Global Agenda articles from March 2008

Global Agenda archives from March 2008

Peloton runs out of road; A hedge fund crashes; Peloton runs into trouble.
March 1, 2008... A hedge fund is unsaddled AFTER hubris comes nemesis. On January 24th more than 1,000 leading figures in the European hedge-fund industry gathered for a dinner at the swanky Grosvenor House hotel on London's Park Lane to witness the...

Beautiful blowhards; Art.view; A fine collection of printed handkerchiefs.
March 1, 2008... A fine collection of printed handkerchiefs THE handkerchief, at least in modern Britain, is a bit of a joke. Tied in a knot at each corner and worn on the head, it's the classic seaside postcard stereotype, along with lobster skin and a...

The week ahead; What may be in the headlines; News of the coming week.
March 2, 2008... The primary race reaches Texas and Ohio, and other news * TECHIES and petrolheads in Europe get a glimpse of the future. On Monday March 3rd CeBit, the world's largest computer fair, opens in Hanover. As a measure of its importance,...

The wrong steepening; Market.view; How to combat rising commodity prices.
March 2, 2008... How to combat rising commodity prices SOMETHING seemed to click in the minds of investors last week. In January, the Federal Reserve's wave of rate cuts had a minimal effect on the dollar, even though euro-denominated short-term securities...

Improving innovation; Tech.view; Search engines could be the answer.
March 3, 2008... Search engines could be the answer OVER the past decade, innovation has emerged from the shadows to become a new industrial religion, worshiped by public figures, investors and businessmen alike. Around the world, the rhetoric of innovation...

A trip to Baghdad; Iran's president goes to Iraq; Iran's president goes to Iraq.
March 3, 2008... Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits Iraq WITH one eye fixed abroad and the other back home, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, is scheduled to visit Iraq for two days from Sunday March 2nd. The mere fact of an official tour, at the invitation...

Rent-a-tree; Green.view; Protecting the environment by leasing it.
March 3, 2008... Protecting the environment by leasing it BUYING land--whether an acre of tropical rainforest, an elephant corridor or British woodland--is a practical way of saving it from development. But land owned by the government of a poor country...

American invasion; Pyongyang retrospective diary; What a dictator doesn't want for his birthday.
March 3, 2008... What a dictator doesn't want for his birthday Monday NORTH KOREA rarely allows visits by Western journalists. When approval is granted, however, some thought must be given to gifts. I learned this hard way. In 1992 I was among a...

An ugly victory; Dmitry Medvedev wins election as Russia's new president; Dmitry Medvedev wins election as Russia's new president.
March 3, 2008... Dmitry Medvedev's easy win THREE hours before the close of the presidential election on Sunday March 2nd, in which voters massively endorsed Dmitry Medvedev as Russia's next president, a bull-necked security guard (radio in hand, legs...

Clinton's double challenge; The primary race moves to Texas and Ohio; Texas and Ohio may decide who gets the Democratic nomination.
March 3, 2008... Hillary Clinton needs to do well both in Texas and Ohio "OH THE campaign is going very, very well. Why, what have you heard?" Proving that she's a good sport after all Hillary Clinton dropped in on "Saturday Night Live", a satirical show,...

A bloody incursion; Israel's heavy-handed intervention in the Gaza Strip solves nothing; Israel's heavy-handed intervention in the Gaza Strip.
March 3, 2008... Israel's intervention in Gaza ISRAEL has pulled its troops out of Gaza after fighting that has left two soldiers and over 100 Palestinians dead since Wednesday February 27th. What started it is, as usual, an inextricable mix of attack and...

Holding steady? Tension persists in Bosnia; Why tension persists in Bosnia.
March 3, 2008... Tension in Bosnia The major international powers have moved quickly to contain tensions in Bosnia and Hercegovina (BiH) following Kosovo's recent declaration of independence. The EU has said it might sign a stabilisation and association...

A silent country; Pyongyang retrospective diary; Few cars, no phones and one beloved mother.
March 4, 2008... Few cars, no phones and one beloved mother Monday | Tuesday Tuesday I LEAVE my mobile telephone at home. As far as I can remember this is the first time I have deliberately done so since such machines became indispensable (in my...

Clinton's double challenge; The primary race moves to Texas and Ohio; Texas and Ohio may decide who gets the Democratic nomination.
March 4, 2008... Hillary Clinton's efforts in Texas and Ohio "OH THE campaign is going very, very well. Why, what have you heard?" Proving that she's a good sport after all Hillary Clinton dropped in on "Saturday Night Live", a satirical show, broadcast on...

