Trainee solicitor gets romantic as love and economics collide
IT is probably not a book to give on the 14 February, unless the object of your affection finds economics particularly sexy. But with Saint Valentine’s day fast approaching, the timing for the publication of Will Nicholson’s memoir could not be more appropriate.
A Story of Love and Market Forces was written by the Freshfields trainee who admits “I know economics very well, but not girls.”
The hardback, while by no means as instructive as Neil Strauss’s legendary pickup book The Game, does offer dating theory (with handy graphs, see above) for readers in search of advice: “You need to play hard to get: If you restrict your supply, you’ll increase your price.”
Luckily, there is a happy ending, as Nicholson tells The Capitalist he is no longer single. That’ll be the efficient market hypothesis at work, obviously.
■ The memorial service for Peter Meinertzhagen (pictured), who was one of the City’s best known corporate financiers, was held on Friday. David Knox, chief executive of Oriel Securities, where Peter had served as a director, told The Capitalist: “His memorial service was a fitting tribute to a true City legend. There were over 1000 attendees – and people were literally queuing round the block to get in. The service itself was very uplifting but with a fabulously joyful and playful element which was reflective of Peter himself.”
■ Research released by language consultancy The Writer suggests that banks should use more informative language in order to please the public. The consultancy says that “personality is crucial in attracting customers – unless you are a bank.” Bad news for financial spinners, although not for Barclays. Apparently the recent statement made by the bank’s chief executive Antony Jenkins – that the firm’s core values are “respect, integrity, service, excellence and stewardship” – was exactly the type of personality-free linguistics that The Writer says will have customers eating out of the palm of his hand.