The Londoner

Posted by Sikander Hayat with thanks to FT.com By Tobias Buck in Jerusalem and Heba Saleh in Cairo Published: January 23 2008 11:44 | Last updated: January 23 2008 12:18 Tens of thousands of Palestinians on Wednesday made a brief escape from the poverty and violence that has engulfed the Gaza Strip, after militants blew up vast sections of the barrier separating the embattled territory from Egypt. Egyptian border guards and police watched but did not intervene as the Palestinians crossed freely in cars, on foot and in donkey carts– in contrast to the previous day, when clashes between Gazans and Egyptian police had left about 60 wounded. EDITOR’S CHOICE UN urges Israel to rethink Gaza strategy - Jan-22Israel eases Gaza blockade - Jan-22Israel closes crossings with Gaza - Jan-18Israeli coalition begins to crumble - Jan-16Heightened violence in Gaza after Bush visit - Jan-15Diary: Bush in the Mideast - Jan-16The Egyptian security services are reported to have closed off roads

 thanks to Ft.com By Tony Barber in Brussels Published: January 22 2008 20:33 | Last updated: January 22 2008 20:33 European policymakers on Tuesday blamed the turmoil in global equity markets on US economic and fiscal policy and said Europe’s economy was resilient enough to emerge without great damage. “The main reason [for the turbulence] is the risk of a recession in the US,” said Joaquín Almunia, the European Union’s monetary affairs commissioner. “It’s not about a global recession. It’s about a recession in the US, because big imbalances have built up over the years in the US economy – a big current account deficit, a big fiscal deficit and a lack of savings.” EDITOR’S CHOICE Pressure on ECB to soften tough line - Jan-22Trichet discounts productivity gain - Jan-17Eurozone warned of excessive wage deals - Jan-10UK Daily View: BoE and ECB hold rates - Jan-10ECB leaves rates unchanged - Jan-10Bank holds rates as mortgage data emerge - Jan-11He was speaking in Brussels as t

 with thanks to FT.com By Chris Giles in Davos, Ralph Atkins in Frankfurt and Paul J Davies in London Published: January 23 2008 19:39 | Last updated: January 23 2008 20:40 European financial markets , business leaders and economists on Wednesday took a pessimistic view of the likely effect of the dramatic US interest rate cut. There was also a growing sense of a split between the continent’s central banks and the US Federal Reserve as Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, made clear to the European Parliament in Brussels that it would not bow easily to pressure for eurozone interest rate cuts. On Tuesday night Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England , had talked down expectations of substantial rate cuts in the UK. EDITOR’S CHOICE Overview: Fed’s cut fails to reassure nervous investors - Jan-23Short View: Bear market? - Jan-23Lex: Global interest rates - Jan-23Video interview: JPMorgan’s Jing Ulrich on the Fed rate cut’s effect on China - Jan-23W