It sometimes seems that everything in our world is connected. It is a pleasure to meet in Frobisher Hall today. This hall is named after Sir Martin Frobisher, an English navigator who explored Canada’s eastern arctic coast in the 16th century in search of new trade routes. His connection to the Barbican is that most of him is buried in the St Giles-in-the-Fields churchyard. (His heart and entrails are in St Andrew’s Church in Plymouth). Martin Frobisher is perhaps more famous in Canada than in his native land. One of the great bays in the eastern arctic is named after him. The capital of Nunavut, Iqaluit, lies at the ... (full story)

Global economic growth is likely to stabilize at a new, slower pace, although China, trade wars and rising protectionism threaten the “delicate equilibrium”, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said. He pointed to a shift towards tighter financial conditions from rising in interest rates, as well as trade tensions, as reasons for the recent slowdown in the world economy. Rising debt in China and new barriers to global trade were a “significant and growing” risk to the global outlook for growth, and protectionism was already having an impact, Carney said in a speech at a Financial Times event on Tuesday. “Given the ... (full story)