Silence of the Sage; Business.view; What Warren Buffett's letter didn't say.
March 4, 2008... What Warren Buffett's letter didn't say THERE is no better read in the admittedly unfashionable literary category of corporate annual reports than Berkshire Hathaway's. Warren Buffett's annual letter to shareholders reviews the past year's...

Rumours of war; Angry talk of war in South America; Angry talk of war in South America.
March 4, 2008... Ecuador and Venezuela confront Colombia over the killing of a rebel leader IT WAS presented as a straightforward case of "hot pursuit". But the killing at the weekend of a senior guerrilla leader, Raul Reyes, by the Colombian armed forces,...

Strangling the octopus of government; Libya's Colonel Qaddafi plans to shrink government; Libya's Colonel Qaddafi plans to shrink government.
March 4, 2008... Libya's Colonel Qaddafi reveals his latest scheme The Libyan leader, Muammar Qaddafi, has taken the traditional conservative quest for smaller government to a new plane by calling for the dissolution of the country's existing administrative...

Die another day; Hillary Clinton's victories in Texas and Ohio; Hillary Clinton's victories in Texas and Ohio.
March 5, 2008... Hillary Clinton bounds back into the Democratic race with victories in Texas and Ohio "SHE was humiliated in front of the whole country and she rose from the ashes, and look at her now." That was how Shirley Deininger of Austin, Texas,...

En-suite democracy; Asia.view; Thailand's political mess.
March 5, 2008... Thailand's political mess IT IS tempting to think that Thailand's politics have come full circle. After a military coup deposed him as prime minister 17 months ago, Thaksin Shinawatra has triumphantly returned home. He certainly milked...

Blood on the streets; Armenia's post-election violence claims eight lives; Armenia's post-election violence claims eight lives.
March 5, 2008... Post-election violence has killed eight people in Armenia Armenia's police and armed forces have killed at least eight demonstrators, who were part of mass protests alleging vote-fraud in the recent presidential election. The resort to...

One more day; Pyongyang retrospective diary; Seeing Pyongyang without the orchestra.
March 6, 2008... Seeing Pyongyang without the orchestra Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday Thursday THE orchestra has flown on to Seoul, and with it most of the journalists. A handful, including myself, have been granted visa extensions for...

Die another day; Hillary Clinton's victories in Texas and Ohio; Hillary Clinton's victories in Texas and Ohio.
March 6, 2008... Hillary Clinton bounds back "SHE was humiliated in front of the whole country and she rose from the ashes, and look at her now." That was how Shirley Deininger of Austin, Texas, explained why she supported Hillary Clinton's campaign for...

Straight talk; Europe.view; Words to avoid, from A to Z.
March 6, 2008... Words to avoid, from A to Z THE lazy use of shorthand and cliche are not unique to discussion of the ex-communist world. But here is an alphabet of words that are overused and under-explained. A is for anti-Western (usually equalling...

An election in Malaysia; An election in Malaysia should draw record numbers of voters; An election in Malaysia should draw record numbers of voters.
March 6, 2008... Malaysia's ruling coalition is likely to stay in power Malaysians are likely to turn out in record numbers to vote in the general election on March 8th. Increased political awareness, coupled with a seemingly competent opposition, has...

The decoupling debate; Will the developing world escape unscathed from an American recession? Will the developing world escape inscathed from an American recession?
March 6, 2008... Could recession spread from America? "DECOUPLING" is the source of a great deal of controversy. Economists argue about whether or not emerging economies will follow America into recession. The most pessimistic claim that as economies have...

Wiping the slate dirty; Why the Grand Canyon has been flooded; Why the Grand Canyon has been flooded.
March 6, 2008... Why the Grand Canyon has been flooded FIRE and flood are two of humanity's worst nightmares. People have, therefore, always sought to control them. Forest fires are snuffed out quickly. The flow of rivers is regulated by weirs and dams. At...

Greetings, earthlings; Pyongyang retrospective diary; Leaving the Hermit Kingdom.(Personal account)
March 7, 2008... Leaving the Hermit Kingdom Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday Friday NORTH KOREA's willingness to conduct controlled interactive experiments with the outside world go well beyond the occasional dabbling with risque...

