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Are Republicans turning against medications for treating opioid addiction?
Federal actions and proposals have reignited debate over methadone and buprenorphine, worrying addiction experts and patient groups.
Seattle slips in ranking of best U.S. cities for foreign investment, fueling concerns about business climate
The fourth annual list compiled by British newspaper Financial Times and stock market index Nikkei ranks Seattle 13th among 95 U.S. cities — a drop of 11 places from last year's second-place position.
China delivers first samples collected from far side of the moon to Russia
The rocks were collected during the Chang’e-6 mission and the handover is the first time foreign scientists will have a chance to study them.
Can Judge-less Yanks survive?
On deck Tonight: Los Angeles Dodgers at Pittsburgh, 6:40 p.m. Pitchers: Dodgers LHP Eric Lauer (2-5) vs. Pirates RHP Paul Skenes (6-5) TV: SportsNet Pittsburgh Radio: HANK-FM 96.1 The reigning MVP and Cy Young Award winners in the American League are both on the injured list. One is on his way back, the other went […]
Federal judge voids Trump’s $100,000 fee requirement for H-1B visas
A federal judge on Monday voided President Donald Trump’s requirement of a $100,000 application fee for H-1B visas, ruling that he lacked authority to impose the new policy for a program used by companies to hire highly skilled foreign workers in specialized fields.
The 12 Most Revolutionary Movies of 1976, a Year of Rebellion
Here 12 most revolutionary movies of 1976, a year when rebels and underdogs reigned at the box office. As America The post The 12 Most Revolutionary Movies of 1976, a Year of Rebellion appeared first ...
Can Marco Rubio convince Trump that a free Cuba is America First?
As Secretary of State, Marco Rubio has been a primary driver of President Trump’s foreign policy. But Cuba is his most personal challenge yet. And as he plots another potential run for the presidency in 2028, it’s the one whose success or failure could most closely define him.
Gil M Soffer
Scope of work: A former federal prosecutor, Soffer became chairman of Katten in 2024, leading 1,500 attorneys and professionals. Previously, he was Chicago managing partner and co-chaired the firm’s litigation practice.Significant case: He serves as a five-year independent monitor in a global opioid settlement and was previously a DOJ/SEC-appointed corporate compliance monitor in a major Foreign Corrupt Practices Act case.Other contributions: Soffer is on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois' Racial Justice Diversity Committee, is WLS-TV/Channel 7's chief legal analyst and headed the Chicago Bar Foundation Investing in Justice Campaign that raised $1.4 million for pro bono services.
Argentina stroll to pre-World Cup win over Honduras
Argentina eased to a 2-0 victory against a lacklustre Honduras in the reigning champions' penultimate World Cup warm-up game in Texas on Saturday.Argentina face Iceland in their final friendly match in Auburn, Alabama on Tuesday before the three-time winners begin their World Cup group games against Algeria on June 17 in Kansas City.
Foreign Businesses Are Fleeing Cuba as Its Economy Collapses
Mastercard and Visa are suspending transactions, hotel operators are pulling out and a major Canadian miner is rethinking its presence on the island.
South Florida expert says "secondary sanctions" against foreign businesses with ventures in Cuba is unprecedented
The Rise of Socialism: Business owners turn on ultra-progressive California town
Business owners and former politicians in Richmond, California speak out as locals grapple with a wave of democratic socialist politicians reigning over the small coastal city.
Ex-CIA employee accused of stealing from agency is ordered to remain in jail ahead of trial
A former CIA officer in Virginia who is accused of taking tens of millions of dollars in gold bars and foreign currency from the agency was ordered Friday to remain in jail until his trial.
How Nuclear Science Enhances Seafood Safety in Namibia
Namibia's 1,500 km coastline powers a fishing industry worth over 15% of the country's foreign income. But meeting export demand means meeting strict international standards.
US terrorist label for Brazil gangs risks higher business costs
The U.S. designation of Brazil's biggest criminal groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) starting Friday is likely to increase the risks and costs of doing business in a country where gangs have had years to penetrate the formal economy.
