That allowed Asia to relax tight-money policies, setting the stage for eventual recovery.

CNN: Bright Ideas

That may well be in part because the government wants a bit of wriggle room to get its legislation through the House of Lords without setting itself a tight deadline, which could give opponents of its various big bills some extra leverage with which to extract concessions.

BBC: The year ahead in Parliament

Ever since Labour won Britain's general election 15 months ago, Gordon Brown, the chancellor of the exchequer, has been sticking grimly to the tight spending plans left behind by his Tory predecessor, while setting taxes and building fiscal frameworks to prove his prudence.

ECONOMIST: The iron Santa Claus