Dropped call; Tech.view; Why Japan lost the mobile-phone wars.
March 7, 2008... Why Japan lost the mobile-phone wars JAPAN is probably the world's most important source of technology equipment. Yes, America dominates the high-end chip market with Intel, AMD and Texas Instruments. It also dominates software with...

Death from within; A gunman strikes in Jerusalem; Eight students are gunned down by an Arab Israeli.
March 7, 2008... A Palestinian gunman brings slaughter to Jerusalem IT HAD been four years since a suicide bomber last brought death to Jerusalem. The lone Palestinian gunman who killed eight students in a yeshiva, a religious seminary, on the evening of...

A combustible relationship; Russian and Ukraine strike a gas deal; A deal over gas supplies between Russia and Ukraine.
March 7, 2008... Russia and Ukraine strike a gas deal but tensions remain Russia and Ukraine have resolved their latest gas dispute, which had seen Gazprom cut supplies to Ukraine by 50% and raised the spectre of disruptions in supply to EU states. Yet the...

The week ahead; What may make the headlines; What may be in the news.(Calendar)
March 10, 2008... Elections in Iran and other news * MISSISSIPPI holds its presidential primary on Tuesday March 11th, which will be the last contest in the nominating process until Pennsylvanians go the polls on April 22nd. With its large numbers of black...

China syndrome; Art.view; Chinese art-buyers are in overdrive.
March 10, 2008... Chinese art-buyers are in overdrive FEW of the international specialists who deal in Asian art could have predicted the outcome of the season's main sale at Christie's in London last November. Of the ten most expensive lots, eight went to...

Getting in; Iran election diary; A dangerous route or an indirect one?(Column)
March 10, 2008... A dangerous route or an indirect one? IF THE convenience of airline service is a measure of a country's standing, then the world must be angry with the Islamic Republic of Iran. As my travel agent, Simone, runs methodically through the...

Political tsunami? Malaysia's surprising general election; Malaysia's voters deliver a blow to the country's prime minister.
March 10, 2008... A threat to the prime minister GLANCE at the front pages of Malaysia's newspapers the day after the general election on Saturday March 8th and you would assume that the opposition had won. "Political tsunami" is how the Sunday Star summed...

Under the microscope; Questions about Islamic bonds; Does the Islamic bond market comply with Islamic law?
March 10, 2008... Does the Islamic bond market comply with sharia law? Global issuance of sukuk, or Islamic debt securities, is expected to expand by 30-35% in 2008, maintaining the momentum of the past two years which took total volumes to US$97.3bn,...

Back for more; The Socialist Party triumphs in Spain's election; Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero wins a second term in office.
March 10, 2008... Spain's Socialist Party wins another term in office amid mounting economic gloom SPAIN'S prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, may come to regard leading his Socialist Party to another election triumph on Sunday March 9th as one of...

The problem with breathing; Green.view; The unintended consequences of zeal.
March 11, 2008... The unintended consequences of zeal "ARE cows killing the planet?" Britain's Daily Mail asked readers last year. The question was prompted by a report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), a branch of the United Nations, which...

The limits of reform; Iran election diary; An empty room, a rejected candidate.
March 11, 2008... An empty room, a rejected candidate Monday | Tuesday Tuesday WHEN I reach my hotel room at 6am, the first rays of dawn have turned a little cloud behind Damavand, a picture-perfect 18,000-foot peak that crowns the Elburz Range,...

Back for more; The Socialist Party triumphs in Spain's election; Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero wins a second term in office.
March 11, 2008... The Socialist Party wins another term SPAIN'S prime minister, Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, may come to regard leading his Socialist Party to another election triumph on Sunday March 9th as one of the easier achievements of his second term...

Seed capitalism; Business.view; How to create a fast-growing company.
March 11, 2008... How to create a fast-growing company TO UNDERSTAND why America remains the world's most successful entrepreneurial economy, look no further than AeroGrow International. Housed in a nondescript office building on the edge of Boulder,...

The fall of ethics man; New York's governor falls from grace; Eliot Spitzer is caught up in a prostitution scandal.
March 11, 2008... A shocking descent from grace for Eliot Spitzer, New York state's governor ELIOT SPITZER made his mark as the "sheriff of Wall Street" and then as the steam-rolling governor of New York state. As the state's attorney-general he came to...

Radical shift; Elections are called in Serbia; Nationalists could come out on top in Serbia's elections in May.
March 11, 2008... Fresh elections in Serbia could favour the nationalists Serbia's governing parties, split on the question of how to deal with the EU in the wake of Western recognition of Kosovo's independence, have agreed to hold a pre-term election in...

