For poor countries, undeniably, it makes a big difference to the prospects for economic development.

ECONOMIST: The future of the state

Societe General Asset Management senior economist Akio Yoshino said the new development "casts uncertainty over the prospects for the investment stance of foreign investors who had already turned active sellers".

BBC: NEWS | Business | Japanese fund chief is arrested

Exxon has been consistently investing in upstream facilities over 2012, and key examples include the Kearl Initial Development Project for natural gas and offshore oil prospects such as the Phobos in the Gulf of Mexico.

FORBES: After Exxon's Ho-Hum Year Can Higher Oil Demand Could Lift Results?

The report concluded that medical evidence, though thin in some areas, suggests that children with homosexual parents face the same prospects for their health and development as those with heterosexual parents.

ECONOMIST: Homosexuality

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said prospects for peace could be boosted by the new development - and Israel regarded such a cabinet as a partner.

BBC: NEWS | Middle East | Q&A: Chaos in Gaza

Prospects seemed positive when the Vietnam government began offering licenses for beach development in the mid-1990s.

CNN: Stops and Starts

The current economic downturn and increasing food prices are jeopardizing prospects for educational development.

UNESCO: EDUCATION

Steps being taken to highlight possible dangers and prospects of future environmental development, will be among debate at the Environmental Security for Durable Development in Ukraine.

BBC: Chernobyl still haunts hill farms

Moving from a world with one such system to a world with none a world with no major market where new medical drugs and devices can be priced to return large investments in research and development, for example will fundamentally change the prospects for future medical progress.

WSJ: Christopher DeMuth: A Referendum on ObamaCare and Liberty