Which James Bond film made the most money?

Scummy idea

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner called Tories ‘scum’ in a speech to activists at her party’s conference. The word, derived from a 14th-century Dutch word for foam, was first recorded in the sense of an insult in Christopher Marlowe’s play Tamburlaine, written in the late 1580s. Referring to Christian slaves kept by the Turks, Tamburlain says: ‘These are the cruel pirates of Argier, that damned train, the scum of Africa.’ Thereafter, the term tended to be applied to people of low birth rather than people who are of evil or ill intent — which is presumably what Rayner meant.

Who’s had jabs?

Are western countries hoarding vaccines and depriving developing countries? Number of people who have received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine:

India 642m

US 214m

Brazil 150m

Japan 88m

Bond index

The latest Bond film, No Time to Die, was released. Which of the 24 previous Bond films have taken the most at the box office (in dollars at 2021 prices)?

1. Skyfall (2012) $1.28bn

2. Thunderball (1965) $1.18bn

3. Goldfinger (1964) $1.06bn

4. Spectre (2015) $962m

5. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977) $884m

6. Moonraker (1979) $835m

And the least…

19. Dr No (1962) $516m

20. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) $481m

21. Octopussy (1983) $493m

22. The Living Daylights (1987) $452m

23. A View to a Kill (1985) $384m

24. Licence to Kill (1989) $342m

Going broke

How many people went insolvent in 2020? — Personal insolvencies stood at 24 per 10,000 people, a fall of 9% on 2019 and the first drop in five years, in spite of the economic damage done by the pandemic. Insolvencies were highest in the north-east, at 30.9 per 10,000, and lowest in London at 15.9 per 10,000. The rate for women (24.8) was higher than that for men (22.4).