Moaners on the money

Unlike most pathological pessimists, Winnie-the-Pooh's friend Eeyore was endearing in his gloom, but it's beginning to seem as though the depressive donkey's philosophy is the most adaptive to cultivate these days.

- Jane Clifton

However terrific something might seem, there's always a dispiriting flip side. Just ask the Swedes, who were so excited to have Beyoncé perform earlier this year that their exuberance fuelled a significant increase in inflation. The joyful activity of attending a pop concert turns out to be fiscally damaging - on a continuum with war, a pandemic or sharemarket plunge.

Central bankers are still so preoccupied with the Beyoncé liquidity effect, given persistent post-Covid inflation, that you can't rule out the World Bank warning governments against issuing further visas to the performer.

Eeyores will accordingly greet the Rolling Stones' generally rapturously received - new songs with dismay. Will Mick'n'Keef also be so socially irresponsible as to tour, prolonging the cost-of-living crisis in the developed world? Shouldn't these inflationary pop stars stay home tinkering with train sets and fixing potholes like Rod Stewart?