"THE GULF MONETARY UNION PACT HAS COME INTO EFFECT," said Kuwait's finance minister, Mustafa al-Shamali, speaking at a Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) summit in Kuwait. The move will give the hyper-rich club of oil exporters a petro-currency of their own, greatly increasing their influence in the global exchange and capital markets AND POTENTIALLY DISPLACING THE US DOLLAR as the pricing currency for oil contracts. Between them they amount to a regional superpower with a GDP of $1.2 trillion (£739bn), some 40pc of the world's proven oil reserves, and financial clout equal to that of China.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Qatar are to launch the first phase next year, creating a Gulf Monetary Council that will evolve quickly into a full-fledged central bank. The Emirates are staying out for now – irked that the bank will be located in Riyadh at the insistence of Saudi King Abdullah rather than in Abu Dhabi. They are expected join later, along with Oman.

THE GULF STATES REMAIN DIVIDED OVER THE WISDOM OF ANCHORING THEIR ECONOMIES TO THE US DOLLAR. The Gulf currency – dubbed "Gulfo" – is likely to track a global exchange basket and may ultimately float as a regional reserve currency in its own right. "THE US DOLLAR HAS FAILED. We need to delink," said Nahed Taher, chief executive of Bahrain's Gulf One Investment Bank.

In a sombre report on the outlook for next year, the credit rating agency raised the prospect that future tax rises and spending cuts could trigger social unrest in a range of countries from the developing to the developed world. It said that in the coming years, EVIDENCE OF SOCIAL UNREST AND PUBLIC TENSION may become just as important signs of whether a country will be able to adapt as traditional economic metrics.

Signalling that a fiscal crisis remains a possibility for a leading economy, IT SAID THAT 2010 WOULD BE A "TUMULTUOUS YEAR FOR SOVEREIGN DEBT ISSUERS". It added that the sheer quantity of debt to be raised by Britain and other leading nations would increase the risk of investor fright. Strikingly, however, it added that even if countries reached agreement on the depth of the cuts necessary to their budgets, they could face difficulties in carrying out the cuts.

The report, which comes amid growing worries about Britain's credit rating, said: "In those countries whose debt has increased significantly, and especially those whose debt has become unaffordable, the need to rein in deficits will test social cohesiveness. The test will be starker as growth disappoints and interest rates rise." It said THE MAIN OBSTACLE FOR FISCAL CONSOLIDATION PLANS would be signs not necessarily of economic strength but of "POLITICAL AND SOCIAL TENSION".

He said London will lead the way by making sure no Londoner is more than a mile from a charging point for an electric car by 2015. "WE NEED TO STOP OVERDOSING ON GLOOM and start conveying a message of optimism to people they can improve their lives and cut their CO2," he said. He warned that the public was turned off by a "miserable" message, but said measures to improve energy efficiency in homes could save people money and cut their heating bills in homes while an electric vehicle network would mean they do not have to "buy a lagoon of petrol or diesel over the lifetime of their car".

"We're never going to beat consumerism, we need to harness it, we need a new green consumerism," he said. He said CITIES WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR MORE THAN THREE QUARTERS OF EMISSIONS and it was "up to us" to make the changes to urban lifestyles, which help people save money, be greener and become healthier - such as cycling. "I think cities can break the logjam and show national governments the way to pick up the pace," he added.

The leader of the British National Party and MEP is at the international summit as a representative of the European Parliament. But he said global warming was a "hoax" DESIGNED TO IMPOSE TAX INCREASES ON THE CITIZENS of the world through putting up the price of energy. He said world leaders and advocates of action on climate change such as Al Gore are "mass murderers" by supporting biofuels.

He said LAND FOR GROWING FOOD IS BEING TAKEN TO GROW FUELS for crops and it will cause starvation greater than the famines caused by Russian dictator Stalin during the 1930s and Chairman Mao in the 1950s. "It is a crime against humanity which in future will be SEEN AS AN ENORMOUS MAN-MADE FAMINE. Under Stalin 20 million people died, under Chairman Mao 30 million died. This will be the third and the greatest famine of the modern era and I regard that as a crime."

However Mr Griffin's own party would not give more money to the Third World. "BRITAIN IS BANKRUPT. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO GO GIVING MONEY TO THE THIRD WORLD," he said. Mr Griffin has no official role at the conference but will be speaking to delegates in an attempt to "stop the juggernaut". "MY MESSAGE IS STOP AND THINK before imposing the most outrageous tax increase on people ever proposed by a group of nations ON THE BASIS OF AN UNPROVEN THEORY that is contradicted by an increasing number of scientists," he added.

