From our Correspondent in Probable Futures — The prediction markets have dispatched their verdict on Britain's most coveted employment vacancy: one man stands tallest in the running to inherit the Walther PPK, though at 44% on Kalshi, he commands the field without commanding it. The licence to thrill, it seems, remains very much negotiable.

The stakes are considerable. With Daniel Craig having made his final bow in 'No Time to Die,' Eon Productions faces the delicious problem of recasting the role that has defined cinematic cool since 1962. Market consensus places one candidate ahead of the pack, yet a 44% probability means the odds favour, in aggregate, that somebody else entirely slips into the dinner jacket before 2030. Trading volume of some $1,961 in the past day suggests punters are watching the casting rumour mill with keen and wagering interest.

A single announcement from Eon — or a high-profile audition leaked to the press — could send the odds lurching dramatically in any direction overnight.