Royal Mail stake to be sold off, George Osborne announces

The government's remaining 30% stake in the Royal Mail is to be sold and £3bn cut from government spending this year,

George Osborne has said.

The Economist: “The Fed's have-it-both-ways policy”

R.A., regarding Bernanke’s Jackson Hole speech, your column notes that you “found the tone on monetary policy to be confusing and timid.” Expectations now turn to what President Obama will say next week and what the Fed will do (or not do) when they next meet. Uncertainty again prevails.

Alexander Mirtchev

Securing global economic security

Inflation is a significant factor of global economic security and has the innate capacity to upend carefully laid plans

Sir, Further to the article by Sam Fleming, “Incomes will plummet as inflation soars, report claims” (May 3), I agree that the erosion of earnings by inflation should move higher on the economic agenda.

Alexander Mirtchev

The new EU External Energy Policy: an important move - if it is not too late

By Alexander Mirtchev

With the adoption of its new External Energy Policy, the EU has finally made a first step towards its integration as a single negotiating bloc in the world energy market. As such the External Energy Policy could become an important factor in the global energy security picture and a possible geopolitical game-changer. However, it remains to be seen whether the big EU member states will be willing to subordinate their interests to the wider EU interest. The External Energy Policy has probably come five years too late, argues Alexander Mirtchev, President of Krull Corp. and Vice-President of the Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies.

Will Financial Regulation Trash Global Economic Security?

Alexander Mirtchev, Contributor

 Under the auspices of the Financial Stability Board, more than 30 recommendations have been set out as part of a massive and far-reaching G-20 financial regulatory reform package to ostensibly minimize risk in the financial system and maximize consumer protection.