Manchester has a long history of independent thinking that has made it such a strong business centre - from the free traders such as John Bright through to the suffragettes and the Pankhurst family.
This deep perception of their strength continues to play a vital role in the performance of the city and the North West which is amply shown by so many sectors, such as sport and music apart from business and finance.
The city has made a historic leap in the past decade, it would seem, from major UK city to a global status that continues to feed growth and pull in foreign investment, notably from China.
At the moment the mood is more settled and steady, rather than buoyant but with an underlining strength as the business district expands its boundaries and more people live in the city as residential districts grow.
Looking ahead, there is no reason why the economy should not continue to grow steadily because Manchester has the right ingredients for this, not least being a thriving media industry (maybe with Channel 4’s HQ) and a vast Media City to cope with it.
Technology is a strong as anywhere in Europe and a mark of the city’s attractions is the high percentage of graduates that remain living there after leaving university.
Gone are the days when they moved south in large numbers.