Bras, bros and other borrowings into Japanese (The Japan Times)
There is a misunderstanding commonly voiced around the world that languages borrow words from other languages when they lack a native word for something in their own vocabulary. This is, actually, only one reason, and not the primary one, for the existence of direct loan words. It is certainly true that English-speaking peoples may never have run into chandeliers, vodka, tacos or toupees had the ...

Energy firms demand huge increases in direct debits (Guardian Unlimited)
Sara Greig, a child support worker for Shelter, has only four radiators in her one-bed flat in Glasgow. She recently installed new insulation and diligently followed the recommendations in an energy saving report. Her annual gas bill will be £600 at the very most, so she was astonished when Scottish Gas wrote to her this week demanding she raise her monthly direct debit from £25 to £125, ...

Additional World Bank loan of $1.5 b by March, says Chidambaram (The Hindu)
Mr P. Chidambaram, Union Home Minister, at his new office in the Capital on Monday.

U.A.E. Banks Asked to Curb Lending, EFG-Hermes Says (Update1) (Bloomberg)
Dec. 1 (Bloomberg) -- The United Arab Emirates has asked local banks to restrict loan growth to less than 10 percent after agreeing to deposit 70 billion dirhams ($19 billion) with lenders to boost liquidity, EFG Hermes Holding SAE said.

Options for Reducing Student Loan Debt (Washington Post)
When she graduates from Columbia University next year with a master's degree in public health, Erin Wheeler is hoping to get a job in international reproductive health.