IlluMyFi

Deputy governor of the Bank of England who helped to rescue the Midland Bank from collapse in the late 1980s

At an age when many people are preparing for retirement, Sir Kit McMahon, who has died aged 97, made his first move into business. In 1986 McMahon, an economist and central banker, was parachuted into Midland Bank to rescue the once-mighty institution – a process that eventually led to its takeover by the Hongkong and Shanghai Bank (HSBC).

The period was, he said, “the most exciting and enjoyable of my life”. But it was a difficult time and, while nobody doubted McMahon’s intellectual powers, his belated transformation into a bank chief executive was only a partial success.

Sentiment

-0.32

Bearish/Bullish

04.12.24 11:00

by theguardian.com

If Trump’s tariffs start a trade war, it would be an economic disaster | Mark We...

The president-elect’s two main arguments for his tariff threat – to reduce migration and to combat drugs – are not credible

“To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff, and it’s my favorite word,” said Donald Trump last month. Pundits, politicians and financial markets are trying to figure out why, since he announced a week ago that he would impose tariffs on the United States’s three biggest trading partners: 25% for Mexico and Canada, and 10% for China.

One theory is that tariffs can be a beautiful distraction. Trump, more than any previous US president, has fed on distractions for years, both to campaign and to govern. He can move seamlessly from one distraction to the next, like a magician preparing for the opportune moment to pull a coin from where it appears to have been hidden behind your ear.

Mexico