I hope you will enjoy this issue of Ampersand which explores a broad array of powerful international forces and trends.

• Senior financial communications experts from the USA, UK, Middle East and China look at the ups and downs of the financial world in It's an Ill Wind?
  
  
• Boyd Neil examines the pros and cons of more open communication by companies under legal threat in Should Companies Apologize?
  
  
• Creating a sustainable enterprise – Carol Essex and Stuart Smith argue the concept of ‘sustainability’ is becoming mainstream business thinking.
  
  
• In Crisis Communications Planning for a Terrorist Attack John Ullyot draws on insights from his recent US Congress testimony to show how digital and wireless communication have changed the ground rules.
  
  
• Fran McElwaine assesses the findings of a major management study into the developmental issues facing managers across the Gulf in Chinese whispers in Middle Eastern management.
  
  

Paul Taaffe
Chairman and Chief Executive, Hill & Knowlton
Paul.Taaffe@hillandknowlton.com