Category Archives: UK

Is This the Beginning of the End for Labour?

Brexit and Covid should have paved the way for a Labour romp. Instead, Labour tried to win a patriotism contest with the Tories and lost.

Michel Barnier’s Brexit Diaries Published; Stinging Take of UK Strategic and Negotiating

Barnier’s Brexit diaries confirm the notion that the UK side was not up to the task and didn’t have the self-awareness to recognize that.

EU Proposes Opening to Fully Vaccinated Non-Essential Travelers; The Catch: Proving Vaccine Status

The fully-vaccinated may soon be able to visit the EU for non-essential travel. The catch: proving one’s vaccine status.

New Malaria Vaccine Proves Highly Effective – and COVID Shows How Quickly It Could Be Deployed

One lasting benefit of the terrible COVID-19 pandemic might be a quicker route to a malaria vaccine and a safer future for children in the world’s poorest countries.

The Coronavirus Crisis Within the Economy Is Far From Over – Because Reopening Creates a Whole New Type of Risk

Whither the post-Covid economy, assuming a “post-Covid”? The answer depends at least in part on where you sit.

Why the Government Bonds Owned by the Bank of England Are Not a Debt Burden, Even When They’re Repaid

A short discussion of government bonds and what happens when a central bank holds them.

SoftBank-Funded Fintech Upstart Greensill Crashes, Carnage Ensues

Supply chain finance disuptor Greensill is undone by its own financial wizardry, putting at risk thousands of jobs in the UK, Australia and the EU. The timing could not be worse for already buckling supply chains.

Pointless Pain Is What We’re Enduring. And All for the Sake of Accepting That Money is Not a Constraint on Our Potential, and Never Will Be

Defitic hysteria, UK style, and why misunderstanding what government money is about persists.

Scandal-Splattered UK Outsourcing Giant, Serco, Sets Sights on the Ultimate Gravy Train: U.S. Defense Contracting

The company has been repeatedly caught falsifying records, at times on a gargantuan scale. Now it is seeking opportunities in an industry where money routinely disappears in the trillions. What could possibly go wrong?

The Bank of England Should Stop Broadcasting the Views of a Comfortable Financial Elite

A “put foot in mouth and chew” episode from Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane.

Is There Really a Problem with Left Wing Extremism in the UK, or Is the Government Seeking Excuses to Suppress Fair Protest?

Governments on both sides of the pond are in “never let a crisis go to waste” mode. Aggression by the right is cause to stomp on a weak left.

Michael Hudson – Changes in Super Imperialism

Michael Hudson recaps his classic Super Imperalism and extends it to the 21st century struggle for dominance among the US, China, and Russia.

Negative Interest Rates Are Coming, but There Is No Chance That They Will Work

Negative interest rates: a bad idea that some central banks still can’t resist.

The Double Irony of the New UK-EU Trade Relationship

The Trade and Cooperation Agreement signed between the European Union and the United Kingdom goes against six decades of UK efforts to avoid being economically disadvantaged in Europe.