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Writer's pictureJohn Foulis

Newsletter 5th July 2020

The "Fancy a pint?" edition



Do people want to be you?


There continues to be no shortage of articles on the future of work and the impact of working from home. When writers actually ask people rather than pontificating it turns out that people see some good things in the office and some good things at home, and would like a bit of both.


You can now rent a hotel room by the hour for perfectly respectable reasons. If you have experienced a spreading waistline during lockdown then these tips might be useful.


Whether you return to a socially distanced desk in an office or stay sandwiched next to the ironing board, you might benefit from some automated advice on politeness. Your negotiating techniques might also benefit from an overall. One thing that never goes out of fashion is moaning about your boss. You can find out if you are an incompetent manager here.



Even educated bees do it


One of those perennial topics is the need for consolidation amongst European banks but nothing ever seems to happen. The latest attempt is in Italy but the prey is fighting back.

The corona virus has indirectly spurred traditional banks to accelerate their technology programmes, pressurising fintechs. It has also curbed the activities of money launderers in Eastern Europe.

China is considering letting its commercial banks off the leash.


The fact that analysts can't agree on where the market is headed could mean it is really accurately priced at the moment, or it could mean nobody has a clue what is going on.


What goes down must go up?


The latest commodity to get a corona boost is copper.


The great thing about having an unprecedented market collapse is you get to set all sorts of records on the rebound, which then tells you less than you might hope.



We've all made stupid choices, haven't we?

In response to the border stand-off with China, India has begun holding up Chinese goods at the border. Chinese evaluation of this move was blunt.


The wisdom of a trade war is questionable from India's perspective. It might give the Chinese a satisfying taste of their own medicine but that is hardly a successful diplomatic strategy.



Taking Libyarties (sorry!)


France is the latest country to up the stakes in Libya. With tension building the past weeks and every regional player plus (inevitably) Russia getting involved this doesn't look like it's going to end well.


The wind of no change


Well it seems that Vlad has only gone and won his referendum. The one that makes him a god or something. However seeing where he was a few weeks ago this is a truly impressive vindication of his popularity. So what is he going to do now?


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