In recent months, international pressure against Iran has intensified because of a continued standoff between the Islamic Republic and the West over its nuclear program.

WSJ: Huawei to Scale Back Business in Iran

Right now, on the other side of the world, Hungary's government is staging a standoff with the European Union about the constitutional role of its central bank.

BBC: Central banks are part of the state

And because even in my malaise I could hear the agony of the French energy giant, EDF, in its standoff with the Treasury over what rewards it should get for building a new nuclear plant at Hinkley Point in Somerset, that seemed a plausible re-entry point for me.

BBC: Why Treasury may reject nuclear option