Borderlines The ‘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 pinching In 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 deal Although 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 time The ‘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
Waves not tides Just 17 days ago investors were finally reminded, after an extended hiatus, that stocks can in fact go down as well as up. Yet if you’d been away for those few days, you might have wondered what all the fuss was about. In
Normal service? Much has been said in the past couple of years about the feasibility of having your cake and eating it. On markets, however, investors in recent years have become inured to the miraculous – until last week. When the global economy is growing and unemployment
Groundhog Day Last Friday, the US celebrated Groundhog Day, in which the North American marmot is consulted for the seasonal outlook. Punxsutawney Phil – Pennsylvania’s (and America’s) lead marmot – warned of six more weeks of cold ahead. Other indicators released the same day told a
Bottom dollar Joachimsthal (or Jáchymvok, as it has been known since 1945) in Bohemia doesn’t feature much in financial news these days, but its linguistic progeny certainly does. The ‘thaler’ (from the word ‘Joachimsthal’) was launched as the currency of Bohemia exactly 500 years ago, providing
Frozen air In some ways, Donald Trump ended his first year in office with much to celebrate, although Saturday’s government shutdown certainly put a dampener on celebrations. Growth in the US is rising, joblessness remains relatively minimal and stocks have performed strongly. Moreover, predictions of further
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