Word: standardization
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...strength of the pound has long been a source of British pride - the word "sterling" has come to describe something of the highest standard. When the pound plunges, as it did in 1976 and in 1992, the damage to the British psyche is almost as far-reaching as the impact on the economy. And right now sterling's losing its shine. In the past year, the U.K. currency has lost about a fifth of its value against the euro, the currency used in much of the rest of Europe, and 30% against the dollar. Causes aren't hard to come...
...before they were official, the White House's reversal on the California waiver request was particularly sweet. In 2002 California passed regulations that would require automobile manufacturers to cut greenhouse-gas emissions from their vehicles by nearly a third between 2009 and 2016 - effectively resulting in a fuel economy standard of 36 m.p.g. That would have been a significantly tougher standard than the federal rules (the 2007 Energy Act did require corporate average fuel economy [CAFE] to approach that figure, but not until 2020). California requested a waiver for its own tough standards - under the Clean Air Act, the state...
...more ambitious fuel economy standards, if adopted, will force the auto industry to rapidly retool to produce more efficient cars and trucks. Auto manufacturers have fought California's rules in court, arguing that allowing the state to go forward on its own would create a patchwork of regulations that would burden an already struggling industry. But in the past, the Federal Government has often followed California's lead, meaning the feared patchwork could soon become the national standard. Greens expect the Obama Administration to push the country in that direction. (As a Senator, Obama called for fuel economy to rise...
...Against that background, the prospect of owning the Standard must seem like a walk in the park, even as Lebedev contemplates plowing "tens of millions of pounds" into the loss-making publication. He told the Financial Times the Standard could be used "to help [Russian Prime Minister Vladimir] Putin to fight corruption" in Russia, but has also promised to maintain the paper's editorial independence. (See pictures of Putin's youth camp...
...wouldn't signal an emphasis on hard news but an advisory board full of big hitters could certainly help to open doors. Names reported to be in the frame include Gorbachev and Tony Blair. His priority, Lebedev told a hastily convened press conference in Moscow, is to ensure the Standard's survival. "I don't want it to be said that some Russian idiot and former spy came along and bought it only for it to close down," he said. - with reporting by Yuri Zarakhovich / Moscow...