Increasing a country's money supply by raising debt is unwholesome, bizzare and utterly discredited, but that is how it works, which means that when total Fed credit stands still, as it has just done, that is worse than bizzare and

Japan's engineering companies are taking full advantage overseas of 30% annual global growth in the use of wind energy. Yet at home, thanks in part to government policies and utility monopolies, there are few opportunities in a country supposedly synonymous

The world's seven leading economies until recently had the power to effect coherence to the policies of the great triumvirate of the international economic system - the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. No longer.

The declining value of the US dollar, and with it the wealth of all countries linked to it, has prompted oil states such as Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to consider ending their US dollar currency pegs. The

The US Federal Reserve was expected to call a halt to its series of interest rate cuts at its meeting next month, amid mounting concerns over inflation. But the latest productivity data give the Fed latitude to further reduce interest

A Norwegian documentary follows two elite female Tamil Tigers soldiers as they train to join the Black Tigers - the female arm of the rebel group known for carrying out suicide bombings. Within their ranks the women are revered as

There has been a drop in the number of troops deserting from the Afghan National Army, but that is about the only good news. The indigenous force suffers from ethnic divisions, poor logistical support, inadequate training and, crucially, it is

Fiery and insulting language is increasingly spewing around the globe. It is debatable whether there is a logic behind the combative and irascible words of some world leaders, but the spoken broadsides of a Mahmud Ahmadinejad or a Kim Jong-il

The US Congress is expected to soon impose unprecedented conditions on Iraq-related spending, including a ban on major reconstruction projects and support for Sunni militias. The idea is that Iraq cough up more money to rebuild itself, while at the

Estimates now point to a quarter of a million dead in the cyclone that hit Myanmar, while foreign aid agencies still wait for approval to assist the millions of homeless. For the country's military rulers, the more pressing issue appears

Reports of China building a massive strategic naval base capable of housing nuclear-powered submarines on Hainan island in the South China Sea have India on red alert. The fear is not so much that China will launch any offensive against

The US Air Force's new slogan, "Air Force - Above All" conveys the basic precept that mastery of the air means mastery of the ground. Yet the air force seeks more than that. It wants to extend its "mastery" to