One of the world's most perfectly formed volcanoes oozed lava and ash overnight, threatening to explode over a picturesque tourist town in the Philippines. "After the series of ash puffs and ash explosions of 1,000 metres, we cannot rule out a major explosion," said Cedric Daep, the head of the disaster relief operations in the eastern Bicol region. The Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology raised the alert level for Mayon to three on Monday after lava was seen dripping from the crater, and evacuations began immediately.

Level three means a full eruption is likely in the very near future. The scale runs from one to five, with five meaning an eruption is occurring. However the volcanology institute also said Mayon could yet calm down without an eruption. Mayon, which sits above a farming area about 200 miles south-east of Manila, has erupted 48 times since records began, claiming thousands of lives.

However, the climatologist whose work Mr Gore was relying upon dropped the former Vice-President in the water with an icy blast. "IT'S UNCLEAR TO ME HOW THIS FIGURE WAS ARRIVED AT," DR MASLOWSKI SAID. "I would never try to estimate likelihood at anything as exact as this."

Richard Lindzen, a climate scientist at the Massachusets Institute of Technology who does not believe that global warming is largely caused by man, said: "He's just extrapolated from 2007, when there was a big retreat, and got zero."

Mr Gore's office later admitted that the 75 per cent figure was one used by Dr Maslowksi as a "ballpark figure" several years ago in a conversation with Mr Gore. THE EMBARRASSING ERROR CAST ANOTHER SHADOW OVER THE CONFERENCE after the controversy over the hacked e-mails from the University of East Anglia's Climate Research Unit, which appeared to suggest that SCIENTISTS HAD MANIPULATED DATA TO STRENGTHEN THEIR ARGUMENT that human activities were causing global warming.

Following a wave of recent bullish data, including a better-than-expected employment report and strong retail sales, some powerhouse investment banks are now raising their growth forecasts for the year ahead. However, despite Wall Street's growing bullishness, investors should be wary. If history is any guide, even the boosted outlook for GDP growth isn't enough to keep it on pace with the far more blistering outlook for corporate profit growth. While a sharp profit rebound compared to last year's carnage is possible, equity valuations are still getting heady.

And the last time professional money managers became this complacent -- at the start of 2007 just before the world tumbled into the financial crisis -- A LOT OF SEEMINGLY OBVIOUS WARNINGS SIGNS WERE BEING OVERLOOKED. "Institutional investors expect the global economy to land softly in 2007 and are positioning themselves for a year of growth that, like Goldilocks' porridge, is neither too hot nor too cold," a Merril Lynch survey of money managers in 2006 revealed.

Merrill Lynch, of course, was sold to Bank of America in a panic last year as the banking sector took on enormous losses. Merrill's massive leverage brought it to the brink of collapse -- a harbinger for a broader crisis that enveloped much of Corporate America. BUT AT THE TIME, INVESTORS WERE GOING INTO 2007 "CONFIDENT in the strength of corporate-sector balance sheets and still believe that companies are underleveraged," the Merrill survey noted.

It's little wonder, then, that some of the shrewdest analysts look to overall sentiment as a contrary indicator to bet against. Given the growing bullish sentiment, investors would be wise to remain on the sidelines and look for MORE CONCRETE EVIDENCE OF A SHARP ECONOMIC TURNAROUND RATHER THAN GET SWEPT AWAY IN ANOTHER BOUT OF EUPHORIA.

With Monsanto's patented genes being inserted into roughly 95 PERCENT OF ALL SOYBEANS AND 80 PERCENT OF ALL CORN GROWN IN THE US, the company also is using its wide reach to control the ability of new biotech firms to get wide distribution for their products, according to a review of several Monsanto licensing agreements and dozens of interviews with seed industry participants, agriculture and legal experts.

Declining competition in the seed business could lead to price hikes that ripple out to every family's dinner table. That's because the CORN FLAKES you had for breakfast, SODA YOU DRANK at lunch and BEEF STEW you ate for dinner likely WERE PRODUCED FROM CROPS GROWN WITH MONSANTO'S PATENTED GENES.

Some independent seed company owners say they feel increasingly pinched as Monsanto cements its leadership in the industry. "They have the capital, they have the resources, they own lots of companies, and buying more. We're small town, they're Wall Street," said Bill Cook, co-owner of M-Pride Genetics seed company in Garden City, Missouri, who also declined to discuss or provide the agreements. "IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO COMPETE IN THIS ENVIRONMENT AGAINST COMPANIES LIKE MONSANTO."

Abu Dhabi put $10 billion into state-owned Dubai World and its real estate arm. Dubai's property development firm, Nakheel, will use about $4 billion of the capital to pay off bonds due this week. The balance will be used to help Dubai World restructure its debt.

