Financial Crisis and Geopolitics

Meanwhile, the banks that caused much of this mess are getting all their money back. A more equitable approach would require the banks to pay at least part of the bill - writing down the debts of some European governments or extending their maturities into the future to allow battered European economies time to recover.

At a defining moment for the European Union, its largest country, Germany, appeared divided and its leader absent, raising significant concerns about what kind of leadership Chancellor Angela Merkel can offer as the region tries to stabilize financial markets and shore up its common currency.

First came the real estate crisis. Then the financial system melted down. And now, skyrocketing public debt is threatening entire countries. Star economist Nouriel Roubini tells SPIEGEL that more crises will come and go before world leaders agree on true reform. He says breaking up huge banks would be a good place to start.

Europe has put up 750 billion euros in an effort to stop speculation against the European common currency. Still, it remains to be seen if financial markets will learn their lesson. After all, speculators aren't even being punished for the damage they have caused. But they should be.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's ruling coalition was seriously weakened last night after her party suffered a humiliating defeat in a key regional state election which was certain to deprive her government of its crucial working majority in Germany's upper house of parliament.

The EU faced the biggest test in its history last night as it launched a last-ditch effort to save the euro, amid acute fears that markets could unleash a fresh attack on the currency on Monday.

European Union leaders are working around the clock to create a new measure to defend the euro before financial markets reopen on Monday. EU finance ministers will meet on Sunday to discuss the plan.

The fear that began in Athens, raced through Europe, and finally shook the stock market in the United States is now affecting the broader global economy, from the ability of Asian corporations to raise money to the outlook for money-market funds where American savers park their cash.

Years of national denial about looming bankruptcy have turned to resentment as Greece is told how it must tackle its debt crisis

Defeat in North Rhine-Westphalia would undermine German chancellor's legislation on tax cuts and health reforms

Europe's consistent inability to move quickly enough to get ahead of the financial markets during the Greece crisis is shaking the euro and the foundations of the European Union itself, as critics of the euro have long predicted would happen.

Analysts and investors have begun to focus on the risks to European banks if severe budget cuts by debt-ridden countries freeze credit markets and cause a double-dip recession.

Leaders from the euro zone countries signed off on a support package for Greece on Friday night and pledged to take steps to stanch a spreading debt crisis before markets opened on Monday morning.

The growing crisis in the eurozone threatened to undermine the global economic recovery as markets plunged across the world on fears that European leaders may not be able to contain the debt contagion spreading from Greece.

What really went on at the UN climate conference in Copenhagen? Secret recordings reveal how China and India prevented an agreement on tackling climate change at the crucial meeting. The powerless Europeans were forced to look on as the agreement failed.

The core drivers of globalization are alive and well, but executives are still grappling with how to seize the opportunities of an interlinked world economy.

China is busy turning the global challenge of climate change into a national opportunity, but it needs another decade to advance its technology to the point where superior manufacturing and lower costs will secure its dominance of the clean-tech sector. By giving China more time to develop its capacity while neglecting our own, America is not just losing the clean-tech race, it's forfeiting it.

Markets in the United States and Europe fell and the euro hit another low for the year on Thursday after the European Central Bank disappointed investors hoping for decisive action to contain the euro zone's increasingly virulent debt crisis.

No time is wasted. The bullet train is moving all the time. If there are 30 stations between  Beijing and  Guangzhou , just stopping and accelerating again at each station will waste both energy and time. A mere 5 min stop per station (elderly passengers cannot be hurried) will result in a  total loss of 5 min x 30 stations or 2.5 hours of train journey time!

En China, el diseñador Chen Jianjun creó una alternativa complementaria a las altísimas velocidades que alcanzan los trenes modernos, los que deben detenerse en cada parada para tomar y dejar pasajeros, lo que hace perder tiempo y energía al sistema, debido a las frenadas y cambios de rapidez.