Summary:
The death of financial deregulation?
SUMMARY: In the aftermath of the sub-prime crisis in the United States, there is a push for greater financial regulation.
Some of the key players were formally avid proponents of deregulation.
Does it spell the end of deregulation in the US?
Credit reporting
SUMMARY: Some in the financial sector, are arguing that current limits on access to personal credit records mean that both lenders and individuals bear unnecessary risk of falling on financial hardship.
The school of thought is that changes to existing rules on exactly what information lenders are privy too would improve risk assessment measures - So better protection for us and the banks and other businesses that lend us money for credit cards, personal loans and the like.
But could greater access to our records actually increase credit risk, and could ultimately disadvantage many borrowers, particularly those with limited means?
Gordon Brown's political future.
SUMMARY: British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is trying to cling on as PM, but he faces a difficult few weeks.
The headlines in the British press say it all - `The week that brought Gordon Brown to the brink´, `Can he survive´ and `Is Brown seriously at risk of axe?´ Some Labour insiders are predicting a leadership challenge as early as the end of this month.
Rail boom
SUMMARY: Rail has for many years now been the poor cousin to the road when it comes to the business of moving goods from A to B.
For most products, with the possible exception of coal and iron ore, rail simply can´t compete with the lower costs associated with trucking.
But has the wheel started to turn? In the face of spiralling fuel costs, rail is making something of a comeback, and nowhere is this happening faster that in the United States.
Clearing the air in China
SUMMARY: Pitched as the Green Olympics, organisers in Beijing are on an environmental overhaul to try and clear the smog that is often two or three times the maximum allowed by the World Health Organisation.
Film with Julie Rigg
SUMMARY: Julie reviews The Bank Job and When did you last see your father?. This film stars Juliet Stevenson and Colin Firth in an adaptation of the poet Blake Morrison's 1993 memoir of his larger-than-life GP father.
