Godspeed Mr. President. But do your (Russian) homework.
While the US president deserves credit for seeking to broker a solution, he’s also occasionally bragged about his erratic foreign policy, arguing he could, for example, end the Russia-Ukraine war in “a day.” Trump’s unpredictability, he argued, would frighten Putin into compliance, which would have massive global financial benefits. The idea is called “the Madman Theory” of foreign policy and is not without its merits. But being a madman is a comparative game, don’t you think? One might think twice about out-crazying the Russians, they who so spectacularly specialize in all things bonkers. To quote the great philosopher-geniuses, Boney M: “… Oh those Russians!”
For example:
The All-Joking, All-Drunken Synod of Fools and Jesters: (That’s its official name) Peter the Great, whom Putin has apparently patterned his ambitions around, made these famous.
In one of these, Peter organed the mock wedding of 80-year-old Nikita Zotov in 1715.
- Invitations to guests were delivered by hand-picked stammerers.
- The runners were fat men suffering with gout.
- The priest was almost 100 years old.
- The head of the Russian police (Prince-Caesar) arrived in a sled drawn by bears.
- Peter arrived in a common sailor’s costume.
- A cortege of guests formed a joke orchestra, playing whistles and hooters and banging plates.
Okay, that sounds fun on a certain level, but the point wasn’t fun. The point was to show he could get away with it and still be the Tsar. To prove the point, here’s a few more quick notes: Peter also tortured his son to death, locked his wife in a dungeon, made a regular game of killing people in the public square in unimaginably cruel ways, and kept a steady supply of dwarfs around for entertainment. (And here I’m holding back so very many unmentionable things… You’re welcome.) That’s Peter the Great Big Jerk.
One may not want to brag about out-crazying a Russian any more than one might imagine out-drinking him.
But I truly wish you success. Maybe challenge them to a hockey tournament.
Invite Canada.
Europe summer 2025: Headlines galore
This summer has brought heavy news flow in Europe, from the detailed announcement on German infrastructure spending to the U.S.-EU trade deal and diplomatic talks on the war in Ukraine. We look beyond the headlines to identify what we view as attractive areas of the European equity market.
Regional developments: There is more to the Canadian housing market than meets the eye; U.S. stock indexes weakened driven by a trifecta of
headwinds; UK equities upgraded to Market Weight, UK inflation uptick; Chinese onshore equities reach decade-high level
More here: Global Insight Weekly.
Feel free to contact me with any questions and/or to discuss investment ideas.
Enjoy your weekend!
Mark