Barometer | 15 January 2011

A collector’s item
— The Lord Chamberlain ruled that there would be no official commemorative tea towel for the wedding of Prince William to Kate Middleton. Some manufacturers are going to produce them regardless. But will they be a good investment? Consider the four Charles and Diana tea towels were for sale on eBay last week.
— An unopened teatowel with illuminated gothic script but no picture had attracted one bid for £3, with eight days’ bidding left.
— A used teatowel featuring the faces of Charles and Diana had attracted a bid for £5 with four days to go.
— Two more, both unused and unopened, had yet to see a bid at starting prices of £5.

Guns and killings
The shooting of Gabrielle Giffords, a Democratic member of the House of Representatives, has revived the debate over US gun laws.

% households    Gun homicides per
owning guns    million people per year
         39             US             37
         29         Canada          8
         27      Switzerland       6
         19        Australia          4
         16            Italy             16
         15         Sweden          2
         9          Germany         2
         5      England/Wales    1

Source: GunCite


Stirring the pot
Total annual bonus pot, City of London:
2002      £3.3 bn
2003      £6.4 bn
2004      £7 bn
2005      £9.7 bn
2006      £11.4 bn
2007      £5.3 bn
2008      £7.3 bn
2010      £7 bn

Source: CEBR

Cuts by country
How do George Osborne’s cuts compare internationally?

% change in public spending as share of GDP from 2009–12:

Ireland                       -5.3  
South Korea              -4.6  
Spain                         -4.4  
Germany                   -3.3  
Canada, Greece       -3.1  
United Kingdom        -2.6
United States            -2.2
Italy                           -1.6  
France                       -1.4  
Japan                        -1.3  
Australia                   +1.5
Source: OECD