Still, it is striking how many Italians continue to speak dialect 150 years after the creation of their state.

ECONOMIST: Italy at 150

So she must continue to resist the exorbitant wage demands of striking civil servants.

ECONOMIST: The president needs to do more to tackle the ��Brazil cost��

In a victory for TV-lovers everywhere, the London-based High Court ruled that the Advertising Standards Authority may continue to run its anti-Jamster campaign (striking down Jamster's request for an injunction), and may also impose a daytime ad ban, due to almost 300 user complaints about Jamster's questionable business practices.

ENGADGET: Jamster gets slammed in UK ruling

For me, the other striking thing that Mr Diamond said was that the eurozone would continue to be prone to "chronic event risk" in respect of the ability to finance themselves of the weaker peripheral economies - which many now see as including Italy and Spain, along with Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

BBC: Barclays backs chancellor's spending cuts