Is it too much to hope that politicians and civil servants, when they’re not busy using the Leinster House internet resource for essential research on high-end sex dolls, Germany’s gay demi-monde, lingerie, horse racing, and gambling, might turn their attention to what could be at work in the mind of Dominic Cummings?

After a turbulent start to the year in financial markets, packed with fear- inducing headlines, it is little surprise that people might feel nervous about what lies ahead. 

AFTER a string of world-shaking events America’s spies failed to predict, most recently the turmoil sweeping the Arab world, a vast project is taking shape to improve forecasting. It involves thousands of volunteers and the wisdom of crowds.