Islamshahr's dilemma; Iran election diary; Will reform-minded Iranians bother to vote?(Column)
March 12, 2008... Will reform-minded Iranians bother to vote? Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Wednesday ISLAMSHAHR is the sort of place where you would expect strong support for the hardline populism of Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. A few...

The fall of ethics man; New York's governor falls from grace; Eliot Spitzer is caught up in a prostitution scandal.
March 12, 2008... A shocking descent from grace ELIOT SPITZER made his mark as the "sheriff of Wall Street" and then as the steam-rolling governor of New York state. As the state's attorney-general he came to prominence by holding New York's powerful...

Malaysia's King Lear; Asia.view; Mahathir Mohamad finds fault with another heir.
March 12, 2008... Mahathir Mohamad finds fault with another heir LIKE an emperor from a bygone age, Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia's former prime minister, has left a legacy you can walk through, or at least gaze at in wonder from a high-rise window: Kuala...

Turning nasty; Barack Obama wins in Mississippi; The Democartic nomination battle is turning uglier.
March 12, 2008... The scrap is getting uglier THE Democratic race for the presidential nomination has settled into a pattern. Barack Obama gains momentum, and is nearly crowned the winner. Then Hillary Clinton wins a high-profile contest and makes a...

Trouble brewing; Norway's fragile labour relations; Government and trade unions look set to collide.
March 12, 2008... Norway's government and unions are on a collision course Norway's centre-left government faces a testing period during March and April as it tries to secure a deal with trade unions on one of the few outstanding areas of the ongoing reform...

If at first you don't succeed; More troubles in the credit markets; Trying again to solve the credit crunch.
March 12, 2008... Try, try, trying again to solve the credit crunch THIRD time lucky? The credit markets almost seized up in August, December and again this month and on each occasion the Federal Reserve has led a rescue attempt. Ben Bernanke's latest effort...

Political drive; Iran election diary; How Tehran's traffic resembles Iran's politics.(Column)
March 13, 2008... How Tehran's traffic resembles Iran's politics Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday Thursday FARSI is said to be an easy language for Westerners to learn. "Mother" is modar, "father" is pedar and "brother" is a convenient...

If at first you don't succeed; More troubles in the credit markets; Trying again to solve the credit crunch.
March 13, 2008... Trying again to solve the credit crunch THIRD time lucky? The credit markets almost seized up in August, December and again this month and on each occasion the Federal Reserve has led a rescue attempt. Ben Bernanke's latest effort led to a...

Heart of darkness; Europe.view; A ray of hope from Belarusian exiles.
March 13, 2008... A ray of hope from Belarusian exiles LIKE a stub of candle, even a small bit of history is a comfort when you are in a dark room. Belarus looks pretty gloomy under Alyaksandr Lukashenka. An earthy collective-farm manager, he won the last...

Election woes.
March 13, 2008... Bad results in state elections for India's biggest party In the second week of March 2008, three small north-eastern Indian states--Tripura, Nagaland and Meghalaya--announced the results of elections to their local assemblies. The Indian...

Which conservatives do you want? Iran goes to the polls; A choice between conservatives and ultra-conservatives for many Iranians.
March 13, 2008... Hardliners and pragmatists battle it out TIME is up for Iran's election candidates. Campaigning finished at 8am on Thursday 13th March, leaving voters to consider how to cast their votes in parliamentary elections the next day. For many...

A golden moment; Gold passes $1,000 an ounce; The gold prices hits a record high.
March 13, 2008... Gold passes $1,000 an ounce for the first time When Peter Bernstein wrote his history of gold, he subtitled his book "the history of an obsession". The obsessives will now be feeling mightily pleased. The yellow metal finally traded above...

Splendid isolation; Iran election diary; Elections drive a man to drink.(Column)
March 14, 2008... Elections drive a man to drink Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday Friday THERE is something splendid about Iran's aloofness from the world. The sense of isolation in Tehran is not just a product of the country's...

A golden moment; Gold passes $1,000 an ounce; The gold prices hits a record high.
March 14, 2008... Gold passes $1,000 an ounce When Peter Bernstein wrote his history of gold, he subtitled his book "the history of an obsession". The obsessives will now be feeling mightily pleased. The yellow metal finally traded above $1,000 a troy ounce...

