With elections next year, Bangladesh is entering an unsettling period in its short history, as it drifts towards becoming a one-party state. If an opposition remains, which I remain hopeful it will, Bangladeshis must be given a fair and balanced view on the political choice that awaits them. While our politicians remain shamefully silent, we must defend those who are brave enough to speak out in Bangladesh. And whilst I go round taking the piss out of the not-so-great and the not-so-good in the coming months, I shall be thinking more than once how lucky I am to be able to do so.

Aside from facing a few days off the trading floor last week in Wall Street, big banks will be the ones to benefit the most from the impacts of Hurricane Sandy. Wall Street and other financial centres, such as the City of London, have ridden the wave of extreme weather over the past year, including the drought in the US, driving food commodity prices to new heights.

George Osborne was offered help with his maths skills tonight after a BBC comedy stunt show infiltrated his speech to bankers. The Chancellor was p...