Yet again I was wrong and overly bearish. Markets survived October with barely a shrug. Everything is apparently fine and dandy.. nothing to worry about? Complacency and belief abound. We have been here before…. And what does Rugby tell us about markets?

What will the future look like? Many Porridge readers fear Technofeudalism – where a new aristocracy of big tech will replace democracy and make serfs of us all. What might it look like…?  

Forget the markets, forget the Fed, forget the Anti-dollar alliance – the issue of the day is what car brand best represents the aspirations of a bloke that knows nothing about cars? Should I buy something cheap, cheerful and reliable? In other words… Not a Land Rover?

Never has the contrast in economic outlook and market expectations been so divided on either side of the pond. In Washington, joy as Trump’s tax cuts are enacted. In London, unremitting gloom and despair. But, hey-ho, Labour is going to fix the NHS! Give me strength….

What an interesting time we live in. Uncertainty, instability, markets hitting new highs as fears plumb new depths. Nothing to worry about. The global economy and markers are changing. Just how we won’t know till we can see it in the rear-view mirror.

Society is a complex notion. It is a collection of rules and guidelines for living and when these are pressured, instability is often the result. Markets are part of modern society and are vulnerable – especially at times of massive change, as is happening now. That doesn’t mean disaster – it means evolution to what will follows. Inshallah.

Elon Musk is an extraordinary character. His successes are multiple. Now he has taken up battle against US Debt – putting him into new direct conflict with the establishment. While markets continue to support him there are concerns he is too thinly spread. That is not the problem – the risk is Tesla is overpriced, vulnerable and if it tumbles… what might follow? History shows when overblown confidence snaps… there is seldom a swift recovery.

uI’m on holiday this week, but who can ignore the news? Donald Trump’s approach to making friends and influencing people is.. curious. I’m currently on the slopes in Canada – and it feels like a nation is waking up. Although we’ve got fresh powder and great conditions in Whistler, there are aspects of the Ski Industry which… peeve me.

The City of London as the financial centre of global markets has been in terminal decline since 2008. Over-regulation and bureaucracy has doomed it. To restore the UK’s excellence and swashbuckling success in financial markets, we need to embrace risk – not regulate it out the equation.  

Politics is all about Branding This week we were treated [...]