With political commitments aplenty, Stanley Fink, the Conservative Party treasurer and recently appointed peer, could be forgiven for putting his business pursuits on the back burner. Not likely.

China and other emerging markets have been the big success story of the past decade, outperforming developed markets and leading many to predict that China will be next global superpower. So as the debate about the decline of the West and rise of the BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China) reaches feverish proportions, should we really still believe the BRIC hysteria?

Many doctors, medical professionals and lobby groups have been voicing their concerns over the government's controversial health reforms, which will hand increasing power to the private sector.

More people will be driving electric vehicles than petrol-fuelled ones by 2020, says Shai Agassi.

The high-profile Israeli entrepreneur is the founder of Better Place, the pioneering start-up that is making significant headway in promoting the mass adoption of electric cars through a network of charging stations and battery-swapping facilities.

When it comes to doing business, win-win situations are hard to come by. But Ziko Abram and Yoav Zingher, the directors of new energy demand management company KiWi Power, seem to be on to something.

Founded in 2009, KiWi works in co-operation with the National Grid - which runs the UK's gas and electricity network - to encourage businesses to cut their carbon footprint.

At the age of 26, property professional Ray Bloom has achieved more in the past few years than many people might hope to achieve in their entire career.

Multimillionaire internet entrepreneur Marc Worth was sitting by the pool in Herzliya last Summer when he decided he was ready for his next business pursuit.

When Eitan Wertheimer decided he wanted to sell ISCAR, the metal-cutting tools manufacturer his father Stef founded in 1952, there was only one person he wanted to buy it –- billionaire American investor Warren Buffett. The boss of Berkshire Hathaway is regarded as one of the world's most accomplished businessmen. He is consistently ranked among the world's wealthiest people - third in the 2010 Forbes rich list, worth an estimated $47 billion.

Graduates have been faced with unrelenting gloomy news of late with unemployment doubling to its highest level for more than a decade.

One in five who graduated in the past year is unable to find work within six months. Britain's jobless now totals 2.5 million - a 7.9 per cent unemployment rate, rising to 20.3 per cent among those aged 16 to 24 - with many now questioning the value of a degree in light of rising tuition fees.

It is hardly surprising that Philip Bier's Tiger UK value retail chain is being compared to Ikea. Founded in Scandinavia ten years ago, Tiger calls itself is a "variety store" selling home furnishings. It is active in eight countries, including the UK where there are ambitions to open 40 stores by 2012 - and eventually one on every high street.