“Sir, Martin Sandbu writes: “We should not worry about inflation – if we strip out volatile or policy-driven elements, it stands at 1.5%, according to Citigroup”, (“Carney has not yet bent the markets to his will”, August 14.)
“Please arrange for Mr Sandbu to cancel the policies concerned and to prevent the volatile situations encountered. When was the last time inflation was 1.5% ? This comment is as meaningless as my saying: “If savings rates were 5%, then I could afford two more holidays a year.” They aren’t, and I can’t.”
- Letter to the editor of the Financial Times, from Mr Charles Kiddle, Gateshead, UK.
King Cnut The Great, more commonly known as Canute, was a king of Denmark, England, Norway and parts of Sweden (thanks Wikipedia !). He is likely to be known to any English schoolchildren still being educated for two specific things: extracting Danegeld – a form of protection racket – from the citizenry, and for the possibly apocryphal story that once, from the shoreline, he ordered back the sea. Over to Wikipedia:
“Henry
of Huntingdon, the 12th-century chronicler, tells how Cnut set his throne by
the sea shore and commanded the tide to halt and not wet his feet and robes.
Yet "continuing to rise as usual [the tide] dashed over his feet and legs
without respect to his royal person. Then the king leapt backwards, saying:
'Let all men know how empty and worthless is the power of kings, for there is
none worthy of the name, but He whom heaven, earth, and sea obey by eternal
laws.' He then hung his gold crown on a crucifix and never wore it again
"to the honour of God the almighty King". This incident is usually
misrepresented by popular commentators and politicians as an example of Cnut's
arrogance.
To read more,
Download King Carney fails to command the tides
