Even if News Corp does start charging and others follow suit, analysts say doing a U-turn on the free news model will be hard to pull off.

BBC: Is free news a thing of the past?

The 22-year-old Londoner said it had been hard to turn his back on the chance to compete in an Olympics in his home city but conceded that money was a factor.

BBC: Edwards upbeat despite defections

Put those two together, you get companies in the fast-growing sectors taking on workers to meet rising demand, because they can't get a loan from the bank, and companies in the hard-hit companies holding on to workers, hoping something will turn up.

BBC: The UK productivity puzzle (cont'd)

Or to put it another way, it is hard to see how the eurozone convoy can or will do a u-turn on the road to ruin, unless and until that convoy sees that it is minutes away from driving over a cliff.

BBC: Can Merkel and Sarkozy turn the tide of markets?

But organisational change is time-consuming and difficult, and it's not hard to see how a government could turn in on itself during a period like this.

BBC: The hunt for a new 'Sir Humphrey'