MERCHANT BANKER...

Changing tubes at Bank I see a young man on the platform wearing a beautiful suit. His posture: one leg thrust forward, a Financial Times rolled up in one hand like a weapon, makes him hard to miss. I notice his slicked back hair, Hermes tie, cutaway collar Jermyn Street shirt, fancy big watch, well polished shoes. Everyone is staring at him, he clearly believes with admiration of some sort. On the tube he begins reading the two sections of the FT, casually dropping the one he's finished with on the floor. His cocksure stance doesn't flicker as he continues to read (or pretend to read) headlines about the economic crisis.

*Non-English readers: Merchant banker is cockney rhyming slang