So here is a forecast, which can be tested against subsequent data. Swiss pharma companies will reduce the customs value of their goods exports (lowering Swiss export and US imports), do more fill and finish in the US and increase their service exports to the US ...

For centuries, Dublin Bay was a treacherous place for ships. Primitive sea walls left the harbour, and Liffey mouth almost unnavigable for larger vessels. So, no better man than the notorious Captain Bligh, of the Mutiny on the Bounty fame, to come to the rescue! Using his experience with tides and marine engineering, he surveyed deadly Dublin Bay in 1800 and proposed the North Bull Wall in 1830. This new structure would complement the existing South Wall, tightening and speeding the flow of the Liffey, which resulted in deepening the channel. The silt and sand displaced by the new waterway flowed north and created Bull Island. Bligh was captain of the HMS Bounty in 1789 when members of the crew, led by Master's Mate Fletcher Christian, mutinied and set Bligh and his loyal crew adrift in the ocean. The mutineers swanned off with the ship, some settled on Edenic Tahiti, others on the notorious island of Pitcairn. Bligh and his abandoned men miraculously survived drifting for 3,618 nautical miles (6,700 km) and reached Timor alive with no casualties. His story of leadership and endurance earned him international fame, and he changed careers to become Governor of New South Wales in Australia, which proved nearly as dangerous as being a sea captain! Another colourful Dublin marine engineering character was Bindon Blood Stoney, who designed the Diving Bell on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay. His theories and methods of dealing with strain on railway bridges and viaducts are still utilised today. Bindon designed a unique dredging plant for Dublin Bay and rebuilt 7,000ft of quay walls along the banks of the Liffey. He was also responsible for the construction of the rebuilt Essex Bridge (now renamed Grattan Bridge) and the Carlisle Bridge (now renamed O'Connell Bridge). He even built the North Bull lighthouse! This engineering polymath also made great strides in the field of astronomy. He lived to the ripe old age of 96.

I know this is hard for many Americans to accept but the global supply chains of pharma products don't revolve around the US. Last year only 40% of pharma & chemical exports from Ireland went to the US. Globalisation & tax inversions aren't going away. x.com/thomas_eilveis/status/…

You can’t buy anything internationally with PPP $s, so you shouldn’t use PPP GDP to compare economic sizes @FT

Is it available on Kindle Patrick?

For those of us unable to tune in Patrick, will it be uploaded for later listening?

DECEMBER 11: The launch of @PHonohan's new book "The Central Bank as Crisis Manager," drawing lessons from recent crises across four continents & calling on central banks to prepare for crisis management. Info & register: piie.com/events/2024/book-la…