Originally published March 2022. Today, insurance, social security and modern medicine help us cope when something bad happens. As we manage risk in our day-to-day lives, we can afford to take fewer precautions than our forebears. They faced very different trade-offs. How different were our ancient ancestors’ approaches to risk management? And what lessons would […]
The US dollar has been on a major surge against major global currencies in the past year, recently hitting levels not seen in 20 years. It has gained 15% against the British pound, 16% against the euro and 23% against the Japanese yen. The dollar is the world’s reserve currency, which means it is used […]
Originally published May 2021. Institutional investors in Europe face a housing supply problem – but America has already found the solutions Despite the trauma of the 2008 global financial crisis, real estate has experienced astonishing growth as an asset class. More recently, covid-19 has triggered a move to residential strategies that can provide stabilised rental […]
Originally published October 2021. Since Epcot’s inception, millions of tourists have descended upon the theme park famous for its Spaceship Earth geodesic sphere and its celebration of international cultures. But the version of Epcot visitors encounter at Disney World – currently in the midst of its 50th anniversary celebrations – is hardly what Walt Disney imagined. In […]
News of a big pay rise might see you booking the nearest fancy restaurant for a slap-up meal to celebrate, or encourage you to go on a shopping spree even before your raise hits your bank account. Recent research shows that this is also essentially what happens on a wider economic scale when news breaks […]
Martin Walker, the gifted former Washington correspondent of The Guardian, used to start his speeches saying that the Fourth of July wasn’t a time for sorrow for him, as it was a time when good British yeomen farmers in the colonies revolted against a German king and his German mercenaries. Walker – who now lives […]
The words you use say a lot about you. It’s obvious. If you say ‘utilise’ instead of use, or ‘facilitate’ instead of do or make, you’re sending out a signal to the world, consciously or unconsciously. Think about it. It’s a lot harder to say, “We’ll utilise all of our resources to facilitate a solution”, […]
In February, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the public would have to get used to “living with COVID”, and announced the phasing out of all Covid-related restrictions over the following months. For many people, life since then has begun to return to something resembling normal. Of course, there are some notable differences to pre-pandemic times, […]
Originally published May 2022. When I first moved to London 20 years ago, the sight of a parakeet was a relatively rare occurrence, a pleasant surprise. I would only see them when I visited certain parts of town, such as Richmond Park. It remained that way for many years. Then, a few years ago, they […]
Europe is highly vulnerable to Putin’s gas blackmail. European leaders believe they are part of the rich world, with the power to determine their future. After they return from their sacrosanct holidays in late August, they may begin to realize that is no longer true. Russia is pulling the plug. And nobody, including America, is […]