Dousing the fire; Paulson's plan to avoid credit crunches; American regulators unveil plans to fight fires in the credit markets.
March 14, 2008... America's plan to fix the credit markets HOW do you fight a conflagration when smaller blazes erupt almost daily? Unenviable though the task must seem, several regulatory bodies are having a go with credit markets. On Thursday March 13th...

Out of control; Tech.view; Are we too dependent on electronic aids?
March 14, 2008... Are we too dependent on electronic aids? TO LOOK at their streamlined shape, you would think Formula One (F1) cars just slip through the air like a hot knife through butter. Indeed, all the leading F1 teams (McLaren, Ferrari, BMW, Renault,...

No showdown in Canada; A Canadian compromise; As Canada's opposition compromises, chances of an election fade.
March 14, 2008... An opposition compromise makes an election unlikely The chances of a federal election being held early this year in Canada all but evaporated in late February after the opposition Liberals decided not to stand in the way of two key...

Stripped Bear; The dramatic rescue of Bear Stearns; The credit crisis enters a worrying new phase.
March 14, 2008... Rescuing a Wall Street bank A CENTURY after John Pierpont Morgan bailed out Wall Street, his bank is at it again. In a dramatic move on Friday March 14th, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and JPMorgan Chase made emergency funding...

Fire on the roof of the world; Violent protests against Chinese rule in Tibet; An eyewitness account of the protests in Lhasa.
March 14, 2008... Our China correspondent sends an eyewitness report from Lhasa as Tibet's simmering resentment boils over THE Chinese authorities had been fearing trouble, but nothing on this scale. An orgy of anti-Chinese rioting convulsed the Tibetan...

The week ahead; What may make the headlines; What may be in the news.(Calendar)
March 16, 2008... The Federal Reserve meets and other news * THE Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee meets on Tuesday March 18th. The Fed has already slashed its key interest rate from 5.25% to 3% since last September. A further reduction of at least...

Free fall; Market.view; Where will the dollar's woes end?
March 16, 2008... Where will the dollar's woes end? THERE seems to be no floor for the dollar at the moment. On March 13th, it fell below [yen]100 for the first time and hit a record low of $1.5624 to the euro. The greenback is even back below $2 to the...

Fire on the roof of the world; Violent protests against Chinese rule in Tibet; An eyewitness account of the protests in Lhasa.
March 16, 2008... Simmering resentment boils over THE Chinese authorities had been fearing trouble, but nothing on this scale. An orgy of anti-Chinese rioting convulsed the Tibetan capital, Lhasa, on Friday March 14th, leaving security forces uncertain how...

Daily bread; Caracas; Scarcity comes out of the oven.
March 17, 2008... Scarcity comes out of the oven ON A fresh, cool morning, the short walk to the panaderia and, if I'm feeling energetic, up the hill to Roberto's newspaper kiosk, is a pleasure to be savoured. A pair of boat-billed flycatchers, exchanging...

How green is The World? Green.view; Evaluating Dubai's island-reclamation project.
March 17, 2008... Evaluating Dubai's island-reclamation project ITS DEVELOPERS call the three hundred islands laid out in the shape of the world map just off Dubai's coast the "most innovative real-estate development on Earth". These new artificial islands,...

Little pools of humanity; Art.view; Portraits from the golden age of miniatures.
March 17, 2008... Portraits from the golden age of miniatures PERHAPS the most quoted description of Jane Austen's practice as a novelist comes from a letter she wrote her nephew, John Edward Austen, in 1816, on the last birthday before her death. He had...

Lhasa under siege; China cracks down on protests in Tibet; Tibetans vent their fury at China's government.
March 17, 2008... Our correspondent reports from Tibet UNDER the gaze of troops armed with automatic rifles, bayonets and batons, residents of Lhasa's old Tibetan quarter are now being allowed outdoors after many hours of cowering in their homes. Burnt-out...

Taiwan's political business.
March 17, 2008... Taiwanese firms see opportunities in the presidential election For Taiwan's businessmen, March 22nd could mark the first day of a more prosperous era. That is the day Taiwanese go to the polls to choose their next president, and how to...

Meet the winner; Elections in Iran have bolstered Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; Elections in Iran have bolstered Ayatollah Khamenei.
March 17, 2008... Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is bolstered THE parliament returned by Iranians in nationwide voting on Friday March 14th appears at first glance to be a replica of the outgoing one. Conservatives who claim stricter adherence to the 1979 Islamic...

