The world's sovereign bond markets face a monumental test in 2012 as the largest economies attempt to roll over a combined total of $7.6 trillion (£4.9trn) in debt.

Bond markets to be asked to fund vast levels of sovereign borrowing this year

Oil giant BP has fired the latest shots in a legal battle over the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, claiming contractor Halliburton should pay all of its billions of pounds of costs.

A lieutenant of the late Kim Jong-il who defected to South Korea after years of senior positions in the regime has said Kim's son will open up the isolated state to become more of a market-style export economy.

It sounds an extravagant solution to the pre-Christmas blues, but if you want to escape the relentless gloom on this side of the Atlantic try a weekend in New York.

US Outlook: In the UK it's called Chinese Whispers.

There may be a future Turner prize recipient in this indifferent show for up-and-coming artists – but it would be the devil's own job to pick them

FIFA's anti-corruption drive ran into stormy waters today when the world governing body's advisors Transparency International rejected a seat on the commission steering the reforms.

New York's billionaire mayor Michael Bloomberg had to endure two hours of attacks on his honesty yesterday, on subjects ranging from his bid to overturn term limits to his handling of the resignation of a deputy mayor, as he appeared in the witness box at the trial of a man accused of embezzling more than $1m from him.

Ker-ching. Is that the sound of cashing in we hear? Not that Jim O'Neill, the Goldman Sachs economist, is in need of the money, but presumably Penguin is chucking him a few quid for a new book on the Bric economies. It's a decade since O'Neill came up with the Bric idea – the acronym stands for Brazil, Russia, India and China – and his prediction that they were about to become the world's economic powerhouses looks ever more prescient by the day. Penguin's Joel Rickett crows: "Jim O'Neill is one of the world's most influential economic thinkers – no wonder he has been described as Goldman Sachs'rock star."

The death toll is 13 and the cost will run into tens of billions of dollars, but the storm was not as severe as many had feared

New York City's mayor has told residents who need to evacuate ahead of the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Irene that they should do so immediately.

Alec Baldwin, the actor who these days is most associated with the comedy show 30 Rock, is speaking openly about seeking the keys to a new address – Gracie Mansion, the mayoral residence in New York City.