Mr Mandelson's White Paper on competitiveness, published on December 16th, is shot through with his near-obsessive belief that the key to closing the gap lies in a more profitable use of science.

ECONOMIST: The economy

National Statistician Jil Matheson said that the absence of a UK-wide official private rental index was a "key gap" in data on the housing market.

BBC: Lettings boards

For the longer term the economic fundamentals of North America and the eurozone will be the key to investors, with experts predicting a "closing of the gap".

BBC: Euro waits on summit