Everywhere we look, one of our most vital resources is allowed to go to waste – and governments’ misguided environmental policies are not helping. By Peter Brabeck-Letmathe.

Douglas Holtz-Eakin tells how a McCain presidency would react to foreign bids for US firms. Writer Courtney Fingar.

Dan Tarullo explains the impact an Obama presidency would have on foreign investment. Writer Lara Williams.

Ghana’s economic rebirth could be under threat in 2008 as inflation soars and the county’s fiscal deficit rises. The country’s minister of finance and economic planning talks about how such challenges will be met. Writer Charlie Corbett.

In the final months of the Bush administration, there is to be no slacking off with the president pushing for trade agreements with the likes of Colombia, says the US commerce secretary. Writer Courtney Fingar.

Óscar Iván Zuluaga has overseen the end of an economic boom and the onset of a period of uncertainty since becoming Colombia’s finance minister in February 2007. The Banker interviewed him at the Finance Ministry in Bogota. Writer Jane Monahan.

The impact of the international slowdown on the Philippines economy has been more severe than expected, but revenue collections are on track and overseas remittances remain strong, says the Philippines finance secretary.

Despite the international credit crunch, banks in the Philippines grew lending by 24% in the first half of 2008 and asset quality continues to improve, says the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) governor.

If history ended on November 9, 1989, when the Berlin Wall fell, it returned with a vengeance on the week starting September 14, 2008, when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, Merrill Lynch rushed into the arms of Bank of America and one of the world’s largest insurers, AIG, was effectively nationalised by the US government.

Four firms dominate the auditing business globally and, between them, would appear to have more than 280,000 employees dedicated more or less exclusively to audit and assurance, generating approximately $48bn in fees. By Stephen Kingsley.