The Geordie Gaze Meets the Bradford Breeze: A Football Fixture as Global Metaphor By Our Man in the Departure Lounge, 31 May 2024 Somewhere between the duty-free Toblerone and the last call for gate 73, the planet pauses to watch Newcastle United face Bradford City in what the English politely call a “cup tie.” From…
BlackRock: The Shadow Treasury with a Mood Ring By Our Man in Geneva, nursing a third espresso and counting the milliseconds until the next sovereign default The first thing you notice when you land in any capital city these days is the luggage carousel. Not the diplomatic plates, not the stray oligarch’s jet—just the carousel,…
In the pantheon of world capitals, Wellington is the one that keeps its head down, politely coughs into its sleeve, and still manages to be the only place on the planet where a mid-grade earthquake counts as Tuesday’s coffee break. From Reykjavík to Riyadh, the city’s name evokes two immediate images: a boot-shaped harbour that…
