Bookies and Banknotes and Mergers (Oh My)

Anyone with even an ounce of Anglophile in them has to appreciate the news out of the U.K. this morning:

1. The U.K. bookmaking shop William Hill is so sure that countrywoman Helen Mirren will win the Oscar for best actress that it has closed its book on Mirren bets, paying out nearly $100,000 in winnings from the bets already placed on her.

2. The proto-economist Adam Smith will become the new face of the 20-pound banknote in March, the first Scotsman to appear on a Bank of England note.

3. There is talk of a merger between the Anglican Church and the Roman Catholic Church, which the Economist, perhaps not surprisingly, believes makes good business sense.

(Hat tip on Smith: Abdul Basit)