JXuXXOWKMxs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=yODe46aZlJg:JXuXXOWKMxs:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=yODe46aZlJg:JXuXXOWKMxs:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=yODe46aZlJg:JXuXXOWKMxs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=yODe46aZlJg:JXuXXOWKMxs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=yODe46aZlJg:JXuXXOWKMxs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/yODe46aZlJg" height="1" width="1"/>
• Overview
  <p>Japan&#8217;s economy grew strongly in the third quarter. It expanded at an annual rate of 4.8%, aided by a 3.3% rise in domestic demand and rapid export growth.</p><p>The recession ended in the euro zone, where GDP grew by 0.4% in the three months to September. Among the area&#8217;s largest economies, growth was strongest in Germany, where the economy expanded by 0.7%. France and Italy also grew, by 0.3% and 0.6% respectively. But the Spanish and Greek economies continued to shrink, with GDP falling by 0.3% in each. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20b7/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922023/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577655/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922023/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577655/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=QFcX0h_K1PU:sbEB7zlz3MY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=QFcX0h_K1PU:sbEB7zlz3MY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=QFcX0h_K1PU:sbEB7zlz3MY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=QFcX0h_K1PU:sbEB7zlz3MY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=QFcX0h_K1PU:sbEB7zlz3MY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=QFcX0h_K1PU:sbEB7zlz3MY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/QFcX0h_K1PU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Markets
  <img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20b6/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922022/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577654/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922022/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577654/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=W2OEgtu9PgY:EJHKI8MC2u8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=W2OEgtu9PgY:EJHKI8MC2u8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=W2OEgtu9PgY:EJHKI8MC2u8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=W2OEgtu9PgY:EJHKI8MC2u8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=W2OEgtu9PgY:EJHKI8MC2u8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=W2OEgtu9PgY:EJHKI8MC2u8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/W2OEgtu9PgY" height="1" width="1"/>
• R&#38;D spending
  <p>Toyota spent the most on research and development (R&#38;D) of any company in the world in 2008, according to the European Commission&#8217;s latest tally. The Japanese carmaker increased its annual R&#38;D spending by 7.6% to &#8364;7.6 billion ($10.6 billion), knocking Microsoft off the top spot. Three of the five biggest spenders are carmakers, but pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies also pour money into R&#38;D. Switzerland&#8217;s Roche now ranks fourth, having increased spending by 50% in the past three years. America&#8217;s Johnson &#38; Johnson and Sanofi-Aventis, a French health-care company, each spent more than &#8364;4.5 billion last year. Worldwide R&#38;D investment increased by 6.9% in 2008, having grown by 9% in 2007.</p><p> ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20b5/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922021/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577653/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922021/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577653/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1S1Ufg18244:3QiWQhT6UNM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1S1Ufg18244:3QiWQhT6UNM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=1S1Ufg18244:3QiWQhT6UNM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1S1Ufg18244:3QiWQhT6UNM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=1S1Ufg18244:3QiWQhT6UNM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1S1Ufg18244:3QiWQhT6UNM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/1S1Ufg18244" height="1" width="1"/>
• KAL's cartoon
  <img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20b4/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922020/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577652/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922020/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577652/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UgFYDAO6bqM:u_dgWHXdNYI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UgFYDAO6bqM:u_dgWHXdNYI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=UgFYDAO6bqM:u_dgWHXdNYI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UgFYDAO6bqM:u_dgWHXdNYI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=UgFYDAO6bqM:u_dgWHXdNYI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UgFYDAO6bqM:u_dgWHXdNYI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/UgFYDAO6bqM" height="1" width="1"/>
• Robert Rines
  <p>Robert Rines, scientist and Nessie-hunter, died on November 1st, aged 87</p><p>EYEWITNESS evidence may be all very well in a court of law, but it cuts no ice with scientists. Robert Rines knew that perfectly, because he was a scientist himself, and a good one. In his work to develop radar, sonar and ultrasound he performed all the necessary tests and provided all the proofs required. But when a shining grey hump appeared from the waters of Loch Ness, bringing a hectic lump to his throat and causing him to run across the road, jamming first a telescope and then binoculars to his eyes, he was simply a man who knew he had seen a monster. Science trailed uncomfortably behind. </p><p> What he saw on that day in June 1972 he described as well as he could. It was a hump about 25 feet (8 metres) long, covered with rough dark-grey hide like an elephant&#8217;s back. The creature it belonged to ploughed against the current for a while, and then disappeared. It had presumably returned to its haunts in the murky, peaty depths of the lake. But Mr Rines&#8217;s life was upside down. The star lecturer in innovation at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the founder and president of the Academy of Applied Science, now had a myth on his hands. He determined to substantiate it with all the cash he could raise and all the expertise he could muster, because the alternative was ridicule, or worse. Galileo sometimes sprang to mind. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20b3/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922019/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577651/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922019/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577651/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=If4HKhUHyCo:WyEMfRMALxE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=If4HKhUHyCo:WyEMfRMALxE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=If4HKhUHyCo:WyEMfRMALxE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=If4HKhUHyCo:WyEMfRMALxE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=If4HKhUHyCo:WyEMfRMALxE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=If4HKhUHyCo:WyEMfRMALxE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/If4HKhUHyCo" height="1" width="1"/>
• Correction: Peat
  <p>In &#8220;For peat&#8217;s sake, stop&#8221; (November 7th), an overenthusiastic spell-checking system led to the word &#8220;rewetting&#8221; being rendered as &#8220;reletting&#8221; in three different places. We apologise for any confusion caused. This has been corrected online.</p><p> ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20b2/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922018/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577650/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922018/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577650/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5b25ZaiUHgs:OSOBe3LP7zw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5b25ZaiUHgs:OSOBe3LP7zw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5b25ZaiUHgs:OSOBe3LP7zw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5b25ZaiUHgs:OSOBe3LP7zw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5b25ZaiUHgs:OSOBe3LP7zw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5b25ZaiUHgs:OSOBe3LP7zw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/5b25ZaiUHgs" height="1" width="1"/>
• Economics focus: Green with envy
  <p>The tension between free trade and capping emissions</p><p>STATEMENTS by Barack Obama on his travels through Asia have lowered expectations that December&#8217;s global summit on climate change in Copenhagen will lead to binding cuts in carbon emissions. The urgency of dealing with climate change means that many countries are drawing up national policies to limit emissions. Yet in a globalised world, where production is increasingly mobile across national borders, some worry that there is a fundamental tension between the effectiveness of such policies and a commitment to open trade.</p><p>These carbon-reduction policies, such as America&#8217;s proposed cap-and-trade scheme, typically put a price on carbon in the hope that this will force producers to bear the costs that their activities impose on the climate. But if different countries cut emissions by different amounts, as is likely, then the price of carbon will vary across nations. If so, manufacturers in countries with tighter environmental rules will face added costs which foreign competitors do not. This could in turn prompt them to relocate some of their production to &#8220;carbon havens&#8221;, where the cost of polluting is lower. If enough production emigrates, global emissions might even increase. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20b1/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922017/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577649/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922017/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577649/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=FdZ4Gcp2Qw8:WTs7VfB9MGs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=FdZ4Gcp2Qw8:WTs7VfB9MGs:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=FdZ4Gcp2Qw8:WTs7VfB9MGs:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=FdZ4Gcp2Qw8:WTs7VfB9MGs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=FdZ4Gcp2Qw8:WTs7VfB9MGs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=FdZ4Gcp2Qw8:WTs7VfB9MGs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/FdZ4Gcp2Qw8" height="1" width="1"/>
• Spanish banks: Savings and groans
  <p>Misery for the cajas does not mean joy for the banks</p><p>SPAIN&#8217;S banks face a grim 2010. True, the listed banks made over &#8364;4 billion ($6 billion) in net profits in the third quarter of this year. But most economists predict that Spain will not emerge from recession until the middle of 2010 at the earliest. Dwindling margins and lower loan volumes will squeeze profits just as bad loans peak on the back of an expected 20% unemployment rate. One small consolation, say the commercial banks, is that Spain&#8217;s unlisted savings banks, or cajas, are generally doing even worse. Spain&#8217;s 45 cajas have been fierce competitors to the banks, steadily taking market share over the years.</p><p>They are mutually owned and controlled by a mix of depositors, employees and, above all, local politicians. By riding Spain&#8217;s decade-long construction boom and taking advantage of their strong local presence, they now own 56% of Spanish mortgages. Loans to property developers make up about one-fifth of their assets. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20b0/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922016/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577648/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922016/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577648/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=RiYDGYKMfUU:MamcQVPEDBQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=RiYDGYKMfUU:MamcQVPEDBQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=RiYDGYKMfUU:MamcQVPEDBQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=RiYDGYKMfUU:MamcQVPEDBQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=RiYDGYKMfUU:MamcQVPEDBQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=RiYDGYKMfUU:MamcQVPEDBQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/RiYDGYKMfUU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Public-sector finances: The state's take
  <p>Governments differ dramatically in how they tax&#8212;and how much they raise</p><p>THANKS to the collateral damage from the financial crisis, government deficits have surged across the rich world. Once the recovery is entrenched this fiscal deterioration will need to be tackled. Although spending cuts could, and should, be the preferred route to prudence, taxes are all too likely to be part of the mix&#8212;at least judging from the experience of those countries that have already acted. Spain will raise its value-added tax rate (VAT) from 16% to 18%. Ireland has raised its top income tax rate from 41% to 46%. In both Britain and America current law promises higher future tax rates on wealthier folk.</p><p>The economic consequences of raising taxes will depend not just on the scale of the tax increase, but also on how the revenue is raised. The less efficient the type of taxation, the greater the burden on the economy. There is already striking variation in the size of the state and the structure of taxation, both among advanced economies, and between them and their emerging counterparts. Comparing countries&#8217; tax takes can offer useful clues to the most efficient ways to raise funds in future. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20af/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922015/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577647/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922015/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577647/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mKV7P0-Bz9A:BNpexkPYXyw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mKV7P0-Bz9A:BNpexkPYXyw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=mKV7P0-Bz9A:BNpexkPYXyw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mKV7P0-Bz9A:BNpexkPYXyw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=mKV7P0-Bz9A:BNpexkPYXyw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mKV7P0-Bz9A:BNpexkPYXyw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/mKV7P0-Bz9A" height="1" width="1"/>
• Rebuilding UBS: Ossie's casino
  <p>UBS wants to grow, but its supervisors want it to shrink</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;D LIKE to see us put more risk on the table and actually trade a bit harder.&#8221; In these times, such words from any banker might be enough to cause a little concern. Coming from the chief financial officer of a bank that is still clawing its way out of a $50 billion hole of accumulated losses and write-downs, they ought to set the fire alarms ringing. In fact, the gambling-for-redemption strategy outlined by UBS, Switzerland&#8217;s biggest bank, is winning the support of shareholders. That it is doing so neatly encapsulates a dilemma for regulators as they try to balance the contradictory goals of making banking safer while also making it profitable enough to attract investors and their capital.</p><p>On November 17th UBS&#8217;s newish boss, Oswald Grubel, a hard-bitten veteran who was hauled out of retirement in February, outlined plans to turn the bank around. Mr Grubel (Ossie to his colleagues) hopes to repeat his success at Credit Suisse where, ironically, he had copied UBS&#8217;s strategy of combining private and investment banking with asset management. That the pupil surpassed its master and avoided its mistakes is largely due to Mr Grubel&#8217;s nose for risk and the decision to pull back from the American residential-mortgage market in 2006, even as UBS was upping the ante. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20ae/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922014/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577646/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922014/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577646/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=pzKytdWDv-A:HlBo1apzUMk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=pzKytdWDv-A:HlBo1apzUMk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=pzKytdWDv-A:HlBo1apzUMk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=pzKytdWDv-A:HlBo1apzUMk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=pzKytdWDv-A:HlBo1apzUMk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=pzKytdWDv-A:HlBo1apzUMk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/pzKytdWDv-A" height="1" width="1"/>
• Fund management: Payback time
  <p>The European Union lashes out at hedge funds and private equity</p><p>&#8220;WHEN a fight breaks out in a bar, you don&#8217;t hit the man who started it. You clobber the person you don&#8217;t like instead.&#8221; That is the cynical verdict of a fund-management executive on the European Union&#8217;s proposed Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive. Even though the credit crunch was largely the fault of (highly regulated) banks, politicians seized the chance to have a pop at the unpopular hedge-fund and private-equity industries.</p><p>The original draft, launched without proper consultation, contained some sensible rules on registration but threw in a bunch of protectionist proposals that would exclude American funds from marketing in the EU. A report commissioned by the European Parliament on the draft concluded that it was &#8220;poorly constructed, ill-focused and premature.&#8221; ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20ad/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922013/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577645/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922013/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577645/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=wqaKDreqzPg:r1QEh8RpT94:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=wqaKDreqzPg:r1QEh8RpT94:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=wqaKDreqzPg:r1QEh8RpT94:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=wqaKDreqzPg:r1QEh8RpT94:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=wqaKDreqzPg:r1QEh8RpT94:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=wqaKDreqzPg:r1QEh8RpT94:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/wqaKDreqzPg" height="1" width="1"/>
• China's exchange-rate policy: A yuan-sided argument
  <p>Why China resists foreign demands to revalue its currency</p><p>PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, on his first visit to China this week, urged the government to allow its currency to rise. President Hu Jintao politely chose to ignore him. In recent weeks Jean-Claude Trichet, the president of the European Central Bank, and Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund, have also called for a stronger yuan. But China will adjust its currency only when it sees fit, not in response to foreign pressure.</p><p>China allowed the yuan to rise by 21% against the dollar in the three years to July 2008, but since then it has more or less kept the rate fixed. As a result, the yuan&#8217;s trade-weighted value has been dragged down this year by the sickly dollar, while many other currencies have soared. Since March the Brazilian real and the South Korean won have gained 42% and 36% respectively against the yuan, seriously eroding those countries&#8217; competitiveness. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20ac/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922012/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577644/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922012/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577644/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c4z2siW5Cj0:O4e3xdT2cF8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c4z2siW5Cj0:O4e3xdT2cF8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=c4z2siW5Cj0:O4e3xdT2cF8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c4z2siW5Cj0:O4e3xdT2cF8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=c4z2siW5Cj0:O4e3xdT2cF8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c4z2siW5Cj0:O4e3xdT2cF8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/c4z2siW5Cj0" height="1" width="1"/>
• Buttonwood: Something's gotta give
  <p>Either central banks are wrong to keep rates low, or markets are wrong to expect recovery</p><p>LIKE a truck rolling downhill, the rally in risky assets is proving hard to stop. Good economic news causes share prices to rise because it indicates the recovery is robust; bad economic news also causes prices to rise because it signals that central banks will keep interest rates near zero.</p><p>Those low interest rates have probably been the main driver of the rally, encouraging investors to put their cash to work in search of higher returns. But other factors have been at play. Forecasts for corporate profits have been revised steadily upwards as analysts anticipate the benefits of economic recovery. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20ab/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922011/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577643/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922011/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577643/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=AogpWGIEB7w:4aMWZHoI6rA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=AogpWGIEB7w:4aMWZHoI6rA:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=AogpWGIEB7w:4aMWZHoI6rA:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=AogpWGIEB7w:4aMWZHoI6rA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=AogpWGIEB7w:4aMWZHoI6rA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=AogpWGIEB7w:4aMWZHoI6rA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/AogpWGIEB7w" height="1" width="1"/>
• EDF: Nuclear contamination
  <p>The giant French utility&#8217;s ambition to lead a global revival in nuclear energy is running into difficulties as a controversial new boss takes over</p><p>NEXT week Henri Proglio will become the boss of EDF Group, the state-controlled French firm which is the world&#8217;s biggest listed utility and operator of nuclear reactors. With its proud corporate culture, its devotion to long-term planning and its powerful unions (the Confederation Generale du Travail jointly runs the firm, in effect), EDF is sometimes described as a miniature version of France itself. Last year it began a vigorous campaign to build nuclear plants around the world. But to the dismay of advocates of a nuclear renaissance, the cost and complexity of embarking on several big projects at once is weighing on the firm, despite its size and government backing.</p><p>EDF has long exported its nuclear-energy expertise, but earned only advisory fees for its efforts. It helped build China&#8217;s nuclear fleet, for example, for a few million euros. Now, as growth at home slows, it wants to make bigger profits by building and operating nuclear plants of its own abroad. After all, it is one of very few utilities that can afford to build several reactors by itself, without sharing the risk with partners or governments. And in an industry which atrophied after accidents at Three Mile Island in America and Chernobyl in what is now Ukraine, it has relatively extensive recent experience of building and operating modern nuclear plants. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20aa/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922010/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577642/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922010/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577642/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=4mVJKm600vo:PPQjj9nm3_E:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=4mVJKm600vo:PPQjj9nm3_E:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=4mVJKm600vo:PPQjj9nm3_E:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=4mVJKm600vo:PPQjj9nm3_E:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=4mVJKm600vo:PPQjj9nm3_E:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=4mVJKm600vo:PPQjj9nm3_E:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/4mVJKm600vo" height="1" width="1"/>
• Gordon Brown's next six months: The great calculating machine
  <p>A nakedly political Queen&#8217;s Speech marks the start of the election campaign</p><p>&#8220;THERE are times, perhaps once every 30 years, when there is a sea-change in politics,&#8221; said the last Labour prime minister to lose a general election. &#8220;It then does not matter what you say or what you do.&#8221; Three decades and another sea-change&#8212;in 1997, when the Tories began their own long exile from power&#8212;have passed since James Callaghan&#8217;s unflinching prognosis before Margaret Thatcher defeated him. </p><p>Gordon Brown is not as bleak about next year&#8217;s general election. True, the Tories enjoy double-digit leads in the polls, as they have for much of his two-and-a-half years as prime minister. Mr Brown is even less popular than his party. But his morale was lifted when Labour retained a safe Glasgow seat at a by-election on November 12th. The vagaries of the electoral system mean that the Tories need the second-biggest swing ever to win just a one-seat majority in Parliament. And Britain is not palpably undergoing the kind of ideological conversion to the right that Mr Callaghan was describing in 1979, when the post-war Keynesian consensus lay dead. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20a9/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922009/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577641/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922009/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577641/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=53McXiLp6oU:QqJzG6MI_5U:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=53McXiLp6oU:QqJzG6MI_5U:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=53McXiLp6oU:QqJzG6MI_5U:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=53McXiLp6oU:QqJzG6MI_5U:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=53McXiLp6oU:QqJzG6MI_5U:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=53McXiLp6oU:QqJzG6MI_5U:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/53McXiLp6oU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Bagehot: I know my rights
  <p>Public-service satisfaction guaranteed, or&#8212;what, exactly?</p><p>ALTHOUGH it was introduced long before he left Downing Street, John Major&#8217;s &#8220;cones hot-line&#8221; came to epitomise, in the public imagination, the intellectual exhaustion and shrunken ambition of the Conservatives&#8217; last term in office. Under Gordon Brown, Labour has sometimes seemed similarly petty and bereft. But now it has come up with a big idea, a theme intended to demonstrate the government&#8217;s vitality and undimmed zeal for improving Britain&#8217;s schools and hospitals. The big idea is public-service &#8220;guarantees&#8221;. It is not altogether convincing.</p><p>The story Labour now tells about the public services goes like this. In the beginning there was cash: lots of it. Then there were performance targets: lots of them too, but they were often resented and sometimes had perverse side-effects. Henceforth, since standards have risen and (whisper this part) the money has run out, improvement will be driven by new legal guarantees or entitlements. These have been increasingly touted in recent months and featured in the Queen&#8217;s Speech on November 18th. So, for example, existing targets for NHS patients&#8212;to have hospital treatment within 18 weeks of referral by their family doctor, and to see a cancer specialist within two&#8212;will become legal entitlements. Among the assorted education guarantees is that some pupils who fall behind will be able to get one-to-one catch-up tuition. Existing pledges on police-response times and regular beat meetings are also set to be converted into guarantees. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20a8/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922008/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577640/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922008/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577640/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1cPoUeLXRPs:1JgqWF8X7SE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1cPoUeLXRPs:1JgqWF8X7SE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=1cPoUeLXRPs:1JgqWF8X7SE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1cPoUeLXRPs:1JgqWF8X7SE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=1cPoUeLXRPs:1JgqWF8X7SE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1cPoUeLXRPs:1JgqWF8X7SE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/1cPoUeLXRPs" height="1" width="1"/>
• Correction: Czech politics
  <p>In our story last week on right-wing parties in Europe (&#8220;Right on down&#8221;), we mistakenly referred to the Civic Forum in the Czech Republic. We should have said the Civic Democrats. Sorry. This error has been corrected online.</p><p> ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20a7/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922007/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577639/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922007/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577639/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ppkhdsoYxbc:UgeN3lzQpDw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ppkhdsoYxbc:UgeN3lzQpDw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ppkhdsoYxbc:UgeN3lzQpDw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ppkhdsoYxbc:UgeN3lzQpDw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ppkhdsoYxbc:UgeN3lzQpDw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ppkhdsoYxbc:UgeN3lzQpDw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/ppkhdsoYxbc" height="1" width="1"/>
• Europe's public finances: Weighed down
  <p>The recession has left a fiscal burden that many countries will struggle to shed</p><p>THE BAD thing for politicians about good news on the economy is that they can no longer avert their eyes from the state of public finances. Figures released on November 13th showed that the euro-area economy crawled out of recession in the three months to the end of September. GDP rose by 0.4%, the first quarterly increase for more than a year. Given the scale of the downturn, the recovery is modest: GDP was still 4.1% lower than a year earlier. </p><p>Such a deep slump has wrecked public finances. The average budget deficit in the 16-country euro area will be 6.4% of GDP this year, rising to 6.9% in 2010, according to the European Commission&#8217;s forecast. If no action is taken to tame deficits, public debt will rise to 88% of GDP by 2011, a third higher than it was before the crisis (see chart). ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20a6/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922006/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577638/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922006/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577638/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=cS-U0gwaDJ4:Eyts5gcv_Jo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=cS-U0gwaDJ4:Eyts5gcv_Jo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=cS-U0gwaDJ4:Eyts5gcv_Jo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=cS-U0gwaDJ4:Eyts5gcv_Jo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=cS-U0gwaDJ4:Eyts5gcv_Jo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=cS-U0gwaDJ4:Eyts5gcv_Jo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/cS-U0gwaDJ4" height="1" width="1"/>
• Greek public finances: Arithmetic lesson
  <p>The politics of deficits and economic statistics</p><p>GREEK government statistics are notoriously unreliable. But rarely can the numbers have seemed more erratic than in recent months, when the forecast for this year&#8217;s budget deficit more than doubled from 6% to 12.7% of GDP. What went wrong? Electoral politics is a big part of the answer.</p><p>Tax collection &#8220;collapsed almost totally&#8221; after the first quarter, says George Papaconstantinou, the new Socialist finance minister. Revenue-raising slowed in the run-up to the European elections&#8212;a traditional ploy by Greek governments to keep voters loyal&#8212;then stagnated over the summer and during the national election campaign in September. A pre-election splurge (another tradition) helped widen the deficit. And as the economy weakened during the financial crisis, tax evasion rose: VAT receipts, for example, fell steadily. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20a5/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922005/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577637/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922005/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577637/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=M-z8-ze-154:3V7KJEOaCJs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=M-z8-ze-154:3V7KJEOaCJs:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=M-z8-ze-154:3V7KJEOaCJs:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=M-z8-ze-154:3V7KJEOaCJs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=M-z8-ze-154:3V7KJEOaCJs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=M-z8-ze-154:3V7KJEOaCJs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/M-z8-ze-154" height="1" width="1"/>
• Turkey's phone-tapping scandal: Who's on the phone?
