In his generally favourable review, the New York Times' A O Scott describes the film as "a stripped-down, modest enterprise in which no major American city is reduced to rubble".

BBC: Iron Man 3 betters Avengers international debut

All take succour from recent, generally favourable reassessments of the British empire, notably the one offered in a book (and television series) by Niall Ferguson, a Scottish historian now at New York University.

ECONOMIST: America and empire

The use of the net rate captures the generally more favourable tax treatment of pensioners than of workers.

ECONOMIST: Ageing and public finances