There would be less risk of a short-term inflationary binge and a much greater chance of the sustainable growth Mr

There would be less risk of a short-term inflationary binge, and a much greater chance of the sustainable growth Mr Clarke says he wants.The long arm and big nose of Mr Van MiertThere are, it seems, very few things in this world beyond the reach of Karel van Miert, the European Competition Commissioner. If it is within his jurisdiction to veto the merger of two American aircraft manufacturers, then you can bet that the alliance between British Airways and American Airlines was always going to fall comfortably within his writ.So it is that Ian Lang, who as President of the Board of Trade is minded to let the alliance proceed, has been sent the Brussels equivalent of a threatening lawyer's letter. Approve this deal as it stands and we'll see you in the European Court of Justice, is the gist. There is a precedent for this sort of Euro interference in the shape of the extra conditions that BA was forced to submit to when it swallowed up British Caledonian a decade ago.On this occasion BA expected to be cleared without Brussels' intervention, particularly as the deal has already gone through the hoops at the Office of Fair Trading and is about to be crawled all over by the US Justice Department Mr Van Miert has other ideas.

He believes that the alliance constitutes abuse of a dominant position, that the conditions imposed by the OFT are nowhere near sufficient and that, in any case, it would be illegal for BA to sell the take-off and landing slots it has been told to give up.Strong stuff. But does Mr Van Miert really have the right to poke his nose into what is essentially a domestic affair affecting US and British consumers? If Mr Van Miert's complaint was that the alliance undermined competition across Europe then he would have a case.But that is not his argument. Indeed, if anything, it will probably improve the lot of air travellers on the Continent by providing greater competition for other national flag carriers.His argument instead is that it will harm the lot of UK and US passengers. If that is the case he needs to explain why he allowed through other such alliances involving the likes of Lufthansa, KLM and Sabena without so much as a raised eyebrow. The reality, as usual, is that the regulators in Brussels are playing catch-up and what better subject to cut their teeth on than BA, particularly when the airline and the Government had made it plain they thought it none of Mr Van Miert's concern.If he must intervene, then he has an obligation at the very least to re-examine all the other alliances so far agreed. Preferably, however, he should keep his nose out.Tories find time for an alpine conferenceFor an event which boasts that some companies rearrange their board meetings so that senior executives can attend, the World Economic Forum annual conference in Davos, Switzerland, is sometimes more instructive for those not going than those who are.

Billed as Europe's premier business networking conference, few of those in a position to hitch their wagon to the international conference circuit miss it gladly, for with its alpine setting and none too taxing schedule, it is generally thought a bit of a peach.So who's not going this time? Quite a lot of the Middle East for a start. The conference coincides with Ramadan, the annual Moslem month of fasting. There's no one from our government in waiting, New Labour, either, which given that the conference is to be attended by three Cabinet members, might seem a bit curious. Tony Blair, who was invited, has written back to say he cannot attend because of uncertainty over the election date; he doesn't want to interrupt his "campaigning schedule".

Gordon Brown, the shadow chancellor, apparently isn't interested in the conference themes of globalisation and the world-wide IT revolution either. He hasn't replied, anyway.And what of the existing Government? Can it, any more than Tony Blair, afford to miss out on a campaigning opportunity? A cynic would say that the answer lies with a Government that knows its number is up and therefore doesn't actually have a lot of work to do.That and the not unrelated issue of job prospecting, for which there is plenty of opportunity at Davos. New Labour have big jobs to look forward to; the present lot must already be focused on other things.. Liam Strong, the beleaguered Sears chief executive, moved to placate disillusioned investors yesterday when he announced the sale of the group's Freemans mail-order business to Littlewoods for pounds 395m. He also promised to use the proceeds to return pounds 410m to shareholders in six months time in the form of a special dividend or share buy-back.