17 October 2019 The Brexit Plague OECD infected. By John Watson Let your bells toll! Bring out your dead! A new plague spreads across the world. This time, however, the victims do not come out in lumps. They just lose their minds and assume that a few vague statements of general principle are a substitute
17 October 2019 Panic Please Climate emergency? by J.R. Thomas That’s not the advice from my local council, which in the words of the much missed Willie Whitelaw, is going round stirring up apathy. They have declared a “Climate Emergency” panic and in this rural boondocks, the local populace is, well, totally dismissive. But our
17 October 2019 The Cock-Up Factor Dragons, spies and cosmonauts. By Neil Tidmarsh Half a million euros. In cash. Life savings, let’s say. What would you do with it? Put it in the bank? Invest it? Spend it? Or hide it away somewhere safe and close to hand, like the 49-year old garage owner from
17 October 2019 Locum Doctors They cost less than plumbers! By Lynda Goetz Last week my subject was the public and their attitude to vets. This week I turn to the public and doctors. Like most of the rest of the population, I am a user of the NHS, the existence of which we all
17 October 2019 Nagasaki Japan’s pariah city? By Richard Pooley It was a bizarre sight even for Japan. As I came through the ticket gates onto the small plaza at Nagasaki station ten days ago I was welcomed by the sight of a Dutch-flagged, 17th Century sailing ship on wheels being rotated at high speed
17 October 2019 Economics for Good Going beyond the theory by Frank O’Nomics A fund manager acquaintance was fond of putting his broker contacts on the spot. “What is the collective noun for economists?” he would ask. Of course there is one, but no one knew it (I will give the answer later, I promise),
17 October 2019 Diary of a Corbynista Fake Negotiations by Don Urquhart 10 October I was lucky enough to attend the UK premiere of Gavin Hood’s film Official Secrets, the true story of Iraq war whistleblower Kathy Gun. The first scene has Keira Knightley as Kathy watching Tony Blair on TV expounding his Weapons of
10 October 2019 Be Boris Take the test. By John Watson Imagine it. You are a blond tousle-haired politician in your mid 50s, a liberal conservative by inclination, well-connected, very good at words and communication and bright enough, too, although your degree was a second and not a first. As far as weaknesses go, you
10 October 2019 Green Stickers The answer to climate change. By Robert Kilconnor As you sit in a traffic jam wondering why the road ahead has been obstructed, or in a train wondering why someone has glued themselves to the doors, all your frustration and irritation can be summed up in a single question: “why
9 October 2019 Market Mexican Standoff Not all equities are equal by Frank O’Nomics Investors face a classic Mexican standoff. Do they pull the trigger on ending equity investment ahead of a potential major correction and accept the impact of negative real (and possibly nominal) yields on the defensive play of bonds and cash? Or
