Your Top Europe Stories of 2009

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As the economic outlook brightens, those that have worked hard to survive the tough times of the past year are best prepared to seize new opportunities. It is these enterprises that have risen to the top of the World's Best Companies/Global Top 40 list.

Oil Not Priced in Dollars by 2018?

Some oil producing countries and big buyers are hatching a plan to move away from pricing oil in dollars—a potential blow to the greenback's prestige. In the most profound financial change in recent Middle East history, Gulf Arabs are planning—along with China, Russia, Japan, and France—to end dollar dealings for oil, moving instead to a basket of currencies that would include the Japanese yen and Chinese yuan, the euro, gold, and a new, unified currency planned for nations in the Gulf Co-operation Council, including Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi, Kuwait, and Qatar.

Germany's Coming Energy Revolution

From vast wind farms and solar arrays to smart grids and distributed power generation, Germany is moving fast into the new age of green electricity. The power grid of the future is one of humanity's boldest visions. Gigantic wind farms in the sea and enormous solar fields in the desert are to generate the bulk of our power in the years to come. But consumers and companies are also producing energy with mini-power plants in their own basements and solar panels on the roof.

Nokia Launches Critical N900 Phone

Decked out with features, Nokia's new handset/tablet equals the iPhone in specs. But it's the Maemo software inside that could tip Nokia's growing rivalry with Apple. On Nov. 10, Nokia finally began shipping the N900 after a two-month delay. Though no larger than an Apple iPhone or other Internet-friendly handsets from the likes of Research In Motion (RIMM) or HTC, the N900 may well be the closest that Nokia or any company has come to packing a real computer into a pocket-size package.

'The Sheikh's New Clothes?' Dubai's Desert Dream Ends

Sheikh Mohammed lured investors with futuristic projects. Now they're left with $80 billion in debt, little confidence in Dubai, and growing questions. The boom years of the early 21st century were good for many people, but perhaps no one enjoyed them more than Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai. Stripped to its essentials, Dubai is a sweltering strip of sand blessed with a natural harbor known as the creek, which has been an entrepôt for merchants and smugglers for centuries. Now Sheikh Mohammed is calling for a standstill on debt repayments at one of his most important companies, Dubai World.

For your interest, here are your top three slide shows of 2009:

The World's Best Companies

The World's Best and Worst Property Markets

World's Most Competitive Countries 2009

And here are the two top 2009 posts from our blog, Europe Insight:

Flying Blind with Outsourcing?

Despite spending billions of dollars in investments each year, many large European businesses simply aren't measuring financial returns from outsourcing, according to a study released on Aug. 12.

Dubai Crisis Threatens Airbus and Boeing, Too

As if Airbus and Boeing (BA) didn't have enough to worry about already, the looming debt crisis in Dubai has cast a shadow over a backlog of aircraft orders, worth more than $60 billion, from Dubai Inc.

Reinhardt is Europe channel editor for BusinessWeek.com.

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