US Terrorist Label for Brazil Gangs Risks Higher Business Costs
By Luciana Magalhaes and Ricardo Brito SAO PAULO/Brasilia, June 5 (Reuters) - The U.S. designation of Brazil's biggest criminal groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) starting Friday is likely to increase the risks and costs of doing business in a country where gangs have had years to ...
The Braves Should Avoid the Tarik Skubal Deadline Trap
Tarik Skubal is the kind of pitcher who makes a perfectly reasonable front office start spouting bad ideas. Which, honestly, makes sense. Skubal is one of Major League Baseball’s best left-handed aces, a two-time reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, and one of the few starters in baseball who could make a great team …
House passes Ukraine aid, Russia sanctions as GOP bucks Trump on foreign policy
Eighteen Republicans sided with Democrats to authorize billions in aid to Ukraine.
House passes bill to provide more Ukraine aid and impose new sanctions on Russia
The 226-195 vote is a sign of impatience with President Donald Trump's approach to the war and represents the House's second major foreign policy break with Trump this week.
49ers' Trent Williams drops blunt, two-word assessment of Myles Garrett trade
San Francisco 49ers tackle Trent Williams had a short and not-so-sweet assessment of the Los Angeles Rams' trade for reigning DPOY Myles Garrett.
Roma reignite interest in Davide Frattesi
Davide Frattesi’s situation has become a veritable soap opera. The Inter midfielder, who was very close to leaving the club last January for Nottingham Forest, finished the season with the Nerazzurr...
What do Turkiye and Indonesia want from bilateral talks?
Turkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan travelled to Indonesia to cement the two states' growing partnership.
2026 Tax Treaty Survey Highlights U.S. Business Priorities - National Foreign Trade Council
Washington D.C. – The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) today released results from its annual Tax Treaty Survey. The survey, which was answered by tax professionals from NFTC member companies, asked businesses to rate their tax treaty priorities around the world. “Tax treaties are essential for U.S. businesses, and we are thankful that Treasury is […]
BofA Says Foreign Buyers Lured by UK Yields Despite Politics
Bank of America predicts a streak of gilt purchases by foreign buyers extended through May, as some of the highest government yields in major developed nations offset political turbulence and inflation fears.
Spain vs Iraq – Predicted lineup and team news
Spain host Iraq at the Estadio Abanca-Riazor on Thursday evening to commence their final World Cup warm-up campaign.The reigning European champions enter the tournament as one of the definitive favour...
Putin Turns Russia’s AI Future Into a Kremlin Family Business
President Vladimir Putin’s push for what he calls Russia’s technological sovereignty is turning into a family affair with the development of key sectors entrusted to one of his daughters and the children of close allies.
Boston leads list of best places for foreign businesses in FT-Nikkei ranking
Massachusetts capital pulls ahead of previous winner Tampa on skilled workforce and rising investment
Rubio torches Democrat after bizarre hearing questions about his shoes: 'Is this a circus?'
Secretary of State Marco Rubio called a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing "a circus" after Democratic California Rep. Sara Jacobs questioned him about shoes gifted by Trump.
Sean McVay breaks his silence on Aaron Donald returning
The Los Angeles Rams made a blockbuster trade with the Cleveland Browns to acquire the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in the NFL, Myles Garrett, who is coming off an NFL record-setting 23-sack season. Since acquiring the NFL’s single-season sack record holder, there has been more and more buzz surrounding a potential return of…
Myles Garrett traded from Browns to Rams as Los Angeles goes all in for Super Bowl run
Los Angeles is loading up for a Super Bowl run by acquiring the reigning Defensive Player of the Year in a historic blockbuster trade.
Browns Trade Star DE Myles Garrett To Rams
The Browns are shipping the reigning Defensive Player of the Year west in exchange for Jared Verse and more.
China team drafts sanctions list targeting US, allies on 63 key tech sectors
Scientists have listed sensitive or globally competitive tech that may benefit from export restrictions to keep them out of foreign hands.
How aid cuts are hampering the front-line response to the Ebola crisis
Aid workers in Uganda are watching an Ebola crisis unfold in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. They're doing what they can to prepare for an uptick in cases, but foreign aid cuts aren't helping.
