A screeching global economic slowdown has coincided with a global banking crisis. Traumatised investors all around the world are pulling their money out of assets, shares and banks and ploughing it into government securities. The result is that money...

By some estimates the deal as a whole may only lead to a 4 per cent domestic cut in emissions over the coming 12 years. But the vehicle "renewable energy" target, expected to be fulfilled largely by biofuels, may cost considerably more in indirect la...

We were kidding ourselves if we ever allowed ourselves to believe that Islamist fundamentalist activism was confined to the marginalised, unemployed members of our Muslim community. One look at the backgrounds of the al-Qa'ida leadership and the mast...

Next time this happens, before you open your mouth to nag, why not give him a back rub instead? It's a jungle out there for the modern man, you see. Tarzan has realised that beating his chest is no longer an appropriate mating ritual, and that he is ...

The Engineering Employers Federation (EEF) said yesterday that a quarter of industrial companies deferred wage settlements or froze pay in the three months to November. However, the more radical option of cutting wages, accompanied by a reduction in ...

To make matters worse, I was wearing a camel-coloured coat. If I'd have thought it through, I'd have donned the Barbour for this festive task. As it was, having been abandoned by a friend who had promised to help me fetch The Tree, defiance had force...

That seems a little harsh, on Jennifer Lopez. If half the art of politics is holding the public's attention, it is possible the actress would do well on Capitol Hill. It is also a bit of a cheap shot as regards Ms Kennedy, who may never have held ele...

For many decades the very concept of a black hole was as fantastical as the idea that we could ever see one, which was thought to be nigh-on impossible given that they represent the ultimate in photographic underexposure. Because they trap light, it ...

All of this is admirable. Privacy in such matters has much to recommend it, especially where children are concerned. Even more admirable, though, would have been an agreement to leave money out of the equation. Roll on the days when pre-nuptial agree...

Will she be chosen? Again it is a tough call. There will be plenty of competition for this plum seat. And the still influential Clintons are unlikely to be tripping over themselves to support her. We shall have to wait and see. But in the meantime, i...