The Japanese ‘Lost Decade’ originally commenced in the 1990’s but so far it seems to have lasted over twenty years, which doesn’t bode well for someone’s mathematics. Whether this was technically a depression or not can be argued either way but, more importantly, it probably felt like one. With uncomfortable levels of unemployment, grindingly slow growth and regular bouts of deflation, the miracle economy of the 70’s and 80’s that the rest of the world admired, was now languishing in economic mire.

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There is nothing more infuriating than thinking you are buying one thing – and then getting another. Still, when that happens with a mail order shirt then it is very simple, you just post it back and get your money back. If you buy something which is clearly labelled as one thing but turns out not to ‘do what it says on the tin’ then you chuck it back at them. However, just in case none of that works we also have the power of the law to back us up in the form of a whole range of Trades Descriptions Acts.

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After several weeks’ sojourn in South Asia I came back refreshed and reassured that actually the global economy is in quite rude health. It is only when one lands back in the UK that the pall of determined pessimism starts to flow back across you. I had forgotten our astonishing ability to not only assume the worst outcome as the most likely but also our trenchant views towards normally rejecting any form of positive prognostication. Now admittedly our American cousins can often be accused of the complete inverse, generally seeming to be more bullish in their attitude to the future over just about everything. As we all know, realism is somewhere in the middle, but at least the Americans seem to have a more sunny if sometimes unrealistic disposition in contrast to our own Lutheran air of undefined guilt and an inevitability that the worst may occur….

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Oscar Wilde once said “Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months”. In fact, it was just recently reported to me by an enthusiastic friend that ‘greige’ is the new black. Greige, in case you are as puzzled as I was, is apparently a blend of grey and beige. It’s a relief one doesn’t have to stick to this bizarre colour for more than a few months. This fickleness, if you take a look, is everywhere. Enjoying your latest Apple gadget? There’ll be a newer, faster and more exciting version for you to play with in a few months. Taking out a mobile phone contract? Don’t worry, you can upgrade or change provider in 12 to 18 months. If we’re having such trouble committing to a phone service provider, then is it any wonder we are equally - if not more - fickle with our investments?

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When you live a single life in this constantly busy metropolis of London, you’re reliant on certain things that are imperative to maintain the on-the-go lifestyle. Good friends who possess great energy, an ‘in’ with the party hosts at the best clubs, flat shoes to run around in (heels are to be kept in a hold-all so one can slip into them moments before making an entrance)...and last but by no means least, a functioning freezer. Yes, you did read that right. Being able to go from pack to plate in under five minutes is essential when you’re regularly racing the clock.

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At the time of writing this, the BP gusher appears to have been capped. If true and sustained, then in Churchillian terms this is “Not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is perhaps, the end of the beginning”, because this is just the stopping of the core damage and nowhere near the stopping of the financial damage. It seems almost inevitable that the BP we know today won’t be the same BP this time next year. From where we are and what we know today, BP is unlikely to go bust, unless this ‘spill’ becomes an unstoppable flow. However, it would seem to be far more likely that they will wish to demerge certain key assets before populist politicians seeking retribution decide to take precipitative action.

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I always thought that a double dip was some terrible faux pas at a cocktail party with limp celery and the warm houmus. Now I know better – it is of course a non specific economic term that appears to have now become common parlance. It certainly has little precision, as some imply that it could mean a dip back into recession and others that it is a mere slowdown. Either way though it seems to be talked about in the terms that imply that only dark days and doom lie ahead.

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