UK’s dark magic

Talks between the City and Westminster are unlikely to succeed. If the state cannot impose its will on banks it largely owns, what hope does it have with the others?

• In depth: UK banks
• Bank levy increase: an £800m fit of pique

The importance of being British

David Cameron asked a vital question in his weekend speech on multiculturalism: how to confront the danger of violent Islamic extremism in our midst

• Cameron view toes traditional party line
• Cameron promises to isolate hostile Muslim groups

Spreading a flawed gospel for Europe

The pact for competitivenes is Germany’s price for displaying a readiness to be the eurozone’s financial guarantor. But it smacks too much of a German attempt to recast the eurozone in its image

Cameron’s costly migration policy

International student numbers are still increasing rapidly. Britain should not lose its chance to pursue the best brains, regardless of nationality

A European date with Arab history

EU governments’ call for a quick, decisive but orderly transition of power in Egypt and their readiness to help in preparing free elections are positive signs

Getting caught on a commodity spike

Although deflation is usually seen as the more perilous threat to western economies, it is a worry that inflation may roar back because of soaring commodity prices

Forest proposals lost in the woods

The motivation behind the government’s plans to privatise England’s forests is basically fiscal but the savings to be made are marginal in the context of the coalition’s overall plans to cut the deficit

Fantasy football

The British public has been complaining about the return of large bankers’ bonuses, but the football transfer window, where £225m changed hands in January, is a reminder of another industry where the laws of economics seem to have been suspended

Small earthquake in Brazil’s Planalto

France’s love of balanced budgets

The chancellor and the case for plan B

Dodging the deficit

The hour strikes for Hosni Mubarak

Pfizer’s bitter pill leaves bad taste

Bribery law will benefit business

Oil under control

Israel’s chance to hail the Arab dawn

Roadblocks on the way to Schengen