Governments need a clearer framework to organise the jumble of bail-out schemes, protect taxpayers and preserve the economy’s dynamism
ECONOMIST.COM
Bail-outs are inevitable—and toxic
How to design corporate bail-outs to protect taxpayers
Tube Station Reopens After Panic in a London on Edge
A report of gunfire led to the evacuation of one of London’s most crowded subway stations on Friday evening, but the scare proved to be short-lived.
M&S's half-yearly results, released on November 5th, delivered some good news for its beleaguered shareholders. Although its clothing sales continued to slide, underlying profits rose 2.3% from last year. The results may suggest that the firm's boss has plugged the hole in the bottom of the M&S ship. But bailing out the water may prove to be a far harder task http://econ.st/1ycZPk4
Not quite there yet
In spite of better-than-expected results, M&S's turnaround still has far to go.
ECON.ST
The Queen's Speech is an international embarrassment. Whichever party wins next year's elections should use the first paragraph of the 2015 Queen's Speech to commit to a debate, involving the public, on how to make such tradition-bound boondoggles more modern and open. http://econ.st/1l8cpgu
After their successful attack on Japan, all but one of the B-25s run out of fuel before reaching their recovery airfields in China. As a result, their crews are forced to either bail out over China or crash-land along the coast.[N 1
There is a traditional Irish saying uttered when driving on a new highway or passing some huge infrastructure project: "Thank you, German taxpayer." These projects often were funded by the European Union, and so mostly bankrolled by Germany. So it was a tad ironic that the Irish on Monday were bemoaning the €80 billion ($109 billion) bailout agreed with Europe.
The Irish Times in an editorial spoke of the "shame" of taking funds from "the German chancellor" and in doing so surrendering "our sovereignty to the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund." Yet since joining the EU in 1973, Ireland has received more than €17 billion in EU structural funds for large development projects.
Such funds are so popular the Irish government even has a website devoted to them. It seems there's a fine line between a boondoggle and a bailout.
The rapid redevelopment of cities such as Beijing has drawn international attention and admiration, not least because of the construction of a host of high-profile ultra-modern prestige projects including sports stadiums, opera houses and high-rise apartment complexes.
But Mr Wang criticised the standard procedure of allocating plots of land for projects often separated from surrounding neighbourhoods. Such developments became individual “colonies”, with city residents unable even to walk between them, he said.
The architect has long argued for the protection of architectural heritage and bemoaned a tide of globalisation that had stripped China’s cities of their distinct character.
Portuguese Relief May Be Short-Lived
Portugal
sold the maximum amount of bonds planned. But without a major overhaul
of Europe's approach to the debt markets, the risk of further turmoil
remains.
Portugal Auction Fails to Quell Talk of Bailout
Portugal Auction Fails to Quell Talk of Bailout
Portugal
passed a key test by carrying out a pair of government-bond auctions
on Wednesday, but the high interest rates demanded by investors on the
new debt sustained concerns that the Iberian country could be next in
line for a bailout, after Greece and Ireland.
| short-lived | (adjective) Lasting a very short time. |
| Synonyms: | ephemeral, fugacious, passing, transitory, transient |
| Usage: | Any hope that the speech would end the war was short-lived, as fighting resumed within hours. |
bemoan[be・moan]
- 発音記号[bimóun]ㄖ[動](他)
1 …を悲しむ［嘆く］.
2 …を哀れむ.
━━(自)悲しむ, 嘆く.| Regret strongly. | |
| Synonyms: | bewail, deplore, lament |
| Usage: | When he is under the depressing influence of the after-consequences, he bemoans his sufferings and his errors, and charges them both upon me. |
boon·dog·gle (būn'dô'gəl, -dŏg'əl)
boondoggle
Pronunciation: /ˈbuːndɒg(ə)l/
North American informal
Definition of boondoggle
noun
verb
[no object]Origin:
1930s: of unknown originbail3
Line breaks: bail
Pronunciation: /beɪl/
(British also bale)
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