It seems the New York Times has decided to continue its bizarre crusade against Britain, which culminated in last year’s outlandish claim that the nation lives on a diet of mutton and oatmeal (although, given current reports that the government is considering buying up Welsh lamb in the event of a no-deal exit, this strange claim could turn out to have been an unwitting prediction).
The latest pronouncement comes from the NYT’s European economics correspondent Peter S. Goodman on the front page of today’s international edition. In it Goodman writes:
‘The British pound has long possessed a mystique that transcends its marginal role in the global economy, conjuring memories of its dominance in the imperial age. But lately the currency has devolved into a sign of Britain’s diminishing fortunes in a present dominated by Brexit.’
Beyond the strange claim that the currency possesses a ‘mystique’, and the surprising implication that the City plays a ‘marginal role in the global economy’, Goodman’s assertion of British decline also understates the strength of the pound’s independence.
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