MONEY MATTRESS. Like Mark Twain, reports of the death of physical money may have been greatly exaggerated. UK-based currency printer De La Rue (DLAR.L) on Wednesday reported a surge in demand for notes over the last year, a trend seemingly at odds with health authorities’ advice to use contactless digital payments instead. The conclusion is clear: even though cash use plummeted, in times of economic turbulence humans still feel safer with savings they can touch. That’s true for developed and emerging economies. In Britain and the euro zone, currency in circulation in September was 10% higher than a year earlier. However, pan-African telecoms operator MTN (MTNJ.J) said mobile money transaction volumes nearly doubled last year read more , even as De La Rue cranked up its printing presses to maximum. Unfortunately for the UK company’s investors, as the pandemic subsides, digital spending habits will stick but mattress-stuffing won’t. (By Ed Cropley) On Twitter http://twitter.com/breakingviews Earlier in Capital Calls: Chinese video star has further to fall read more LionTree on the prowl read more BlackRock tests Exxon and self too read more Hindsight comes quickly to SPAC projections read more The Culligan water deal machine changes hands read more