Principal content
Sarkozy and Royal set for French showdown
Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal were set for a head-to-head contest in the second round of the French presidential elections on May 6 following a huge turnout in the first round on Sunday, early results showed.
Plea deals plan to beat inside trading
FSA may also link fines to individual wealth
ABN close to settling €70bn bid from Barclays
Offer values ABN Amro shares at about €36 a share
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UK to issue west’s first Islamic bonds
Important gesture to Muslim community
Timing ‘crucial to earnings announcements’
Study urges early release of good news
Japan eyes active state investment fund
Would mitigate impact of aging population
Italy’s main centre-left parties to merge
Union to provide greater political stability
Blow for Olmert as minister quits
Nine Palestinians die in violence
Lex
German corporate governance
If it was a debate, this week provided arguments both for and against the resolution that: “Germany’s corporate governance is improving”
Book review
When sexual restraint is like pollution
More Sex is Safer Sex: The Unconventional Wisdom of Economics by Steven Landsburg entertains and inspires but sometimes goes too far.
Business life
A quick message for the e-mail killjoys

It is utter tosh to say we are bad at e-mail as it’s new: most of us have been at it for hours a day for nearly a decade, writes Lucy Kellaway
Comment
A risk shared may be more risky, not less

If banks have incentives to sell junk mortgages to borrowers who cannot conceivably repay, then something is going wrong, writes Wolfgang Münchau.