Still, old labels have their uses, and new ones don`t seem to work much better. “Chimerica” for a Chinese-American power duopoly proved as illusory as the creature that inspired it; and what on earth can bankers mean when they talk of the “N11”? But others have worked better. The “Anglosphere” and the BRICS have caught on; George Bush`s “Axis of Evil” was punchily effective. The G20 (large economies) versus the G77 (poor-but-pushy countries) have proved their mettle in financial negotiations, though the latter fell out over climate talks.  All these Gs are helpful, but a little dull. WE prefer the animal kingdom. “Tiger” economies were instantly recognisable in the 1980s as in these straitened times are Portugal, Italy and Greece, Europe`s vulnerable PIGs. Time to add to the menagerie by naming the planet`s sloths and skunks.

Culled from The Economist.