For many, for reasons of family, religion and tradition, Christmas is both a moment of reflection and celebration; a time to look back, take stock and to consider what might lie ahead. By any standard 2008, the year now passing, has been momentous not least for the way in which greed, worthless financial paper and the fraud-driven economic crisis that began in the United States,...

The past year has been one of the most devastating ever in terms of natural disasters, one of the world's biggest re-insurance companies has said. Munich Re said the impact of the disasters was greater than in 2007 in both human and economic terms. The company suggested climate change was boosting the destructive power of disasters like hurricanes and flooding. It has called for...