  <p>A murky twist in the fight between the ruling party and the military old guard</p><p>DURING an interview with a Turkish minister recently, your correspondent was asked to remove the battery from her mobile telephone. &#8220;Otherwise our conversation will be tapped,&#8221; the minister explained. His paranoia may be understandable; over the past week Turkey&#8217;s elite has been rocked by tales of politicians, judges and journalists being wiretapped. Even the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, complained that &#8220;they eavesdropped on me for six years&#8221;.</p><p>Much about this story remains murky. It is not clear, for instance, who might have been listening in on Mr Erdogan. Indeed, the scandal mainly involves allegations that the justice ministry, led by Mr Erdogan&#8217;s Justice and Development (AK) party, has been monitoring members of the elite suspected of involvement with coup-plotters in the so-called Ergenekon case. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20a4/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922004/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577636/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922004/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577636/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vbPy62YcDfA:froJHEvJTJU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vbPy62YcDfA:froJHEvJTJU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vbPy62YcDfA:froJHEvJTJU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vbPy62YcDfA:froJHEvJTJU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vbPy62YcDfA:froJHEvJTJU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vbPy62YcDfA:froJHEvJTJU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/vbPy62YcDfA" height="1" width="1"/>
• History of Italian fascism: Not just Hitler's fool
  <p>A mistress&#8217;s diary shows Benito Mussolini was a rabid anti-Semite</p><p>&#8220;THESE disgusting Jews, I must destroy them all.&#8221; Adolf Hitler&#8217;s dinnertime conversation? No. This is one of several anti-Semitic rants ascribed to Italy&#8217;s fascist leader, Benito Mussolini, by his mistress, Clara Petacci. Both were executed by partisans at the end of the second world war. The diaries of &#8220;Claretta&#8221;, published as a book (&#8220;Mussolini segreto&#8221;) on November 18th, after more than 50 years in the state archives, challenge the comforting view that many Italians have of the Duce as a leader misled by Hitler, his ally. Mussolini&#8217;s reputation still matters in a country which, for most of the past eight years, has been led by governments incorporating his &#8220;post-fascist&#8221; heirs.</p><p> In 2004 his son, Romano, published a memoir, &#8220;My Father, Il Duce&#8221;, which presented Mussolini as a caring family man, largely ignoring the dark side of the leader who had occupied Ethiopia in 1935-36 and, during his final years as Hitler&#8217;s puppet, sent thousands of Jews to Nazi death camps. In 2007 Marcello Dell&#8217;Utri, a close aide to Silvio Berlusconi, the prime minister, claimed to have found Mussolini&#8217;s diaries. Most historians said they were fakes, but not before Italians were told of contents which, in the words of Romano&#8217;s daughter, Alessandra Mussolini, showed &#8220;all the efforts made by grandfather to avoid the war&#8221;. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20a3/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922003/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577635/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922003/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577635/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=nibW5zFeHE8:lhUmqepHDxo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=nibW5zFeHE8:lhUmqepHDxo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=nibW5zFeHE8:lhUmqepHDxo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=nibW5zFeHE8:lhUmqepHDxo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=nibW5zFeHE8:lhUmqepHDxo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=nibW5zFeHE8:lhUmqepHDxo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/nibW5zFeHE8" height="1" width="1"/>
• Slovakia's murky politics: Heading south
  <p>Tough times for Slovakia&#8217;s democracy</p><p>AN IRREVOCABLE shift away from the bad habits of the past was meant to be the result of joining the European Union. In Slovakia&#8217;s case, the shift is now backwards. In the past six months the authorities have taken disciplinary action against a dozen prominent judges. Some were among 100 legal luminaries who signed an appeal this year denouncing inefficiency, corruption and politicisation of the justice system. In particular, the protesters are unhappy with Stefan Harabin, a controversial former justice minister who is now president of the Supreme Court.</p><p>Mr Harabin has denounced Slovakia&#8217;s special anti-corruption court&#8212;which has highly paid, security-vetted judges&#8212;as a &#8220;fascist institution&#8221;. The court has now been suspended and replaced by a weaker substitute. High-profile corruption cases, many of which have roots in the 1990s, are at risk of fizzling out. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20a2/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922002/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577634/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922002/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577634/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9w4V3Pd9cYw:Ke9pGUorZmY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9w4V3Pd9cYw:Ke9pGUorZmY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=9w4V3Pd9cYw:Ke9pGUorZmY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9w4V3Pd9cYw:Ke9pGUorZmY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=9w4V3Pd9cYw:Ke9pGUorZmY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9w4V3Pd9cYw:Ke9pGUorZmY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/9w4V3Pd9cYw" height="1" width="1"/>
• Municipal politics in France: The mayors' revolt
  <p>Plans to abolish a tax on investment causes uproar in town halls</p><p>IN THE rolling hills and medieval villages of France, a modern rebellion is stirring. The country&#8217;s 36,000 directly elected mayors are in revolt, angry at government plans to cut the number of elected officials and abolish a local tax that supplies much of their revenues. This week some 6,000 of them descended on Paris for their annual congress, jeering a speech by Francois Fillon, the prime minister, and denouncing an effort to emasculate local power.</p><p>With their ceremonial sashes and grand town halls in even the remotest village, mayors occupy a special place in French life. They represent the state locally, organise elections, conduct marriages, grant planning permission&#8212;and can be a political force to reckon with. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20a1/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922001/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577633/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922001/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577633/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GrtAGjMgtNI:cUiFKiJATcg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GrtAGjMgtNI:cUiFKiJATcg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=GrtAGjMgtNI:cUiFKiJATcg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GrtAGjMgtNI:cUiFKiJATcg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=GrtAGjMgtNI:cUiFKiJATcg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GrtAGjMgtNI:cUiFKiJATcg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/GrtAGjMgtNI" height="1" width="1"/>
• Germany's Social Democrats: Archangel Gabriel takes the burden
  <p>The venerable but defeated SPD picks a new champion</p><p>IT HAD the trappings of any other political party convention in Germany: the same airless arena, the same corporate kiosks offering free ballpoint pens. But the gathering of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) in Dresden on November 13th-15th was anything but routine. The party had suffered its worst defeat in decades in September&#8217;s federal election, picking up just 23% of the vote, its smallest share since the second world war, and was out of power after 11 years in government. For the 500 delegates the question was not when the SPD would get back in, but whether it would survive as the main political force on the left. The pre-convention&#8217;s mood was one of &#8220;humiliation, depression and aggression&#8221;, said Hans-Peter Bartels, an SPD member of the Bundestag. </p><p>Why, the delegates asked, did the SPD fare so badly at a time when capitalism was discredited and voters were looking to the government for help? The answers poured forth: the party had broken its promises (by raising value-added tax); it had bowed to free-market ideology by reforming pensions and labour markets; and its leaders had been aloof, unresponsive and had bickered among themselves. The ex-communist Left Party had exploited these failings. Besides, social democratic parties were in trouble all over Europe. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f20a0/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922000/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577632/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197922000/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577632/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=fEXYvAoZyvQ:tgOM0g6hOdo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=fEXYvAoZyvQ:tgOM0g6hOdo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=fEXYvAoZyvQ:tgOM0g6hOdo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=fEXYvAoZyvQ:tgOM0g6hOdo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=fEXYvAoZyvQ:tgOM0g6hOdo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=fEXYvAoZyvQ:tgOM0g6hOdo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/fEXYvAoZyvQ" height="1" width="1"/>
• Charlemagne: A new balance in Europe
  <p>America is listening to Russia's call for new security arrangements in Europe</p><p>IN THEORY, Russian diplomats accredited to NATO are welcome friends: the reality is murkier. For more than a decade now, Russian officials have been trusted to roam the alliance&#8217;s maze-like headquarters in Brussels just like envoys from other &#8220;partner countries&#8221; such as Sweden, Finland or Malta. In practice, says a diplomat, everyone knows that &#8220;the entire Russian mission is [staffed by] spies&#8221;. This leads to cat-and-mouse games that range from the serious (in February, an Estonian official was jailed for more than 12 years for selling NATO secrets to Russia) to the comical (guards were posted at the doors of meetings reserved for full NATO members after Russian officials were found hiding their badges and sneaking inside).</p><p>Russia&#8217;s relations with the European Union are almost as ambiguous. The two sides have lots of mutual interests&#8212;the EU buys more than half of all Russian exports, and provides two-thirds of Russia&#8217;s foreign direct investment. Yet an odd mood of surly indifference surrounds Russia-EU ties. A formal summit between President Dmitry Medvedev and European Union bosses on November 18th achieved only a few technical agreements, though the two sides had much to discuss, not least gas supplies and Russia&#8217;s foot-dragging over climate change. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f209f/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921999/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577631/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921999/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577631/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YqCldgstM2U:6A0YtfnAxi0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YqCldgstM2U:6A0YtfnAxi0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YqCldgstM2U:6A0YtfnAxi0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YqCldgstM2U:6A0YtfnAxi0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YqCldgstM2U:6A0YtfnAxi0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YqCldgstM2U:6A0YtfnAxi0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/YqCldgstM2U" height="1" width="1"/>
• A hero for the Philippines: The thriller for Manila
  <p>Manny Pacquiao, boxer, national hero and political wannabe</p><p>A HUSH fell over the Philippines as a bell rang, eight time zones away, to start Manny Pacquiao&#8217;s title fight in Las Vegas. The people of Manila deserted the streets to crowd in front of television screens and watch the most successful Filipino athlete of all time enter the ring. The quiet was soon shattered by a roar which echoed throughout the country as Mr Pacquiao knocked down his opponent for a first time. A crescendo followed, reaching its jubilant climax when the referee awarded victory to Mr Pacquiao in the 12th round. </p><p>Mr Pacquiao&#8217;s defeat of Miguel Cotto, a Puerto Rican, means he has now won world championships in seven different weight divisions&#8212;a feat unprecedented in boxing history. He has become an extraordinary hero in the Philippines, where figures of international renown are scarce. Filipinos adore him for his rags-to-riches career and his unpretentious charm. The government says Mr Pacquiao will receive a special welcome on his return to the Philippines; delirious public celebrations are expected. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f209e/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921998/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577630/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921998/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577630/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=n87VuWrmPjE:C6a7lnFUi-o:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=n87VuWrmPjE:C6a7lnFUi-o:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=n87VuWrmPjE:C6a7lnFUi-o:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=n87VuWrmPjE:C6a7lnFUi-o:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=n87VuWrmPjE:C6a7lnFUi-o:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=n87VuWrmPjE:C6a7lnFUi-o:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/n87VuWrmPjE" height="1" width="1"/>
• Hong Kong's deferred democracy: Softly, softly
  <p>One man; one vote; one forlorn hope?</p><p>ACCORDING to its chief executive, Donald Tsang, Hong Kong has reached another &#8220;critical juncture&#8221; in its political development. A reform proposal unveiled by his government on November 18th aims to increase the level of democracy &#8220;substantially&#8221; in 2012 when Mr Tsang&#8217;s successor is chosen and a new legislature elected. Pro-democracy politicians are far from convinced. </p><p>This is Mr Tsang&#8217;s second attempt at trying to persuade legislators that he and, more critically, China&#8217;s leaders, mean to fulfil promises made at the end of British rule in 1997 that Hong Kong would move towards &#8220;universal suffrage&#8221;. His previous reform package was voted down by the legislature, known as Legco, in 2005 as too timid and lacking a clear timetable for universal suffrage. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f209d/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921997/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577629/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921997/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577629/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=g3mYRGYrNlU:FkflK0FSLCI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=g3mYRGYrNlU:FkflK0FSLCI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=g3mYRGYrNlU:FkflK0FSLCI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=g3mYRGYrNlU:FkflK0FSLCI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=g3mYRGYrNlU:FkflK0FSLCI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=g3mYRGYrNlU:FkflK0FSLCI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/g3mYRGYrNlU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Afghanistan's anti-corruption drive: Taming the mafia state
  <p>The anti-graft pressure mounts on Hamid Karzai</p><p>IT WAS no secret what the world wanted to hear from Hamid Karzai when Afghanistan&#8217;s president was sworn in for a second term on November 19th: a commitment to get tough on corruption. Visiting Kabul for the inauguration, Hillary Clinton, America&#8217;s secretary of state, said Mr Karzai had a &#8220;window of opportunity&#8221; to show tangible results. American officials say he has just six months to tackle what one calls &#8220;Afghanistan&#8217;s mafia state&#8221;.</p><p> In his inauguration speech, he said ministers in his administration must be &#8220;competent and just&#8221;. But heeding Western concerns about their behaviour does not come naturally to Mr Karzai. He has been in a combative mood since the West&#8217;s much-resented demand that he accept that his re-election was marred by massive vote-rigging. In a recent American television interview he batted back questions about corruption in his government with his oft-repeated line that foreign donors must clean their own act up and stop development funds from being wasted. Such wastage, however, is at least lawful, unlike the Afghan government&#8217;s practice of selling jobs to officials who then repay themselves through extortion. Nor is it akin to the impunity the well-connected enjoy. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f209c/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921996/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577628/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921996/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577628/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=IBTb04-mDf0:eJV7XM3_xIc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=IBTb04-mDf0:eJV7XM3_xIc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=IBTb04-mDf0:eJV7XM3_xIc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=IBTb04-mDf0:eJV7XM3_xIc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=IBTb04-mDf0:eJV7XM3_xIc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=IBTb04-mDf0:eJV7XM3_xIc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/IBTb04-mDf0" height="1" width="1"/>
• Sri Lanka's retired army chief: General intentions
  <p>The war&#8217;s winners fall out</p><p>WHEN Sarath Fonseka sought permission this month to retire as chief of Sri Lanka&#8217;s defence staff from December 1st, President Mahinda Rajapaksa replied through his secretary that the general, who had led his government&#8217;s victory against the Tamil Tigers, could consider himself retired with immediate effect. So General Fonseka had to vacate his office in less than two days. He was told his large security detail would be slashed. He must quit his official residence. The impromptu farewell ceremony for him was so hastily arranged, apparently, that the commanders of the army, navy and air force could not attend. </p><p>His retirement, more than a month before the end of his term, fuelled rampant speculation that General Fonseka would stand against Mr Rajapaksa at the presidential election he wants to call next year, nearly two years early, to capitalise on the government&#8217;s defeat of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f209b/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921995/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577627/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921995/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577627/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=N_hDF3Q4CQs:ljPr0acWztE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=N_hDF3Q4CQs:ljPr0acWztE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=N_hDF3Q4CQs:ljPr0acWztE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=N_hDF3Q4CQs:ljPr0acWztE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=N_hDF3Q4CQs:ljPr0acWztE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=N_hDF3Q4CQs:ljPr0acWztE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/N_hDF3Q4CQs" height="1" width="1"/>
• Australia's child-migration horror: Better late than never
  <p>Kevin Rudd says sorry for a past evil</p><p>CEREMONIES in the Great Hall of Parliament House in Canberra are typically attended by visiting royals, heads of state and other dignitaries. On November 16th several hundred ordinary, middle-aged Australians, with pain in their faces and tears in their eyes, packed the hall to witness a ceremony devoted to them. It seemed a miracle that many were there at all. Shipped from Britain as youngsters, or plucked from broken homes and single mothers in Australia, some suffered childhoods spent in orphanages where violence, sexual abuse and humiliation were rife. Some of their peers killed themselves.</p><p>After years of campaigning, survivors gathered to hear Kevin Rudd, the prime minister, offer a formal apology for this &#8220;great evil&#8221;. It was the second such apology Mr Rudd has offered in under two years. Early last year, he began his government&#8217;s first term by apologising to the &#8220;stolen generations&#8221;: children, many of mixed race, taken by the authorities from aboriginal families. In all, by 1970 over 500,000 &#8220;stolen&#8221;, migrant and non-indigenous children had been placed in church, charity and government institutions. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f209a/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921994/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577626/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921994/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577626/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=CSYgSAJdnIo:om_YwttD8cw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=CSYgSAJdnIo:om_YwttD8cw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=CSYgSAJdnIo:om_YwttD8cw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=CSYgSAJdnIo:om_YwttD8cw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=CSYgSAJdnIo:om_YwttD8cw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=CSYgSAJdnIo:om_YwttD8cw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/CSYgSAJdnIo" height="1" width="1"/>
• Banyan: Land of Eastern promise
  <p>India's membership of Asia remains primarily cartographic</p><p>AN EASY but instructive way to bait an Indian economist is to credit the Chinese economy with coming to Asia&#8217;s rescue and arguably the world&#8217;s. It is, claims the economist, an example of anti-India bias. Why does India not get equal credit for robust growth? In all the frothy coverage about Asia&#8217;s amazing rebound, including in The Economist, where is India? &#8220;You&#8217;d think&#8221;, the economist complains, &#8220;that India isn&#8217;t even part of Asia.&#8221;</p><p>To what degree India&#8217;s economy is part of a vibrant Asian whole has long been a preoccupation among Indian policymakers. Now the global slowdown has given the debate a keener edge, for it has disproportionately hit the commercial markets in America and Europe to which India traditionally looks. &#8220;Look East&#8221;, long an avowed tenet of government policy, is in vogue. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2099/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921993/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577625/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921993/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577625/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9CsshvMHGDc:yocTfvh2GP8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9CsshvMHGDc:yocTfvh2GP8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=9CsshvMHGDc:yocTfvh2GP8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9CsshvMHGDc:yocTfvh2GP8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=9CsshvMHGDc:yocTfvh2GP8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9CsshvMHGDc:yocTfvh2GP8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/9CsshvMHGDc" height="1" width="1"/>
• Barack Obama in Asia: Scaling the Asian wall
  <p>The president pays Asia the compliment of courtesy; rewards are not immediate</p><p>IT TOOK Barack Obama nearly a year in office to get to East Asia. When he did, it was for an intensive nine-day obstacle course, which he tried to negotiate with the placatory charm and openness to dialogue that have marked his diplomacy. Unsurprisingly, it went down well, but produced little of substance.</p><p>The centrepiece of the trip was China, which he visited at a critical juncture in the world&#8217;s most important bilateral relationship. China handled the visit with ambivalence. It was keen to encourage Mr Obama&#8217;s friendly approach and his willingness to recognise China as a fellow great power. But it was also clearly nervous of a charismatic young president far better than China&#8217;s standoffish leaders at appealing to ordinary citizens (&#8220;voters&#8221;, as they are known in America). ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2098/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921992/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577624/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921992/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577624/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zMD6z7kAtv0:yWR_aDLUJJ8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zMD6z7kAtv0:yWR_aDLUJJ8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=zMD6z7kAtv0:yWR_aDLUJJ8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zMD6z7kAtv0:yWR_aDLUJJ8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=zMD6z7kAtv0:yWR_aDLUJJ8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zMD6z7kAtv0:yWR_aDLUJJ8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/zMD6z7kAtv0" height="1" width="1"/>
• British Columbia's salmon: Socked
  <p>Another inquiry into vanishing stocks</p><p>A MYSTERIOUS decline in the numbers of spawning salmon has become one of the rites of autumn in British Columbia, bringing worries of financial and job losses, threats of extinction and a perplexing lack of answers. This season only 1.7m of the 10.4m sockeye salmon that were forecast to return to the Fraser river in fact made it&#8212;a 50-year low. That prompted Stephen Harper, Canada&#8217;s prime minister, to ask Bruce Cohen, a justice of British Columbia&#8217;s Supreme Court, to hold an inquiry into the causes of the sockeye&#8217;s decline.</p><p>Applause was muted. Four other federal inquiries held over the past three decades have failed to halt the decline. Many British Columbians fear that the province&#8217;s rich salmon fishery, worth about C$500m ($475m), could disappear like that for Atlantic cod. Of the five species of wild salmon involved, two (pink and chum) remain relatively abundant. But stocks of coho, chinook and sockeye are down by more than 70% since the early 1990s. Chinooks on the Thompson river are officially listed as endangered. Hardest hit are Fraser sockeye, once the most valuable fishery. Two groups of sockeye that spawn in lakes near Vancouver are also listed as endangered. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2097/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921991/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577623/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921991/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577623/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WhodFhVV1Mg:tnzXgJXqgyw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WhodFhVV1Mg:tnzXgJXqgyw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=WhodFhVV1Mg:tnzXgJXqgyw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WhodFhVV1Mg:tnzXgJXqgyw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=WhodFhVV1Mg:tnzXgJXqgyw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WhodFhVV1Mg:tnzXgJXqgyw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/WhodFhVV1Mg" height="1" width="1"/>
• Peru and Brazil: Messing around with dams
  <p>First build a road, then flood it</p><p>JOSE CHAVEZ, a farmer, is one of the few people in the Inambari area who welcomes a plan to build a huge hydroelectric dam where the departments of Madre de Dios, Cusco and Puno meet in Peru&#8217;s south-eastern jungle. He says that the waters of the Araza and Inambari rivers, which merge a stone&#8217;s throw from his back porch, regularly flood his rambling wooden house. It would be permanently flooded if the dam is built. Mr Chavez trusts in the promise he has received of relocation.</p><p>Inambari is one of up to six proposed hydroelectricity schemes on Peru&#8217;s jungle rivers, costing around $16 billion, contained in an agreement signed in April by the president, Alan Garcia, and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. The Inambari dam would be the first to be built. It would generate 2,000 megawatts of electricity&#8212;twice the output of Peru&#8217;s largest existing hydroelectric plant, and almost half its current electricity consumption. Most of the power would be exported to Brazil to start with, but the proportions would slowly reverse and after 30 years Peru would own the $4 billion project. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2096/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921990/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577622/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921990/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577622/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2co95Rrpc-M:35gaPcgU6zs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2co95Rrpc-M:35gaPcgU6zs:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=2co95Rrpc-M:35gaPcgU6zs:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2co95Rrpc-M:35gaPcgU6zs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=2co95Rrpc-M:35gaPcgU6zs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2co95Rrpc-M:35gaPcgU6zs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/2co95Rrpc-M" height="1" width="1"/>
• Cuba and the United States: Resistant to sticks and carrots
  <p>The difficulty of pressing for change in a police state</p><p>THOSE who hoped that the arrival in power of Barack Obama and Raul Castro would bring a thaw in the continuing 50-year cold war between the United States and Cuba so far have little to cheer. The Obama administration has lifted restrictions imposed by George Bush on visits and remittances to the island by Cuban-Americans, and has resumed discreet talks on co-operation in practical matters such as migration, drug-trafficking and postal services. But administration officials have said that they will not lift the economic embargo imposed on Fidel Castro&#8217;s regime in 1960 until Cuba takes steps towards political and economic freedom. For his part, Raul Castro, who replaced his brother at the head of Cuba&#8217;s government in 2006, has offered to talk to the Americans, but insists that the island&#8217;s communist political system is non-negotiable. </p><p>On both sides there are pressures for further change. These are more visible in the United States. On November 19th the foreign-relations committee of the House of Representatives was due to discuss a bill to lift the ban on Americans travelling to Cuba. Supporters of this measure claim to have close to the 218 House votes required to approve it. Its chances in the Senate look slimmer. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2095/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921989/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577621/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921989/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577621/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=6jIheN9jhuw:w3AELszbQaw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=6jIheN9jhuw:w3AELszbQaw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=6jIheN9jhuw:w3AELszbQaw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=6jIheN9jhuw:w3AELszbQaw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=6jIheN9jhuw:w3AELszbQaw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=6jIheN9jhuw:w3AELszbQaw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/6jIheN9jhuw" height="1" width="1"/>
• Mexico's economy: A different kind of recession
  <p>In some ways the pain is less bad than the statistics suggest. But recovery will be harder than in the past unless complacency gives way to reform</p><p>THE last time Mexico suffered an economic slump, in 1995, it turned to its northern neighbour for help. The United States organised a $50 billion bail-out. Together with the boost provided by the enactment of the North American Free-Trade Agreement shortly before, that helped Mexico to rebound smartly from devaluation and recession. </p><p>This time the United States is the problem, rather than the solution. The impact of the recession triggered by the bursting of America&#8217;s housing bubble has been even more severe south of the Rio Grande: although data for the third quarter, due to be released on November 20th, should confirm that Mexico has finally pulled out of recession, its GDP shrank by 9.7% in the year to June. That is a shocking number, far worse than the performance of countries like Canada or the Dominican Republic whose economies have similarly close links to the United States. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2094/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921988/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577620/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921988/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577620/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XYqQfu4DL1w:-FX4d4Lb-lg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XYqQfu4DL1w:-FX4d4Lb-lg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=XYqQfu4DL1w:-FX4d4Lb-lg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XYqQfu4DL1w:-FX4d4Lb-lg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=XYqQfu4DL1w:-FX4d4Lb-lg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XYqQfu4DL1w:-FX4d4Lb-lg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/XYqQfu4DL1w" height="1" width="1"/>
• Improving education: What to teach?
