The recent mega-mergers show that manufacturing is a mug's game

Peace of a kind may be coming to Northern Ireland. But, says Geoffrey Wheatcroft, it is no thanks to the soft-headed indulgence of the republican movement by the old British left

Jeremy Clarke had not had sex for six years until he met some Australian apple growers in New Zealand

Christopher Tugendhat, chairman of Abbey National, rejects John Kay's claim that profit, like happiness, is best pursued indirectly

Must Emu lead to greater political integration? Emu does not necessarily entail more centralisation but could be a catalyst for reform of Europe's institutions

From the BBC to New Labour, Britain is obsessed with giving the public what it wants. We should know better

Brussels diary

Public confessions and apologies are a bad habit imported from undemocratic countries. Ian Buruma says they should stop

Octavio Paz, who died in April, was the great poet-critic of Latin America. Michael Schmidt, a friend and translator of his work, recalls his journey from Marxist to maestro

As Israel reaches mature middle age, Susan Greenberg asks whether the existence of a Jewish state has been good for the Jews. It is time to think aloud about costs as well as benefits