And despite the opposition of France and, to a lesser extent, Germany, Mr Bush has done better with other European power-brokers.

ECONOMIST: George Bush��s European tour

On a lesser scale, the same is true for companies in Germany and France.

ECONOMIST: Fund management

The idea that a legalised symbolic cut would be the lesser of two evils is not new: it was discussed and rejected in Germany and the Netherlands, for example.

ECONOMIST: Female genital cutting

However, the specific problem that both Ireland and Greece have (and to some extent so does Portugal, to a lesser Spain) is that labour is relatively more expensive there than it is in Germany for the same level of productivity.

FORBES: The Euro is Working: Just Not Fast Enough