Chatting with a good friend over dinner last night, he recounted how his son ambushed him late one Sunday night with some economics homework that he’d somehow manage to overlook and which simply had to be submitted the following morning.

Annoyed, and after dispensing a severe bollocking, he reluctantly sat down and gave his son some lengthy help with the complex and thorny topic of

‘How does monetary policy affect the economy ?’

A week later, his son mumbled ‘Oh yeah - I got that Eco essay back today and got a ‘C’ for it’.

My friend has a first class honours degree in Economics from the University of Warwick, has spent 26 years working in finance and banking and is currently a senior economic analyst for the leading fund manager, Gartmore.

My - how we laughed.