Trump flips script on left, maneuvers to use foreign influence law against the them
Trump aims to use FARA and other legal tools against alleged foreign influence on the left after years of probes targeting his allies, experts say.
Arsenal and France defender William Saliba could miss World Cup
Wiliam Saliba (25) played all 120 minutes of Saturday’s UEFA Champions League final as Arsenal lost to reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain on penalties. However, Foot Mercato understands that t...
Scientists are racing to stop a type of Ebola we have no vaccine for
A deadly Ebola outbreak is spreading fast—and U.S. cuts to foreign aid are making it worse
WWE Clash in Italy: 5 big takeaways for Roman Reigns, Cody Rhodes, Brock Lesnar vs. Oba Femi, Rhea Ripley and more
How aid cuts are hampering the frontline response to the Ebola crisis
Aid workers in Uganda are watching the Ebola crisis unfold in the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. They're doing what they can to prepare for an uptick in cases, but foreign aid cuts aren't helping.
Justice Ministry expands 'top-tier visa' program to attract foreign science and tech talents
More science and technology talent will become eligible for South Korea’s "top-tier visa" starting in June, as part of a government policy aimed at attracting m
San Antonio Spurs advance to NBA Finals, ousting reigning champion Thunder
Victor Wembanyama had a team-high 22 points and seven rebounds in the win for San Antonio, which will now face the New York Knicks in an NBA Finals rematch from 27 years ago.
Erewhon sued in Culver City over a rent dispute
Trendy Erewhon, the reigning Rolls-Royce of grocery stores, has fallen behind in rent payments for its Culver City outpost, its landlord says.
Trump Says He’s Not Watching the Clock on Iran—but Voters Are | Council on Foreign Relations
Trump’s sagging poll numbers and the surging support for Democrats suggest that Republicans will likely pay a price for the war in November.
Rep. Young Kim Introduces BOOST for American Business Act toStrengthen U.S. Economic Competitiveness Abroad
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Young Kim (CA-40) introduced the Building Overseas Opportunities & Strategic Trade (BOOST) for American Business Act to support American businesses abroad and protect critical American industries from foreign adversaries like the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). American businesses competing in international markets too often lack a strong advocate in their corner.
Adrian Newey’s Health Flagged As Crucial Factor in Aston Martin’s Recovery by Franz Tost
Aston Martin’s heavily hyped 2026 Formula One campaign has turned into an absolute nightmare. Despite securing the services of legendary designer Adrian Newey and reigning engine champions Honda, the Silverstone squad is currently languishing at the very bottom of the…
After China Orders a Times Reporter to Leave the Country, the U.S. Reciprocates
The Trump administration ejected a Chinese journalist amid fresh concerns about Beijing’s growing pressure on foreign correspondents.
Longview mill implosion comes amid turnaround effort by foreign owners
Days after the fatal incident at the Nippon Dynawave Packaging plant, it's unclear what the accident means for the facility or its Japanese owner.
Foreign Investment in Professional Sports:
As sports franchise valuations continue to rise and professional sports leagues seek new markets and long-term financing sources, sports are increasingly being viewed not only as entertainment, but al...
Times/Siena Poll: 43% of Voters Dissatisfied With Both Parties
Persistent frustration over the economy and foreign policy have left many Americans feeling politically homeless, and young voters are particularly frustrated.
The PSG paradox: Football’s most beautiful team are also the sport’s most successful state project
Watching the reigning European champions can be such a joy but it is hard to separate the football from the club's ownership
Spurs vs. Thunder score: Live updates from Game 6 as OKC tries to advance to NBA Finals
Reigning champ OKC is one win from making it back to the Finals to face the Knicks, while the Spurs want to stay alive on their home floor
Bibi’s Manichean Politics
Over three decades, Netanyahu’s pivot to divisive electioneering has paid off.
Holly Holm wasn't surprised by Ronda Rousey returning
Ronda Rousey's dominating three-year reign atop the UFC women's bantamweight division was brought to a sudden halt by Holly Holm at UFC 193 in November 2015. Holm knocked out Rousey with a head kick early in the second round sending shockwaves throughout the combat sports world. Rousey returned to ...
