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Gran Hotel Costa Rica, San Jose, Costa Rica, 22 December 2023

I am not sure what I have expected, but I was certainly positively surprised. A very nice buffet, not huge, but very varied. Again, plenty of warm dishes, mainly standard American but also local, nice cold cuts, fruit and vegetables. The bread was disappointing, but this is presumably not a…

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Another doubtful forecast from Governor Bailey

In November last year, Governor Bailey said that markets were wrong to expect Bank Rate to reach 5.2%. Last August, he raised it to 5.25%. Last week he said that it is premature to talk about cutting Bank Rate. Expect, therefore, a cut in Bank Rate, possibly even in Q1…

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When £1 is not £1

A large number of central banks are currently researching and discussing the introduction of CBDCs. The reasons for this and the form CBDCs will take, vary from country to country. One risk that is less studied is what could cause the value of a CBDC to diverge from that of existing…

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Indigo Hotel, Hong Kong, 27 May 2023

To paraphrase Winston Churchill (about Clement Attlee): this is a very unassuming breakfast. Indeed, it has a lot to be unassuming about. Basically a menu, supplemented by a choice of toast and croissants, with jam. The scrambled eggs were disappointing in spite of being freshly made; and the ’crispy’ bacon…

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Strand Hotel, Visby 23 May 2023

The Strand is a really nice hotel with a good breakfast buffet. I would particularly like to mention the perfect scrambled eggs and the excellent chia puddings, with different fruits compotes and jams. The bread was baked at some local bakery, both fresh and delicious. I didn’t have space for…

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Paris Baguette, London, 16 May 2023

Strictly speaking not a travel breakfast, as I only ‘travelled’ from home to High Street Kensington, a distance of about 3 kilometers. But it was a breakfast away from home, so I’ll review it. (Incidentally, this is a chain.) On the one hand, nothing special – sandwiches etc already prepared,…

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Holiday Inn, Salem, NH, USA, 19 March 2023

I have experienced quite a few disappointments when it comes to US hotel breakfasts outside big cities. However, this was a pleasant surprise. The Sunrise Café where they serve the “normal” breakfast does not have a buffet. Again, a small but nicely varied menu and the food was good. We…

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Will the EA avoid a recession in 2023?

The EA narrowly escaped recession in 2022 by growing by 0.1% in Q4 Inventory data is ambiguous; but broad money growth is collapsing A recession is more likely than not – but it should be short and shallow Euro Area GDP edged up ever so slightly (0.1%) in Q4. Today,…

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Why central banks will continue to raise interest rates

US broad money and credit growth continue to weaken But the labour market remains strong The Fed – and other central banks – prefer to over-react than to pause too early Seemingly weaker inflation in most advanced economies raised market hopes that central banks are very close to the peak…

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The irrelevance of central bank equity

In Sweden, there is currently concern about the Riksbank’s losses from its quantitative easing. But capital losses on assets purchased through QE are the inevitable result of success. More importantly, a central bank’s equity is (almost) completely irrelevant. A Swedish friend has recently been sending me articles about the losses…

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