Grand TourDuring the Napoleonic Wars, well-heeled young ladies and gentlemen could no longer cross the Channel to swan through the towns of France and Italy on an extended ‘Grand Tour’ of European civilisation, as they had done for decades. So it was that the ‘Wye
Signal worriesEquity investors largely enjoyed last week, as the correction of February felt increasingly distant. Even the VIX, leading measure of volatility on the world’s leading index, was back below its long-term average, having tracked gradually downhill over the course of the month. Moreover, as
Russian bearWhen Macbeth compared himself to “the rugged Russian bear”, he was steeling himself to speak to a ghost. Last Monday, investors in Russia needed some of that same ursine resolve, as the Russian market opened the week down more than 11% from its previous
Tubers and tariffsThe Beast from the East has apparently contributed to the Jersey Royal potato season being at least three weeks behind schedule this year. But April’s crop wasn’t the only casualty of the recent cold snap.A busy week of Markit/CIPS Purchasing Managers’ Index surveys
Technology troubleOn Monday last week, an unannounced diplomatic train pulled into a railway station in Beijing; reports soon surfaced that Kim Jong-un had come to town – the official photographs of Kim and the Chinese president followed two days later. The surprise trip was Kim’s
BorderlinesThe ‘slings and arrows of outrageous fortune’ were much in evidence on markets last week, as Wall Street suffered its worst week of trading since early 2016. Three developments overshadowed the period: two political and one monetary.The first was the White House’s decision to impose
Penny pinchingIn 1869, Eugène Meyer patented his 'high' pedal bicycle in France. In England, it soon became known as the penny-farthing, since the size mismatch between the two wheels echoed the mismatch between the larger penny and smaller farthing. The latter coinage was killed off
Art of the dealAlthough fighting only lasted from 1950 to 1953, the Korean War has technically never ended. The continuing tensions made the opening ceremony of last month’s Winter Olympics all the more remarkable, as representatives of North and South Korea entered jointly, clutching a
Prime timeThe ‘Overton window’ refers to the accepted spectrum of political views in a given culture. Joseph Overton, its creator, argued that the window could in fact be shifted, bringing ideas once considered fringe into the mainstream. Last week provided further evidence of just such
Cashiered?Herodotus reported – and archaeologists agree – that the Lydians were the first to mint coins. The earliest surviving coin (found in western Turkey) dates to around 2,700 years ago; making paper money, which first appeared in China just 1,300 years ago, a relative upstart.The
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