Even within Sony, one of the most Americanised companies, old habits die hard.

ECONOMIST: Still work to be done

While London's charitable ball circuit is nowhere near as lavish or ostentatious as New York's, there are other signs of British fund-raising becoming Americanised.

ECONOMIST: Generosity seems to be on the rise

Somewhere between Ellis Island and the car factories of Detroit (or nowadays between the Rio Grande and a bungalow in Riverside) the newcomers are Americanised.

ECONOMIST: America's great sorting out

Ford is bringing in slightly Americanised versions of saloon cars that have been successful in Europe, while GM plans to do the same with versions of its German-designed Opels.

ECONOMIST: A crowded car industry

The war is also becoming increasingly Americanised, partly because of Mr Obama's surge, but also because a few NATO members, notably the Dutch and the Canadians, are bringing home their combat troops (while still, it seems, contributing trainers).

ECONOMIST: The future of NATO: Fewer dragons, more snakes | The

Yet the film hones in on the drama of everyday life in Africa, with Ms Basinger playing a peculiarly Americanised version of the Italian Ms Gallmann as she suffers through the inconveniences of elephants gobbling up the vegetable garden and visits from her disapproving mother.

ECONOMIST: Activist cinema