I certainly remember all the big things: my name, what year it is, the fact that my teenage daughter believes I'm invading her privacy when I ask her what happened at school today.

Whatever it does, America is currently on course for the most stringent fiscal tightening of any big economy in 2012, as temporary tax cuts and unemployment insurance expire at the end of this year.

Pakistan's emergency action plan seems to have had little effect-the country has recorded 54 cases this year, double the number in the first half of 2010.