PLANET BUSINESS:"Bundeskanzlerin" is German Chancellor Angela Merkel's title in German. Sadly, she hasn't transmogrified into a chocolate Santa Claus with gifts for all the boys and girls in the euro zone who have been good this year (and even if she had, the correct gender-noun agreement for Mr Claus would be Bundeskanzler).
This is merely the German cabinet celebrating St Nicholas Day at their weekly meeting yesterday, and judging from the rest of the Kabinett’s table spread, they washed down Santa’s milk chocolate charms with a choice of coffee, water, orange juice or apple juice. Photograph: Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters
In Numbers
Box office goes 'gangbusters' $10.8 billionPredicted box office takings in the US and Canada this year, which would beat 2009's $10.6 billion record. The fourth-quarter is "just gangbusters", said Phil Contrino, editor of the boxoffice.comwebsite.$623 million
$623 millionThe biggest box-office smash in the North American market this year was The Avengers (known in this part of the world as Marvel's Avengers Assemble). But its success may be overtaken by The Hobbit.
£94.28 millionSum grossed by Skyfall in the UK in its first 40 days. It is already the highest grossing film of all time in the UK market, overtaking a record held by Avatar. It has taken €5.6 million in Irish cinemas so far.
The Lexicon: Lagarde List
The “Lagarde List” is a dossier of 2,000 wealthy Greeks with Swiss bank accounts that IMF managing director Christine Lagarde handed to authorities in several EU countries in 2010, back when she was French finance minister. Last month, a Greek magazine publisher was acquitted of charges that he breached privacy laws by printing the list. This week, the list proved awkward once again, as former Greek PM George Papandreou denied that his mother, US-born Margaret Papandreou (89), was on it.
