However, there certainly was a strong contrast between Peter Robinson's dismissal of holding a border poll when talking to me on Inside Politics on Friday and Arlene Foster's hint on the Nolan Show four days later that the party might call Sinn Fein's bluff over a referendum.

BBC: United Ireland border poll call: diversions and u-turns

This is in marked contrast to European banks' strategies for the euro zone, where cross-border bank mergers have so far been rare.

ECONOMIST: Inconspicuous consumption