Daily Archives: January 11, 2012

Alan Beattie The falling euro and the crisis that wasn’t

January 11, 2012 6:00 pm by Alan Beattie

The euro has fallen to a 16-month low below $1.27 – run, run for your lives! Or recognise that it’s still around the trade-weighted average for the past decade and only slightly weaker in real terms than when it launched, that a weaker currency is just what a stricken economy needs and that there isn’t much sign that the fall is disorderly and hence generally hitting confidence in eurozone assets. (The eurozone authorities are doing that.) Read more

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Posted in Europe, Foreign affairs, World affairs |

Tom Burgis Timeline: Assassinated Iranian scientists

January 11, 2012 5:11 pm by Tom Burgis

At least five Iranian scientists believed to have links to the country’s nuclear programme have been attacked in the past two years, four of them fatally.

Iran maintains that its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes; western powers say Tehran is seeking to develop atomic weapons. Read more

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Posted in Foreign affairs, Iran |

Gideon Rachman The strengths and weaknesses of Mitt Romney

January 11, 2012 11:44 am by Gideon Rachman

My friends in the press will do their utmost to keep a sense of excitement going, as the US presidential election heads to South Carolina and Florida. But the fact is that yesterday’s primary result in New Hampshire is clearly very good news for Mitt Romney. He is cruising towards the Republican nomination. But while this week has demonstrated Romney’s strength in the Republican race, it has also revealed a lot about his potential vulnerabilities in a face-off with President Obama. Read more

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Posted in US politics |

Edward Luce Can Romney pull off the hat trick?

January 11, 2012 11:30 am by Edward Luce

Mercifully for the pollsters, New Hampshire ducked an opportunity to belie expectations on Tuesday night when it handed Mitt Romney a strong victory. Mr Romney’s big win, which he followed with what sounded like a dress rehearsal for a nomination speech, means that he has now won two out of two – even if his first victory in Iowa last week was by a nanometre. If he can pull off a hat trick in South Carolina at the end of next week, it will be hard to see what could stop him.

 Read more

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Posted in US politics |