Microsoft's statement revealing the news has done nothing to dampen the rumours of a bust-up at the top.

BBC: Windows boss shown the door

On top of the oil bust, Canada's other commodity exports, such as lumber, are also suffering collapsing demand.

ECONOMIST: Canada: A sticky ending for the tar sands | The

Just days ahead of its fourth quarter earnings results on Feb. 21, e-mails from top management leaked to Bloomberg indicating a bust in February sales.

FORBES: Leaked Emails Indicate All's Not Well With Wal-Mart

If Greeks reject the 50% controlled default on the debts they owe to the banking sector, then the arithmetic I revealed on Newsnight on the eve of the Euro summit comes into play - without a 50% haircut, and a further 130bn euro bailout, on top of 110bn, Greek debt spirals out of control and the country goes bust.

BBC: Greek referendum is coin-flip on euro exit

Korean Air is not the only South Korean firm with excessive borrowing: the top 30 chaebol have around five times as much debt as equity, and the five conglomerates that went bust this year all had debt-to-equity ratios of more than 400%.

ECONOMIST: Korean Air