For many larger multinational companies, unfunded pensions represent an unmanaged risk and a growing liability. With the removal of the ‘corridor’ in the new IFRS IAS19R accounting regulations, unfunded pensions have become an increased source of volatility on the corporate balance sheet. Despite this, until today, funding unfunded pensions locally has either been too expensive or not possible....

While not all research needs external funding it is true to say that any research that does need to be funded needs to be funded properly. Thus, once it becomes apparent that a research topic will require financial resources, the responsible researcher must make an effort to estimate the amount required and to establish possible sources. The nature and design of the research project and the ass...

years. By the autumn of 2005, both the scientific and the political context of such a convention may be different. By then, the Bush administration, which had acted against the clear recommendation of its National Academy may have been replaced. And the German government may have managed to win the backing of its own parliament in this important question. The German government also got a boost ...