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Nato chief warns of split over US missiles
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, Nato secretary general, has warned that the alliance risks being split between countries that would be covered by the US’s proposed missile defence programme and other member states left exposed to missile threats from Iran.
Private equity slams ‘hostility’
Group will lobby against higher taxes
Halliburton to move its head office to Dubai
Giant looks east for growth potential
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If at first you don’t succeed, think twice before trying again

The great thing about getting older is that public failure gets rarer too. The feeling of being exposed as hopeless is so horrid that it sends a warning to the brain to avoid such activities in future, writes Lucy Kellaway
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Ask your shareholders to share the pain

Too many chief executives are afraid to ask public investors to suffer short-term discomfort for long-term gain, writes John Gapper.
America must act to renew the primacy of its markets
No reason for the US to play second fiddle
The French election is now a three-horse race

With so many voters still undecided, one should take seriously the surge in the polls by François Bayrou, the leader of the centrist UDF party, writes Wolfgang Munchau.
Israel needs exceptional leadership to attain normality
Its history and geography make country unique