He asked whether Sherlock was "built in" to the operating system - an understandable line of questioning in view of Microsoft's "integration" of Internet Explorer into Windows - but it misfired badly.

BBC: USA versus Microsoft: the third week

But some economists are questioning the prevailing view, not least because reductions in capital-tax rates appear to have delivered more inequality than growth.

ECONOMIST: Free exchange: Zero-sum debate | The

When the case came before an appeals court in February, the judges' harsh questioning of the government's lawyers appeared to support the view that the entire case might even be dropped and Microsoft acquitted of any wrongdoing.

ECONOMIST: Microsoft