Take the example of Williams, an Oklahoma-based energy company that delayed releasing its final 2001 results while it worked out exactly how to treat potential liabilities related to its telecoms unit.

ECONOMIST: Energy trading

It weighed about 10 tonnes when it entered the Earth's atmosphere and broke apart 30-50km (20-30 miles) above ground, according to Russia's Academy of Sciences, releasing several kilotons of energy - the equivalent of a small atomic weapon.

BBC: Russia sends clean-up team to meteorite-hit Urals

Even normally cautious bodies like the International Energy Agency and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development are sounding the alarm, with the latter recently releasing a comprehensive report forecasting a world in 2050 that will be defined by resource constraint and its economic impacts.

CNN: The Earth is full