BBC

Few things stir the blood more than Wall Street firms getting into a good old scrap. Put aside the internecine squabbling at Morgan Stanley - they don't come much better than the current dust-up between Citigroup (metals "super cycle") and Goldman Sachs (oil "super spike"), and Merrill Lynch - whose chief equity strategist, David Bowers, on Monday poured water on the idea of what he described as a resources bubble.

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Clare Short has brought a whole new meaning to the word "agonising".

First, the notoriously volcanic minister agonised over her position on the war.

She decided she was against it without a second UN resolution.

Then she agonised over whether she should declare her intention of resigning if the prime minister went to war without that resolution.

She decided she should, and went on to do so unequivocally and very publicly.

By Frank W Moore, IDDS Research Analyst
INTRODUCTION

In the past decade China's growing military capability hasattracted a great deal of attention, but details about the currentand likely near-future state of China's military power have beenin short supply. While it is true that China is modernizing itsforces and increasing defense spending, the prospective improvementsin overall military capability need to be set against the verylow-technology starting point of China's armed forces.