Underdog Sports receives cease-and-desist letter from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s lawyers
The lawyers for Oklahoma City Thunder superstar Shai Gilgeous-Alexander issued a cease-and-desist letter to Underdog Sports over a promotion from the fantasy sports company that mocked the reigning two-time NBA MVP’s effort to draw fouls, Jason Jones of The Athletic reported on Wednesday night. Underdog Sports created a game called “Unethical Hoops” based on the…
Shohei Ohtani Keeps Two-Way Duties Wednesday Despite HBP: Lineup
The Los Angeles Dodgers are rolling out reigning MVP Shohei Ohtani as just a pitcher for the fifth time this season.
Sports
The Seattle Times Sports section covers teams and athletes in the Seattle area and Pacific Northwest, including the Seahawks, Mariners, UW Huskies, WSU Cougars, Seattle Sounders FC, Seattle Storm, Seattle Reign, high-school teams and coverage of plans for an NBA/NHL arena. Columnists Larry Stone, Matt Calkins and reporters Bob Condotta and Geoff Baker are featured.
State of California attracts global investment through coordinated international engagement at the 2026 SelectUSA Investment Summit | California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development
GO-Biz led California’s participation in a series of foreign investment attraction efforts across the United States, anchored by the U.S. Department of Commerce
Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods make opposite Open Championship decisions
Tiger Woods has won the Open Championship three times, while Phil Mickelson has one claret jug to his name. Woods won his Open Championships at St Andrews (twice) and Royal Hoylake, while Mickelson reigned supreme at Muirfield in 2013.
‘Anti-Weaponization Fund’ revives yearslong fight over Democrat-backed settlements
President Donald Trump’s nearly $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” is triggering bipartisan concern on Capitol Hill while simultaneously reigniting a years-old conservative argument against administrations from both parties using the Treasury Department’s Judgment Fund to finance politically sensitive settlements with little congressional oversight. The fund stems from Trump’s settlement with the Internal Revenue Service over the […]
Bolivia Unrest Threatens Return of Chaos, Sinks Sovereign Bonds
Bolivian sovereign bonds are in free-fall, dropping for a 10th day on Tuesday as protests and road blockades choke off essential supplies to La Paz and lead to violent clashes, threatening to push South America’s poorest country back into political and economic chaos.
Hyperreal Politics: When the Simulation Becomes Too Absurd to Satirize
The foreign policy playing out today in the West is so preposterously self-destructive it would be rejected as implausible fiction
Semiconductor decoupling. Powell's politics. Industrializing Ogaden. Free trade and the Magna Carta.
Thank you for opening your Chartbook email. Feliks Topolski, 1907-1989 8th Army’s Front, Italy 1944 Semiconductor decoupling Source: FT One thing that Jerome Powell deeply understood is that chairing the Fed under current conditions is a deeply political job. “Powell has successes and mistakes to his name. But he stands out as having thought more carefully about the Fed’s democratic legitimacy than any chair since Paul Volcker,” said Paul Tucker, a former deputy governor at the Bank of England, referring to the Fed chair who successfully fought the great inflation of the 1970s and early 1980s. … While Powell was at the Treasury in the early 1990s, he watched Alan Greenspan build relationships within the government. That convinced Powell he needed to follow the former Fed chair’s lead and spend more time in Congress than his predecessors Yellen and Bernanke. “The accountability for the Fed runs through Congress,” said Claudia Sahm, a former Fed official who is now chief economist at New Century Advisors. “That’s not just about having people on speed dial — it’s answering questions, explaining policy and getting feedback.” Source: FT Ethiopia’s PM Abiy and Nigerian business tycoon, with Chinese engineering, are driving industrialization in Ogaden/Somali region of Ethiopia. - Michael Masri’s reporting for Africa Report if fascinating. Ethiopia has launched a cluster of large industrial schemes in the Somali region, laying foundation stones for a urea plant and an oil refinery in Gode while opening the first two phases of the Ogaden LNG project. Abiy Ahmed framed the push as part of a broader strategy to link energy, agriculture and industry. “These projects embody more than industrial growth,” he said. “They represent our shared responsibility to harness opportunities, strengthen co-operation and promote peace.” The Gode urea plant, backed by Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH), is designed for 3m tonnes a year. Dangote owns 60%, while EIH holds 40%. Officials say Dangote’s equity totals about $2.5bn, while the state provides land and implementation oversight. Gas from the Calub fields will be piped 108km to the site. Construction is slated for 40 