Imran Ayub, a journalist on the Karachi beat, thinks the PAC and the government will strike a bargain that preserves the PPP's Lyari constituency despite this disastrous operation.

ECONOMIST: Violence in Karachi

They may thus be more ready to strike a grand bargain a deficit plan that both raises some new tax revenue and reduces the growth of entitlements, such as government-funded pensions.

ECONOMIST: Fiscal policy: Cliff-diving | The

Lean manufacturing requires partners to share information knowing that it will not be leaked to a competitor, or used to strike a new bargain.

ECONOMIST: Firms and their suppliers

And if Russia plays ball it will strike a hard bargain - perhaps securing an interest in Cyprus's offshore gas industry, yet to be developed.

BBC: Cyprus bank crisis: Mounting EU pressure

Their task, Mr Annan stressed, was not to strike a new bargain with Mr Hussein but to get him to rescind his ban on American nationals in Unscom.

ECONOMIST: Saddam defies the UN, again

However, it is by no means clear if this is a desire to warn Iran diplomatically or a manoeuvre intended to strike the hardest bargain once the Iranian oil sector is under pressure.

BBC: What will be the impact of the EU ban on Iranian oil?

The students at Stanford Business School and the job-hopping members of the Five O'Clock Club might have a clear idea of the bargain they strike with employers.

ECONOMIST: Career evolution | The

The upcoming debate over the long-term budgetary future promises to be stoutly partisan, even as Obama is undertaking outreach to rank-and-file Republicans in hopes of sowing the seeds for a bipartisan "grand bargain" on the budget this year after two failed attempts to strike agreement with House Speaker John Boehner.

NPR: Senate Democrats Prepare Government Funding Bill