The annual financial story at this time of the year nowadays centers on the successes or failures of Black Friday or how retailers are feeling about Christmas.
This crazy five weeks defines what will happen in the next year as everybody in the ecosystem tries to understand what the data means. Are people spending? Are people keeping their hands in their pockets? What does it all mean? Does it make any sense?
This year, the questions are all the same, but instead of focusing on retail and products, the mania is all about digital currencies, not least the fervour around bitcoin.
The business and technology pages of the biggest publications and websites on the planet are constantly debating and discussing. What does it all mean? Does it make any sense?
Earlier this week, the bitcoin price went up to $17,000 although profit-taking has seen it fall to just above $15,000 at time of writing. No doubt it will go up again, but nobody really knows.
It would appear that this week of 2017 saw bitcoin hit critical mass, but perhaps other news will see a higher tipping point when it comes to the blockchain, the technology behind bitcoin.
As usual, it’s nothing obvious or sensible, but it isn’t surprising that it is soccer that will take blockchain in the public mainstream. Even less surprising is that global football superstar Lionel Messi is the one to do it.
Messi narrowly lost out last night in the battle to win the Ballon D’Or, the annual soccer award given to the best player on the planet. It was won by Cristiano Ronaldo, who has won it five times in the last 10 years.