But then what the OECD countries are doing is simply trying to maintain status quos which really have no validity in the face of demanding efficiency through competition.

BBC: A primer on the markets' descent

On the Russian side, better relations with America rest partly on Mr Putin's calculation that he needs a period of stability in foreign policy while he seeks to build up the Russian economy, and partly on his skill at extracting a quid for quos he had to concede anyway.

ECONOMIST: Europe and America

Apple had no trouble selling the iPhone 4 with an extra-sharp 3.5-inch display, and it was even defensive about its choice: Jobs is well-known for insisting at the time that phones needed to be usable with one hand, and app compatibility was better served by maintaining the status quos for resolution and size.

ENGADGET: The ever-expanding smartphone screen: how supersized became everyday