Just a couple of minutes earlier, on thefirst full dayof a holiday with his wife and anxious to hit the famed Phuket blue water, Boardman had watched the tide off Patong beach recede suddenly.
Markets opened down Monday morning, signaling the anticipation for a bailout package for Ireland and a holiday week in the U.S. that will see thefirst major holiday shopping dayofthe year with Black Friday.
Sir Alan Budd, former chief economic adviser to the Treasury, says that this will almost certainly have to be on thefirstdayofthe year to coincide with the bank holiday, as occurred with thefirst wave of euro entrants.