months, with operations targeted for 2028. Ethiopia imports most of its fertiliser, spending more than $1.2bn a year for 1.5m–2m tonnes. Usage was roughly 1.7m tonnes in 2023, almost half of it urea, and demand for 2024–25 is put above 2.4m tonnes. If delivered on time, the Gode plant could cover domestic needs and allow exports to neighbours. Brook Taye, chief executive of EIH, called the venture “a significant milestone in the journey toward industrial self-sufficiency”. Dangote told the groundbreaking crowd that the complex would be integrated with gas supply and a polypropylene unit to support local inputs. He pointed to Ethiopia’s Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), with a capacity of more than 5,000MW, and noted his group’s cement operations and expansion plans. The Gode refinery is being developed by Golden Concord Group of China. It is designed to process 3.5m tonnes a year of crude and condensate from the Hilala field, with associated storage. Backers say it will ease foreign-exchange pressure from fuel imports and anchor further industrial activity, including a proposed steel smelting site in Dire Dawa. GCL’s chair, Zhu Gongshan, cast the project as “a key step in Ethiopia’s path to energy sovereignty”, underscoring the Beijing–Addis ties. Financing details are still being finalised, but the refinery is central to the government’s energy-security narrative. Source: The Africa Report Dangote’s Ethiopian vision: Dangote began with cement. His crown jewel, Dangote Cement, dominates Nigeria’s market and has 10 operations in other nations in Africa. The formula has been consistent: identify sectors with chronic shortages – cement, fertiliser, sugar – commit massive local investments, and scale up to serve regional demand. Ethiopia was a natural extension of that model. In 2015, Dangote launched the Mugher Cement Plant outside Addis Ababa at a cost of $600m, with an annual capacity of 2.5 million tonnes. The investment gave him a firm foothold in one of Africa’s fastest-growing construction markets. But success came with risks. In May 2018, violent unrest led to the killing of Dangote’s country manager and temporary shutdowns at Mugher. While other investors might have retreated, Dangote doubled down. Today, he is preparing to spend $400m to expand Mugher’s capacity to 5 million tonnes, alongside a new grinding unit near Addis Ababa. Cement is just one market Dangote is targeting. Ethiopia’s enormous state-controlled sugar industry, long plagued by inefficiency and debt, has struggled for years to reform. Its Omo Kuraz Sugar Development Project, touted as one of the continent’s largest initiatives, continues to face delays and mismanagement. … The most ambitious venture of all is the planned fertiliser production complex in Gode, Somali region. Publicised on 28 August 2025, the Dangote Group and Ethiopian Investment Holdings (EIH) deal plans one of the world’s largest single-site urea manufacturing plants. The project costs an estimated $2.5bn and has an estimated capacity of 3 million metric tonnes annually, a rate that would not only render Ethiopia independent, but even a net exporter of fertiliser. EIH, the state wealth fund of Ethiopia, will hold 40%, while 60% is held by Dangote Group. … For Dangote, Ethiopia is a trifecta: Cement demand is projected to grow by 10% annually, its sugar consumption is growing with rapid urbanisation, and fertiliser demand is all but insatiable, given that farming supports the livelihood of 70% of Ethiopians. Source: The Africa Report The stakes for Abiy are high: For Addis Ababa, the $4bn fertiliser project in Ethiopia’s Somali region is no longer simply a manufacturing investment. It is increasingly being framed as a strategic state project tied to food sovereignty, import substitution and the government’s broader attempt to build economic resilience under mounting fiscal pressure. “Becoming self-sufficient in food is our main agenda,” Abiy says during the visit. “Land is needed; we have it. Water is needed; we have it. Human resources are needed; we have it.” The scale is enormous even by African industrial standards. Once operational, the plant is expected to produce three million metric tonnes of urea annually, potentially making it one of the continent’s largest fertiliser complexes. Ethiopian officials say the project now includes a 110km gas pipeline, a 120MW power plant, a polypropylene packaging facility and a two-million-tonne NPK blending plant. For a government grappling with chronic foreign exchange shortages, ballooning import bills and pressure on agricultural productivity, the numbers matter politically as much as they do economically. The decision to anchor the project in Gode is deliberate. Long viewed as peripheral to Ethiopia’s industrial economy, the Somali region is now being repositioned by the federal government as a future irrigation and agro-industrial corridor. Officials argue that the area’s vast land reserves and access to water could eventually support large-scale commercial farming capable of reshaping Ethiopia’s food economy. The government