Two spirit-sinking thoughts followed in quick succession: as the war in Iran rumbles on and the energy crisis deepens, what if interest rates bounce up to what they were in the 1970s (impossible, surely?); and, does this mean I have to read Andrew Ross Sorkin’s book about the Wall Street crash? The headlines aren’t reassuring. In the Financial Times at the weekend, the banner headline warned: Borrowing costs soar to 18-year high. Columnists in the Telegraph shared plans to stockpile petrol and tinned food. “Could the Iran war lead to WWIII?” asked NPR, cheerfully, while over in the New York Times, a hedgefunder turned US Treasury official wrote: “I predicted the 2008 financial crisis. What is coming may be worse” – a dire warning at least partially offset by the cheesy, business-as-usual configuration of the headline. Beyond the media, city traders last week started pricing in four quarter-point base interest rate rises in 2026, a complete about-face from previous predictions of rates coming down this year.