Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York, must be feeling a little sore at the moment. His efforts to bring the 2012 Olympics to the city hit trouble on Monday when plans to build a stadium in Manhattan were rejected. That makes it even more likely that the event will be held in Paris or, at a pinch, London or Madrid.

Here is another sporting rebuff to worry him. As he should recall from his days at Salomon Brothers, President John F. Kennedy helped to revive the City of London in 1963 by imposing a tax on US investment in foreign securities. That made the international bond market move to London, allowing the City to regain its 19th century status as Wall Street's rival in capital markets.