is simultaneously building housing infrastructure for about 5,000 residents near the plant, while officials project broader industrial expansion along the corridor. Abiy goes further, comparing the long-term revenue potential of the Gode development zone with Ethiopia’s flagship state enterprise. “The investments we are making in this Gode area, combined, will generate high revenue for Ethiopia, at par with Ethiopian Airlines,” he says. Source: The Africa Report Feliks Topolski 1907-1982 Topolski’s Chronicle, ‘Nazi Revival’, Vol. 8, Is. 1-2, 1960 HEY READERS, THANK YOU for opening the Chartbook email. I hope it brightens your day. I enjoy putting out the newsletter, but tbh, what keeps this flow going is the generosity of those readers who clicked the subscription button. Photo by Jakub Dziubak on Unsplash If you are persuaded to click, please consider the annual subscription of $50. It is both better value for you and a much better deal for me, as it involves only one credit card charge. Why feed the payments companies if we don’t have to. Subscribe Grim vision of drone warfare by Sylvie Kaufmann For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe The state of the art in Colbert-studies. Jean-Baptiste Colbert was Louis XIV chief minister from 1661 to 1683 and traditionally seen as an architect of absolutism and mercantilism. Alexander Hamilton later cited him as an inspiration in 1782. Now his legacy is disputed. Daniel Dessert, the chief critic, sees Colbert as the orchestrator not so much of an absolutist state as of an elite cabal. Would be great to have a good English-language review of this important debate. Source: lhistoire Didn’t know that the Magna Carta included free trade provisions Fighting for the right to the beach in Oregon in 1967: Source: Research Gate RAF Station – British and Polish Flags, c. 1940-45, The Ingram Collection Feliks Topolski, 1907-1989 ink and wash If you’ve scrolled this far, you know you want to click: Subscribe
The Political Truths of Harold Bloom's Literary Friendship
The private letters of famed literary critic Harold Bloom offer an ethical guide for politics.
Health Alert: U.S. Embassy in Rwanda (May 23, 2026) - U.S. Embassy in Rwanda
Health Alert: U.S. Embassy in Rwanda (May 23, 2026) Health Alert: U.S. Embassy in Rwanda (May 23, 2026) Location: Rwanda, countrywide Event: Entry and Exit Requirements Due to the Ebola outbreak, Rwanda has implemented new entry and exit requirements. On May 22, 2026, the Ministry of Health of Rwanda announced that all foreign nationals who have traveled to, or transited through, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) within 30 days of their travel to Rwanda will be denied entry. Rwandan nationals and foreign residents with valid proof of residency in Rwanda can enter and are subject to mandatory quarantine procedures. Travel to the U.S. Review the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) information on what travelers need to know about returning to the United States from DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan. Actions to Take: Do not travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Monitor the Ministry of Health of Rwanda webpage for local updates. If you are planning to travel to the United States, contact your airline to confirm your flight and route. Review the CDC webpage on the Ebola Current Situation. Review Consular Information for Americans Regarding the Ebola Outbreak. Review the CBP webpage for information on entry restrictions Notify friends and family of your safety. Have a plan to depart in case of emergency. Have travel documents up to date and easily accessible. Review the CDC Travelers’ Health Page for Rwanda. Continue to take malaria prophylaxis as recommended, as the symptoms of malaria can mimic symptoms of Ebola, leading to preventable health scares. Monitor your health for 21 days following travel in an area with an Ebola outbreak. If at risk for Ebola, alert your healthcare provider if you are experiencing symptoms consistent with Ebola to receive guidance prior to presenting for care. Review the Department of State’s Rwanda Travel Advisory for general health information. Refer to the U.S. Embassy’s list of medical providers. Check with your travel insurance provider about medical evacuation options should you fall ill while overseas. Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive safety and security updates. Assistance: U.S. Embassy Kigali, Rwanda 30 KG 7 Avenue (Kacyiru) +250-252-596-400 ACSKigali@state.gov https://rw.usembassy.gov State Department – Consular Affairs 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444 Rwanda Country Information Enroll in Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security updates. Follow us on Facebook and X
Foreigners in U.S. must apply for green cards abroad, new Trump administration rule says
The announcement from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is the latest step by the Trump administration making legal immigration more difficult for foreigners already in the U.S. and for those hoping to come here.