  <p>The long, slow effort to set standards</p><p>IN THE long list of problems that plague American education, one is primary: what should students learn? For decades, however, this question has baffled people. In an education system run by the 50 states, success is in the eye of the beholder. Mississippi has different expectations for pupils than Massachusetts does. America as a whole has fallen behind. In a ranking of 15-year-olds in 30 industrialised countries in 2006, American teenagers came a dismal 21st in science and 25th in maths. </p><p>Now there is a new drive to set national standards. Arne Duncan, the education secretary, is offering more than $4 billion in total to states that pursue certain reforms&#8212;in particular, adopting standards and assessments that prepare students to compete in a global economy. This gives urgency to an effort already under way: the National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) are in the midst of drafting common standards. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2093/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921987/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577619/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921987/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577619/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zGamjAd84JM:uMiJFnLDvr8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zGamjAd84JM:uMiJFnLDvr8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=zGamjAd84JM:uMiJFnLDvr8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zGamjAd84JM:uMiJFnLDvr8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=zGamjAd84JM:uMiJFnLDvr8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zGamjAd84JM:uMiJFnLDvr8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/zGamjAd84JM" height="1" width="1"/>
• Maine's cod: Something new
  <p>A brave attempt to save local fish</p><p>IN THE bright midday sun, boats idle as fishermen unload the day&#8217;s haul. This scene is commonplace in Maine&#8217;s small fishing hamlets; but Port Clyde is known not for its lobsters but for its fish. It is home to the last groundfishing fleet between southern Maine and Canada. Of the species caught off its shores, none is more famous than the Atlantic cod, nutritious and easily preserved when dried and salted. Historically its appeal was such that wars were fought over New England&#8217;s fisheries.</p><p>Cod have suffered from their popularity. Fifteen years ago the stock crashed to under 10% of the level reckoned sustainable for fishing. As the fish disappeared, so did the fishermen. Before the crash, anyone could get a commercial-fishing permit. Since then the government has stopped issuing new permits and has imposed a tangle of ever-increasing restrictions&#8212;limiting fishing days, capping daily hauls, regulating gear and closing areas to boats. These make it difficult to stay in business. Roughly 600 boats are active in the New England fleet, half the number of 2001. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2092/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921986/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577618/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921986/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577618/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9OY6e4O71P0:GMJ-FQsj4Ug:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9OY6e4O71P0:GMJ-FQsj4Ug:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=9OY6e4O71P0:GMJ-FQsj4Ug:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9OY6e4O71P0:GMJ-FQsj4Ug:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=9OY6e4O71P0:GMJ-FQsj4Ug:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9OY6e4O71P0:GMJ-FQsj4Ug:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/9OY6e4O71P0" height="1" width="1"/>
• The New Orleans mayor's race: The job almost no one wants
  <p>Well, would you?</p><p>ASK any New Orleanian whether they are ready for a new mayor, and they will say yes&#8212;and soon. A poll by James Carville, a Louisiana-raised consultant who was once Bill Clinton&#8217;s campaign adviser and who came home last year, found that 72% want to see the city chart a different course from the one Ray Nagin, the present mayor, has chosen. They are in luck: after two fraught terms, Mr Nagin cannot run again and an election falls in three months&#8217; time. </p><p>But demand does not create supply. Although six candidates are listed for the election, a stream of flirters have been opting out as well. And few of those on the list are stirring enthusiasm. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2091/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921985/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577617/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921985/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577617/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vJ1DHT5145U:qzU7hplGjmo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vJ1DHT5145U:qzU7hplGjmo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vJ1DHT5145U:qzU7hplGjmo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vJ1DHT5145U:qzU7hplGjmo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vJ1DHT5145U:qzU7hplGjmo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vJ1DHT5145U:qzU7hplGjmo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/vJ1DHT5145U" height="1" width="1"/>
• After Guantánamo: Trials to come
  <p>Tough choices as a deadline is missed</p><p>AT HIS inauguration, Barack Obama insisted that the choice between America&#8217;s safety and its ideals was a false one. In a clear dig at his predecessor for abuses in the &#8220;war on terror&#8221;, he wanted to signal a clean break with the past. Yet the fact that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-styled mastermind behind the 2001 attacks on New York and Washington, and four co-defendants are to stand trial in a federal court in New York brings this past back to haunt the administration. It is a big step towards settling the individual fates of the 215 detainees still left at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre. But Mr Obama admitted this week that he still cannot meet his own January deadline to close the camp. </p><p> America&#8217;s civilian courts have a good record of trying complex terrorism and conspiracy cases. But many critics doubt the country&#8217;s safety and its ideals should be reconciled in this way. Eric Holder, the attorney-general, says five other Guantanamo inmates will be tried before reformed military tribunals. Why, ask some victims&#8217; families, backed by some of Mr Obama&#8217;s political opponents, can&#8217;t all trials take place in military courts? ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2090/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921984/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577616/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921984/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577616/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=_knTDJDa0iw:tlI8cOyFRW4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=_knTDJDa0iw:tlI8cOyFRW4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=_knTDJDa0iw:tlI8cOyFRW4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=_knTDJDa0iw:tlI8cOyFRW4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=_knTDJDa0iw:tlI8cOyFRW4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=_knTDJDa0iw:tlI8cOyFRW4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/_knTDJDa0iw" height="1" width="1"/>
• Barack Obama and Afghanistan: Waiting (and waiting) for a plan
  <p>The president continues to take his time</p><p>AS HIS plane was refuelling in Alaska en route to Asia, Barack Obama made a vow to the troops who greeted him at Elmendorf air base. &#8220;I want you guys to understand I will never hesitate to use force to protect the American people or our vital interests,&#8221; he said. It was an old campaign line, and it drew applause. But it sounded odd, given that Mr Obama has been hesitating to commit more forces to the war in Afghanistan, which he used to call &#8220;a war of necessity&#8221; that was &#8220;fundamental to the defence of our people&#8221;. </p><p>Mr Obama told the troops that he would not risk their lives unless it was absolutely necessary. In that case, he said, &#8220;the United States of America will have your back. We will give you the strategy and the clear mission you deserve. We will give you the equipment and support that you need to get the job done. And that includes public support back home. That is a promise that I make to you.&#8221; ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f208f/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921983/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577615/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921983/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577615/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BQA_mtLXZHU:CXhs16GX9cI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BQA_mtLXZHU:CXhs16GX9cI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=BQA_mtLXZHU:CXhs16GX9cI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BQA_mtLXZHU:CXhs16GX9cI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=BQA_mtLXZHU:CXhs16GX9cI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BQA_mtLXZHU:CXhs16GX9cI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/BQA_mtLXZHU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Lexington: Sarah Palin reloads
  <p>She's back, and this time she's selling books</p><p> ONE day in January last year, Sarah Palin was watching her son graduate from boot camp. As she gazed at the ranks of &#8220;tall and strong and serious&#8221; young men marching in perfect unison, all of them &#8220;ready to sacrifice all in a fight for freedom&#8221;, she recalled something Senator John Kerry once told students in California. If you study hard, he said, &#8220;you can do well. And if you don&#8217;t, you get stuck in Iraq.&#8221; &#8220;What a loon,&#8221; thought Governor Palin. &#8220;What an elitist loon.&#8221;</p><p>This vignette captures rather well the secret of Mrs Palin&#8217;s appeal. John Kerry, of course, was a war hero, but these days he is the kind of senator who really annoys Mrs Palin&#8217;s fans. She, like most military mothers, thinks her son went to Iraq because he is brave and honourable. Mr Kerry implies that he went because he was too lazy or stupid to do anything else. Many Americans find this attitude condescending. These coastal liberals, some heartlanders grumble, think we all are brainless hicks&#8212;even the soldiers who defend them. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f208e/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921982/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577614/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921982/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577614/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=46-a8ww0g3E:C4PGPQzth1U:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=46-a8ww0g3E:C4PGPQzth1U:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=46-a8ww0g3E:C4PGPQzth1U:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=46-a8ww0g3E:C4PGPQzth1U:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=46-a8ww0g3E:C4PGPQzth1U:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=46-a8ww0g3E:C4PGPQzth1U:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/46-a8ww0g3E" height="1" width="1"/>
• America, China and climate change: Let's agree to agree
  <p>Barack Obama and others admit that Copenhagen will at most produce only an outline climate agreement. But that would be a lot better than nothing</p><p>EXPECTATIONS for the Copenhagen climate conference, to be held next month in the Danish capital, rise and fall. On November 15th, as Barack Obama toured Asia, he and the Danish prime minister, Lars Lokke Rasmussen, agreed that no agreement on a new treaty would be reached at the conference. Instead, they said that the best that can now be expected is a &#8220;political&#8221; deal out of the Copenhagen meeting, which begins on December 7th. </p><p>The negotiations leading up to Copenhagen have been something of a fiasco. But this is not, as some would have it, wholly the fault of balky American senators who have refused to pass a cap-and-trade bill fast enough. It is true that a lot of the blame does indeed belong on Capitol Hill; the Senate has taken its time mulling over its version of a climate-change bill, not helped by the protracted debate over health care. John Kerry, one of the Senate&#8217;s cap-and-trade champions, now says only that he hopes the bill will make it to the floor in the spring. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f208d/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921981/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577613/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921981/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577613/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=w2Baai3U1sA:0UmIBTTegXk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=w2Baai3U1sA:0UmIBTTegXk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=w2Baai3U1sA:0UmIBTTegXk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=w2Baai3U1sA:0UmIBTTegXk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=w2Baai3U1sA:0UmIBTTegXk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=w2Baai3U1sA:0UmIBTTegXk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/w2Baai3U1sA" height="1" width="1"/>
• The deficit problem: Dealing with America's fiscal hole
  <p>Don&#8217;t cut the deficit now&#8212;but explain how, eventually, you will</p><p>FOR years America&#8217;s fiscal problems had a surreal quality. No one disputed that an ageing population and health-care inflation could bust the budget, but that prospect was decades away and procrastination seemed painless. No longer. A giant hole has opened in the budget because of stimulus, bail-outs and a recession that has savaged economic growth and tax revenue. On current policies the publicly held federal debt, 41% of GDP last year, will double in the next decade (see article). Total government debt will move well above the G20 average. In a few years the AAA rating of Treasury bonds, the world&#8217;s most important security, could be in jeopardy.</p><p>A sudden crisis is unlikely. Other rich countries with far bigger debts relative to the size of their economies, from Italy to Japan, have soldiered on without hitting a wall. Stable politics, transparent laws and economic dominance give America unequalled credibility with lenders. For all the anxiety the declining dollar drew from China this week (see article), it has no serious rival as the world&#8217;s reserve currency. America has sensibly used this fiscal freedom to enact an aggressive stimulus programme. This should be maintained for as long as it is needed. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f208c/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921980/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577612/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921980/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577612/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iLDWKpq7q5M:81d5nzcQU08:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iLDWKpq7q5M:81d5nzcQU08:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=iLDWKpq7q5M:81d5nzcQU08:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iLDWKpq7q5M:81d5nzcQU08:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=iLDWKpq7q5M:81d5nzcQU08:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iLDWKpq7q5M:81d5nzcQU08:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/iLDWKpq7q5M" height="1" width="1"/>
• Food and agriculture: How to feed the world
  <p>Business as usual will not do it</p><p>IN 1974 Henry Kissinger, then America&#8217;s secretary of state, told the first world food conference in Rome that no child would go to bed hungry within ten years. Just over 35 years later, in the week of another United Nations food summit in Rome, 1 billion people will go to bed hungry.</p><p>This failure, already dreadful, may soon get worse. None of the underlying agricultural problems which produced a spike in food prices in 2007-08 and increased the number of hungry people has gone away. Between now and 2050 the world&#8217;s population will rise by a third, but demand for agricultural goods will rise by 70% and demand for meat will double. These increases are in a sense good news in that they are a result of rising wealth in poor and middle-income countries. But they will have to happen without farmers clearing large amounts of new land (there is some scope for expansion, but not much) or using up lots more water (in parts of the world, water supplies are stretched to their limit or beyond). Moreover, they will take place while farmers also wrestle with the consequences of climate change, which, on balance, will do more harm than good to farmland round the world. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f208b/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921979/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577611/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921979/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577611/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=TdN959qPgEw:m7EZ-cdxA3Q:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=TdN959qPgEw:m7EZ-cdxA3Q:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=TdN959qPgEw:m7EZ-cdxA3Q:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=TdN959qPgEw:m7EZ-cdxA3Q:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=TdN959qPgEw:m7EZ-cdxA3Q:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=TdN959qPgEw:m7EZ-cdxA3Q:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/TdN959qPgEw" height="1" width="1"/>
• Fund managers' pay: A defective directive
  <p>The European Union serves up a dog&#8217;s breakfast</p><p>HEDGE-FUND and private-equity managers earn a lot of money, more than most people think justified by their contribution to society. Of course, the same could be said of rappers and sports stars. That is a matter between the managers and their clients (and between entertainers and their fans). But when it comes to fund managers, the European Union, via its Alternative Investment Fund Managers directive, is planning to stick its oar in. The latest draft has added, apparently at the last minute, a whole section on managers&#8217; remuneration, which seems to have been cut and pasted from similar proposals relating to the banking system. Pay packages will have to be designed to prevent excessive risk-taking, which may involve deferring as much as 60% of managers&#8217; bonuses.</p><p>What is the justification for this interference in private contracts? The politicians who dreamed up the directive talk about systemic risk, a concern for financial stability. But hedge funds have much less leverage than the big banks and the industry is much less concentrated. Hundreds of funds went out of business this year and last, without a single one being rescued by the government. Undoubtedly, there is a danger that exposure to bad hedge-fund or private-equity loans could damage the banks, but the same is true of property companies. Nobody suggests regulating the pay of real-estate magnates. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f208a/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921978/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577610/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921978/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577610/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YDK1MYtAd-E:g_kg8nF0K0E:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YDK1MYtAd-E:g_kg8nF0K0E:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YDK1MYtAd-E:g_kg8nF0K0E:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YDK1MYtAd-E:g_kg8nF0K0E:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YDK1MYtAd-E:g_kg8nF0K0E:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YDK1MYtAd-E:g_kg8nF0K0E:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/YDK1MYtAd-E" height="1" width="1"/>
• The end of the Labour government: Last, do no harm
  <p>How Gordon Brown and the Labour Party should use their last months in power</p><p>TWO syndromes often beset governments whose time is almost up. One is listlessness and drift, as discipline crumbles, morale plummets and ideas dry up. Conversely, some moribund administrations embrace desperate hyperactivity to stave off their doom. Gordon Brown and his Labour government, facing probable defeat in the general election that must be held in Britain by next June, have alternately exhibited both these contradictory tendencies. But there is a course between them, and a respectable way for Labour to spend what are likely to be the last six months of a 13-year stint in office: confront the fiscal predicament it has helped to create, and pursue those worthwhile policies it has already got.</p><p>Labour has entered a strange political netherworld. It is not yet out of government; what it does still matters. But it is not altogether in power either. Its limbo status was dramatised in the Queen&#8217;s Speech on November 18th, a fancy-dress event that sets out the legislative programme (see article). No one believes Labour will have time to pass all the bills the queen enumerated. Much of the speech was pointless posturing. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2089/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921977/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577609/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921977/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577609/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=nSahDzw0nNk:fE8dvQwfNRo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=nSahDzw0nNk:fE8dvQwfNRo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=nSahDzw0nNk:fE8dvQwfNRo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=nSahDzw0nNk:fE8dvQwfNRo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=nSahDzw0nNk:fE8dvQwfNRo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=nSahDzw0nNk:fE8dvQwfNRo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/nSahDzw0nNk" height="1" width="1"/>
• Barack Obama in Asia: The Pacific (and pussyfooting) president
  <p>America&#8217;s president shows an alarming lack of self-confidence. So does China&#8217;s</p><p>FOR some critics of Barack Obama, America&#8217;s dependence on China as the holder of some $800 billion of its government debt is to blame for what they see as a humiliating visit there this week. He preferred heaping praise on China&#8217;s achievements to hectoring its leaders about its shortcomings. Other critics went further and saw this emollient approach as in keeping with similar embarrassments elsewhere on his Asian tour. In Japan, he bowed deeply to Japan&#8217;s Emperor Akihito. In Singapore he attended a meeting with South-East Asian leaders including the prime minister of the repellent Burmese dictatorship.</p><p> Over Japan and Myanmar, the sniping was misplaced. Japan, an important ally, deserves present-day courtesy whatever its past crimes. Isolating Myanmar has benefited no one. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2088/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921976/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577608/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921976/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577608/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=M9xKEeAx3HY:8kjhGlc6IwQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=M9xKEeAx3HY:8kjhGlc6IwQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=M9xKEeAx3HY:8kjhGlc6IwQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=M9xKEeAx3HY:8kjhGlc6IwQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=M9xKEeAx3HY:8kjhGlc6IwQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=M9xKEeAx3HY:8kjhGlc6IwQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/M9xKEeAx3HY" height="1" width="1"/>
• On fertility, Colombia, climate change, food, the Berlin Wall, zombies, enterprise
  <p>SIR &#8211; Although much of the developing world now benefits from declining fertility (&#8220;Go forth and multiply a lot less&#8221;, October 31st), the demographic prospects for sub-Saharan Africa are grim. Its average fertility is more than double that of Asia and Latin America and its population is expected to grow by one billion over the next half century. Pervasive poverty causes parents to want more than two children, but unplanned childbearing is also high as many women lack access to and information about contraceptives. The number of people in some countries will triple.</p><p>Voluntary family-planning programmes have been successful in addressing this unmet need in other regions, but they have been neglected in Africa. Reinvigorating such programmes would lower fertility and boost economic development, but this will take political will and investment. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2087/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921975/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577607/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921975/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577607/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5GbnrsvShc0:SMV60gz3GK8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5GbnrsvShc0:SMV60gz3GK8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5GbnrsvShc0:SMV60gz3GK8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5GbnrsvShc0:SMV60gz3GK8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5GbnrsvShc0:SMV60gz3GK8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5GbnrsvShc0:SMV60gz3GK8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/5GbnrsvShc0" height="1" width="1"/>
• Czechoslovakia: A chequered history
  <p>Czechoslovakia was born out of trickery and died in failure. Only up to a point</p><p>Czechoslovakia: The State That Failed. By Mary Heimann. Yale University Press; 406 pages; $45 and GBP25. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk</p><p>OUTSIDERS tend to have a soft spot for Czechoslovakia. Poignant music by Leos Janacek, Antonin Dvorak and Bedrich Smetana recalls the struggle for nationhood that culminated in the creation in 1918 of a commendably decent country. Western perfidy at Munich brought its dismemberment at Nazi hands. Stories of courage and anguish leap out from the pages of novels by Milan Kundera (&#8220;The Unbearable Lightness of Being&#8221;), Josef Skvorecky (&#8220;The Engineer of Human Souls&#8221;) and Ivan Klima (&#8220;Judge on Trial&#8221;). Vaclav Havel, the dissident playwright turned philosopher-president, exemplifies the magical triumph of the Velvet Revolution, 20 years ago this week. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2086/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921974/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577606/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921974/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577606/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ARqP7Z8UAWs:irtrNUY7GKs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ARqP7Z8UAWs:irtrNUY7GKs:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ARqP7Z8UAWs:irtrNUY7GKs:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ARqP7Z8UAWs:irtrNUY7GKs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ARqP7Z8UAWs:irtrNUY7GKs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ARqP7Z8UAWs:irtrNUY7GKs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/ARqP7Z8UAWs" height="1" width="1"/>
• New cinema: Lee Daniels's &#8220;Precious&#8221;: Escaping from hell
  <p>A shoe-in for the Academy Awards, already</p><p>&#8220;PRECIOUS&#8221;, which was released across America on November 20th, and opens in Europe early next year, should in any rational world be the most depressing 109 minutes anyone could spend in the cinema. Yet it isn&#8217;t.</p><p>Claireece &#8220;Precious&#8221; Jones is an obese, illiterate teenage mother from Harlem who is trapped in a horrific cycle of incest and abuse. Her mother has allowed the girl&#8217;s father to rape her regularly since childhood, fathering one Down&#8217;s syndrome daughter and another child that is on the way. She hates Precious for &#8220;stealing&#8221; her boyfriend, and avenges herself with verbal and physical abuse that is designed to keep the victim from ever leaving the nest, where mother and daughter live alone with the shades pulled down and the television always tuned to game shows. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2085/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921973/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577605/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921973/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577605/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=deo-Cwn2LnI:yAmNzeXmPrI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=deo-Cwn2LnI:yAmNzeXmPrI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=deo-Cwn2LnI:yAmNzeXmPrI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=deo-Cwn2LnI:yAmNzeXmPrI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=deo-Cwn2LnI:yAmNzeXmPrI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=deo-Cwn2LnI:yAmNzeXmPrI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/deo-Cwn2LnI" height="1" width="1"/>
• A diarist dissected: The man in the Panama hat
  <p>The observations of an English socialite</p><p>James Lees-Milne: The Life. By Michael Bloch. John Murray; 400 pages; GBP25. Buy from Amazon.co.uk</p><p>JAMES LEES-MILNE (1908-97) notched up two big achievements. First, he was a seminal figure in England&#8217;s National Trust, which earned him the bouquet of &#8220;the man who saved England&#8221; by protecting scores of fine houses (and sometimes their inhabitants) that might otherwise have been annihilated by debt and the wrecking ball. Second, his 12 volumes of diaries covering the years 1942-49 and 1971-97 are among the most amusingly jaundiced, wittily bitchy and eye-poppingly revealing chronicles of upper-class life in Britain during the second half of the past century. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2084/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921972/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577604/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921972/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577604/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=B-3k1KkJvlQ:XWAeN-34330:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=B-3k1KkJvlQ:XWAeN-34330:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=B-3k1KkJvlQ:XWAeN-34330:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=B-3k1KkJvlQ:XWAeN-34330:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=B-3k1KkJvlQ:XWAeN-34330:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=B-3k1KkJvlQ:XWAeN-34330:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/B-3k1KkJvlQ" height="1" width="1"/>
• Orhan Pamuk: Turkish delight
  <p>Making Istanbul the heart of the world</p><p>The Museum of Innocence. By Orhan Pamuk. Translated by Maureen Freely. Knopf; 542 pages; $28.95. To be published in Britain by Faber and Faber in January 2010. Buy from Amazon.com ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2083/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921971/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577603/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921971/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577603/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zi4QNZYoc-U:hVumxSjSHbc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zi4QNZYoc-U:hVumxSjSHbc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=zi4QNZYoc-U:hVumxSjSHbc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zi4QNZYoc-U:hVumxSjSHbc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=zi4QNZYoc-U:hVumxSjSHbc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=zi4QNZYoc-U:hVumxSjSHbc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/zi4QNZYoc-U" height="1" width="1"/>
• Henry V, English hero: Ad majorem Dei gloriam
  <p>A year in the life of a workaholic king</p><p>1415: Henry V&#8217;s Year of Glory. By Ian Mortimer. Bodley Head; 640 pages; GBP20. Buy from Amazon.co.uk</p><p>WHAT Shakespeare does for a monarch, it is very hard to undo. Richard III, though softened and cleaned up by assiduous researchers, still limps murderously through the public imagination. And Henry V, even soberly revisited, never quite loses that stirring flap of standards, or the thwack of the Dauphin&#8217;s tennis balls deep into the hazard. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2082/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921970/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577602/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921970/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577602/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=QexnJ3gvcj8:iTz4MOyTQzg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=QexnJ3gvcj8:iTz4MOyTQzg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=QexnJ3gvcj8:iTz4MOyTQzg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=QexnJ3gvcj8:iTz4MOyTQzg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=QexnJ3gvcj8:iTz4MOyTQzg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=QexnJ3gvcj8:iTz4MOyTQzg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/QexnJ3gvcj8" height="1" width="1"/>
• English literature: No plain Jane
  <p>The enduring appeal of Jane Austen</p><p>A Truth Universally Acknowledged: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen. Edited by Susannah Carson. Random House; 320 pages; $25. Buy from Amazon.com</p><p>&#8220;SOME literary works are mortal; Jane Austen&#8217;s are immortal,&#8221; writes Harold Bloom in his foreword to this delightful volume. In it, 33 writers&#8212;from Virginia Woolf to Jay McInerney, from Somerset Maugham to Fay Weldon, from Martin Amis to A.S. Byatt&#8212;explain the whys and wherefores of our love affair with this provincial spinster, whose six novels have embedded themselves so powerfully in the minds and lives of countless readers over the past two centuries. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2081/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921969/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577601/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921969/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577601/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5zbP7GsDb2c:mJo384e3cvg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5zbP7GsDb2c:mJo384e3cvg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5zbP7GsDb2c:mJo384e3cvg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5zbP7GsDb2c:mJo384e3cvg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5zbP7GsDb2c:mJo384e3cvg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5zbP7GsDb2c:mJo384e3cvg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/5zbP7GsDb2c" height="1" width="1"/>
• A child in communist Hungary: Little girls, big story
  <p>Kati Marton uses secret police files to uncover a half-forgotten childhood in communist Hungary</p><p>Enemies of the People: My Family&#8217;s Journey to America. By Kati Marton. Simon &#38; Schuster; 288 pages; $26. Buy from Amazon.com</p><p>COMMUNIST bullies had a nasty trick when dealing with opponents who had children: they took them away, sometimes to be adopted by childless party stalwarts, in nastier cases to be sent to orphanages and treated as the children of criminals, or even to be consigned to an asylum. In retrospect it seems astonishing that Endre and Ilona Marton, a married couple working for American news agencies in Hungary at the height of the Stalinist era, exposed their two small daughters to such risks, their greatest fear. But they did. Decades later the younger, Kati (pictured with Bill Clinton), has pieced together her family&#8217;s missing history, a series of torments that epitomises the human cost of the communist seizure of central Europe. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/73f2080/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921968/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577600/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/56197921968/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/121577600/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=A7b37TXCLUY:LPRnAotvlOo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=A7b37TXCLUY:LPRnAotvlOo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=A7b37TXCLUY:LPRnAotvlOo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=A7b37TXCLUY:LPRnAotvlOo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=A7b37TXCLUY:LPRnAotvlOo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=A7b37TXCLUY:LPRnAotvlOo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/A7b37TXCLUY" height="1" width="1"/>
• Oklahoma's economy: Come home, Tom Joad
  <p>Not exactly a boom state, but people are returning</p><p>IN THE lobby of a government building in Oklahoma City, several locals were telling a visitor about some of the assets of their state: the iconic old Route 66, the 39 Native American tribes, the furthest inland seaport in the United States (at Tulsa, on the Arkansas river). &#8220;You can send a bushel of wheat from Oklahoma to New Orleans for the cost of a postage stamp&#8212;no, a postcard!&#8221; said Shane Jett, a state legislator from Tecumseh. The state had not escaped the national downturn, they said; recently Mercury Marine, a motor manufacturer, had announced plans to close its plant in Stillwater with the loss of 450 jobs. &#8220;We can&#8217;t do much about that,&#8221; said Ron Duggins, a consultant based in that town. But the overall attitude, the two said, was optimistic. By coincidence, both are married to women from Brazil. Their wives say that Oklahoma could use a beach. Otherwise, they had no complaints. </p><p> Oklahoma is small in terms of population, with about 3.6m people. More than half live in the metropolitan areas of Oklahoma City, the capital, or Tulsa, its other sizeable city. In September, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics, Oklahoma City&#8217;s unemployment was just 5.9%. That was nearly four points below the national average, and it was the lowest unemployment rate of all America&#8217;s metro areas with more than 1m people. Tulsa posted a 7% unemployment rate that month, and the state overall was at 6.7%. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bfc/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732762/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979580/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732762/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979580/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iEixwTCpF8s:bxHqPNBhRLQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iEixwTCpF8s:bxHqPNBhRLQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=iEixwTCpF8s:bxHqPNBhRLQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iEixwTCpF8s:bxHqPNBhRLQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=iEixwTCpF8s:bxHqPNBhRLQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=iEixwTCpF8s:bxHqPNBhRLQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/iEixwTCpF8s" height="1" width="1"/>
• Mario Draghi, international regulator: The restless Italian
