Constable Confidential: May 2024

Thursday, May 30, 2024

WFH: The Studies Are In For those working from home, new research finds increases in productivity, but mixed results for health and career.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

For those working from home, new research finds increases in productivity, but mixed results for health and career. Read more here.

#UK: Will Labour win back SNP voters in Scotland @RealConstable @BatchelorShow Occitanie

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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#UK: Will Labour win back SNP voters in Scotland
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/05/28/sunak-my-daughters-are-excited-about-doing-national-service/

Loch Lomand. Thomas J. Marple, Public domain,

via Wikimedia Commons

#FRANCE: Climate moderates as orange juice, coffee and cocoa skyrocket. @RealConstable @BatchelorShow Occitanie.

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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Frances Benjamin Johnston , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

#FRANCE: Climate moderates as orange juice, coffee and cocoa skyrocket. Simon Constable, Occitanie.
https://www.msn.com/en-xl/news/other/orange-juice-prices-soar-to-new-high-as-poor-weather-hits-citrus-crops/ar-BB1mU97E

Thursday, May 23, 2024

#FRANCE: The rains continue, threatening the crop. @RealConstable @BatchelorShow Occitane

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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French tennis player Suzanne Lenglen at the 1920 Cannes tournament at the Carlton Club

Agence Rol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Saturday, May 18, 2024

#France: What surges, Rice surges. Copper surges. @RealConstable @BatchelorShow Occitanie,

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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See page for author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Friday, May 10, 2024

#France:The heavy rain floods the crops. @RealConstable @BatchelorShow @Forbes.com , Occitanie, France

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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#France: The heavy rain floods the crops. Simon Constable, Occitanie, France

https://biofuels-news.com/news/france-remains-primary-rapeseed-producer-in-eu-27/

Tour de France 1920 Agence Rol , Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

#WallStreet: The original "too big to fail." @RealConstable @BatchelorShow @WSJ, Occitanie, France

By SIMON CONSTABLE

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#WallStreet: The original "too big to fail." Simon Constable, Occitanie, France
https://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/history/235_258.pdf

Coolidge and the bankers, National Photo Company Collection,

Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

WSJ Financial Flash Back: 40 Years Ago Continental Illinois Gets Bailed Out https://simonjconstable.blogspot.com/2024/05/wsj-40-years-ago-continental-illinois.html

Monday, May 6, 2024

WSJ: 40 YEARS AGO: Continental Illinois, Its Safety Net in Place, Ponders Next Hurdles

By SIMON CONSTABLE

In May 1984, just after Wall Street had escaped stagflation, up popped a crisis. Continental Illinois, one of the country’s largest banks, looked as if it would fail.

Continental had made many dodgy loans to the oil-and-gas industry, which was a big part of the problem. “There was ferocious government pressure to create energy independence,” says David Salem, managing director of capital allocation at financial-research company Hedgeye Risk Management.

But the loans started to sour, and stock investors became wobbly. As the crisis became increasingly apparent, the S&P 500 dropped 9% between December 1983 and May 1984.

Starting around May 7, depositors quickly withdrew their money, and the bank lost 30% of its funding, according to the Federal Reserve. The bank sought funds from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and eventually, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. stepped in to avoid a failure. “It would guarantee all of the bank’s creditors,” according to the Fed, and the FDIC also lent it $2 billion.

“You thought there were upper limits to how much the government would bail out a bank, but there weren’t,” he says. “This is where ‘too big to fail’ began.” See full story here.