Yesterday, we discussed the sovereign monarchies that remain. From industrial Britain to the Gulf’s investment powerhouses, the Crown still casts a long shadow over markets.
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On this day in 1989, President George H.W. Bush signed the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) into law.
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In BigWorld
Terrific news for coffeeholics like PLY, seems I may even be under the recommended dosage (phew!). According to US research (Coffee And Heart Health: How Many Cups Of Caffeinated Coffee Are Safe To Drink Each Day? | American Heart Association), up to 400 mg of coffee is a healthy dose daily.
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Macro Thoughts
Monarchy, Markets and Modernity
Monarchy is a remarkable system which has brought majesty and prosperity to many nations.
The United Kingdom is as good an example as any of a country where Majesty did not stand in the way of free trade — and where monarchy coexisted with industrial prosperity.
A few monarchies, on the other hand, were slower and considerably less consistent in embracing modernity. Austria-Hungary had its industrial powerhouses, but progress was deeply uneven across the empire, which ultimately proved unable to withstand the combined pressures of nationalism and total war.
Similarly, China’s Qing dynasty, which ruled from 1644 until 1912, collapsed after its efforts to industrialise and modernise proved too limited and too late. Its predominantly agrarian economy and uneven military modernisation left it increasingly vulnerable to industrialised foreign powers, internal upheaval and the pressures created by a rapidly growing population.
Then again, had the Qing dynasty survived, could it have modernised quickly enough to endure?
After all, the Chinese Communist Party later performed a remarkable volte-face — retaining Communist political rule while embracing extensive market-oriented reform.
Perhaps the real question is not whether monarchy is inherently modern or antiquated. It is whether the institution can adapt while preserving continuity.
Britain did. Several European monarchies did. The Gulf monarchies are attempting to do so at remarkable speed.
The Qing did not manage it in time.
Long live the monarch, perhaps — but only if the economy can keep moving.
AFM Trends Day
Launched at AFM in Taipei, the first AFM Trends Day is coming to Malta on November 13th — watch the launch here.
As AFM members, we agreed last year to expand the recent AFM Tech Days into a broader format. Thus, AFM Trends Day launches this November in the magnificent historic city of Valletta, Malta.
A key theme is simple: how do emerging markets emerge?
Malta is the proof point. In 1970, Malta’s GDP per capita was around $828. Today, World Bank data puts it at $47,906.9 — higher than South Korea and a whisker behind France ($46,103). That is not merely growth. A small jurisdiction has become a high-income European economy and a serious international platform. In the post-war era, it was a net exporter of human capital to Australia, the UK, and elsewhere.
That is why AFM Trends Day will focus on the trends that matter: market structure, clearing resilience, technology, digital assets, sustainability-linked products and the practical choices that build credible markets.
See you in Valletta on November 13th… registration now open.
Finance Book of the Week
“The House Of Saud: A Comprehensive Biography Of A Wealthy Arabian Family” by Ben White tells the story of the House of Saud’s founding, its pivotal role in the unification of the Arabian Peninsula, and its establishment of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in 1932. As the world’s largest oil producer, the family’s discovery of oil through the historic ARAMCO deal transformed not only Saudi Arabia’s economy but also the global energy landscape.
Get the book here.
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Suggestions welcome if you would like to nominate a book for us to cover!
Our next Book of the Week will be unveiled Saturday in the EI Weekend Edition.
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