  <p>Mario Draghi has helped turn a talking shop into a pillar of the world economy</p><p>IS ITALY too small for Mario Draghi? The head of the country&#8217;s central bank spent the weekend of November 7th and 8th not in Rome but at the G20 meetings in Scotland, in his role as chair of the Financial Stability Board (FSB). It is a body with growing international clout. When he took the job in 2006, the FSB was the FSF, a mere forum. It is now an executive arm of the G20, charged with co-ordinating financial regulation and preventing future crises. </p><p>Mr Draghi is used to being called on in a pinch. He became governor of the Bank of Italy after Antonio Fazio resigned over a bank-takeover scandal. Mr Draghi&#8217;s standing as a trusted technocrat helped restore the bank&#8217;s reputation. A prior stint as a senior executive at Goldman Sachs was a useful primer for both jobs. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bfb/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732761/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979579/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732761/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979579/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mBysWQRp_-E:Zd0G_uTqqoM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mBysWQRp_-E:Zd0G_uTqqoM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=mBysWQRp_-E:Zd0G_uTqqoM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mBysWQRp_-E:Zd0G_uTqqoM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=mBysWQRp_-E:Zd0G_uTqqoM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mBysWQRp_-E:Zd0G_uTqqoM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/mBysWQRp_-E" height="1" width="1"/>
• American stockmarkets: High-speed slide
  <p>What is good for cutting-edge traders may be bad for the market as a whole</p><p>AMERICA may have been the epicentre of the global financial earthquake but it still boasts the world&#8217;s deepest and most liquid capital markets, unparalleled when it comes to nurturing young companies. But for how much longer? This week, as bulls cheered the Dow Jones Industrial Average touching a 13-month high, they were forced to digest a sobering report from Grant Thornton, an accounting firm, on the structure of America&#8217;s stockmarkets. </p><p>The report&#8217;s authors say that America is plagued by a &#8220;Great Depression&#8221; in the number of listed firms that stretches back over a decade (see chart). For all the talk of a revival in initial public offerings (IPOs), domestic markets are on track to add a mere 50 or so new companies this year, one-seventh of the level needed to offset the average annual loss of listed companies in recent years. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bf7/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732760/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979575/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732760/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979575/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=d1hjMb4iEW8:j3Z1tcvDYnM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=d1hjMb4iEW8:j3Z1tcvDYnM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=d1hjMb4iEW8:j3Z1tcvDYnM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=d1hjMb4iEW8:j3Z1tcvDYnM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=d1hjMb4iEW8:j3Z1tcvDYnM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=d1hjMb4iEW8:j3Z1tcvDYnM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/d1hjMb4iEW8" height="1" width="1"/>
• Buttonwood: Paper promises, golden hordes
  <p>Central banks and the bullion price</p><p>TWO hundred metric tonnes of gold would occupy a cube of a little more than two metres on a side; it would fit into a small bedroom. But India&#8217;s purchase of that volume of gold from the IMF last month has had an outsize impact on the markets, helping push the price well above $1,100 a troy ounce.</p><p>For bullion bulls, the implication is clear: central banks no longer trust the creditworthiness of other governments. And if they have lost confidence, private investors should do the same. The next step in this chain of reasoning is to assume a stampede (or at least a quick trot) by other central banks into holding the yellow metal. Gluskin Sheff, a Canadian asset-management firm, suggests that if China followed India&#8217;s lead, bullion could hit $1,400 an ounce. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bf5/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732759/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979573/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732759/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979573/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=koZcFinDp8s:UbBAqqJxFkc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=koZcFinDp8s:UbBAqqJxFkc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=koZcFinDp8s:UbBAqqJxFkc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=koZcFinDp8s:UbBAqqJxFkc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=koZcFinDp8s:UbBAqqJxFkc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=koZcFinDp8s:UbBAqqJxFkc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/koZcFinDp8s" height="1" width="1"/>
• South Korea's recovery: Leaning experience
  <p>Ways to stop boom turning to bust</p><p>&#8220;NEVER waste a good crisis,&#8221; says Lee Myung-bak, South Korea&#8217;s president. A good crisis, indeed. After plunging by 5.1% in the fourth quarter of 2008, the economy was one of the first in the OECD to start growing again, three months later. It is now bigger than it was before Lehman Brothers collapsed. Technically, it did not even suffer a recession. In Seoul the housing market barely paused (see chart).</p><p>But such buoyancy puts the financial authorities in a bit of a bind. On the one hand their loose monetary and fiscal policies (along with inventory restocking and a powerful shove from China) have helped produce what appears to be a quick recovery. On the other hand the low cost of credit risks fuelling a house-price boom. That means South Korea is among the first to grapple with one of the new orthodoxies in the post-crisis world: the need to lean against excessive asset-price movements. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bf4/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732758/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979572/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732758/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979572/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mQIaYcHhCyY:b-RLDzm92NU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mQIaYcHhCyY:b-RLDzm92NU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=mQIaYcHhCyY:b-RLDzm92NU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mQIaYcHhCyY:b-RLDzm92NU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=mQIaYcHhCyY:b-RLDzm92NU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mQIaYcHhCyY:b-RLDzm92NU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/mQIaYcHhCyY" height="1" width="1"/>
• White-collar trials: Subcrime
  <p>Pinning the blame for the financial crisis is not easy</p><p>IT IS, as one tabloid succinctly put it, &#8220;Wall St 1, US 0.&#8221; On November 10th the first and so far only executives to face criminal charges relating to the financial crisis were acquitted of lying to investors about the state of the subprime-stuffed hedge funds they ran at Bear Stearns. The funds&#8217; collapse caused losses of $1.6 billion. Had Ralph Cioffi and Matthew Tannin been convicted, they might have spent up to 20 years in prison.</p><p>Prosecutors relied on e-mails that, they argued, showed the two panicking behind the scenes while reassuring investors in public. In one, Mr Tannin described the mortgage market as &#8220;pretty damn ugly.&#8221; But after just six hours of deliberation the jurors sided with defence arguments that the missives had been taken out of context. The lack of a convincing corroborating witness, and the fact that the investors were institutions, not widows, also played a part. One juror even praised the two managers for working &#8220;24/7&#8221; to save their funds. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bf3/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732757/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979571/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732757/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979571/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ttc3OjV7gX0:wFjC1EkVlbU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ttc3OjV7gX0:wFjC1EkVlbU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ttc3OjV7gX0:wFjC1EkVlbU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ttc3OjV7gX0:wFjC1EkVlbU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ttc3OjV7gX0:wFjC1EkVlbU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ttc3OjV7gX0:wFjC1EkVlbU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/ttc3OjV7gX0" height="1" width="1"/>
• The world economy: Dangerous froth
  <p>Asset prices could push central bankers off course long before any bubbles burst</p><p>THE post-crisis challenge for central bankers has long seemed easy to describe. They must steer between the shoals of short-term deflation and the longer-term risk of accelerating consumer prices. But recently a new concern has cropped up: that loose monetary conditions are creating dangerous bubbles in all manner of assets, from oil prices to Asian apartments, that could capsize the global recovery.</p><p>Asset prices have certainly risen impressively. The S&#38;P 500 index is up by 62% from its low on March 9th; the MSCI index of emerging-economy shares has climbed by 114% from its nadir of a year ago; the price of oil is 155% higher than it was in December 2008. Gold prices set a new record of over $1,120 an ounce on November 12th (see article). Chinese house prices rose at their fastest pace in 14 months in October. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bf2/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732756/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979570/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732756/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979570/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=p6mxri-FG7k:vnD2-onsqRk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=p6mxri-FG7k:vnD2-onsqRk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=p6mxri-FG7k:vnD2-onsqRk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=p6mxri-FG7k:vnD2-onsqRk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=p6mxri-FG7k:vnD2-onsqRk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=p6mxri-FG7k:vnD2-onsqRk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/p6mxri-FG7k" height="1" width="1"/>
• The fallout from GM keeping Opel : The German charm offensive
  <p>GM&#8217;s decision to keep Opel has left Germany fuming</p><p>AFTER General Motors&#8217; dramatic U-turn on November 3rd over the sale of its European subsidiary, Opel/Vauxhall, its chief executive, Fritz Henderson, came to Germany this week to begin repairing relations with Angela Merkel&#8217;s government and with the country&#8217;s angry unions. Both have little option other than to come to terms with GM&#8217;s decision not to sell a majority stake in the unit to Magna International, an Austrian-Canadian car parts maker, and Russia&#8217;s Sberbank. But they are still furious with the Americans. Jurgen Ruttgers, the prime minister of North-Rhine Westphalia, caught the popular mood by describing GM&#8217;s change of heart as &#8220;the ugly face of turbo-capitalism.&#8221;</p><p>The German government&#8217;s frustration is understandable, but it has only itself to blame. With an election looming, it far too blatantly suggested that the &#8364;4.5 billion ($6.8 billion) worth of restructuring loans it was willing to make available was exclusively for Magna/Sberbank because it alone was promising not to close factories in Germany. That meant some 10,000 redundancies would fall disproportionately heavily elsewhere in Europe. When other governments complained about such an obvious breach of competition rules, the European Commission stepped in. The Germans were forced to write to GM on October 17th assuring it that the aid was available to any investor with a viable plan for restoring Opel to health. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bf1/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732755/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979569/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732755/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979569/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JLzTmMS3yhc:mQ-8GXe9kfg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JLzTmMS3yhc:mQ-8GXe9kfg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=JLzTmMS3yhc:mQ-8GXe9kfg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JLzTmMS3yhc:mQ-8GXe9kfg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=JLzTmMS3yhc:mQ-8GXe9kfg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JLzTmMS3yhc:mQ-8GXe9kfg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/JLzTmMS3yhc" height="1" width="1"/>
• Media: Bulking up
  <p>Comcast moves closer to creating a content-and-distribution behemoth</p><p>IT SEEMED for a while as though the media business had dispensed with swagger. As the markets push their companies around, moguls such as Rupert Murdoch of News Corporation have taken to complaining about the power of Google. A new book, &#8220;The Curse of the Mogul&#8221;, tries to bury such figures once and for all. But executives at Comcast, a big American cable operator, seem not to have read it. Reports this week suggested that the company was close to a deal to acquire a majority stake in NBC Universal, a television and film outfit. The combination would rival Disney as the world&#8217;s biggest media firm. </p><p>Ownership of NBC Universal is split between GE (which holds 80%) and Vivendi, a French conglomerate. Comcast would commit cash and merge its modest collection of cable channels, which include E! and the Golf Channel, with NBC Universal&#8217;s much more impressive roster. It would end up with 51% of the resulting entity. GE would end up with 49% and would probably exit gradually over the next few years. The deal depends in part on Vivendi agreeing to sell its stake. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bf0/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732754/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979568/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732754/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979568/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BVI9WFaifE8:KE1_2s7PWC0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BVI9WFaifE8:KE1_2s7PWC0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=BVI9WFaifE8:KE1_2s7PWC0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BVI9WFaifE8:KE1_2s7PWC0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=BVI9WFaifE8:KE1_2s7PWC0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BVI9WFaifE8:KE1_2s7PWC0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/BVI9WFaifE8" height="1" width="1"/>
• State-owned enterprises: Stakes and mistakes
  <p>India&#8217;s government is privatising companies for the wrong reasons</p><p>WHICH flavour of condom do you prefer? Strawberry, chocolate or banana, perhaps? Prostitutes in India opted for paan, or betel nut wrapped in a leaf, which many Indians chew as a digestive. Their answer persuaded HLL Lifecare, a company based in the state of Kerala, to market a paan-flavoured condom. The sheath takes its place alongside the company&#8217;s other offerings, including a textured condom and one that glows in the dark.</p><p>HLL Lifecare, which until this year was called Hindustan Latex, is one of 246 enterprises owned by India&#8217;s central government. Spanning everything from nuclear energy to artificial limbs, these companies employed almost 1.6m people in 2008 and accounted for 8.3% of the country&#8217;s GDP. On November 5th the government expressed a new willingness to reduce its stake in these enterprises. It wants the profitable ones to offer at least 10% of their shares to the public. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bef/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732753/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979567/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732753/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979567/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=K9qYX7s0dPY:DfSUq8_tivQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=K9qYX7s0dPY:DfSUq8_tivQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=K9qYX7s0dPY:DfSUq8_tivQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=K9qYX7s0dPY:DfSUq8_tivQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=K9qYX7s0dPY:DfSUq8_tivQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=K9qYX7s0dPY:DfSUq8_tivQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/K9qYX7s0dPY" height="1" width="1"/>
• British banks in transition : The great escape
  <p>Is Barclays preparing for world domination or its own break-up?</p><p>BARCLAYS is the escapologist of British banking. Its quarterly results on November 10th widened the gap still more on its British rivals, RBS and Lloyds Banking Group (LBG). In recent months the bank&#8217;s share price has also outperformed that of HSBC, which is the soundest of the four (see chart). Whereas RBS and LBG are still in the clutches of government ownership&#8212;70% and 43% respectively&#8212;Barclays has kept state intervention at bay with a series of smart moves over the past year.</p><p>The bank now appears to be heading for respectable year-end pre-tax profits of around GBP6 billion. More importantly, the damage to its balance sheet from troubled assets may have peaked by the end of the year. But that does not necessarily mean it is well-equipped for a future in which dealing margins are likely to narrow and investment banking will become more volatile&#8212;and in which it will have to pay more for, or give up, the implicit government backing that it enjoys as an institution &#8220;too big to fail&#8221;. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bee/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732752/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979566/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732752/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979566/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=k0KpLXlEZeQ:SxdK23pMwPA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=k0KpLXlEZeQ:SxdK23pMwPA:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=k0KpLXlEZeQ:SxdK23pMwPA:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=k0KpLXlEZeQ:SxdK23pMwPA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=k0KpLXlEZeQ:SxdK23pMwPA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=k0KpLXlEZeQ:SxdK23pMwPA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/k0KpLXlEZeQ" height="1" width="1"/>
• The DNA database: Slightly less big brother
  <p>The vast police directory is trimmed, but only a little</p><p>AT THE start of the 20th century, Scotland Yard&#8217;s fingerprint bureau began a quiet revolution in policing. A hundred years on, detectives have a new tool at their disposal in the form of DNA matching. In 1995 the government set up a national database recording the DNA of everyone who was convicted of a crime, hoping that it would make future cases easier to crack. Since then the England and Wales database has swollen to 5.5m entries, covering 4.8m citizens (some profiles are duplicates), or some 9% of the population. It is thought to be the biggest DNA database in the world. Despite plans announced this week to limit its growth, it looks likely to stay that way.</p><p>The reason for the database&#8217;s size is that since 2004 it has included not just those convicted of crimes but those who have been merely arrested. As far as police are concerned, the bigger the pool, the more chance of a match with their next crime scene. But the inclusion of people who have never committed a crime has been controversial. Up to a million of those in the database do not have a conviction. Chief constables have the discretion to remove profiles if they choose, but that seldom happens. One MP, Diane Abbott, is running surgeries to show her constituents how to appeal. Still, only a few hundred profiles are deleted each year. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bed/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732751/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979565/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732751/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979565/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EF4bP-5K0ew:H5u4DwQTfuE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EF4bP-5K0ew:H5u4DwQTfuE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=EF4bP-5K0ew:H5u4DwQTfuE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EF4bP-5K0ew:H5u4DwQTfuE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=EF4bP-5K0ew:H5u4DwQTfuE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EF4bP-5K0ew:H5u4DwQTfuE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/EF4bP-5K0ew" height="1" width="1"/>
• Britain's economic outlook: Still overcast, but brightening
  <p>There are promising signs that the economy is improving</p><p>THE revelation in late October that Britain stayed in recession in the third quarter dampened spirits, the more so since France and Germany had already returned to growth in the spring. The sense of national chagrin over the longest and deepest recession since the second world war increased when America reported a bounceback in the three months to September. But now things may be looking up&#8212;and not a moment too soon, following a drop in GDP of almost 6% since early 2008. </p><p>Official figures released on November 11th showed that the labour market is continuing to perform a lot better than had been expected earlier this year. The number of people claiming unemployment benefit rose by just 13,000 in October&#8212;a tenth of the scary increase of over 130,000 in February. The more broadly defined jobless rate, which has risen over the past year from 5.9% of the labour force to 7.8% in the third quarter, now looks less likely to reach 10%, as once feared. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bec/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732750/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979564/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732750/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979564/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JaR3YZ_wjAM:5-taeCKuM8Y:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JaR3YZ_wjAM:5-taeCKuM8Y:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=JaR3YZ_wjAM:5-taeCKuM8Y:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JaR3YZ_wjAM:5-taeCKuM8Y:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=JaR3YZ_wjAM:5-taeCKuM8Y:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JaR3YZ_wjAM:5-taeCKuM8Y:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/JaR3YZ_wjAM" height="1" width="1"/>
• Gordon Brown and the Tobin tax: Desperate measures
  <p>The prime minister&#8217;s flirtation with an idea whose time never seems to come</p><p>IT WAS, veterans of economic summitry noted, the kind of idea a French minister would once have floated simply to annoy Gordon Brown. On November 7th the prime minister used the meeting of G20 finance ministers in his native Scotland to set out four options for building a sturdier financial system. The most eye-catching was the hoary idea of a global tax on financial transactions. The revenue would serve as an insurance fund in case the banks required costly government bail-outs in future. Mr Brown did not invoke the name of James Tobin, the economist who proposed a levy on currency dealings in the 1970s. A disbelieving media did that for him.</p><p>Unless a Tobin tax were implemented worldwide, trading would move out of any country that enforced it. Some in Europe are keen on the levy but Mr Brown must have known that the Americans and others would kill the idea. It was also an extraordinary reverse from a politician who not only described the idea as having &#8220;big problems&#8221; and &#8220;very substantial drawbacks&#8221; when he was chancellor of the exchequer, but also showed no enthusiasm when Lord Turner, the chairman of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), raised it in August. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177beb/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732749/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979563/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732749/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979563/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mMDygrGCuBU:KH0vfqSU74o:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mMDygrGCuBU:KH0vfqSU74o:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=mMDygrGCuBU:KH0vfqSU74o:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mMDygrGCuBU:KH0vfqSU74o:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=mMDygrGCuBU:KH0vfqSU74o:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=mMDygrGCuBU:KH0vfqSU74o:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/mMDygrGCuBU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Public opinion on Afghanistan: Hearts and minds
  <p>Voters are losing faith but their politicians are not, yet</p><p>OF ALL the feats performed by the Sun, such as supposedly deciding the 1992 general election, evoking sympathy for Gordon Brown is the most unlikely. The newspaper had another aim on November 10th when it published the transcript of a telephone call made by the prime minister to the mother of a soldier who had died in Afghanistan. Mr Brown had earlier misspelt her surname in a letter of condolence. Even some Conservatives, aware that his messy scrawl is the product of poor eyesight rather than indifference, thought the Sun&#8217;s behaviour crass.</p><p>Voters are getting angrier, however, about the Afghan mission itself. A ComRes/BBC opinion poll conducted on November 4th and 5th showed that 64% of Britons think the war unwinnable. Almost as many favour the withdrawal of British forces as quickly as possible. Only 54% of them say they understand the reason for their country&#8217;s presence in Afghanistan, a remarkable figure given the support for the war when it was launched in response to al-Qaeda&#8217;s attacks on New York in 2001. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bea/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732748/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979562/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732748/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979562/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=MgZx9t6v6Lg:s-LGtAKgHgI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=MgZx9t6v6Lg:s-LGtAKgHgI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=MgZx9t6v6Lg:s-LGtAKgHgI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=MgZx9t6v6Lg:s-LGtAKgHgI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=MgZx9t6v6Lg:s-LGtAKgHgI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=MgZx9t6v6Lg:s-LGtAKgHgI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/MgZx9t6v6Lg" height="1" width="1"/>
• The UN and corruption: Extracting teeth, and other things
  <p>A new coalition campaigns to stop practitioners of graft paying the price</p><p> TRY to work out what these states have in common: Algeria, Angola, China, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. They range from secular to religious, anti-Western to more or less pro-Western. Some rely on &#8220;extractive industries&#8221; whose proceeds enrich the elite while many people remain poor. </p><p> But the point on which all nine states concur is that citizens should not be told much about corruption, either at home or elsewhere. At a meeting in Qatar, they teamed up to render as toothless as possible the enforcement mechanisms for the UN Convention against Corruption. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177be9/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732747/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979561/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732747/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979561/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JnvJOZ37A1E:0KV-xgSTeu8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JnvJOZ37A1E:0KV-xgSTeu8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=JnvJOZ37A1E:0KV-xgSTeu8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JnvJOZ37A1E:0KV-xgSTeu8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=JnvJOZ37A1E:0KV-xgSTeu8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JnvJOZ37A1E:0KV-xgSTeu8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/JnvJOZ37A1E" height="1" width="1"/>
• Banyan: Barack Obama's Asian adventure
  <p>The president seems better at reassuring America's enemies than its friends</p><p>ASIANS complain that when George Bush chose Iraq and terrorism as his main arenas in foreign affairs, it was at their expense. Barack Obama intends his first Asian trip as president, which begins in Tokyo on November 13th, as proof of change. As well as Japan, the tour takes in Singapore, China and South Korea. Engagement in the region, he says, is critical to America&#8217;s future. Advisers even suggest that what he achieves there will help define Mr Obama&#8217;s presidency. Of course, they say that about a lot of things on his plate. But to judge by ordinary folk, the region wishes him well. Many Indonesians think of Mr Obama as one of their own. In Japan students of English have emptied the bookshops of his collected speeches.</p><p>Some activity suggests there is indeed a new engagement. In July, the American secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, signed ASEAN&#8217;s Treaty of Amity and Co-operation. The ten-member Association of South-East Asian Nations had been largely ignored by Mr Bush. This weekend Mr Obama will meet ASEAN&#8217;s leaders as a group, which is a first. His administration reached out to the thuggish junta in Myanmar, reversing a policy of isolation, and on November 10th said Mr Obama&#8217;s special envoy to North Korea would go to Pyongyang for talks with the obstreperous nuclear state (after close consultation with South Korea and Japan first). The president has taken pains to define China as a &#8220;strategic partner&#8221;, one without whom America has little hope of tackling everything from the global economic crisis to climate change and nuclear proliferation. And Mr Obama&#8217;s energetic support this year for the G20, with its Asia-heavy membership, can be read as a tacit acknowledgment that in economic and political terms the world&#8217;s centre of gravity has shifted away from the G8 group of wealthy nations. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177be8/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732746/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979560/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732746/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979560/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=_PsK5Yb8YlM:tmPwJA_RdxQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=_PsK5Yb8YlM:tmPwJA_RdxQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=_PsK5Yb8YlM:tmPwJA_RdxQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=_PsK5Yb8YlM:tmPwJA_RdxQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=_PsK5Yb8YlM:tmPwJA_RdxQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=_PsK5Yb8YlM:tmPwJA_RdxQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/_PsK5Yb8YlM" height="1" width="1"/>
• Japan's government: Out of tune
  <p>The Democrats&#8217; debut has been worryingly unharmonious&#8212;and the &#8220;bond vigilantes&#8221; are starting to make groaning noises, too</p><p>YUKIO HATOYAMA, Japan&#8217;s prime minister, likens his role to that of a conductor trying to achieve &#8220;harmony&#8221;&#8212;one of his favourite words&#8212;from a pickup orchestra (for which read, novice cabinet). So far the result has been cacophony. Ministers have waged war in public and have floated ideas that, in some cases, are downright ludicrous. At times they have even challenged Mr Hatoyama&#8217;s authority. </p><p>To his supporters, this reflects a refreshingly open debate in a new ruling party after decades of cloistered dealmaking. When Mr Hatoyama&#8217;s Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) swept to power in September, it was largely because of voters&#8217; frustration at half a century of rule by the &#8220;iron triangle&#8221; of Liberal Democratic politicians, bureaucrats and big business. Mr Hatoyama promised a more open and genuinely democratic style of government. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177be7/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732745/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979559/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732745/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979559/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UNNRfoFKbRI:Bxz1bQhj4cw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UNNRfoFKbRI:Bxz1bQhj4cw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=UNNRfoFKbRI:Bxz1bQhj4cw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UNNRfoFKbRI:Bxz1bQhj4cw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=UNNRfoFKbRI:Bxz1bQhj4cw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UNNRfoFKbRI:Bxz1bQhj4cw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/UNNRfoFKbRI" height="1" width="1"/>
• Venezuela and Colombia: Jaw-jaw war
  <p>A hundred years of bombast</p><p>HUGO CHAVEZ&#8217;S belligerent rhetoric trades at a substantial discount. So when on November 8th he announced during his weekly television show that Venezuela&#8217;s army should &#8220;prepare for war&#8221;, apparently with Colombia, this was greeted with concern but not panic. Sure enough, three days later Mr Chavez was denying his message was meant as a threat. But his verbal salvoes aggravate the mistrust between the two neighbours.</p><p>The latest batch was triggered by an agreement signed on October 30th under which Colombia has granted the United States access to up to seven military bases. Both governments insist that this poses no threat to other countries. It formalises existing arrangements under which the United States helps Colombia combat drug traffickers and guerrillas; Colombia will now also host anti-drug surveillance flights over the Pacific by American planes previously operating from Ecuador. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177be6/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732744/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979558/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732744/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979558/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=0dglMJKwfqA:bKHkncHRN3M:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=0dglMJKwfqA:bKHkncHRN3M:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=0dglMJKwfqA:bKHkncHRN3M:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=0dglMJKwfqA:bKHkncHRN3M:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=0dglMJKwfqA:bKHkncHRN3M:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=0dglMJKwfqA:bKHkncHRN3M:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/0dglMJKwfqA" height="1" width="1"/>
• Public morality in Brazil: Hemlines and headlines
  <p>Less licentious than it sometimes looks</p><p>ON OCTOBER 22nd Geyse Arruda was escorted from the campus of Bandeirante University, a private college in a Sao Paulo suburb, her thighs shrouded by a lab coat, watched by several hundred jeering fellow students. Her offence? Wearing a dress so short as to constitute &#8220;a flagrant lack of respect for ethical principles, academic dignity and morality&#8221;. How could this happen in the land of topless carnival dancers and buttocks swaying on the beach? Has Brazil returned to the 1960s, when wearing a miniskirt was a mini-political act to shock the country&#8217;s then military government? Or have hemlines become the new headscarves?</p><p>This week Ms Arruda, who is studying tourism, was reinstated. It seems that the university authorities were as confused as everyone else about whether they had been offended, or had offended by their intolerance. Ms Arruda had apparently worn the dress several times before without incident. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177be5/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732743/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979557/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732743/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979557/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=dhbB1pO06gY:Va5oZZmCiY0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=dhbB1pO06gY:Va5oZZmCiY0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=dhbB1pO06gY:Va5oZZmCiY0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=dhbB1pO06gY:Va5oZZmCiY0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=dhbB1pO06gY:Va5oZZmCiY0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=dhbB1pO06gY:Va5oZZmCiY0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/dhbB1pO06gY" height="1" width="1"/>
• Canada's prime minister: Home thoughts from abroad
  <p>Stephen Harper does foreign policy</p><p>ALTHOUGH he has been Canada&#8217;s prime minister for almost four years, Stephen Harper has devoted little time to foreign policy. Beyond the standard quick trips to summits, the inevitable ties with the United States and a military commitment in Afghanistan he inherited from his Liberal predecessor, the only hints he has given suggest a move away from Africa and towards Latin America, and a preference for bilateralism over multilateralism. So the trips he plans to make over the next three weeks to Singapore, India, Trinidad and Tobago, China and South Korea are a novelty. &#8220;The Canadian beaver has sprouted wings,&#8221; says Fen Hampson, an international-relations specialist at Ottawa&#8217;s Carleton University.</p><p>That may be because Mr Harper is more confident of his position at home. Throughout his tenure he has laboured in a parliamentary minority, facing frequent threats from the opposition to bring his government down. Now the outlook is unexpectedly tranquil. The Liberals, the main opposition, have slid in the opinion polls after a brief surge in popularity over the summer. On November 9th the Conservatives picked up two seats in four by-elections, in all of which the Liberals performed dismally. Mr Harper has persuaded Canadians that the recession was a foreign import, while his Conservatives have exploited a C$47 billion ($45 billion) fiscal stimulus for partisan advantage. Michael Ignatieff, the Liberal leader, miscalculated in threatening (but failing) to bring the government down. He is overhauling his team of advisers. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177be4/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732742/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979556/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732742/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979556/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2OtpleHGD1M:mlM6R9gnJQw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2OtpleHGD1M:mlM6R9gnJQw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=2OtpleHGD1M:mlM6R9gnJQw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2OtpleHGD1M:mlM6R9gnJQw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=2OtpleHGD1M:mlM6R9gnJQw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2OtpleHGD1M:mlM6R9gnJQw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/2OtpleHGD1M" height="1" width="1"/>
• Gloomy Jamaica: Unfixable?
