While Mr. McNerney had approved the Dreamliner's heavily outsourced business model as a director, his allies say that much of the 787's initial difficulty was beyond his control.

WSJ: The Two Men Behind the 787

The Italian government does not want a foreigner to take control, but it would have difficulty using its golden share to block a European bidder.

ECONOMIST: Telecom Italia

The difficulty for marketers is creating the right kind of buzz and learning to control it.

ECONOMIST: Marketing: Building buzz | The

Carmarthenshire council said it stopped its pest control services in 2011 because of a fall in demand and difficulty in offering lower prices than private companies.

BBC: Rat surge fears as councils in Wales cut pest control

Despite the difficulty finding an O-positive donor, "we try and control the waiting time to be within two to four weeks after arrive to our center, " Lee wrote in October during e-mail exchanges with the Scott family.

FORBES: Magazine Article

"A little more effort by member states to control projects properly and retrieve misused funds could go a long way, particularly in this time of economic difficulty, " said the EU's Audit Commissioner Algirdas Semeta.

BBC: EU criticised for wasting funds