Daily Brief – UK Prime Ministers

UK Prime Ministers

When it comes to wealth creation after holding the office of UK Prime Minister, there are no hard and fast rules and it is certainly not dependant on the leadership of one’s political party. Winston Churchill managed to increase his wealth from USD10m to 15m for example while recently departed Sir Keir Starmer has only just begun his wealth journey having left office being worth USD8m. David Cameron started with wealth of USD 50 million and is now on USD70m but is presumably still monetising his experience. Gordon Brown managed an increase from USD2m to 5m which has taken him 16 years so far. Tony Blair on the other hand is the poster boy for cashing in among ex PM’s having started at USD1m and is now estimated to be worth USD70m and still going. Andy Burnham starts at USD1.3m with a high bar to clear if he is to emulate TB.

GBP/USD 1.3396.

France

France Assureurs, the French insurance federation, estimate, that to date 3000 shops have been damaged or destroyed in recent days as a result of the civil unrest sweeping France. Brave words regarding the Insurance industry standing foursquare behind the shopkeepers for the damage but a deafening silence regarding the lost trade point and what the costs are that will be faced by insurance companies and whether the State will chip in. Most policies carry a stipulation that claims must be made within 5 days but it is very hard to quantify the lost trade at this point and especially so with a second wave of civil unrest anticipated. As a yardstick the last riots in France in the summer of 2023 gave rise to 17,000 claims and costs of EUR 793 million.

EUR/USD 1.1247.

NatWest

Now following Barclays’ being seen off by its 45,000 staff, it’s the turn of NatWest to face the wrath of its own staff who have been “asked” NB not told to spend at least “two days a week in the office.” UK civil servants “are expected” to spend 60% of their working hours in the office but the Office for National Statistics which presumably compiles the stats on attendance, are only obliged to turn up 40% of the time. One can only assume never mind hope that the leaders of NatWest are locked in talks with their I.T. gurus with the aim of replacing their staff with A.I. bots.

GBP/EUR 1.1908.

Due North

It’s not just Downing Street that is moving North, the 14 gentoo penguins at London Zoo which are currently housed indoors, are making the move to the big skies and fresh air of the National Sealife Centre in Birmingham after a hard fought campaign from Freedom for Animals, the Born free Foundation, MP’s and members of the public. Such are the logistics of the move that the penguins will not be re-housed in Birmingham until 2028.

Brent Oil USD 106.17.

Bat Out Of Hell

This day in 1977, Meatloaf-all of him- rocked the world with this album that definitely got everyone dancing in the aisles, streets and pretty much everywhere else. Remarkably given Meatloaf’s lifestyle and poor health, really named Marvin Aday who changed his name to Michael Aday in 1984 as he took umbrage at a Levi Strauss advert with the strapline “Poor fat Marvin can’t wear Levis”, lived to be 74 years of age.

The sirens are screaming and the fires are howling
Way down in the valley tonight
There’s a man in the shadow with a gun in his eye
And a blade shining oh so bright
There’s evil in the air and there’s thunder in sky
And a killer’s on the bloodshot streets
Oh, and down in the tunnel where the deadly are rising
Oh, I swear I saw a young boy down in the gutter
He was starting to foam in the heat
Oh baby, you’re the only thing in this whole world
That’s pure and good and right
And wherever you are and wherever you go
There’s always gonna be some light
But I gotta get out
I gotta break it out now
Before the final crack of dawn
So we gotta make the most of our one night together
When it’s over you know
We’ll both be so alone
Like a bat out of hell
I’ll be gone when the morning comes
When the night is over
Like a bat out of hell
I’ll be gone, gone, gone
Like a bat out of hell
I’ll be gone when the morning comes

Discussion and Analysis by Humphrey Percy, Chairman and Founder

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