  <p>The burden of debt and crime</p><p>JUST over two years ago when Bruce Golding&#8217;s Labour Party came to power in Jamaica, ending 18 years in opposition, there were modest hopes that it might make progress in tackling the island&#8217;s endemic problems of economic stagnation and gang violence. Quite how hard that is has become clear in the past fortnight with the departure first of the central-bank governor and then the police chief. </p><p>Mr Golding&#8217;s people inherited a huge national debt, much of it borrowed in the markets at interest rates that have sometimes topped 20%. Just servicing this eats up about 60% of government revenues. Then came the world recession, which has hit tourism, bauxite and remittances from Jamaicans abroad, the island&#8217;s three big foreign-exchange earners. UC Rusal, the country&#8217;s biggest bauxite operator, has shut most of its Jamaican mines because of low world prices. With tax revenue down and privatisation plans stalled, the fiscal deficit has soared. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177be3/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732741/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979555/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732741/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979555/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=k0jmbTRjzKo:_SW6ps26Xxg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=k0jmbTRjzKo:_SW6ps26Xxg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=k0jmbTRjzKo:_SW6ps26Xxg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=k0jmbTRjzKo:_SW6ps26Xxg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=k0jmbTRjzKo:_SW6ps26Xxg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=k0jmbTRjzKo:_SW6ps26Xxg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/k0jmbTRjzKo" height="1" width="1"/>
• Presidential politics in Brazil: Her master's voice
  <p>Dilma Rousseff, Lula&#8217;s preferred successor, is a more interesting politician than she appears to be. But would she be different from her boss?</p><p>WHEN Brazil&#8217;s president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, identified Dilma Rousseff, his chief-of-staff, as his preferred successor in the top job, the collective response of people who follow such things was a puzzled frown, as if perhaps there had been a misprint in the newspaper. Ms Rousseff had proved herself an able administrator. But if she had the natural political gifts required for electoral success in the world&#8217;s fourth-largest democracy they had been well hidden. Her campaigns for local office in Rio Grande do Sul, her political home, were unsuccessful. Her sentences go on for a long time and contain lots of subclauses. But she has one thing that nobody else in Brazilian politics has got: Lula&#8217;s unqualified backing. Given that the president&#8217;s approval ratings are still north of 80% as he enters the final year of his second term, this is worth a lot.</p><p>Despite their difference in manner, Ms Rousseff has become Lula&#8217;s political shadow. Her duties include the government&#8217;s &#8220;Growth Acceleration Programme&#8221;, which aims to mobilise investment of $301 billion in infrastructure between 2007 and 2010. So the two constantly traverse the country opening roads and the like, or even just announcing that they might be built. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177be2/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732740/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979554/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732740/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979554/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YScCzRKWCjc:KHZivcD9BhU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YScCzRKWCjc:KHZivcD9BhU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YScCzRKWCjc:KHZivcD9BhU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YScCzRKWCjc:KHZivcD9BhU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YScCzRKWCjc:KHZivcD9BhU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YScCzRKWCjc:KHZivcD9BhU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/YScCzRKWCjc" height="1" width="1"/>
• Accounting rules: Divided and overruled?
  <p>Accountants grapple with the fallout over &#8220;marking to market&#8221;</p><p>ACCOUNTING has become political. Fair-value rules, which require assets to be marked to market prices, are blamed by some for exaggerating banks&#8217; losses. Although it will take years to establish whether banks&#8217; accounts have painted too bleak a picture, the rows are already in full swing. Confidence in &#8220;efficient&#8221; market prices has been hammered, as has the principle that accounts are designed mainly for investors. The public has a big interest in banks&#8217; books now, too. &#8220;There are competing paradigms about what financial statements are for,&#8221; says John Hepp of Grant Thornton, an accountancy firm.</p><p>The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), which sets rules for most countries apart from America, has made tactical concessions to avoid the nightmare scenario of banks and politicians writing the rules themselves. On November 12th it issued new rules for financial assets that will be optional from this year and mandatory from 2013. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177be1/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732739/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979553/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732739/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979553/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vCdHVvmwOV4:IEctkgCDxyE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vCdHVvmwOV4:IEctkgCDxyE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vCdHVvmwOV4:IEctkgCDxyE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vCdHVvmwOV4:IEctkgCDxyE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vCdHVvmwOV4:IEctkgCDxyE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vCdHVvmwOV4:IEctkgCDxyE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/vCdHVvmwOV4" height="1" width="1"/>
• Culling deer: The war on Bambi
  <p>Taking back the gardens</p><p> IN JUNE 76-year-old Dorothy Richardson of Euclid, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, discovered a fawn nestled in her garden. She picked up a shovel and beat it to death. It was one more battle in a war being waged from coast to coast.</p><p> As humans spread into once-rural areas, deer learned to adapt. With few or no natural predators, and thanks to the advent of hunting bans in developed areas, they thrived. There are an estimated 30m deer in America now, more than there were a century ago. The growing herds in urban and suburban areas have sparked a number of programmes to control the animals, not without controversy among humans. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177bdf/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732738/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979551/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732738/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979551/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UztEcm-z4xA:cGTX5Ij2p94:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UztEcm-z4xA:cGTX5Ij2p94:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=UztEcm-z4xA:cGTX5Ij2p94:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UztEcm-z4xA:cGTX5Ij2p94:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=UztEcm-z4xA:cGTX5Ij2p94:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=UztEcm-z4xA:cGTX5Ij2p94:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/UztEcm-z4xA" height="1" width="1"/>
• Nigeria: Hints of a new chapter
  <p>As militants lay down their arms in the Niger Delta, the battle is on to tackle Nigeria&#8217;s other massive ills</p><p> IN YENAGOA, the capital of Bayelsa state in the Niger Delta, giant billboards in the centre of town proclaim the dawn of a &#8220;walking, talking ideology&#8221;&#8212;Sylvanomics. Some new fad, perhaps, from the IMF or the World Bank? No; the picture of a beaming, youngish-looking man in a jumpsuit and bowler hat shows that this is all about the new state governor, Timipre Sylva.</p><p> The man in person enthusiastically explains more in the opulent surroundings of Gloryland, the governor&#8217;s mansion. Bayelsa is the first of Nigeria&#8217;s 36 states to invite in outside accountants and advisers for a thorough audit of its finances. They are now going over the state&#8217;s payroll and procurement policies, as well as the revenues from the federal government, which (as in all states) supply most of Bayelsa&#8217;s income. Vitally, the bean-counters will also audit the deeply obscure flows of money that go out again from the state coffers to the Local Government Authorities (LGAs). These are supposed to spend the money on the wretched people who live in deep poverty in the swamps and creeks of the Delta. If waste and corruption are cut out, they should benefit. &#8220;Transparency has a direct link to development,&#8221; says Mr Sylva. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c68/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732737/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979688/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732737/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979688/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=FlClOlDjrWk:J0A9i7INK24:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=FlClOlDjrWk:J0A9i7INK24:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=FlClOlDjrWk:J0A9i7INK24:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=FlClOlDjrWk:J0A9i7INK24:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=FlClOlDjrWk:J0A9i7INK24:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=FlClOlDjrWk:J0A9i7INK24:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/FlClOlDjrWk" height="1" width="1"/>
• Offer to readers
  <p>Buy a PDF of this complete special report, including all graphics, for saving or one-click printing.</p><p>The Economist can supply standard or customised reprints of special reports. For more information and to place an order online, please visit our Rights and Syndication website. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c67/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732736/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979687/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732736/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979687/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GU_y4RzaOKU:ysiRc0aimBU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GU_y4RzaOKU:ysiRc0aimBU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=GU_y4RzaOKU:ysiRc0aimBU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GU_y4RzaOKU:ysiRc0aimBU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=GU_y4RzaOKU:ysiRc0aimBU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GU_y4RzaOKU:ysiRc0aimBU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/GU_y4RzaOKU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Survival of the quickest
  <p>Frequent crises have made for strong banks and nimble financiers</p><p>BRAZILIAN businessmen often say that the country&#8217;s recent economic past has strengthened companies, and especially banks. The argument goes like this: you need to be good, or at least inventive, to survive and make money when you have no idea whether inflation next year will be 50% or 500%. Bankers and finance directors have had to be particularly nimble. One example is Souza Cruz (a subsidiary of BAT), Brazil&#8217;s largest tobacco company, which in the days of high inflation did no better than break even on its cigarette sales. Its profits came from the interest on the cash it held between being paid by retailers and paying tax fortnightly. Companies used to operating in such unusual circumstances flourished when life became more predictable.</p><p>There is some truth to this argument, even though it brushes aside the fact that until the 1990s Brazilian companies did not have to worry about foreign competitors. No big companies went bust in the recent financial crisis, despite losses on foreign-exchange derivatives that the Bank for International Settlements estimates at $25 billion. Moreover, no big banks wobbled, let alone had to be rescued, though there were some mergers. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c66/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732735/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979686/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732735/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979686/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ApEHGcvkoh4:fqc870_eCHQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ApEHGcvkoh4:fqc870_eCHQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ApEHGcvkoh4:fqc870_eCHQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ApEHGcvkoh4:fqc870_eCHQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ApEHGcvkoh4:fqc870_eCHQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ApEHGcvkoh4:fqc870_eCHQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/ApEHGcvkoh4" height="1" width="1"/>
• Condemned to prosperity
  <p>Brazil has learned to love its commodity sector</p><p>NOT many countries are named after commodities. There is Argentina, from the Latin word for silver; Cote d&#8217;Ivoire, a reminder that nature&#8217;s endowments do not always lead to prosperity; Panama and Uruguay, whose names may come from indigenous words for fish; and also Brazil, which became known for its Brazil wood, the source of a valuable dye. Prior to that Italian merchants apparently called it the land of parrots. Brazil has already lived through several commodities booms: precious metals in the 17th century, sugar in the 18th and coffee in the 19th. Yet none of them benefited the country as much as the current one.</p><p>The large discoveries of offshore oil made by Petrobras in 2007, which have generated so much excitement recently, have made it easy to forget that Brazil is already the world&#8217;s largest exporter of coffee, sugar, chickens, beef and orange juice. It also exports vast amounts of soya and iron ore, as well as other ores and metals. Its commercial forests are the source of much of the world&#8217;s pulp. If other countries opened their markets, Brazil would supply them with ethanol to fuel their cars too. A history of booms and busts in the markets for raw materials is written into the country&#8217;s landscape. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c65/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732734/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979685/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732734/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979685/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=fz29TVM5VrU:mjCjeBLXKg8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=fz29TVM5VrU:mjCjeBLXKg8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=fz29TVM5VrU:mjCjeBLXKg8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=fz29TVM5VrU:mjCjeBLXKg8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=fz29TVM5VrU:mjCjeBLXKg8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=fz29TVM5VrU:mjCjeBLXKg8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/fz29TVM5VrU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Arrivals and departures
  <p>Foreigners are investing in Brazil, Brazilian companies are going shopping abroad</p><p>TRADING with Brazilians has not always been easy. Jean Lery, who visited the country in the 1550s, wrote an account of the trading practices of the Ouetaca people, who liked to exchange goods by placing them on a rock 200 paces away and then retreating. The trading partner did the same, and the dance was repeated as each group got what it wanted. &#8220;As soon as each one has returned with his object of exchange, and gone past the boundaries of the place where he had first come to present himself,&#8221; wrote Mr Lery, &#8220;the truce is broken, and it is then a question of which one can catch the other and take back from him what he was carrying away.&#8221;</p><p>That would have rung a bell with some of Brazil&#8217;s foreign investors in more recent times, from Daniel K. Ludwig, who repeated Henry Ford&#8217;s jungle folly a few decades later, to the Japanese banks that tried to enter the market, to US Steel, which discovered Carajas, the world&#8217;s largest iron-ore deposit, before being forced into a joint venture with a government company and then selling out of a mine that is still going strong 30 years later. Lots of other foreign investors have done well, however, and Brazil is enjoying a new wave of trust and optimism as the world pours in money (see chart 3). It has become the second-largest destination for FDI flows into developing countries after China. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c64/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732733/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979684/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732733/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979684/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=C5yCImsBN0c:tALphcpAnm0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=C5yCImsBN0c:tALphcpAnm0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=C5yCImsBN0c:tALphcpAnm0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=C5yCImsBN0c:tALphcpAnm0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=C5yCImsBN0c:tALphcpAnm0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=C5yCImsBN0c:tALphcpAnm0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/C5yCImsBN0c" height="1" width="1"/>
• Breaking the habit
  <p>A brief history of Brazilian meltdowns</p><p>FOR most of the past few decades Brazil has been one of the first places to go into a tailspin when things turn nasty elsewhere, as the following list demonstrates.</p><p>&#8226; 1973-79: Oil shocks. The first oil shock doubled Brazil&#8217;s import bill within a year. The second set off uncontrolled inflation, which reached 110% for 1980. The next 15 years were a continuous struggle to bring that number down. They also saw a sharp increase in short-term foreign debt denominated in dollars to pay for oil, heralding a decade and a half of instability. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c63/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732732/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979683/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732732/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979683/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xd4PYlFWcQU:75lQBC8ulfU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xd4PYlFWcQU:75lQBC8ulfU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=xd4PYlFWcQU:75lQBC8ulfU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xd4PYlFWcQU:75lQBC8ulfU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=xd4PYlFWcQU:75lQBC8ulfU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xd4PYlFWcQU:75lQBC8ulfU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/xd4PYlFWcQU" height="1" width="1"/>
• A better today
  <p>Brazil&#8217;s growing middle class wants the good life, right now</p><p>ON A Saturday night in Canudos, a town of 15,000 people in the interior of Bahia state surrounded on all sides by parched, silvery forest, there is a lot of consumption going on. Everyone has a mobile phone, a few people have new cars, and early-evening courting is fuelled by branded beers and hot dogs. This place was once a byword for poverty, sitting as it does in the middle of Brazil&#8217;s drylands. But this part of the sertao at least has become more bearable over the past decade or so. There is a large banana plantation that provides jobs, a fresh-water-fishing industry and plenty of commerce. </p><p>Carlinhos Silveira has returned to Canudos after some time spent working in Sao Paulo and now runs a small hotel. For decades internal migration in Brazil worked in the opposite direction, as people escaped the hardscrabble north-east for menial jobs in the more prosperous south and south-east. Now it is possible to find members of Brazil&#8217;s burgeoning middle class even here. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c62/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732731/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979682/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732731/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979682/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9GhR3V0gepM:354jUr-kuJ8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9GhR3V0gepM:354jUr-kuJ8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=9GhR3V0gepM:354jUr-kuJ8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9GhR3V0gepM:354jUr-kuJ8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=9GhR3V0gepM:354jUr-kuJ8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9GhR3V0gepM:354jUr-kuJ8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/9GhR3V0gepM" height="1" width="1"/>
• Two Americas
  <p>Brazil and the United States have more in common than they seem to</p><p>LIVING in Brazil, it is easy to imagine that you have been transported into one of those novels with alternative endings&#8212;in this instance, about how the United States might have developed if a few things had turned out differently. Both are continent-sized countries in the western hemisphere with federal democracies in which state governments have considerable power. Both were colonised by small European seafaring nations before gaining independence within 50 years of each other. Their populations are made up of the descendants of their original inhabitants, early colonists and African slaves, topped up later by European and then Asian migrants. A recent influx from neighbouring countries completes the mix. Brazil&#8217;s melting pot is, if anything, even more successful than America&#8217;s. There is no such thing as a hyphenated Brazilian.</p><p>Both countries seem surprisingly religious to European eyes, with different Christian sects competing vigorously for believers. The most successful Brazilian multinational of all may be the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God, a Pentecostal outfit that keeps being investigated for overenthusiastic marketing and opaque book-keeping. Both places show a strong preference for consumption over saving when times are good. Brazil has a culture all of its own, but it looks for inspiration to America more than it does to its Spanish-speaking neighbours. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c61/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732730/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979681/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732730/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979681/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JLId34NvLFs:tQ_dEPV4Bgk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JLId34NvLFs:tQ_dEPV4Bgk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=JLId34NvLFs:tQ_dEPV4Bgk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JLId34NvLFs:tQ_dEPV4Bgk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=JLId34NvLFs:tQ_dEPV4Bgk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=JLId34NvLFs:tQ_dEPV4Bgk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/JLId34NvLFs" height="1" width="1"/>
• Getting it together at last
  <p>Brazil used to be all promise. Now it is beginning to deliver, says John Prideaux (interviewed here)</p><p>BRAZIL has long been known as a place of vast potential. It has the world&#8217;s largest freshwater supplies, the largest tropical forests, land so fertile that in some places farmers manage three harvests a year, and huge mineral and hydrocarbon wealth. Foreign investors have staked fortunes on the idea that Brazil is indeed the country of the future. And foreign investors have lost fortunes; most spectacularly, Henry Ford, who made a huge investment in a rubber plantation in the Amazon which he intended to tap for car tyres. Fordlandia, a long-forgotten municipality in the state of Para, with its faded clapboard houses now slowly being swallowed up by jungle, is perhaps Brazil&#8217;s most poignant monument to that repeated triumph of experience over hope. </p><p>Foreigners have short memories, but Brazilians have learned to temper their optimism with caution&#8212;even now, when the country is enjoying probably its best moment since a group of Portuguese sailors (looking for India) washed up on its shores in 1500. Brazil has been democratic before, it has had economic growth before and it has had low inflation before. But it has never before sustained all three at the same time. If current trends hold (which is a big if), Brazil, with a population of 192m and growing fast, could be one of the world&#8217;s five biggest economies by the middle of this century, along with China, America, India and Japan. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c60/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732729/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979680/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732729/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979680/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=NnEOWILQK1E:xoR22zH_PR8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=NnEOWILQK1E:xoR22zH_PR8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=NnEOWILQK1E:xoR22zH_PR8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=NnEOWILQK1E:xoR22zH_PR8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=NnEOWILQK1E:xoR22zH_PR8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=NnEOWILQK1E:xoR22zH_PR8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/NnEOWILQK1E" height="1" width="1"/>
• The self-harming state
  <p>Companies are squeezed between an obstructive government and black-market competitors</p><p>IT IS easy to become depressed when confronted by the waste, incompetence and downright obstructiveness towards people trying to make a living contained within Brazil&#8217;s three layers of government. So perhaps it is best to start by saying that the Brazilian state does some things very well. It has prevented an AIDS epidemic by deploying sensible public policies. Some of its ventures into research and development have helped the economy. It has the highest share of renewable energy in power generation of any big economy. </p><p>The state of Minas Gerais has employed private-sector expertise to bring about what it calls a &#8220;management shock&#8221;, eliminating deficits and measuring the performance of its various departments. Some of the people who worked on this project in Minas have been trying to do something similar in Rio de Janeiro state. The Centre for Public Leadership, a charity based in Sao Paulo, is running courses for mayors who want to learn more about management techniques. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c5f/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732728/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979679/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732728/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979679/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=aIul2GqK3tU:PFSEtIbpZm0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=aIul2GqK3tU:PFSEtIbpZm0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=aIul2GqK3tU:PFSEtIbpZm0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=aIul2GqK3tU:PFSEtIbpZm0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=aIul2GqK3tU:PFSEtIbpZm0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=aIul2GqK3tU:PFSEtIbpZm0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/aIul2GqK3tU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Sources and acknowledgments
  <p>The author would like to express particular thanks for their help in preparing this special report to: Eduardo Mufarej of Tarpon; Eduardo Giannetti and Claudio Haddad of INSPER; Marcelo Carvalho of Morgan Stanley; Fernando Reinach of Votorantim; Candido Bracher and Jean-Marc Etlin of Itau BBA; Marcelo Neri of FGV; Alexandre Marinis of Mosaico; Mauro Azeredo of the World Bank; Heinz-Peter Elstrodt, Stefan Matzinger, Guilherme Lima, Tracy Francis, Fabio Stul and Roberto Fantoni, all of McKinsey; Walter Cruz of Marcopolo; Nilson Teixeira of Credit Suisse; Aldemir Bendini of Banco do Brasil; Francisco Valim of Experian; Damian Fraser of UBS; Joao Augusto de Castro Neves of CAC; Rodolfo Spielmann of Bain; Norman Gall of the Braudel Institute; and David Fleischer of Brasilia University.</p><p>Sources: ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c5e/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732727/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979678/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732727/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979678/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ClOoHHWncnA:_20Kw1b9f_g:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ClOoHHWncnA:_20Kw1b9f_g:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ClOoHHWncnA:_20Kw1b9f_g:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ClOoHHWncnA:_20Kw1b9f_g:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ClOoHHWncnA:_20Kw1b9f_g:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ClOoHHWncnA:_20Kw1b9f_g:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/ClOoHHWncnA" height="1" width="1"/>
• Correction: Japan's technology champions
  <p>In last week&#8217;s article on Japan&#8217;s technology champions (&#8220;Invisible but indispensable&#8221;) we located Westinghouse and the old heart of the American steel industry in Philadelphia rather than Pittsburgh. Sorry. This has been corrected online.</p><p> ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c5d/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732726/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979677/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732726/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979677/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BhDtBKTIE6I:gmz5QZ8Bth0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BhDtBKTIE6I:gmz5QZ8Bth0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=BhDtBKTIE6I:gmz5QZ8Bth0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BhDtBKTIE6I:gmz5QZ8Bth0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=BhDtBKTIE6I:gmz5QZ8Bth0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BhDtBKTIE6I:gmz5QZ8Bth0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/BhDtBKTIE6I" height="1" width="1"/>
• Derivatives: Over the counter, out of sight
  <p>Derivatives are extraordinarily useful&#8212;as well as complex, dangerous if misused and implicitly subsidised. No wonder regulators are taking a close look</p><p>IN 1958 American onion farmers, blaming speculators for the volatility of their crops&#8217; prices, lobbied a congressman from Michigan named Gerald Ford to ban trading in onion futures. Supported by the president-to-be, they got their way. Onion futures have been prohibited ever since.</p><p>Futures are agreements to trade something at a set price at a given date. They are perhaps the simplest example of a derivative, a contract whose value is &#8220;derived&#8221; from the price of a commodity or another asset. Derivatives continue to be vilified, usually when someone loses a lot of money. Orange County and Procter &#38; Gamble lost fortunes on them in the 1990s. They were at the core of Enron&#8217;s failure. And in September 2008 they brought American International Group (AIG), a mighty insurer, to its knees. Its fetish for credit default swaps (CDSs), a type of derivative that insures lenders against borrowers&#8217; going bust, led it to guarantee at least $400 billion-worth of other companies&#8217; loans&#8212;including those of Lehman Brothers. The American government forked out $180 billion to save AIG from collapse. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c5c/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732725/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979676/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732725/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979676/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=pX_aqL56Y0w:B53o4a5lZpQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=pX_aqL56Y0w:B53o4a5lZpQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=pX_aqL56Y0w:B53o4a5lZpQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=pX_aqL56Y0w:B53o4a5lZpQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=pX_aqL56Y0w:B53o4a5lZpQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=pX_aqL56Y0w:B53o4a5lZpQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/pX_aqL56Y0w" height="1" width="1"/>
• Rivalry over hummus: An emotive issue
  <p>A good-humoured war over food</p><p>MIDDLE EASTERNERS have had a habit of making war but they suffer a stronger addiction to hummus, the chickpea dip that is a staple of Levantine cuisine. So what could be more explosive than a mix of both passions, war and peas? Just such a conflict is raging between those old foes, Israel and Lebanon. </p><p>Last year, a team of Israeli chefs concocted what they claimed was the world&#8217;s biggest-ever batch of hummus, rolling out a vat weighing 400kg (882lb) in Jerusalem&#8217;s Mahane Yehuda market. It took a year to muster an Arab counter-strike, but on October 24th a squadron of Lebanese chefs cooked up a bunker-busting bowlful that weighed in at over 2,000kg. For good measure they also unveiled a terrifying 3,500kg batch of tabbouleh, the cracked wheat and parsley salad for which Lebanon is justly famed. Gastronomic gigantism may be a fad in Lebanon, where chefs recently baked a tray of kibbeh, a pie of minced meat and cracked wheat, at 20 square metres (215 square feet) a candidate for the Guinness Book of Records. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c5b/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732724/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979675/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732724/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979675/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EJMpmDYEzks:f5TcwMGdh_c:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EJMpmDYEzks:f5TcwMGdh_c:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=EJMpmDYEzks:f5TcwMGdh_c:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EJMpmDYEzks:f5TcwMGdh_c:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=EJMpmDYEzks:f5TcwMGdh_c:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EJMpmDYEzks:f5TcwMGdh_c:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/EJMpmDYEzks" height="1" width="1"/>
• Iraq's mobile-phone revolution: Better than freedom?
