Shares may be down again in Amsterdam, EU rules may be threatening our historic bulb fields and Amsterdam might not a popular place with young ‘free movers’ but there is still some good news around.

The Telegraaf tells us today that investing in whisky is a real growth market. The average return on the World Whisky Index, launched in the Netherlands just 11 months ago, is currently over 26%.
It’s a popular investment. In total, some €2m has been invested in Scottish single malts so far.
The best performing whisky at the moment is the 30-year-old Bowmore, which has booked a return of 140%. Glengoyne and Convalmore, however, have both gone down.
We should not forget that the Netherlands has a long history of financial innovations. The country is, of course, home to the world’s first stock exchange.
But the Dutch also invented the first complicated financial product to hit the global economy – the tulip future – which led to the near end of the fledgling industry when the price collapsed way back in 1637.
So should Scottish distillers be worried that their products have been seized upon by bargain-hunting Dutch investors? Who knows. But at least if the World Whisky Index ever collapses, investors will have something to drown their sorrows with.