Bear's pits; Signs of panic as JPMorgan Chase takes over Bear Stearns; JPMorgan Chase takes over stricken Bear Stearns.
March 17, 2008... JPMorgan Chase takes over stricken Bear Stearns. Panic is in the air THE credit crunch is a man-made disaster and, like its counterparts in nature, where and when devastation and chaos will strike is hard to predict. Few could have...

Road warriors; Caracas; Vehicle rights and wrongs.
March 18, 2008... Vehicle rights and wrongs Monday | Tuesday Tuesday IT IS 6.20pm and I'm contemplating one of the most familiar views in the Venezuelan capital--the tail-lights of stationary vehicles ahead of me on the westbound Avenida Francisco...

How green is The World? Green.view; Evaluating Dubai's island-reclamation project.
March 18, 2008... Evaluating Dubai's island-reclamation project ITS DEVELOPERS call the three hundred islands laid out in the shape of the world map just off Dubai's coast the "most innovative real-estate development on Earth". These new artificial islands,...

Meet the winner; Elections in Iran have bolstered Ayatollah Ali Khamenei; Elections in Iran have bolstered Ayatollah Khamenei.
March 18, 2008... Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is bolstered THE parliament returned by Iranians in nationwide voting on Friday March 14th appears at first glance to be a replica of the outgoing one. Conservatives who claim stricter adherence to the 1979 Islamic...

Bear's pits; Signs of panic as JPMorgan Chase takes over Bear Stearns; JPMorgan Chase takes over stricken Bear Stearns.
March 18, 2008... JPMorgan Chase takes over THE credit crunch is a man-made disaster and, like its counterparts in nature, where and when devastation and chaos will strike is hard to predict. Few could have expected the speed and severity with which Bear...

Enron revisited; Business.view; Is Jeffrey Skilling innocent?
March 18, 2008... Is Jeffrey Skilling innocent? THERE may be hope for Jeffrey Skilling, the former chief executive of Enron who is now serving a 24-year jail sentence for his part in the his company's collapse. On March 14th, evidence emerged that...

A setback for Mr Sarkozy.
March 18, 2008... Nicolas Sarkozy's party founders in French local elections The ruling centre-right Union pour un mouvement populaire (UMP) suffered heavy losses in municipal elections on March 16th, in what was widely viewed as a protest vote against the...

Disowning racism; Barack Obama speaks out on a race row; Barack Obama speaks out on a race row.
March 18, 2008... Barack Obama tries to defuse a row about race with an ambitious speech. Has he succeeded? BARACK OBAMA is on the defensive like never before. In the past week, news reports have aired sermons from his adviser and friend in Chicago, the Rev...

Top of the mountain; Caracas; The prospect of eternal suspension.
March 19, 2008... The prospect of eternal suspension Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday Wednesday IMAGINE for a moment that New York, London or Paris had a forested, 3,000-metre mountain, complete with tropical climate and fauna, on their doorstep. If...

Enron revisited; Business.view; Is Jeffrey Skilling innocent? Our business columnist thinks the unthinkable.
March 19, 2008... Is Jeffrey Skilling innocent? Our business columnist thinks the unthinkable THERE may be a glimmer of hope for Jeffrey Skilling, the former chief executive of Enron who is now serving a 24-year jail sentence for his part in the his...

Aggressive easing; The Fed cuts rates by three-quarters of a point; The Fed cuts rates by three-quarters of a poin.
March 19, 2008... The Fed flexes its monetary muscle IT IS a sign of the times that a cut of three-quarters of a percentage point in interest rates may be considered modest. On Tuesday March 18th the Federal Reserve slashed its headline interest rate to...

Two countries, one system; Asia.view; The myth of Tibetan autonomy.
March 19, 2008... The myth of Tibetan autonomy THE ugly violence that has scarred Lhasa and other parts of Tibet in recent days is only the latest episode in more than half a century of sporadic resistance to Chinese rule. China's Communists invaded...

Thinking of its future; Future-proofing Brunei; Brunei gets ready for when the oil and gas run out.
March 19, 2008... Brunei gets ready for when the oil and gas run out With oil at over US$100 a barrel and the US dollar tumbling against major currencies, two of the biggest global economics stories of recent weeks seem of obvious interest to oil-rich...

Iraq five years on.
March 19, 2008... What the next president of America may, or may not, be able to do about Iraq THOMAS JEFFERSON once said, speaking of slavery, that America was holding a wolf by the ears: it could neither continue to do so, nor afford to let go. Something...