  <p>Why Iraqis cherish their mobile phones</p><p>ASKED to name the single biggest benefit of America&#8217;s invasion, many Iraqis fail to mention freedom or democracy but instead praise the advent of mobile phones, which were banned under Saddam Hussein. Many Iraqis seem to feel more liberated by them than by the prospect of elected resident government.</p><p>In the five years since the first network started up, the number of subscribers has soared to 20m (in a population of around 27m), while the electricity supply is hardly better than in Mr Hussein&#8217;s day. That is double the rate for Lebanon, where a civil war ended two decades ago and income per head is four times higher. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c5a/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732723/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979674/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732723/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979674/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=KbAhtf0XVww:gC4xnsf3Rdo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=KbAhtf0XVww:gC4xnsf3Rdo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=KbAhtf0XVww:gC4xnsf3Rdo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=KbAhtf0XVww:gC4xnsf3Rdo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=KbAhtf0XVww:gC4xnsf3Rdo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=KbAhtf0XVww:gC4xnsf3Rdo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/KbAhtf0XVww" height="1" width="1"/>
• Race and power in South Africa: Trouble at the grid
  <p>A race row over electricity</p><p> UNTIL the end of last month, Eskom, the state-owned power company, was mainly known for its inefficiency and incompetence. Power cuts have been maddeningly common throughout the country. But now the company has been engulfed by another, much more South African, sort of row, about race.</p><p> On October 30th rumours first circulated that the board had asked Jacob Maroga, Eskom&#8217;s chief executive, who is black, to step down. A month earlier a group of senior employees at the cash-strapped utility were reported to have sent an anonymous letter to the minister for public enterprises, demanding his removal. On November 5th it was reported that Mr Maroga had not been pushed after all, but had resigned after a clash with the board&#8217;s chairman, Bobby Godsell, who is white. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c59/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732722/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979673/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732722/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979673/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=sBAXG8kmvPE:hyddJcKV0qA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=sBAXG8kmvPE:hyddJcKV0qA:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=sBAXG8kmvPE:hyddJcKV0qA:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=sBAXG8kmvPE:hyddJcKV0qA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=sBAXG8kmvPE:hyddJcKV0qA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=sBAXG8kmvPE:hyddJcKV0qA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/sBAXG8kmvPE" height="1" width="1"/>
• Regional diplomacy and Zimbabwe: When patience finally runs out
  <p>Setting a deadline for Zimbabwe&#8217;s politicians to settle their differences</p><p> AT LAST the Southern African Development Community (SADC), an influential club of 15 countries that has overseen the regional diplomacy intended to solve Zimbabwe&#8217;s troubles, is showing signs that it may be prepared to squeeze President Robert Mugabe a bit harder. As the supposed guarantor of a power-sharing pact between Mr Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the former opposition leader, SADC has&#8212;after months of dithering&#8212;ordered all &#8220;outstanding issues&#8221; to be settled by December 5th. As a result, Mr Tsvangirai has agreed to end a three-week boycott of the unity government by members of his Movement for Democratic Change (MDC).</p><p> Ever since the coalition government was set up in February, Mr Mugabe has flouted most of the pact&#8217;s main provisions with impunity. In some respects, matters have been getting worse. The persecution and arrest of political opponents, trade unionists and student leaders have increased. So has violence against the dwindling band of white farmers who refuse to be chased off their property. Broadcasting and the daily press, still firmly in the hands of Mr Mugabe&#8217;s Zanu-PF, smear Mr Tsvangirai and the MDC incessantly, while independent newspapers have yet to be allowed to start printing again. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c58/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732721/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979672/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732721/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979672/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lCS4i_Yq8yk:7TiLtYLssZQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lCS4i_Yq8yk:7TiLtYLssZQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=lCS4i_Yq8yk:7TiLtYLssZQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lCS4i_Yq8yk:7TiLtYLssZQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=lCS4i_Yq8yk:7TiLtYLssZQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lCS4i_Yq8yk:7TiLtYLssZQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/lCS4i_Yq8yk" height="1" width="1"/>
• Uganda and homosexuality: Don&#8217;t ask
  <p>A new law against homosexuality in Uganda could set a nasty trend</p><p>VISITORS to Uganda have rarely been starved of sex if they have wanted it. But there are limitations. The country&#8217;s mix of vigorous heterosexuality and religiosity have made it one of Africa&#8217;s more homophobic places. Now, say advocates of sexual freedom, a proposed new law against homosexuals will push Uganda back into a grim kind of Victorian age, Africa-style.</p><p>Fine, say members of Uganda&#8217;s parliament, who believe they are leading a global battle to defend the traditional family. Foreign embassies, they reckon, are unduly pro-gay; the UN is alleged to be &#8220;smuggling&#8221; in &#8220;agents of immorality&#8221;. &#8220;Carnal knowledge against the order of nature&#8221;, as one MP put it, is imported by corrupt white men and women. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c57/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732720/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979671/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732720/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979671/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5GDf72efEIo:ob_Dpq3qAFE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5GDf72efEIo:ob_Dpq3qAFE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5GDf72efEIo:ob_Dpq3qAFE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5GDf72efEIo:ob_Dpq3qAFE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5GDf72efEIo:ob_Dpq3qAFE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5GDf72efEIo:ob_Dpq3qAFE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/5GDf72efEIo" height="1" width="1"/>
• Hope for Zanzibar: Taking the spice out of politics
  <p>A pact between the island&#8217;s rival parties could prevent more violence and unrest</p><p>TANZANIANS are proud of the fact that it was their president, Jakaya Kikwete, who won the race to the White House. Ghana may have been Africa&#8217;s first sub-Saharan country to host Barack Obama as president, but Mr Kikwete was Africa&#8217;s first head of state to be received in Washington, DC, by the new American leader: a striking endorsement of his country. With messy Kenya and chaotic Congo across the border, and lawless Somalia just up the coast to the north, Tanzania is now viewed in the West as a regional haven of calm in a turbulent neighbourhood.</p><p>But there has been a big blot on Tanzania&#8217;s record over the years: Zanzibar. The last three elections on the offshore islands that comprise the territory&#8212;Pemba and Zanzibar itself&#8212;have been increasingly violent and disputed. The opposition Civic United Front (CUF) claims that the elections of 1995, 2000 and 2005 were all stolen by the local branch of Tanzania&#8217;s ruling Party of the Revolution, better known by its Swahili initials, CCM. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c56/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732719/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979670/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732719/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979670/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=uyTo8Ip0CMU:7VOQklElWQE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=uyTo8Ip0CMU:7VOQklElWQE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=uyTo8Ip0CMU:7VOQklElWQE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=uyTo8Ip0CMU:7VOQklElWQE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=uyTo8Ip0CMU:7VOQklElWQE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=uyTo8Ip0CMU:7VOQklElWQE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/uyTo8Ip0CMU" height="1" width="1"/>
• The leadership of Palestine: Will he jump?
  <p>The Palestinians look both divided and leaderless</p><p>AFTER five hapless years as the Palestinians&#8217; president, Mahmoud Abbas (also known as Abu Mazen) suddenly declared on November 5th that he would not seek re-election in January, when the Palestinian territories are due to hold general and presidential polls. On the face of it, his decision was a blow to the cause of peace. Even before he succeeded Yasser Arafat, who died in 2004, Mr Abbas stood out as a man of peace who preferred negotiation to violence, whereas Mr Arafat, at least in most Israeli eyes, had always juggled the two. After Mr Abbas steps down, who will take over? And in which direction might the new man go? </p><p>But within hours of Mr Abbas&#8217;s declaration confusion had set in. For a start, it soon became unclear whether Mr Abbas really would step down. He has often threatened to resign. Angered by a recent decision of the American administration to rescind its previous vaunted insistence that Israel&#8217;s government should completely stop building and expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the core of a would-be Palestinian state, Mr Abbas may have been seeking to win concessions as his price for staying in office&#8212;and for returning to the negotiating table. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c55/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732718/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979669/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732718/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979669/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=SEXrek7FIHU:zt6BiHeNdx0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=SEXrek7FIHU:zt6BiHeNdx0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=SEXrek7FIHU:zt6BiHeNdx0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=SEXrek7FIHU:zt6BiHeNdx0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=SEXrek7FIHU:zt6BiHeNdx0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=SEXrek7FIHU:zt6BiHeNdx0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/SEXrek7FIHU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Overview
  <p>In America the unemployment rate rose by 0.4 percentage points in October to 10.2%, the highest since April 1983. Trade, transport and utilities shed the most jobs. The number of Americans out of work went up to 15.7m, 5.5m more than in October last year.</p><p>The Japanese current-account surplus rose in September, to YEN1.57 trillion ($17.2 billion) from YEN1.17 trillion in August. Much of the increase was due to a larger trade surplus. Exports grew about twice as fast as imports. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c54/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732717/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979668/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732717/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979668/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=j7PsL9o_u1o:KwZiff44o0Y:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=j7PsL9o_u1o:KwZiff44o0Y:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=j7PsL9o_u1o:KwZiff44o0Y:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=j7PsL9o_u1o:KwZiff44o0Y:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=j7PsL9o_u1o:KwZiff44o0Y:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=j7PsL9o_u1o:KwZiff44o0Y:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/j7PsL9o_u1o" height="1" width="1"/>
• Job vacancies
  <p>Recruitment in both Europe and America rose in October, according to the Monster Employment Index, which measures the strength of companies&#8217; hiring intentions by counting online advertisements. In Europe, this was the first increase since February. In America, there were more openings in health care and public administration in October, but fewer retail jobs on offer. Steep declines in most of the second half of 2008 mean that the American index is still more than 20% lower than a year earlier. The picture is worse in Europe, where recruitment was more than a third lower than 12 months earlier. Recruitment continued to fall in Germany in October, but it rose substantially in Britain. </p><p> ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c53/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732716/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979667/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732716/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979667/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5udAhepFMFA:Blecu7UcWFU:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5udAhepFMFA:Blecu7UcWFU:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5udAhepFMFA:Blecu7UcWFU:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5udAhepFMFA:Blecu7UcWFU:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5udAhepFMFA:Blecu7UcWFU:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5udAhepFMFA:Blecu7UcWFU:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/5udAhepFMFA" height="1" width="1"/>
• Output, prices and jobs
  <img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c52/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732715/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979666/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732715/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979666/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=E9D_A7Y20IM:Cj9Hn36w1Ek:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=E9D_A7Y20IM:Cj9Hn36w1Ek:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=E9D_A7Y20IM:Cj9Hn36w1Ek:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=E9D_A7Y20IM:Cj9Hn36w1Ek:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=E9D_A7Y20IM:Cj9Hn36w1Ek:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=E9D_A7Y20IM:Cj9Hn36w1Ek:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/E9D_A7Y20IM" height="1" width="1"/>
• The Economist commodity-price index
  <img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c51/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732714/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979665/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732714/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979665/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=79sQibyU3I4:5bEv8WJrBiY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=79sQibyU3I4:5bEv8WJrBiY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=79sQibyU3I4:5bEv8WJrBiY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=79sQibyU3I4:5bEv8WJrBiY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=79sQibyU3I4:5bEv8WJrBiY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=79sQibyU3I4:5bEv8WJrBiY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/79sQibyU3I4" height="1" width="1"/>
• Trade, exchange rates, budget balances and interest rates
  <img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c50/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732713/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979664/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732713/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979664/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BV8PsiSvuwA:fIY-5VtIWxs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BV8PsiSvuwA:fIY-5VtIWxs:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=BV8PsiSvuwA:fIY-5VtIWxs:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BV8PsiSvuwA:fIY-5VtIWxs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=BV8PsiSvuwA:fIY-5VtIWxs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=BV8PsiSvuwA:fIY-5VtIWxs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/BV8PsiSvuwA" height="1" width="1"/>
• Business this week
  <p>Oracle criticised the objections of Europe&#8217;s competition commissioner to its acquisition of Sun Microsystems, accusing the regulator of a &#8220;profound misunderstanding of both database competition and open-source dynamics&#8221;. America&#8217;s Justice Department, which has cleared the deal, took the unusual step of repeating its belief that the takeover does not raise antitrust concerns. Europe&#8217;s main objection is that Oracle will end up owning Sun&#8217;s MySQL open-source database, a potential rival. The commissioner&#8217;s final decision is due by January. See article</p><p>Intel and Advanced Micro Devices reached a settlement in their long-running patent dispute; AMD will withdraw the various complaints it has lodged worldwide in return for $1.25 billion from Intel. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c4f/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732712/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979663/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732712/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979663/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=s79SJMib8B0:AqUBQQPN2qs:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=s79SJMib8B0:AqUBQQPN2qs:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=s79SJMib8B0:AqUBQQPN2qs:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=s79SJMib8B0:AqUBQQPN2qs:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=s79SJMib8B0:AqUBQQPN2qs:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=s79SJMib8B0:AqUBQQPN2qs:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/s79SJMib8B0" height="1" width="1"/>
• Politics this week
  <p>America&#8217;s House of Representatives passed a comprehensive heath-care bill that includes a government-run insurance scheme. But the margin of victory&#8212;220 to 215, with 39 Democrats voting against&#8212;was much narrower than had been expected. Abortion restrictions were added to the legislation to secure the support of conservative Democrats. Senators will now debate their own proposals, with some threatening to filibuster any bill that ends up with the &#8220;public option&#8221;. See article</p><p>An army psychiatrist went on a shooting rampage in Fort Hood, Texas, killing 13 people. Major Nidal Malik Hasan&#8217;s motive for the rampage was unclear, but investigators hope to get some answers when they interview him; he was shot and injured by a police officer at the base. See article ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c4e/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732711/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979662/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732711/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979662/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=b_WxlQ2Ouyk:HS-U-emEpDo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=b_WxlQ2Ouyk:HS-U-emEpDo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=b_WxlQ2Ouyk:HS-U-emEpDo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=b_WxlQ2Ouyk:HS-U-emEpDo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=b_WxlQ2Ouyk:HS-U-emEpDo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=b_WxlQ2Ouyk:HS-U-emEpDo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/b_WxlQ2Ouyk" height="1" width="1"/>
• KAL's cartoon
  <img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c4d/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732710/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979661/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732710/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979661/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=R0D8Z_58CqM:i1M_TxLPcQc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=R0D8Z_58CqM:i1M_TxLPcQc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=R0D8Z_58CqM:i1M_TxLPcQc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=R0D8Z_58CqM:i1M_TxLPcQc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=R0D8Z_58CqM:i1M_TxLPcQc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=R0D8Z_58CqM:i1M_TxLPcQc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/R0D8Z_58CqM" height="1" width="1"/>
• Claude Lévi-Strauss
  <p>Claude Levi-Strauss, anthropologist, died on October 30th, aged 100</p><p>BEFORE Claude Levi-Strauss revolutionised the discipline, anthropology in France, and generally elsewhere, was a matter of ill-attended lectures in small, cold halls, and the collection of feathers and fish-hooks as evidence of the quaint divergences of the &#8220;primitive&#8221; tribes of mankind. He made it as fashionable as philosophy and poetry, both of which he wove through his ethnographical studies as perhaps only French intellectuals can. The proper study of mankind was indeed man: not in his politicking, warring or banking, but naked, painting his body, hunting bears, snaring birds. Here lay the universal truths about how the human mind worked and what man was. </p><p> Obedient to Rousseau, who always &#8220;set him aflame&#8221;, Mr Levi-Strauss observed men from afar. He never got too near or stayed too long in his rare stints of field-work, mostly in Brazil in the 1930s; he grasped only a few words of the languages, and avoided the &#8220;hateful&#8221; distractions of individual characters. In the bitter phrase of Jean-Paul Sartre, with whom he sparred for years, he preferred to view men like ants. He focused not on their differences but on the deep-lying patterns and systems in everything they did, until he could proclaim that all tribal myths were reducible to one formula, and that all human thought, &#8220;savage&#8221; or not, was built up from binary opposites such as hot and cold, night and day, raw and cooked, good and bad. Round these concepts whole societies, as well as stories, were organised. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c4c/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732709/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979660/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732709/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979660/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=i-TYasSY41g:_g1-JhWSktQ:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=i-TYasSY41g:_g1-JhWSktQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=i-TYasSY41g:_g1-JhWSktQ:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=i-TYasSY41g:_g1-JhWSktQ:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=i-TYasSY41g:_g1-JhWSktQ:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=i-TYasSY41g:_g1-JhWSktQ:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/i-TYasSY41g" height="1" width="1"/>
• Anatomy and sport: Athlete's foot
  <p>Sprinters are different from other people</p><p>IS ATHLETIC prowess attained or innate? Those who have suffered the tongue-lashing of a tyrannical games master at school might be forgiven for doubting the idea that anyone and everyone is capable of great sporting achievement, if only they would put enough effort into it. Practice may make perfect, but not all are built in ways that make it worth bothering in the first place. </p><p>The latest evidence of this truth has been gathered by Sabrina Lee of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver and Stephen Piazza at Pennsylvania State University. They have looked at the anatomy of sprinters and found that their feet are built differently from those of couch potatoes. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c4b/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732708/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979659/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732708/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979659/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=RgIkDmhXB5w:-zu76_3_kVw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=RgIkDmhXB5w:-zu76_3_kVw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=RgIkDmhXB5w:-zu76_3_kVw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=RgIkDmhXB5w:-zu76_3_kVw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=RgIkDmhXB5w:-zu76_3_kVw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=RgIkDmhXB5w:-zu76_3_kVw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/RgIkDmhXB5w" height="1" width="1"/>
• Electronics: Seeing clearly
  <p>A transparent transistor that could be used in electronic displays</p><p>FAMILIAR friends can nevertheless sometimes surprise. Such has been the case with a compound used to make the first solid-state batteries some 40 years ago. Researchers have now found that it can also be used to build transistors that are transparent and hence suitable for use in electronic books and head-up displays.</p><p>Sodium beta-alumina was discovered in the 19th century when the process of extracting aluminium from its ore, bauxite, was being developed. It is formed of alternating layers of aluminium oxide and sodium ions. In 1967 researchers at the Ford Motor Company discovered that it conducts these ions as though it were a liquid. That spawned the first solid-state batteries. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c4a/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732707/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979658/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732707/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979658/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lajCozmllhE:vrb8d-uXJ2s:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lajCozmllhE:vrb8d-uXJ2s:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=lajCozmllhE:vrb8d-uXJ2s:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lajCozmllhE:vrb8d-uXJ2s:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=lajCozmllhE:vrb8d-uXJ2s:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lajCozmllhE:vrb8d-uXJ2s:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/lajCozmllhE" height="1" width="1"/>
• Dinosaurs: How to exterminate a dinosaur
  <p>Modern palaeontologists may exterminate a third of dinosaur species</p><p>This is the fossilised ornamentation of a dinosaur called Stygimoloch spinifer. Except that if Jack Horner of Montana State University and Mark Goodwin of the University of California, Berkeley, have their way, it isn&#8217;t. As they describe in the Public Library of Science, they think it, and another like it, Dracorex hogwartsia, are actually juvenile versions of a third, Pachycephalosaurus wyomingensis. These findings follow the eradication of a three-horned dinosaur, Torosaurus, at September&#8217;s meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology, in Bristol, and the loss in recent years of many duck-billed dinosaur species. Dr Horner and Dr Goodwin argue that, like the antlers of modern deer, the skull ornaments of dinosaurs changed radically over their lifetimes and that this has led to an overestimate of the number of dinosaur species by as much as a third.</p><p> ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c49/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732706/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979657/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732706/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979657/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EOOucot4tiE:IIiJqqyj3v0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EOOucot4tiE:IIiJqqyj3v0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=EOOucot4tiE:IIiJqqyj3v0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EOOucot4tiE:IIiJqqyj3v0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=EOOucot4tiE:IIiJqqyj3v0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=EOOucot4tiE:IIiJqqyj3v0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/EOOucot4tiE" height="1" width="1"/>
• Gut bacteria and obesity: Holy shit!
