Sailing too close to the wind

Eupion Oil is slippery stuff. It’s one of many hydrocarbons bearing classical sounding names that they could so easily be diaphanously-clad minor spirits partying with old Zeus disguised as a bull. Not wishing to sound like a Tom Lehrer tribute band, but aside from Eupion there’s kerosene, naphtha, propane and toluene. Ethane, methane, heptyne and… Continue reading Sailing too close to the wind

A million pound lifestyle on a clerk’s wage

Meet Walter Watts. In 1844, aged just 27, he burst onto London society with no visible means of support, but with the trappings of a lottery winner. Inquisitive souls who wanted to know where the money came from were baffled as, one after another, they ruled out gambling, an inheritance or the City. However, if… Continue reading A million pound lifestyle on a clerk’s wage

When bankers saw risk as well as reward

When he was a student at Harvard, Bank of England governor Mark Carney played back-up goalie in the teeth-threatening Canadian pastime of ice hockey. So Carney knows a bit about risk.. On Tuesday May 27 he gave a speech to a conference in London on Inclusive Capitalism. The gab-fest included most of the A-listers of… Continue reading When bankers saw risk as well as reward