As a boy, the former British PM won a poetry prize at Harrow School.

BBC: Winston Churchill poem to be auctioned

Coulson was an aid to British PM David Cameron, and Brooks was as close to Murdoch as they come.

FORBES: The News Corp Scandal Keeps Heating Up

This would be enough to make any British PM nervous, given the strong body of opinion among his constituents in the City of London.

FORBES: Don't Sweat The Tobin Tax, It Won't Happen

At the close of the ASEM meeting of European and Asian leaders, British PM Tony Blair promised high-level business missions to Asia to encourage investment in the region.

BBC: News | ASEM 2

Disclosure: I am a long term trader or investor in not only Altria (MO), but also Philip Morris International (PM), British American Tobacco (BTI) and Reynolds (RAI).

FORBES: Altria Group: E-Cigarettes Or Die?

The major tobacco stocks, notably Altria Group (MO), Philip Morris International (PM), British American Tobacco (BTI), Reynolds American (RAI), and Lorillard (LO), suffered some setbacks, to be sure, but they stayed close to their 52-week highs.

FORBES: Big Tobacco Stocks Among Healthy Standouts In Market's Turbulent Swings

But, in response to Mr Brown's Commons statement on 2 November, opposition leader David Cameron told the PM that the British people would not accept Tony Blair's installation as president of the European Council, a position that will be created if the treaty is ratified.

BBC: European Council statement

"We will be seeking talks between the Irish PM, the assembly and the UK finance minister and the British prime minister to review this in the context of the need to have a good retail structure like Ulster Bank remain, particularly in Northern Ireland, " he added.

BBC: Ulster Bank says 950 jobs to go on island of Ireland