LinkedIn has grown rapidly over the past couple of years, but it cannot be expected to maintain the same pace going forward.

FORBES: LinkedIn's Growth Is Highly Overvalued And Competitive Risks Ignored

This aspect, though it may have been expected, means that the agreement cannot easily be used by investors who are seeking to recover losses they claim were caused by biased research reports.

FORBES: Settlement Leaves Merrill In Shade

The officials reply that Rome was not built in a day, and they cannot be expected to clean up Houston overnight: after all, it took 30 years to get that way.

ECONOMIST: The Lone Smog State

Even after the supreme court finally set a date for the trial earlier this year (holders of high office in Brazil cannot be tried for crimes in lower courts), few expected much from it.

ECONOMIST: The supreme court makes graft riskier

It is a major problem, and while Andrew Flintoff will be expected to deliver the aggression, he simply cannot be relied upon to remain fit.

BBC: Jonathan Agnew column