Britain: Defending the Pound

Before flying off to Washington, British Chancellor of the Exchequer James Callaghan had dinner in London with Groucho Marx. What did they talk about? Says Groucho: "We discussed the British financial situation." Groucho was not kidding: that topic is foremost in many a European conversation these days. Callaghan made his trip to Washington to counter persistent fears on the Continent that Britain faces a major economic crisis in the fall and to show that, even if that should happen, Britain has a powerful financial ally in the U.S. "They are more...