The teachers have now downgraded their demands, calling for immediate implementation of the original pay structure pledged around 18 months ago, which accords pay to qualifications and positions held.

BBC: Maldives teachers strike over pay

Now Mr Byers's immediate tasks are to devise a new railways structure that serves passengers better and to ensure that the railways can still raise the private finance that his plans envisaged.

ECONOMIST: Railtrack

This could leave the services vulnerable if one of the other major contingencies resolves itself before we have a transformation strategy in place, creating a strong demand for immediate, deep, and unwise cuts in force structure and personnel.

CENTERFORSECURITYPOLICY: Center for Security Policy | The Measure of a Superpower: A Two Major Regional Contingency Military for the 21st Century | Page: 2

Yesterday's deal may solve California's immediate budgetary problems but it does little to address the structure of the underlying revenue-raising and budget-setting process, which are the cause of perennial strife for the state.

ECONOMIST: California's budget

Getco sought to combine with Knight using its existing structure as a public company, giving Getco and its private-equity backer General Atlantic LLC, immediate access to shareholders.

FORBES: Getco Gets NYSE Listing Via Reverse Merger With Knight Capital

The immediate reason is that in many countries the state is now so bloated that, even without changing the basic structure of government, it could be made much more efficient.

ECONOMIST: The gods that have failed��so far