Говори и пиши как The Eсonomist

Public transport in Los Angeles has a great future, and always will.

Mr Toyoda had been reading "How the Mighty Fall", a book by Jim Col­lins, an American management guru. In it, Mr Collins (best known for an earlier, more upbeat work, "Good to Great") describes the five stages through which a proud and thriving company passes on its way to be­coming a basket-case. First comes hubris born of success; second, the undisciplined pursuit of more; third, denial of risk and peril; fourth, grasping for salvation; and last, capitulation to irrelevance or death.

There are lots of other jobs that aren't real. Designing a new plas­tic soapbox, making pokerwork jokes for public-houses, writing advertising slogans, being an MP, talking to UNESCO conferences. But the money's real work.

In theory, the case for joint ventures was compelling. The foreign partner provided capital, knowledge, access to international markets and jobs. The Chinese partner provided access to cheap labour, local regulatory knowledge and access to what used to be a relatively unimportant do­mestic market. The Chinese government protected swathes of the econ­omy from acquisitions, but provided land, tax breaks and at least the appearance of a welcome to attract investment. "For a joint venture to be successful," says Jonathan Woetzel of McKinsey, a consultancy, "you have to plan for it to die".

He was waltzing from job to job.

China is full of small and medium-sized companies that have fingers in many pies, taking advantage of opportunities as they arise.

In Britain there's London, London and London. In America there are scores of hubs.

The food stamps participation has soared since the recession began). By April 2010 it had reached almost 45m, or one in seven Americans. The cost, naturally, has soared too, from $35 billion in 2008 to $65 billion last year. Only those with incomes of 130% of the poverty level or less are eligible for them. The amount each person receives depends on their income, assets and family size, but the average benefit is $133 a month and the maximum, for an individual with no income at all, is $200. Those sums are due to fall soon, when a temporary boost expires. Even the current package is meagre. Melissa Nieves, a recipient in New York, says she compares costs at five different supermarkets, assiduously collects coupons, eats mainly cheap, starchy foods, and still runs out of money a week or ten days before the end of the month.

Business people are fond of accusing business academics of be­ing all mouth and no trousers (if the accusers are British) or all hat and no cattle (if they are Texan).

The ultimatum they received from euro-zone leaders at the G20 summit in Cannes to reform their economies — or else.

In a country where oil cash still enhances the allure of office, can only spell turbulent times ahead.

In 1500 Europe's future imperial powers controlled 10% of the world's territories and generated just over 40% of its wealth. By 1913, at the height of empire, the West controlled almost 60% of the territories, which together generated almost 80% of the wealth.

In Central Asia the most successful companies are sinecures of nepotism.

Insurance is banking's boring cousin: it lacks the glamour, the sky-high bonuses and the ever-present whiff of danger.

Fill up an SUV's fuel tank with ethanol and you have used enough maize to feed a person for a year.

Foundations were laid timber by timber, railway sleeper by railway sleeper.

Germany's hyperinflation in 1923 — it became cheaper to burn banknotes than to buy fuel.

Corruption is often blamed on plata o plomo — meaning silver or lead, bribes or threats.

Global business has been rocked by crises, from Enron to the fi­nancial meltdown. Harvard Business School (HBS), alas, played a role. Enron was stuffed with HBS old boys, from the chief execu­tive, Jeff Skilling, downward. The school wrote a sheaf of lauda­tory case studies about the company. Many of the bankers who recently mugged the world's taxpayers were HBS men.

Hayward is in the meat grinder of public opprobrium along with Lloyd Blankfein, chief executive of Goldman Sachs, and Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota.

Contrary to popular belief, traffic in Atlanta is not always hellish. There are a good few days each year when it is merely purgato­rial.

Consumer spending accounts for about 70% of U.S. economic activity.