Joe Wiesenthal

It was still during that period of absolutely insane volatility.

And there is a sense in which, I mean, the pure volatility currently is not actually like it was back then.

But at the same time, perhaps probably because we're in the middle of a war, ceasefire aside.

April 2025 feels a little quaint compared to where we are right now.

Isn't that something?

I mean, everything's relative, I guess.

Okay, well, on that note, why don't we bring in our perfect guest, older gentleman, older British gentleman with a British accent, per Joe's description.

Martin Wolf, thank you so much for coming back on Odd Laws.

You truly are the perfect guest though, because again, a lot of people have described you as one of the most important economics commentators of all time.

And so I think it's great that we get you back to opine on some of these very big events that we're seeing.

Speaking of large events, you have described the Iran situation as a nightmare scenario.

Walk us through what you're thinking there, because when I look at some of the headlines around markets at the moment, the S&P 500 closed at a record on Friday.

It doesn't seem like markets are aligned with that particular point of view.

What's going on?

I'm glad that when you referenced Shakespeare and Sound and Fury signifying nothing, you were not referring to our conversations, et cetera.

Always something, though, that I'm anxious about with respect to our business because we type and talk.

I was like, what does it really matter?

All that being said.

You mentioned the profitability of companies, and if profits stay high, the stocks stay high, and it's all very explicable.

One has to admit, or you have to admit, sitting here today, recording this May 4th, you have to admit it's pretty surprising, isn't it?