Paul's Blog

Rewarding Mathematics

We hear a lot about how talent will leave the major financial centres if taxes or regulations become unacceptable. That people move to more favourable locations is more or less plausible. But what seems to […]

Paul's Blog

Cyberterrorism

Cyberterrorism is in the news so I thought I’d share this little story with you. A year or two ago I was at a dinner of the Great and the Good. I sat next to […]

Paul's Blog

Out With The New, In With The Old

Goodbye, New Labour, you won’t be missed. And the fondest of fond farewells to Peter Mandelson, please don’t keep in touch. Back to Old-style politics in which MPs and cabinet ministers have their say, no […]

Paul's Blog

Politics, Panic and Poker

The Conservatives have offered the LibDems a referendum on electoral reform (albeit only on a very weak version of reform). Clearly a panic move, they didn’t even wait to get a sense of people’s reactions […]

Paul's Blog

Brown Out

Following the election result (not that there has been an actual ‘result’) and while waiting for the horse trading to lead somewhere, there are only two things that are absolutely certain: 1. Brown will not […]

Paul's Blog

Greed Is Good But Envy Is Bad

“Greed is good,” said the Ivan Boesky-inspired Gordon Gecko in the first “Wall Street” movie. And greed certainly is one of the prime movers behind many a successful business, along with altruism, curiosity, necessity, etc. […]