Intesa Sanpaolo has reportedly suggested to Italy's prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi, that the government buy Telecom Italia's fixed-line infrastructure, the most politically sensitive part of the business, ensuring it remains Italian and allowing the firm to pay down debt.

ECONOMIST: Italy��s biggest telecoms firm faces an uncertain future

There was top-line contraction, particularly due to spread-sensitive revenues as the bank is forced to compete with the behemoth state banks of Banco do Brasil and Caixa, all lowering their spreads on interest rates.

FORBES: Weak 3Q, But Brazil's Itau Bank A Buy, Barclays Says

Tamer Abuoglu, the last in a line of butchers stretching back seven generations, has a sensitive side - he's also a published poet with fifteen volumes of verse to his name.

BBC: Working Lives: Turkey

Apple rival Hewlett-Packard has done well with its line of TouchSmart all-in-one consumer PCs, which supplement a mouse with a touch-sensitive screen.

FORBES: Killing The Mouse, Softly