In transport , the famously antediluvian Ministry of Transport announced in late January that it would abolish its rigid capacity and price controls by 2001 at the latest.

ECONOMIST: Deregulation in Japan

Nobody failed to see the irony that it was Germany which, in the late 1990s, had insisted on a rigid stability pact as its price for accepting the euro.

ECONOMIST: Europe's fiscal follies

Nevertheless, Europe is far from rigid: more than 40% of the price changes recorded were cuts, much the same as estimates for the United States.

ECONOMIST: Economics focus

There is thus a risk that price stability may make relative wages even more rigid.

ECONOMIST: Does your company really need an annual pay round?

Problems have included price controls, which prevent below-cost selling, rigid labour laws and tough zoning regulations, which make it extremely difficult to build big stores.

ECONOMIST: Wal-Mart

Why would anyone pay probably twice the asking price of the PS3 for additional features that appear to begin and end with "rigid beam construction"?

ENGADGET: Why would anyone buy a Blu-ray player (other than the PS3)?