  <p>A new way of finding out how diet affects gut microbes</p><p>AS THE world&#8217;s fatties clock up the kilos, their excuses for being that way have piled up, too. Big bones, junk foods, genes or poor parenting&#8212;there are plenty of directions in which to point a chubby finger. In the past few years, a new potential culprit has emerged: gut bacteria. Human guts are full of bugs that help digestion and also stop their disease-causing counterparts from invading. In this age-old symbiosis, some bacteria are better than others at providing food to their human hosts&#8212;and also seem, by mechanisms yet unknown, to encourage those hosts&#8217; bodies to store that energy as fat and to keep the fat on. </p><p>In the past, when food was in limited supply, these bacteria would have been valuable allies. In an era of plenty, though, they are problematic. In particular, work on mice suggests obesity is associated with having a high proportion of bacteria called Firmicutes, whereas the lean favour another group, the Bacteroidetes. Such work has also raised the suggestion that transplanting &#8220;lean mouse&#8221; microbes to fat mice can make them thinner&#8212;for a while. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c48/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732705/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979656/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732705/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979656/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vFxZ8sy0qHg:jy8d7EIF8t0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vFxZ8sy0qHg:jy8d7EIF8t0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vFxZ8sy0qHg:jy8d7EIF8t0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vFxZ8sy0qHg:jy8d7EIF8t0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vFxZ8sy0qHg:jy8d7EIF8t0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vFxZ8sy0qHg:jy8d7EIF8t0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/vFxZ8sy0qHg" height="1" width="1"/>
• Lagrangian coherent structures: The skeleton of water
  <p>Research is revealing a hidden structure within liquids and gases that guides the movement of everything from pollution to aeroplanes</p><p>THE connection between an 18th-century savant called Joseph-Louis Lagrange and the problem of landing safely at Hong Kong International Airport may not, at first, be obvious. But there is one. Hong Kong airport is notorious for rocky and sometimes aborted landings caused by the disturbed air flow from nearby mountains. Though laser technology is deployed alongside its runways to monitor changes in wind speed and thus forewarn pilots, that is often not enough. What is needed is a better understanding of the theory of the winds themselves.</p><p>And this is where Lagrange comes in. He was a pioneer of the study of moving fluids (among many other things), but his ideas outran the computational tools of his day. Only now, with supercomputers available to help with the calculations, is it possible to explore those ideas completely. What is emerging is a picture of fluid dynamics more subtle and more complex than anything dreamed of even a decade ago. The atmosphere and the ocean are, it seems, dominated by invisible barriers that have come to be known as Lagrangian coherent structures. They govern the movement of everything from the trajectories of aircraft to the distribution of pollution, the migration of jellyfish and the tracks taken by hurricanes. They are, as it were, the skeletons of the sea and the air. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c47/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732704/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979655/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732704/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979655/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=PK6iGZhW9Dg:0aBbGdbiJiY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=PK6iGZhW9Dg:0aBbGdbiJiY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=PK6iGZhW9Dg:0aBbGdbiJiY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=PK6iGZhW9Dg:0aBbGdbiJiY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=PK6iGZhW9Dg:0aBbGdbiJiY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=PK6iGZhW9Dg:0aBbGdbiJiY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/PK6iGZhW9Dg" height="1" width="1"/>
• Minsheng's IPO: The not-so-little guy
  <p>China&#8217;s first privately owned bank readies for listing</p><p>THE story of China Minsheng Bank ought to warm the heart. Cobbled together in 1996 by 59 investors, including Liu Yonghao, a pig-feed seller turned billionaire, it was China&#8217;s first bank with primarily private owners. It is now the country&#8217;s seventh-largest bank. And an imminent Hong Kong listing should enable it to raise about $4 billion, making it the territory&#8217;s biggest initial public offering (IPO) of the year.</p><p>Size and state-sector camaraderie allow China&#8217;s big five state banks to carve up lucrative loans for big government projects. On the next rung down, Minsheng must fight it out against the other joint-stock banks, a dozen institutions (some with state backing) licensed to do business nationwide. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c46/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732703/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979654/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732703/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979654/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vWaK2zYUu8Y:bH_PaUUm31Q:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vWaK2zYUu8Y:bH_PaUUm31Q:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vWaK2zYUu8Y:bH_PaUUm31Q:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vWaK2zYUu8Y:bH_PaUUm31Q:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vWaK2zYUu8Y:bH_PaUUm31Q:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vWaK2zYUu8Y:bH_PaUUm31Q:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/vWaK2zYUu8Y" height="1" width="1"/>
• Economics focus: Secret sauce
  <p>China&#8217;s rapid growth is due not just to heavy investment, but also to the world&#8217;s fastest productivity gains</p><p>PRODUCTIVITY growth is perhaps the single most important gauge of an economy&#8217;s health. Nothing matters more for long-term living standards than improvements in the efficiency with which an economy combines capital and labour. Unfortunately, productivity growth is itself often inefficiently measured. Most analysts focus on labour productivity, which is usually calculated by dividing total output by the number of workers, or the number of hours worked. According to new figures published on November 5th, America&#8217;s output per hour worked has increased by 4.3% over the past year, thanks to big job cuts. Even more impressive is China, where labour productivity has risen by 7-8%. </p><p>The snag is that labour productivity is an incomplete gauge of efficiency. Firms can boost output per man-hour by investing more and equipping workers with better machinery. But once the extra capital spending is taken into account there may be little or no gain in overall economic efficiency. Part of the jump in America&#8217;s labour productivity during the &#8220;new economy&#8221; era of the late 1990s reflected a rise in investment as a share of GDP. The huge increase in China&#8217;s labour productivity in recent years is partly due to heavy investment rather than true efficiency gains. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c45/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732702/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979653/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732702/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979653/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lPjDVSMsYWw:hUxsJGm6hEA:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lPjDVSMsYWw:hUxsJGm6hEA:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=lPjDVSMsYWw:hUxsJGm6hEA:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lPjDVSMsYWw:hUxsJGm6hEA:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=lPjDVSMsYWw:hUxsJGm6hEA:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lPjDVSMsYWw:hUxsJGm6hEA:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/lPjDVSMsYWw" height="1" width="1"/>
• Oracle and Sun Microsystems: Merger interruptus
  <p>Regulators may block a big technology tie-up, but their case is not convincing</p><p>FOR a brief period many hoped that trustbusters in Europe and America would start playing in tune. During the eight years of the Bush administration, the European Commission&#8217;s competition police took a notably more activist approach than their American counterparts. With a new man in the White House, regulators in Washington let it be known that they intended to act with greater vigilance.</p><p>This apparent meeting of minds has not lasted long. On November 9th it emerged that regulators in Brussels object to the proposed $7.4 billion purchase of Sun Microsystems, a troubled maker of computer hardware, by Oracle, a software giant. That puts them at odds with America&#8217;s Department of Justice, which gave its approval to the tie-up in August. Observers now fear the outbreak of a transatlantic row over antitrust similar to the one that broke out in 2001, when Europe blocked a union between two conglomerates, General Electric (GE) and Honeywell. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c44/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732701/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979652/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732701/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979652/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9Nfw738QHuA:HNmb_WKZZ9A:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9Nfw738QHuA:HNmb_WKZZ9A:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=9Nfw738QHuA:HNmb_WKZZ9A:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9Nfw738QHuA:HNmb_WKZZ9A:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=9Nfw738QHuA:HNmb_WKZZ9A:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=9Nfw738QHuA:HNmb_WKZZ9A:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/9Nfw738QHuA" height="1" width="1"/>
• Japan as number one: Land of the setting sun
  <p>Japan&#8217;s economy was on course to surpass America&#8217;s. What happened?</p><p>IT LEFT American executives quaking in their loafers and cheered a generation of Japanese salarymen. &#8220;The extent of Japanese superiority over the United States in industrial competitiveness is underpublicised,&#8221; trumpeted Ezra Vogel of Harvard University 30 years ago in &#8220;Japan as Number One&#8221; (see article), which became one of the most-discussed business books of its time. </p><p>The world&#8217;s second-largest economy had surpassed America in gross national product per person according to some measures, and looked on course to overtake it. &#8220;Vogel&#8217;s book helps explain why Japan is the most dynamic of all modern industrial nations,&#8221; gushed Foreign Affairs. America was mired in stagflation, with an unemployment rate nearing double digits. Japan seemed to be the better bet. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c43/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732700/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979651/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732700/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979651/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=LwIMJ41_RMY:T8_LG4cLpE8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=LwIMJ41_RMY:T8_LG4cLpE8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=LwIMJ41_RMY:T8_LG4cLpE8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=LwIMJ41_RMY:T8_LG4cLpE8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=LwIMJ41_RMY:T8_LG4cLpE8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=LwIMJ41_RMY:T8_LG4cLpE8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/LwIMJ41_RMY" height="1" width="1"/>
• Music piracy: Singing a different tune
  <p>The battle against online music piracy is turning. A return to growth will take a good deal longer</p><p>&#8220;ROCK and roll is dead,&#8221; sang Lenny Kravitz. It is certainly poorly. Music was the first media business to be seriously affected by piracy and has suffered most severely. Yet the prognosis is improving. While it is by no means over, the struggle against music piracy is going better than at any point since the appearance of Napster, a file-sharing service, ten years ago. </p><p>It has been a brutal decade. In many countries music sales to consumers have fallen by more than a third. Even Apple&#8217;s popular digital iTunes store is little more than a niche service: fully 95% of downloads are illegal, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), a trade group. Established bands have been able to raise ticket prices in response. But by reducing the money available to sign and tout new artists, file-sharing has made it harder for bands to become established. Paul McGuinness, who manages the band U2, says the whole &#8220;starmaking apparatus&#8221; is damaged. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c42/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732699/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979650/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732699/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979650/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GGWGoKweHpQ:rBBc2knsl8c:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GGWGoKweHpQ:rBBc2knsl8c:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=GGWGoKweHpQ:rBBc2knsl8c:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GGWGoKweHpQ:rBBc2knsl8c:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=GGWGoKweHpQ:rBBc2knsl8c:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=GGWGoKweHpQ:rBBc2knsl8c:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/GGWGoKweHpQ" height="1" width="1"/>
• Schumpeter: The cult of the faceless boss
  <p>Too many chief executives are instantly forgettable. It's the flamboyant, visionary bosses who change the world</p><p>THE European Union is not the only institution that prefers faceless technocrats to people with star power. The corporate world is increasingly rejecting imperial chief executives in favour of anonymous managers&#8212;bland and boring men and women who can hardly get themselves noticed at cocktail parties, let alone stop the traffic in Moscow and Beijing. </p><p>Some of the world&#8217;s most powerful bosses are striking mainly for their blandness: Sam Palmisano at IBM, Tony Hayward at BP, Terry Leahy at Tesco, Vittorio Colao at Vodafone. These men are at the head of a vast army of even more forgettable bosses. Watch the parade of chief executives who appear on CNBC every day, or drop in to a high-powered conference, and you begin to wonder whether cloning is more advanced than scientists are letting on. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c41/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732698/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979649/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732698/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979649/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=reDpV6qcSYk:IZPfD-JBUzE:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=reDpV6qcSYk:IZPfD-JBUzE:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=reDpV6qcSYk:IZPfD-JBUzE:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=reDpV6qcSYk:IZPfD-JBUzE:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=reDpV6qcSYk:IZPfD-JBUzE:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=reDpV6qcSYk:IZPfD-JBUzE:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/reDpV6qcSYk" height="1" width="1"/>
• The planning takeover: The nuclear option
  <p>A shake-up in planning could centralise power and weaken the say of local people</p><p>BRITAIN, and especially England, is occasionally compared to North Korea (only half-jokingly) as one of the most heavily centralised states in the world. Whitehall bureaucrats micromanage schools and hospitals; local government is dependent on the Treasury for most of its funding. But one bastion of local power has for years stood apart from the trend towards central control: planning, the process by which building projects are granted or denied permission to proceed. Objections from stubborn locals can derail or delay everything from small wind farms and shopping centres to huge projects of national importance. The most notorious example is probably Heathrow airport&#8217;s fifth terminal, which languished in the planning system for year upon year before eventually being approved in 2001.</p><p>On November 9th all that seemed set to change, as Ed Miliband, the energy and climate-change secretary, delivered the first of the government&#8217;s &#8220;National Policy Statements&#8221; on infrastructure. These will inform the work of the Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC), an independent body set up last month. Led by Sir Michael Pitt, a veteran planner and local-authority boss, it will take over responsibility for planning nationally important projects from March 2010. Decisions that used to take years will, in theory, take just months or even weeks, with public involvement drastically curtailed. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c40/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732697/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979648/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732697/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979648/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=qD457Mlmdco:MsTHJo-QJCI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=qD457Mlmdco:MsTHJo-QJCI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=qD457Mlmdco:MsTHJo-QJCI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=qD457Mlmdco:MsTHJo-QJCI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=qD457Mlmdco:MsTHJo-QJCI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=qD457Mlmdco:MsTHJo-QJCI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/qD457Mlmdco" height="1" width="1"/>
• The economics of nuclear power: Splitting the cost
  <p>Nuclear energy is unlikely to work without a carbon tax</p><p>PLANNING is not the only obstacle to a rebirth of nuclear power in Britain. The technology&#8217;s torturous economics are, if anything, even trickier. The trouble is that, whereas the fuel is cheap, nuclear-power plants themselves are very expensive to build and the pay-off from that investment is slow.</p><p>It is hard to know the true cost of a modern nuclear plant. Most Western reactors that are still running were built years ago (Britain&#8217;s newest, Sizewell B, is 14 years old). Two new reactors of the type Britain may choose are being constructed in Finland and France. Discouragingly, the Finnish reactor, originally priced at &#8364;3 billion (GBP2.1 billion at the time), is three years late and around &#8364;2 billion more expensive than expected. The French plant is also thought to be over budget, by around 20%. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c3f/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732696/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979647/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732696/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979647/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5mi6F9adYNo:mG5Xwwxa4jM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5mi6F9adYNo:mG5Xwwxa4jM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5mi6F9adYNo:mG5Xwwxa4jM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5mi6F9adYNo:mG5Xwwxa4jM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=5mi6F9adYNo:mG5Xwwxa4jM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=5mi6F9adYNo:mG5Xwwxa4jM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/5mi6F9adYNo" height="1" width="1"/>
• Bagehot: The conjuror's bluff
  <p>Why Scotland's other politicians should go ahead and make Alex Salmond's day</p><p>TO JUDGE from the awe with which he is regarded by his rivals, Alex Salmond, Scotland&#8217;s first minister and leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) is a politician of wizard-like cunning. Look, they say, at the scandal over the release of the Lockerbie bomber. Saltires were waved in Tripoli and brickbats hurled from Washington; yet, even as he insisted the decision was Scotland&#8217;s alone, Mr Salmond contrived to deflect much of the blame onto Gordon Brown. Their deep fear is that Mr Salmond will conjure Scotland into independence. </p><p>The Westminster by-election in Glasgow North East on November 12th is one of two big political events in Scotland this month. Probably the more important is on November 30th, St Andrew&#8217;s Day, when Mr Salmond&#8217;s devolved executive will publish a draft bill to authorise a referendum on independence; he hopes to hold the vote itself in late 2010. Lacking a majority in the Scottish Parliament, the SNP needs the backing of at least one other party for the bill to pass. At the moment, that seems unlikely. But Mr Salmond&#8217;s opponents should reconsider. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c3e/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732695/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979646/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732695/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979646/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Wt6mOhESxmM:Z-JgMIyNP1o:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Wt6mOhESxmM:Z-JgMIyNP1o:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=Wt6mOhESxmM:Z-JgMIyNP1o:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Wt6mOhESxmM:Z-JgMIyNP1o:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=Wt6mOhESxmM:Z-JgMIyNP1o:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Wt6mOhESxmM:Z-JgMIyNP1o:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/Wt6mOhESxmM" height="1" width="1"/>
• Demography in the Balkans: A birth dearth
  <p>The tricky politics of population in the former Yugoslavia</p><p>OUTSIDE a hospital in Belgrade, two parking spots are reserved for parents with babies. A placard shows a stork delivering a baby that is then driven off in a car. What is telling is that there are only two spaces. Serbia&#8217;s population is shrinking. </p><p>Demography is causing alarm in many Balkan countries. In Bosnia and Kosovo, the issue can be fundamental. In Macedonia, a bid by the government to give financial aid to encourage (low-birth) Macedonians to have more children but to exclude (high-birth) Albanians was struck down by the constitutional court in April. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c3d/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732694/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979645/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732694/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979645/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=yrjyTaWcC-0:E-Sc7xxv38g:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=yrjyTaWcC-0:E-Sc7xxv38g:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=yrjyTaWcC-0:E-Sc7xxv38g:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=yrjyTaWcC-0:E-Sc7xxv38g:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=yrjyTaWcC-0:E-Sc7xxv38g:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=yrjyTaWcC-0:E-Sc7xxv38g:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/yrjyTaWcC-0" height="1" width="1"/>
• The far right in Russia: Cracked up
  <p>Still an active presence, but one the authorities may not tolerate much longer</p><p>RUSSIAN fascists did not hide their elation when Stanislav Markelov, a human-rights lawyer, and Anastasia Baburova, a young journalist, were shot dead in Moscow last January. Mr Markelov had been a vital link between anti-fascist activists, such as Ms Baburova, and the police. Yet the sense of impunity long enjoyed by Russia&#8217;s far right has been dented by the arrest of a man and a woman for the murders. The police even seem to have got the right people (and others are still being hunted). </p><p>Nikita Tikhonov, a 29-year-old ultra-nationalist who has admitted the murders, had been on the run since 2006, when a group of skinheads knifed to death a 19-year-old anti-fascist student. Mr Markelov, who represented the victim&#8217;s family, managed to get some of the attackers locked up. But Mr Tikhonov, the main suspect, escaped. He appears to be linked to Russian Mode, an ultra-nationalist group that advertises itself as &#8220;not a gang, a PR agency or a political party, but all those things together&#8221; and explains how to acquire weapons. He and his combative comrade were detained on November 4th, a new holiday of &#8220;national unity&#8221; that has been hijacked by ultra-nationalists as their day to march and shout racist slogans. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c3b/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732693/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979643/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732693/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979643/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1Vjx261b1vE:JLTBvSfddNc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1Vjx261b1vE:JLTBvSfddNc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=1Vjx261b1vE:JLTBvSfddNc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1Vjx261b1vE:JLTBvSfddNc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=1Vjx261b1vE:JLTBvSfddNc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=1Vjx261b1vE:JLTBvSfddNc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/1Vjx261b1vE" height="1" width="1"/>
• Turkey and the Kurds: Peace in sight?
  <p>The government doggedly pursues a settlement of its Kurdish problem</p><p>STUFFING its ears to opposition cries of treason, Turkey&#8217;s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party is going ahead with bold moves to end the country&#8217;s long-running Kurdish problem. The odd bout of turbulence notwithstanding, peace between Turkey and its rebellious Kurds now seems closer than ever. </p><p>This week the ruling party proposed a measure to reduce or commute sentences for thousands of stone-throwing young Kurds charged with acting for the rebel Kurdistan Workers&#8217; Party (PKK). If it is passed, they would no longer be tried in adult courts. That should help blunt the radicalisation of a new generation of jobless Kurds, natural recruits for the PKK. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c39/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732692/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979641/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732692/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979641/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xxX9VSUIYbY:Qizpml2yhsc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xxX9VSUIYbY:Qizpml2yhsc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=xxX9VSUIYbY:Qizpml2yhsc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xxX9VSUIYbY:Qizpml2yhsc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=xxX9VSUIYbY:Qizpml2yhsc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xxX9VSUIYbY:Qizpml2yhsc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/xxX9VSUIYbY" height="1" width="1"/>
• The far right in eastern Europe: Right on down
  <p>No direct threat, yet far-right ideas seep into the mainstream</p><p>WHEN Jobbik, a Hungarian far-right party, took 15% of the vote in June&#8217;s European election, it sent shudders across the continent. Running on an anti-Roma (gypsy) platform, with nasty words for Jews and homosexuals and with its own uniformed wing, Jobbik seemed more troubling than earlier groups. It joined existing extremists in the region to suggest a new resurgence of the far right. The Slovak National Party (SNP), whose leader, Jan Slota, is known for pungent anti-Hungarian remarks, has won seats in every Slovak parliament but one since 1990 and been part of the government since 2006. Bulgaria&#8217;s Ataka lives up to its name with verbal onslaughts against the country&#8217;s Turks, and has taken 10% of the vote since 2005. Jobbik may be the third-biggest party in Hungary after next spring&#8217;s election.</p><p>Yet in other places the far right is in retreat. Poland&#8217;s League of Polish Families, a xenophobic bunch with a youth wing known for anti-Semitism, was knocked out of parliament in 2007. The Greater Romania Party, an irredentist group of Magyar-bashers whose leader came second in Romania&#8217;s presidential election of 2000, lost all its seats in 2008. Jobbik&#8217;s uniformed outfit was banned earlier this year. A far-right group in the European Parliament in 2007 broke up after ten months of in-fighting (Romanian members objected to being called &#8220;gypsies&#8221; by Italians). The Baltics, the Czech Republic and Slovenia have no big far-right parties. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c34/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732691/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979636/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732691/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979636/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2kCGmSlXgJg:9jCtdVG-jOg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2kCGmSlXgJg:9jCtdVG-jOg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=2kCGmSlXgJg:9jCtdVG-jOg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2kCGmSlXgJg:9jCtdVG-jOg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=2kCGmSlXgJg:9jCtdVG-jOg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=2kCGmSlXgJg:9jCtdVG-jOg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/2kCGmSlXgJg" height="1" width="1"/>
• Germany's foreign policy: A new game of dominoes
  <p>The world&#8217;s focus on Germany this week has prompted some to ask about Germany&#8217;s focus on the world</p><p>THE new American ambassador to Germany, Philip Murphy, introduced himself to Berliners recently in an Obama-style town-hall meeting at Humboldt University. &#8220;The relationship between Germany and America&#8221;, he declared, &#8220;is the most important relationship of the past 60-plus years.&#8221; That may have been true when the Berlin Wall still stood, just west of where Mr Murphy was bonding with the city&#8217;s youth. But it stopped being so when the wall fell 20 years ago. </p><p>So long as the wall was there, West Germany was on the front line of the West&#8217;s confrontation with the Soviet Union. Its fall, commemorated by European leaders this week with fireworks and the toppling of 1,000 hand-painted dominoes, increased Germany&#8217;s population by a quarter, its territory by two-fifths and its economy by a tenth. France and Britain were not alone in fretting lest Germans return to their overbearing ways. In fact, Germany&#8217;s relative importance has diminished. Today it is a medium-sized power whose influence looms large within Europe but is spotty beyond it. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c30/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732690/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979632/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732690/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979632/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=TCkiCOu97J8:jxxrqQrZUPw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=TCkiCOu97J8:jxxrqQrZUPw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=TCkiCOu97J8:jxxrqQrZUPw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=TCkiCOu97J8:jxxrqQrZUPw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=TCkiCOu97J8:jxxrqQrZUPw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=TCkiCOu97J8:jxxrqQrZUPw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/TCkiCOu97J8" height="1" width="1"/>
• Islamic finance in France: Sharia calling
  <p>A political row about Muslim law</p><p>WITH western Europe&#8217;s biggest Muslim population (some 6m) and a firm secular tradition, France has an unapologetic approach to religious minorities. Immigrants and their offspring must adapt to French rules, not the other way round. France has banned the Islamic veil in state schools. Parliament is looking into outlawing the burqa from public places. But how bendy is this attitude? When it comes to Islamic finance, to the dismay of some politicians on both right and left, the government is trying to introduce elements of sharia&#8212;under which &#8220;usury&#8221; is forbidden.</p><p>In a global recession, Islamic finance looks an attractive business. Worldwide sharia-compliant assets grew by 29% over the past year to $822 billion, according to The Banker. French officials fret that Paris is missing out on its share, particularly to London, whose multicultural approach gives an open-arms welcome to Islamic investors. To catch up, the French have pushed through changes to their tax and legal codes. But their latest effort has prompted a political backlash. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c2f/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732689/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979631/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732689/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979631/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=VwZ1e-p53bU:g7as4y6VoQI:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=VwZ1e-p53bU:g7as4y6VoQI:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=VwZ1e-p53bU:g7as4y6VoQI:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=VwZ1e-p53bU:g7as4y6VoQI:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=VwZ1e-p53bU:g7as4y6VoQI:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=VwZ1e-p53bU:g7as4y6VoQI:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/VwZ1e-p53bU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Charlemagne: Single market bargaining
  <p>Why a deal on tax harmonisation might not boost support for the single market</p><p>A FEW times a year, Charlemagne has the luck to teach students at a European management school in Paris. It is an enlightening experience (for your columnist, at least). One popular question has been why some European Union policies are so contentious in places like France, notably the commitment to an internal market based on &#8220;free and undistorted competition&#8221;. After a while, the penny dropped. If you play word association, it turns out that for many in a Parisian classroom, the polar opposite of &#8220;competition&#8221; is &#8220;solidarity&#8221;: ie, the useful rigour imposed by competition is overshadowed by the pain caused as society divides into winners and losers. For Anglo-Saxon liberals, the instinctive opposite of &#8220;competition&#8221; is &#8220;monopoly&#8221;: ie, the pain of competition is justified by a quest for fairness, even before getting to arguments about efficiency and companies&#8217; long-term fitness.</p><p>In Paris the idea that a free-market liberal may believe he is defending a moral position (rather than a necessary evil) often causes surprise. In parallel, it is salutary to be reminded that the other side has a point too. The open borders written into the EU can be both positive and painful, as globalisation produces losers as well as winners. From the earliest days of the single market, EU leaders have attempted to square this circle by presenting the project as a grand bargain. Popular consent for liberalisation was bought with promises of solidarity in the form of welfare safety nets at the national level, and hefty flows of aid from rich to poor countries at the EU level. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c2e/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732688/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979630/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732688/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979630/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vzEJXIBOqaQ:3TBw5Lsepi0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vzEJXIBOqaQ:3TBw5Lsepi0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vzEJXIBOqaQ:3TBw5Lsepi0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vzEJXIBOqaQ:3TBw5Lsepi0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=vzEJXIBOqaQ:3TBw5Lsepi0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=vzEJXIBOqaQ:3TBw5Lsepi0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/vzEJXIBOqaQ" height="1" width="1"/>
• Drugs: Virtually legal
  <p>In many countries, full jails, stretched budgets and a general weariness with the war on drugs have made prohibition harder to enforce</p><p>THE Green Relief &#8220;natural health clinic&#8221; in a bohemian part of San Francisco doesn&#8217;t sound like an ordinary doctor&#8217;s surgery. For those who wonder about the sort of relief provided, its logo&#8212;a cannabis leaf&#8212;is a clue. Inside, in under an hour and for $99, patients can get a doctor&#8217;s letter allowing them to smoke marijuana in California with no fear of prosecution. In a state that pioneered bans on smoking tobacco, smoking cannabis is now easier than almost anywhere in the world.</p><p>California, with its network of pot-friendly physicians, offers the most visible evidence of a tentative worldwide shift towards a more liberal policy on drugs. Although most countries remain bound by a trio of United Nations conventions that prohibit the sale and possession of narcotics, laws are increasingly being bent or ignored. That is true even in the United States, where the Obama administration has announced that registered cannabis dispensaries will no longer be raided by federal authorities. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c2d/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732687/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979629/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732687/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979629/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Treyt4ouHWk:Mk_JmDD9GXo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Treyt4ouHWk:Mk_JmDD9GXo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=Treyt4ouHWk:Mk_JmDD9GXo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Treyt4ouHWk:Mk_JmDD9GXo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=Treyt4ouHWk:Mk_JmDD9GXo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Treyt4ouHWk:Mk_JmDD9GXo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/Treyt4ouHWk" height="1" width="1"/>
• Fiji and Oceania: Coconut dictator
