To protect the company from the danger that cheap new computers will squeeze the margin on refurbished ones, Mr McKie is developing direct sales of more powerful second-hand machines to non-profit bodies, such as charities and schools, and to individuals.

ECONOMIST: The pygmy problem

An interest-rate gap is opening between currencies like the dollar and the yen on the one hand, where monetary policy is likely to remain ultra-loose, and higher-yielding ones like the euro on the other.

ECONOMIST: Currencies