After the Truss-Kwarteng crash, a tentative welcome for Sunak

Let’s hope Tuesday’s partial eclipse of the sun was a good omen for the return of Rishi Sunak to Downing Street, this time as Prime Minister. Understandably, he looked more earnest than triumphant. Business leaders and financial markets gave him a positive welcome but – understandably also after months of turmoil, with huge challenges ahead – rather a tentative one. Ten-year gilt yields dropped from a panic-driven 4.5 per cent to a still worried 3.8 per cent, double their recent lows; the pound blipped up, then settled back to its recent benchmark of $1.13.

A ‘dullness dividend’ is what money men are hoping for, we’re told, after Johnson’s narcissistic inattention and the crackpot Truss-Kwarteng entr’acte. We know we’re heading for austerity and orthodoxy; we await the fiscal statement due on Halloween. Business, as I’ll elaborate in a moment, can cope with any shade of government so long as it’s clear in its direction and competent both in execution and in speaking the language markets understand.