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the week’s highlights

Every day ROB Insight delivers exclusive analysis on breaking business news and market-moving events. Streetwise offers news and analysis on Bay Street and the world of finance. Inside the Market delivers up-to-the-minute insights on market news as it develops.

Here are our editors' picks of some of the best reads available to Globe Unlimited subscribers this week.

Has France had enough of the state?

It's no secret France is in a shambles, and attempts by President François Hollande to right a listing government continue to fall flat. While the economy flails under the same forces that are battering other nations, it's the seemingly intractable political woes that are at the heart of France's misery. In ROB Insight, Carl Mortished examines the parallels with the limping Britain of the late 70s that lurched from crisis to crisis, and only broke out of the doldrums by the election of a government intent on serious reform. With Mr. Hollande's popularity seriously in the dumps, voters may turn to National Front Leader Marine Le Pen in the hopes they find their own Iron Lady to sort out the mess.

The Timbits and pieces of a merger deal

The union of flame-broiling fast-food icon Burger King and Canada's biggest icon in the business, Tim Horton's, has generated some heat, particularly over the issue of corporate "tax inversions." But that's a red herring, as any tax benefits that could accrue to the newly enlarged BK as it takes up residence in Canada will be nowhere near the big gains that have motivated other deals and got the dander up of U.S. politicians. So what's the deal really all about? In Streetwise, Dave Morris picks through the nuts and bolts of the merger, and finds there's plenty to like about it.

Big Agra showing big promise

Protein consumption in emerging markets continues to rocket, led by China and India, signalling an outlook for global agriculture companies that has rarely looked brighter. Short-sighted investors need to look past recent depressed corn prices, lower guidance from Deere and Co. and the assault on global potash cartels that is hammering pricing power and revenues. In Inside the Market, Scott Barlow digs up some of the best ETF options that offer broad-based exposure to the sector.

2 per cent and counting

Fed chair Janet Yellen has made clear her inclination to hold off on rate hikes as long as inflation remains under control. In an interview with Stephen Poloz this week, The Globe and Mail prodded the Bank of Canada Governor to see which way he's leaning. Although Canada has breached the 2-per-cent inflation target, the central bank sees it as something that won't be sustained, with economic growth still too weak to support upward pressure on prices. In ROB Insight, Kevin Carmichael explains why Mr. Poloz doesn't feel tethered to the 2-per-cent marker, anyway.

Happy days are here again

The torpor in markets has finally given way to torrid profits on Bay Street, with the big banks posting strong results that were in many case led by capital markets. In Streetwise, Tim Kiladze surveys the landscape and examines the highlights of the third quarter at the Big Six.

The five deadly sins of investing

Being a smart investor isn't just about getting all the numbers and making intelligent decisions based on facts. It's also about not doing dumb things, which most of us do from time to time. But don't feel too bad about that, you're only human after all, and behavioural economics has proven time and time again that we don't rely exclusively on logic in making investment decisions. In Inside the Market, Scott Barlow looks at five deadly behavioural sins to avoid at all cost.

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