"The agreement is on condition of Dubai being successful in negotiating a standstill previously discussed with Dubai World creditors," the Dubai government said. In other words, the Abu Dhabi money will be used as leverage to restructure the balance of Dubai's debt. Dubai appears to have over $35 billion in obligations that will not be helped by the infusion of capital. It's likely that the money did not come without strings attached, but it may take some time to find out what those are.

The only option is to radically change the way Britain does business in Brussels, which means CHANGING THE NATURE OF BRITAIN'S ASSOCIATION. That means a massive change in the UK's treaty terms, taking the country FROM FULL MEMBER TO A FORM OF ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP. Successfully achieved, the benefits will be massive. Failure to adopt a bold course on the other hand will be strategically disastrous!

How is Britain to remain a well-paid, successful and influential nation in the 21st Century world economy? We should be concentrating on such activities as financial services, marketing, design, advertising, legal work, accountancy, publishing, journalism, business information, the arts and the various forms of management consultancy. We should also want the UK to be the headquarters for companies with production facilities across the globe.

YET THREATS ARE EMERGING TO BRITAIN'S LONG-TERM PROSPERITY. In September the European Commission submitted new and sweeping proposals for a European Systemic Risk Board. This is to include the so-called "European Banking Authority", which is to have far-reaching powers. In the current proposals THEY INCLUDE THE AUTHORITY TO CLOSE DOWN A PARTICULAR BANK OR INSURANCE COMPANY, regardless of the views of the UK's own regulators.

The proposed Directive on Alternative Investment Fund Managers, which in practice means managers of hedge funds and private equity funds, is interventionist and prescriptive. Not only will it cramp the operations of alternative investment managers who have long records of good performance, but also it will cause the relocation of well-paid and talented professionals to centres outside the EU. Britain's exports of international financial services grew by 15% a year for over 15 years, a really serious growth industry in which the UK is a world leader. THE EU WILL RUIN THIS.

Le Monde reports that even though he will not take up his position formally until 1 January 2010, EU President Herman Van Rompuy has already made his mark at last week's European Council meeting, changing the rules to keep in the spirit of the Lisbon Treaty, starting by EXCLUDING EUROPEAN FOREIGN MINISTERS FROM THE MEETING, and announcing an extraordinary summit will take place in February 2010 in order to find "a clear economic strategy" over the next six months.

The article notes that Spain, which will hold the rotating Council Presidency from January, is resisting the new Lisbon rules. It says: "Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriquez Zapatero wants to receive South American leaders but also Barack Obama. MR VAN ROMPUY WILL GO TO SPAIN ON 15 DECEMBER TO EXPLAIN TO HIM THAT HE IS NOW THE BOSS." It adds that EU Foreign Minister Catherine Ashton has been to Madrid to discuss the sharing of roles with Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.

Meanwhile, heavy industrial polluters such as Corus received €47m, while cement firms Hanson and Lafarge received €17.3m and €20.2m. Due to the economic downturn, many heavy polluters, such as oil and gas companies and heavy industrials, have been left with a surplus of carbon permits - ESSENTIALLY A FREE ASSET THAT FIRMS CAN SELL ON TO BOLSTER THEIR SHORT TERM PROFITS.

The glut of surplus permits on the market has driven down the price of carbon and led to a sharp increase in the number of permits being traded via carbon exchanges. Open Europe has found that the two largest carbon trading exchanges, European Climate Exchange and Bluenext, which includes members such as Barclays Bank, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch and Shell, have earned A COMBINED AVERAGE OF €245,000 A DAY FROM THE TRADING OF CARBON PERMITS so far in 2009, in transaction fees alone. In total, they have made over €57m between them in 2009.

"Interest rates were too low for Greece, Portugal, Spain, and Ireland, causing them all to be engulfed in a destructive property and wage boom. The ECB was complicit. IT BREACHED ITS INFLATION AND M3 MONEY TARGET REPEATEDLY IN ORDER TO NURSE GERMANY THROUGH A SLUMP... This was poison for overheating Southern states. The deeper truth that few in Euroland are willing to discuss is that EMU is inherently dysfunctional - for Greece, for Germany, for everybody."

A European Parliament source said the ratification process could take between two to four years. MEPs earn £81,745 from their salary alone, and if the observers receive the other perks and allowances available to MEPs, the 18 extra MEPs will cost the taxpayer more than £6 million a year.

Open Europe Director Lorraine Mullally is quoted saying, "It's typical of the BLOATED EU INSTITUTIONS TO PAY 18 SUPERFLUOUS POLITICIANS TO DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING AND FOR NO GOOD REASON. We're in the middle of the worst recession since the 1930s and yet here we are paying for nobodies to do nothing in the European Parliament. It's madness. So much for streamlining things - LISBON JUST ADDS TO THE RIDICULOUS WASTE AND BUREAUCRACY AND TAXPAYERS HAVE TO FOOT THE BILL."