  <p>A coup leader who is tough on the outside, softer underneath</p><p>FIJI&#8217;S military strongman, Commodore Frank Bainimarama, has thumped down his fist. He will restore relations with Australia and New Zealand only in 2014, he says, having booted out their High Commissioners on November 4th. He justified the expulsions by saying the countries were interfering in his efforts to replace judges he sacked when he abrogated the constitution in April. </p><p> This latest diplomatic crisis, as with previous such episodes, led to a ratcheting up of repression at home: Brij Lal, a persistent critic of the regime and a distinguished historian of the Indian diaspora, was taken to a military barracks, harassed and thrown out of the country. This week, the authorities started jamming anti-government bloggers, who have proliferated since the coup of December 2006. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c2b/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732686/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979627/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732686/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979627/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YAHhKF5FWp4:Oyq6TeWKfb4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YAHhKF5FWp4:Oyq6TeWKfb4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YAHhKF5FWp4:Oyq6TeWKfb4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YAHhKF5FWp4:Oyq6TeWKfb4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YAHhKF5FWp4:Oyq6TeWKfb4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YAHhKF5FWp4:Oyq6TeWKfb4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/YAHhKF5FWp4" height="1" width="1"/>
• Singapore and immigration: A PR problem
  <p>Immigration becomes the hot political issue in a model city-state</p><p>AT CHINA&#8217;s 60th anniversary bash last month, Zhang Yuanyuan, a China-born, permanent resident of Singapore, was caught on camera professing her love for her native country. The clip caused a storm in the island state; it was the latest sign of resentment towards incomers and evidence that immigration is becoming the city-state&#8217;s dominant political issue.</p><p>Faced with an ageing population and low fertility, Singapore&#8217;s government has long courted foreigners to plug gaps in the workforce. In 1990, citizens made up 86% of Singapore&#8217;s 3m people. Today, the share is 64% of 5m-odd. More than one in three people are foreigners (permanent residents, known as PRs, and non-residents). ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c2a/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732685/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979626/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732685/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979626/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lAAPaQYboA0:O8sAtHAK5js:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lAAPaQYboA0:O8sAtHAK5js:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=lAAPaQYboA0:O8sAtHAK5js:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lAAPaQYboA0:O8sAtHAK5js:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=lAAPaQYboA0:O8sAtHAK5js:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=lAAPaQYboA0:O8sAtHAK5js:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/lAAPaQYboA0" height="1" width="1"/>
• China's state-owned enterprises: Nationalisation rides again
  <p>Do state firms have too much power? A case in Hebei stirs debate</p><p>THERE are so many examples of Chinese farmers enraged by industrial polluters that Hou Youliang, a 61-year-old cancer sufferer, might have struggled to get anyone to listen to his complaints about nearby iron mines. But Mr Hou&#8217;s grievance relates to a big state-owned enterprise. In recent months, worriers about China&#8217;s increasingly muscular state sector have grown more vocal. Mr Hou&#8217;s travails have given them fresh ammunition.</p><p>Oddly it was a newspaper run by China&#8217;s official news agency, Xinhua, that broke Mr Hou&#8217;s story on October 15th. The state enterprise in question, China Minmetals Corp, is, like Xinhua, controlled by the central government. Normally Xinhua would avoid openly confronting the centre&#8217;s other bastions of power. Minmetals, clearly shocked by the breach of etiquette, summoned journalists the following day to issue a furious rebuttal of the allegation&#8212;made by the newspaper, Economic Information Daily&#8212;that two mines controlled by a Minmetals subsidiary had polluted Mr Hou&#8217;s village. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c29/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732684/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979625/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732684/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979625/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xgpfckIq0ag:RtcvjjZ1ckg:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xgpfckIq0ag:RtcvjjZ1ckg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=xgpfckIq0ag:RtcvjjZ1ckg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xgpfckIq0ag:RtcvjjZ1ckg:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=xgpfckIq0ag:RtcvjjZ1ckg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=xgpfckIq0ag:RtcvjjZ1ckg:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/xgpfckIq0ag" height="1" width="1"/>
• Baltimore's mayor on trial: Dixon in the dock
  <p>The beginning, not the end</p><p>AS AMERICAN mayoral scandals go, that involving Sheila Dixon, Baltimore&#8217;s mayor, is not one of the worst. She was not videotaped smoking crack (Marion Barry, Washington, DC, 1990). She did not assault a man with an ashtray, a log and a lit cigarette (Buddy Cianci, Providence, 1984). She instead faces a tawdry list of a dozen counts of theft, perjury, fraudulent misappropriation and misconduct, including allegations that she spent gift certificates intended for needy families on herself.</p><p>The perjury charges were initially dismissed, and only refiled after Ronald Lipscomb, a local developer and former lover of Ms Dixon&#8217;s, agreed to co-operate with the prosecution. Mr Lipscomb pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate campaign-finance laws. He testified before a grand jury that he lavished gifts on Ms Dixon&#8212;including a $2,000 gift certificate to a furrier, trips to Colorado, New York and Chicago, and $4,000 to pay for a shopping spree in Chicago&#8212;that she did not disclose. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c24/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732683/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979620/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732683/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979620/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YOu43LOiH3Q:8Jpjqe3hJY8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YOu43LOiH3Q:8Jpjqe3hJY8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YOu43LOiH3Q:8Jpjqe3hJY8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YOu43LOiH3Q:8Jpjqe3hJY8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=YOu43LOiH3Q:8Jpjqe3hJY8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=YOu43LOiH3Q:8Jpjqe3hJY8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/YOu43LOiH3Q" height="1" width="1"/>
• Streetcars in Washington, DC: Rolling stuck
  <p>A light-rail project is up against the brick wall of bureaucracy</p><p>THE good news is that the three streetcars that the city of Washington, DC, bought for $10m back in 2006 seem to be running well. The bad news is that they are running only once a month, for 200 yards, in Ostrava&#8212;the Czech town where they were built. The city has paid $860,000 to store the cars, and says they will be in DC at the end of this year. When they will carry their first passengers, however, is harder to say.</p><p>Until 1962, around 200 miles (320km) of streetcar tracks ran through Washington and its suburbs. Then Congress ordered DC Transit, which operated them, to switch to buses; cars grew more popular; and today the area has some of the worst traffic in the country. Plans to help alleviate that with a return to streetcars began seven years ago. The city has broken ground on two small bits of what it hopes will be a 37-mile network: 1.5 miles in Anacostia, a rundown area in the south-east of the city, and two miles along a burgeoning commercial corridor on H Street in the city&#8217;s north-east quadrant. In July 2008, it was said that the Anacostia section would be running by late 2009. Now the estimate is 2012. The city still has not decided where it will store and maintain the vehicles, or how it will power them. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c1f/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732682/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979615/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732682/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979615/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=N7T1paD5buo:7_FOj9ZzDbM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=N7T1paD5buo:7_FOj9ZzDbM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=N7T1paD5buo:7_FOj9ZzDbM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=N7T1paD5buo:7_FOj9ZzDbM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=N7T1paD5buo:7_FOj9ZzDbM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=N7T1paD5buo:7_FOj9ZzDbM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/N7T1paD5buo" height="1" width="1"/>
• Tim Pawlenty and the presidential race: T-Paw stakes his claim
  <p>The long, winding road to the Republican nomination</p><p>PRESIDENTIAL hopefuls find a natural habitat in Iowa. Before the caucuses, this energetic species can be seen marching in parades and munching pies at county fairs. Some, however, can be spotted by keen watchers a lot earlier than others. On November 7th Tim Pawlenty, Minnesota&#8217;s governor, gave the keynote speech at the Iowa Republicans&#8217; annual autumn dinner. &#8220;Are you fired up?&#8221; he asked the crowd, echoing the young long-shot of 2008. &#8220;Are you ready to fight back?&#8221;</p><p>The answer, apparently, is not quite yet. In a field of veterans such as Sarah Palin and Mike Huckabee, Mr Pawlenty lags far behind. Seventy-two percent of respondents in a recent poll had no opinion of him at all. This has a least one advantage: Mr Pawlenty is a fresh face. Now his camp is trying to fashion him into the future of the party. But with Republicans in turmoil, Mr Pawlenty is proving just how difficult the road to 2012 will be. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c1e/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732681/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979614/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732681/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979614/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XVkHr98VAbA:QJEQ56zBc8A:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XVkHr98VAbA:QJEQ56zBc8A:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=XVkHr98VAbA:QJEQ56zBc8A:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XVkHr98VAbA:QJEQ56zBc8A:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=XVkHr98VAbA:QJEQ56zBc8A:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=XVkHr98VAbA:QJEQ56zBc8A:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/XVkHr98VAbA" height="1" width="1"/>
• The killings at Fort Hood: After the rampage
  <p>The shock is subsiding, but the questions are only beginning</p><p>ON NOVEMBER 8th, a cold and rainy Sunday night, the First Baptist Church of Killeen held a prayer service to commemorate the victims of army major Nidal Malik Hasan&#8217;s murderous rampage at Fort Hood three days earlier. Thirteen people, 12 of them soldiers, had been killed, and dozens more wounded. After the prayers an army wife, with her husband deployed in Iraq, stood at the back of the sanctuary rocking her baby. &#8220;I want some answers,&#8221; she said. How had this happened, and how could the army make sure it would never happen again?</p><p>As the shock of the attack subsides, other feelings are welling up, including confusion, sadness, anger and disgust. It is hard to imagine that an army officer, and a psychiatrist no less, could launch such an attack. But in Major Hasan&#8217;s case there were signs of mental disturbance and a turn to religious extremism. Americans are now wondering what lessons, if any, can be drawn from the tragedy. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c1a/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732680/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979610/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732680/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979610/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=IDfQxncoGzY:MV9gLnTD0Z8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=IDfQxncoGzY:MV9gLnTD0Z8:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=IDfQxncoGzY:MV9gLnTD0Z8:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=IDfQxncoGzY:MV9gLnTD0Z8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=IDfQxncoGzY:MV9gLnTD0Z8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=IDfQxncoGzY:MV9gLnTD0Z8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/IDfQxncoGzY" height="1" width="1"/>
• College enrolment: Boom times
  <p>The recession drives young Americans back to learning</p><p>A BUSINESS that jacks up its prices during a recession is usually asking to lose customers. Not so America&#8217;s colleges, which are simultaneously raising tuition fees and experiencing record levels of enrolment. The Technical College System of Georgia, for instance, whose 28 campuses teach everything from power-line maintenance to dental hygiene, has sharply raised its fees, yet the number of students is up 24% from a year earlier. Campus parking lots are so full that &#8220;we got them parking in cow pastures,&#8221; says a spokesman.</p><p> Across the country, college enrolment rates are at an all-time high. In October 41% of 18-to-24-year-olds were enrolled in either two-year colleges (which specialise in vocational training) or four-year colleges (which grant undergraduate degrees) or higher, up from 39% a year earlier. Yet tuition fees have risen by an average of 4-7%. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c17/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732679/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979607/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732679/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979607/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WpXkaoYtvYg:IoWu6gnWuvk:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WpXkaoYtvYg:IoWu6gnWuvk:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=WpXkaoYtvYg:IoWu6gnWuvk:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WpXkaoYtvYg:IoWu6gnWuvk:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=WpXkaoYtvYg:IoWu6gnWuvk:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=WpXkaoYtvYg:IoWu6gnWuvk:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/WpXkaoYtvYg" height="1" width="1"/>
• Health-care reform: Passing the baton
  <p>One step forward for health reform. But even if they reach the finishing line, the Democrats face trouble in next year&#8217;s mid-terms</p><p>NANCY PELOSI, the speaker of the House of Representatives, could not stop beaming as she banged her gavel just before midnight on November 7th to mark the passage of the Affordable Health Care for America Act. Though it was the narrowest of victories&#8212;after a rare Saturday debate and a suspenseful count, the bill squeaked through by just 220 votes to 215&#8212;this was a squeak the administration was determined to celebrate. Barack Obama, who had earlier visited the Hill to twist arms and stiffen spines, noted from the Rose Garden the next day that neither chamber of Congress had been able to pass a comprehensive health-insurance reform bill for generations. Now, he said, it would fall to the Senate &#8220;to take the baton and bring this effort to the finish line on behalf of the American people.&#8221;</p><p>If it became law, the bill would indeed be as &#8220;historic&#8221; as its boosters immediately claimed. It would make it compulsory, on pain of a fine, for all legal residents to have health insurance, and for all but the smallest firms to provide it for employees or contribute to a federal fund. That, the independent Congressional Budget Office (CBO) reckons, would extend coverage to around 36m citizens (the exact number depends on how many will opt just to pay the fine) who are now uninsured. Government subsidies and the creation of a national exchange would make premiums more affordable to smaller firms and poorer individuals. Insurance companies would gain millions of new customers, but they would also face new rules mandating more generous terms. For example, they would no longer be able to withhold coverage for pre-existing conditions, or set a ceiling on payments. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c13/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732678/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979603/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732678/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979603/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=utvOEncgoI0:1MrlKPd-wT4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=utvOEncgoI0:1MrlKPd-wT4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=utvOEncgoI0:1MrlKPd-wT4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=utvOEncgoI0:1MrlKPd-wT4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=utvOEncgoI0:1MrlKPd-wT4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=utvOEncgoI0:1MrlKPd-wT4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/utvOEncgoI0" height="1" width="1"/>
• Lexington: Farmers v greens
  <p>The biggest obstacle to a climate-change bill is rural America</p><p>AMERICA will not pass a cap-and-trade law in time for the global climate-change summit in Copenhagen next month. To understand why, it helps to ask a farmer. Take Bruce Wright, for example, who grows wheat and other crops on a couple of thousand acres near Bozeman, Montana. His family has tilled these fields for four generations. His great-grandfather built the local church. He loves his job and the rural way of life. But he fears that higher energy prices will endanger both.</p><p>To grow his crops, Mr Wright needs fertiliser, fuel and pesticides&#8212;all of which are derived from oil. When the price of oil hit the sky last year, Mr Wright&#8217;s operating costs nearly trebled. He survived because the oil-price surge also forced up the price of grain. But such wild swings make him nervous. If he has to invest three times as much in his crop and the crop fails, he says, he will be buried in debt. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c12/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732677/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979602/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732677/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979602/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=DaQuouQq5D8:lfilkYn_GQo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=DaQuouQq5D8:lfilkYn_GQo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=DaQuouQq5D8:lfilkYn_GQo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=DaQuouQq5D8:lfilkYn_GQo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=DaQuouQq5D8:lfilkYn_GQo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=DaQuouQq5D8:lfilkYn_GQo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/DaQuouQq5D8" height="1" width="1"/>
• Brazil: Brazil takes off
  <p>Now the risk for Latin America&#8217;s big success story is hubris</p><p>WHEN, back in 2001, economists at Goldman Sachs bracketed Brazil with Russia, India and China as the economies that would come to dominate the world, there was much sniping about the B in the BRIC acronym. Brazil? A country with a growth rate as skimpy as its swimsuits, prey to any financial crisis that was around, a place of chronic political instability, whose infinite capacity to squander its obvious potential was as legendary as its talent for football and carnivals, did not seem to belong with those emerging titans.</p><p>Now that scepticism looks misplaced. China may be leading the world economy out of recession but Brazil is also on a roll. It did not avoid the downturn, but was among the last in and the first out. Its economy is growing again at an annualised rate of 5%. It should pick up more speed over the next few years as big new deep-sea oilfields come on stream, and as Asian countries still hunger for food and minerals from Brazil&#8217;s vast and bountiful land. Forecasts vary, but sometime in the decade after 2014&#8212;rather sooner than Goldman Sachs envisaged&#8212;Brazil is likely to become the world&#8217;s fifth-largest economy, overtaking Britain and France. By 2025 Sao Paulo will be its fifth-wealthiest city, according to PwC, a consultancy. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c11/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732676/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979601/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732676/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979601/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-fuIG3annR4:_dJzsU4P9r4:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-fuIG3annR4:_dJzsU4P9r4:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=-fuIG3annR4:_dJzsU4P9r4:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-fuIG3annR4:_dJzsU4P9r4:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=-fuIG3annR4:_dJzsU4P9r4:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=-fuIG3annR4:_dJzsU4P9r4:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/-fuIG3annR4" height="1" width="1"/>
• Derivatives: Options have a future
  <p>Economies need derivatives, but reform is justified</p><p> KING HAMMURABI of Mesopotamia regulated the use of derivatives almost 4,000 years ago. The Japanese have been trading rice futures since around 1650. That contracts based on the price of some commodity or asset have been around for about as long as mankind has been trading indicates that they are pretty useful.</p><p>Derivatives enable individuals and companies to insure themselves against risk. Just as they fear the destruction of their belongings by fire or theft, businesses may also be concerned that exchange- or interest-rate movements may turn a good idea into a lossmaker. Derivatives allow them to lessen that risk. But someone needs to take the other side of the bargain, and that usually requires a speculator. Some of those speculators will go bust. Those who insure against fire and theft can set premiums on the basis of decades of experience; financial markets are inherently less predictable. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c10/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732675/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979600/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732675/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979600/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c6-i7YE0jA8:rJYKL8n9NAY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c6-i7YE0jA8:rJYKL8n9NAY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=c6-i7YE0jA8:rJYKL8n9NAY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c6-i7YE0jA8:rJYKL8n9NAY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=c6-i7YE0jA8:rJYKL8n9NAY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=c6-i7YE0jA8:rJYKL8n9NAY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/c6-i7YE0jA8" height="1" width="1"/>
• Music industry: How to sink pirates
  <p>The decline of music piracy holds lessons for other industries</p><p>YOU open a window on your computer&#8217;s screen. You type in the name of a cheesy song from the 1980s. A list of results appears. You double-click on one of them, and within a few seconds the song is playing. This is what it was like to use Napster a decade ago; and it is also how Spotify, another free online-music service, works today. The difference? Napster was an illegal file-sharing service that was shut down by the courts. Spotify, by contrast, is an entirely legal, free service supported by advertising. This shows how much things have changed in the world of online music in the past decade. It also explains why online music piracy may at last be in decline.</p><p>For most of the past decade the music industry focused on litigation to try to prevent piracy. Over the years the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has accused 18,000 internet users of engaging in illegal file-sharing. Most of them settled, though two cases went to court this year. In both cases the defendants (a single mother and a student) lost and were ordered to pay damages (of $1.92m and $675,000 respectively). But the industry has realised that such cases encourage the publication of embarrassing headlines more than they discourage piracy, for as each network was shut down, another would sprout in its place. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c0f/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732674/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979599/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732674/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979599/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=kjxBGrjeOWU:vuki9MkRjTo:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=kjxBGrjeOWU:vuki9MkRjTo:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=kjxBGrjeOWU:vuki9MkRjTo:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=kjxBGrjeOWU:vuki9MkRjTo:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=kjxBGrjeOWU:vuki9MkRjTo:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=kjxBGrjeOWU:vuki9MkRjTo:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/kjxBGrjeOWU" height="1" width="1"/>
• Reforming libel law: A city named sue
  <p>It is time to reform England&#8217;s archaic libel laws</p><p>ONE kind of foreigner loves English libel law. Anyone anywhere in the world who can prove that someone in England has bought, read or downloaded potentially defamatory material about them can start a court case. Merely initiating a defence generally costs the author or publisher at least GBP50,000 ($84,000). If the case ever comes to court, the costs are much higher. In 2007 Rinat Akhmetov, a Ukrainian tycoon, went to a London court to sue a Ukraine-based website about an article published only in Ukrainian&#8212;though read in Britain&#8212;and won. In a similar case a wealthy Saudi sued an American author for claims made in a book published in America which sold a handful of copies in Britain. He won too. Neither defendant was represented in court.</p><p>But foreigners who mind about free speech do not like English libel laws. Several American states have now passed laws entitling victims of &#8220;libel tourism&#8221; to counter-sue their persecutors for harassment. Big American news organisations have spent millions defending themselves against libel suits brought in London. As their budgets shrivel, so does their willingness to fork out. Some are threatening to stop selling in Britain, and to block access to their websites from British internet users. Their concern has pricked the House of Commons media committee to look at whether the law needs changing: it is due to report shortly. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c0d/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732673/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979597/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732673/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979597/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=jQCfVIBqxyM:4yQDZ2qFRRw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=jQCfVIBqxyM:4yQDZ2qFRRw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=jQCfVIBqxyM:4yQDZ2qFRRw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=jQCfVIBqxyM:4yQDZ2qFRRw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=jQCfVIBqxyM:4yQDZ2qFRRw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=jQCfVIBqxyM:4yQDZ2qFRRw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/jQCfVIBqxyM" height="1" width="1"/>
• Israel, Palestine and America: Don't give up
  <p>Barack Obama must step back into the fray</p><p>RARELY have the prospects for a decent deal between Israelis and Palestinians looked so bleak. Despite his grudging acceptance of the two-state ideal, Israel&#8217;s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, sounds perfectly content with the status quo: in effect, fortress Israel with the Palestinians impotently walled off. Meanwhile the Palestinians are as bitterly divided as ever. The Islamists of Hamas, still in military control of the Gaza Strip and&#8212;at least on paper&#8212;scornful of Israel&#8217;s right to exist, square off against secular and more amenable Fatah, which runs a fledgling state on the West Bank, albeit one riddled with Israeli roads, barriers and Jewish settlements. In the past week, things have got even worse for the Palestinians since their leader, Mahmoud Abbas, a man of peace and patience, has declared in frustration that he will step down, with no obvious successor in sight (see article). So they look leaderless as well as disunited.</p><p>Perhaps worst of all, the Americans, without whom no durable deal can be done, have seemed to vacillate, with neither a vision nor a plan. Suddenly, after the brightest of starts, Barack Obama appears to be making a hash of it. In June, in a speech in Cairo, he thrilled the Arab world, including many Palestinians, by promising that America would be more even-handed. He insisted that the Israelis should stop building or expanding settlements on the West Bank as a condition for bringing Palestinians back to the negotiating table. Yet four months later, after Mr Netanyahu had bluntly refused, Mr Obama&#8217;s secretary of state, Hillary Clinton, was congratulating him merely for his promise to &#8220;restrain&#8221; settlement-building. This prompted a furious Mr Abbas to tender his resignation. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c0c/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732672/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979596/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732672/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979596/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=qMYAAsCXqUc:ePRsiCgrI3I:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=qMYAAsCXqUc:ePRsiCgrI3I:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=qMYAAsCXqUc:ePRsiCgrI3I:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=qMYAAsCXqUc:ePRsiCgrI3I:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=qMYAAsCXqUc:ePRsiCgrI3I:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=qMYAAsCXqUc:ePRsiCgrI3I:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/qMYAAsCXqUc" height="1" width="1"/>
• On the Conservatives and Europe, health care, Somalia, Panama, prisoners' voting rights, schools, maps
  <p>SIR &#8211; Bagehot&#8217;s column about the Conservative Party&#8217;s allies in the European Parliament was particularly one-sided (October 31st). He attacked Michal Kaminski for &#8220;alarming&#8221; remarks made about a wartime massacre of Jews by Poles at Jedwabne, even though the chief rabbi of Poland has said that Mr Kaminski is not anti-Semitic and his party is mainstream. Bagehot also suggested that our Latvian partners are &#8220;dubious&#8221;, despite the fact that they are in the government of Latvia and many political parties there attend the commemoration of fallen soldiers that the column mentioned. </p><p>And Bagehot succumbed to Labour Party propaganda when he said our new European Conservatives and Reformists group lacks influence. The ECR is already becoming a major player in the European Parliament. Our group was essential in returning Jose Manuel Barroso to the presidency of the European Commission. We are tilting the balance in parliamentary votes time after time. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c0b/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732671/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979595/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732671/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979595/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=E8WBERPD8qA:Kd-EYnJ4GkY:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=E8WBERPD8qA:Kd-EYnJ4GkY:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=E8WBERPD8qA:Kd-EYnJ4GkY:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=E8WBERPD8qA:Kd-EYnJ4GkY:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=E8WBERPD8qA:Kd-EYnJ4GkY:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=E8WBERPD8qA:Kd-EYnJ4GkY:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/E8WBERPD8qA" height="1" width="1"/>
• Correction: Ingar Sletten Kolloen
  <p>In our recent review of &#8220;Knut Hamsun: Dreamer and Dissenter&#8221; (November 7th) we referred to Ingar Sletten Kolloen as Ms Kolloen. He is, of course, Mr Kolloen. Our apologies. This has been corrected online.</p><p> ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c0a/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732670/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979594/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732670/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979594/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=s8tZBd2tuYI:RvBbu5C_HoM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=s8tZBd2tuYI:RvBbu5C_HoM:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=s8tZBd2tuYI:RvBbu5C_HoM:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=s8tZBd2tuYI:RvBbu5C_HoM:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=s8tZBd2tuYI:RvBbu5C_HoM:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=s8tZBd2tuYI:RvBbu5C_HoM:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/s8tZBd2tuYI" height="1" width="1"/>
• Google: Facing the frenemy
  <p>The dangers of misplaying its hand</p><p>Googled: The End of the World as We Know It. By Ken Auletta. Penguin Press; 384 pages; $27.95. Buy from Amazon.com</p><p>SOMETIMES it seems as if Google has never come across an industry it doesn&#8217;t want to disrupt. Best known for its hugely popular search engine, the internet giant has spread its tentacles into an ever-growing array of businesses, including advertising, telecoms and, most recently, digital-navigation software. The company&#8217;s habit of selling services cheaply or giving them away for free has endeared it to consumers. But its tactics have enraged competitors, who complain their new rival is out to destroy the economics of entire industries. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c09/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732669/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979593/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732669/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979593/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=X0nBTEQjcTE:xIp0-XhARqc:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=X0nBTEQjcTE:xIp0-XhARqc:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=X0nBTEQjcTE:xIp0-XhARqc:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=X0nBTEQjcTE:xIp0-XhARqc:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=X0nBTEQjcTE:xIp0-XhARqc:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=X0nBTEQjcTE:xIp0-XhARqc:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/X0nBTEQjcTE" height="1" width="1"/>
• Philip Roth's new novel: The crabbiness is all
  <p>Contempt for the reader</p><p>The Humbling. By Philip Roth. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt; 140 pages; $22. Jonathan Cape; GBP12.99. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk</p><p>LUDWIG VAN BEETHOVEN, in his late period, produced some of the most sublime chamber music ever written. Woody Allen abandoned Russian heaviness and zeitgeist-tapping frizziness to revel in the delight of form and structure. His recent films, &#8220;Match Point&#8221; and &#8220;Vicky Cristina Barcelona&#8221;, may be slight, but the plots are well-oiled and the acting perfect. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c08/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732668/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979592/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732668/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979592/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ieNt4NlNpDY:hGyeN7sjos0:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ieNt4NlNpDY:hGyeN7sjos0:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ieNt4NlNpDY:hGyeN7sjos0:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ieNt4NlNpDY:hGyeN7sjos0:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=ieNt4NlNpDY:hGyeN7sjos0:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=ieNt4NlNpDY:hGyeN7sjos0:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/ieNt4NlNpDY" height="1" width="1"/>
• The roots of the financial crisis: Market idol
  <p>A very good history of economic thought</p><p>How Markets Fail: The Logic of Economic Calamities. By John Cassidy. Farrar, Straus and Giroux; 416 pages; $28. Allen Lane; GBP25. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk</p><p>JOHN CASSIDY&#8217;S new book is a sequel of sorts. In his previous work, &#8220;Dot.Con&#8221;, which came out in 2002, he chronicled the follies of the stockmarket bubble of the late 1990s. In &#8220;How Markets Fail&#8221;, Mr Cassidy, a British writer for the New Yorker, recounts the story of America&#8217;s housing boom and its devastating bust. It is more than just an account of the failures of regulators and the self-deception of bankers and homebuyers, although these are well covered. For Mr Cassidy, the deeper roots of the crisis lie in the enduring appeal of an idea: that society is always best served when individuals are left to pursue their self-interest in free markets. He calls this &#8220;Utopian economics&#8221;. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c07/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732667/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979591/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732667/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979591/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=O9Ipbrx_v90:_HHsuWPrtnw:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=O9Ipbrx_v90:_HHsuWPrtnw:F7zBnMyn0Lo"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=O9Ipbrx_v90:_HHsuWPrtnw:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=O9Ipbrx_v90:_HHsuWPrtnw:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?i=O9Ipbrx_v90:_HHsuWPrtnw:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=O9Ipbrx_v90:_HHsuWPrtnw:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/economist/full_print_edition/~4/O9Ipbrx_v90" height="1" width="1"/>
• The history of the Arabic-speaking peoples: A political lesson
  <p>With skill and imagination, Eugene Rogan sets the Arab story in a modern context</p><p>The Arabs: A History. By Eugene Rogan. Basic Books; 553 pages; $35. Allen Lane; GBP25. Buy from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk</p><p>IT IS no small feat to compact any people&#8217;s history into a single volume. The task is even more difficult with the Arabs, an ancient nation linked by language, culture and faith, but divided by a vast geography that has exposed each part of the whole to radically different circumstances over a span of 15 centuries. ...</p><img width='1' height='1' src='http://rss.feedsportal.com/c/32317/f/440363/s/7177c06/mf.gif' border='0'/><br/><br/><a href="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732666/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979590/a2.htm"><img src="http://da.feedsportal.com/r/55640732666/u/49/f/440363/c/32317/s/118979590/a2.img" border="0"/></a><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?a=Rt8c2AWNbsU:R70YMnmyzWM:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/economist/full_print_edition?d=yIl2