whim, panda, pander to sb/sth, neither greeting nor addressing each other,

Rana Foroohar: The truth is that the US economy is now dependent on asset bubbles for survival.

The Federal Reserve faces pressure to keep cutting rates to keep asset prices high

FT.COM

US economy is dangerously dependent on Wall Street whims

Vintage Books & Anchor Books

"Nothing is stranger or more ticklish than a relationship between people who know each other only by sight, who meet and observe each other daily - no hourly - and are nevertheless compelled to keep up the pose of an indifferent stranger, neither greeting nor addressing each other, whether out of etiquette or their own whim."
―Thomas Mann, Death in Venice

whim

wɪm/

noun

1. 1.

   a sudden desire or change of mind, especially one that is unusual or unexplained.

   "she bought it on a whim"

   synonyms:

   impulse, urge, notion, fancy, whimsy, foible, idea, caprice, conceit,vagary, kink, megrim, crotchet, craze, fad, passion,  inclination, bent;

羊城网友论坛panda n. 大貓熊,大熊貓(=giant panda)
pander n. 拉皮條;老鴇;慫恿者; 迎合者

pan・der

━━ v., n. 悪事［売春］の仲介［手伝い］をする（者） ((to)); 弱みに付け込む（人）, あおる.
pan・der・er　━━ n.

許多動畫
pander to sb/sth phrasal verb DISAPPROVING
to do or provide exactly what a person or group wants, especially when it is not acceptable, reasonable or approved of, usually in order to get some personal advantage:
It's not good the way she panders to his every whim.
Political leaders almost inevitably pander to big business.