How 'The Boys' Became a Satire on Donald Trump
The series has been the most on-the-nose fictional take on Trumpism so far.
Anti-immigrant protests flare up in South Africa
Authorities have removed hundreds of foreign nationals from a church centre in Durban after days of tension linked to anti‑migrant campaigns. The incident comes amid renewed episodes of xenophobic violence in South Africa.
Confirmed: Pep Guardiola to leave Manchester City
Manchester City Confirm Pep Guardiola Summer ExitManchester City head coach Pep Guardiola will step down this summer, bringing one of English football’s defining managerial reigns towards a major co...
Trump, Inequality Threaten Global Health Efforts
U.S. dysfunction is undercutting attempts at equality.
Report: NIH, NASA Restrict Co-Authoring With Foreign Scientists
The National Institutes of Health and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration are targeting collaborations between U.S. scientists and foreign researchers, Science reports.
Enhanced Ebola Airport Screening Begins at Washington-Dulles International Airport
Suspended entrance to US for foreign nationals who were in the DRC, Uganda, or South Sudan
Overwatch Lead Is Glad People Were Mad They Killed Off Doomfist
Doomfist was ‘defeated’ at the beginning of the year
Foreign business owners face frantic scramble to leave Japan amid tiger visa rules
Stricter criteria for the business manager visa has left many owners, some of whom have been in Japan for decades, out in the cold.
Two brothers raised $12m for an OpenClaw competitor
NanoClaw's enthusiastic users include AI researcher Andrej Karpathy and Singapore's foreign minister.
Mace targets Squad Dem with proposed constitutional ban on foreign-born lawmakers
Rep. Nancy Mace proposes expanding the natural-born citizen requirement beyond the presidency to Congress, federal judges and cabinet appointees.
Germany Politics
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul attends the cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
As Cape Cod businesses gear up for summer, visa delays are holding up seasonal workers
The J-1 visa program brings some 5,000 foreign student workers to the Cape each summer. But State Department officials have reduced staff, prioritized other visas for the World Cup, and are even scrutinizing applicants' social media accounts. This is putting both workers and businesses in limbo ahead of tourist season.
Scientists were wrong about this “rule-breaking” particle
Scientists spent decades chasing signs of a mysterious new force hidden inside the muon, one of nature’s strangest particles. But after years of supercomputer calculations, researchers discovered the apparent anomaly was likely a calculation error — and the Standard Model still reigns supreme.
Business Valuation in Divorce: Judicial Discretion Reigns
Alan Feigenbaum discusses how a recent New York divorce case involving the valuation of a family-owned construction business underscores the broad discretion courts have in determining business value and the importance of expert credibility and “economic reality” in equitable distribution disputes.
Lebanon and Syria reshape ties amid Israeli attacks and regional shifts
Damascus and Beirut focus on sovereignty and cooperation, moving away from decades of Syrian dominance over Lebanon.
Hungary’s Magyar kicks off his first foreign trip as prime minister to ally Poland
Hungary's new prime minister, Péter Magyar, is visiting Poland, a traditional ally that can offer plenty of lessons on political transformation and restoring democratic norms | WBBM Newsradio 780 AM & 105.9 FM
High school athlete slams CIF's shared podium rule as humiliating response that fails female competitors
Trans athlete AB Hernandez dominated CIF Southern Section girls' track finals, reigniting debate over California's transgender sports policies.
Ebola and hantavirus have African leaders talking 'health sovereignty' as donor support fades
A new Ebola outbreak in Congo and Uganda is highlighting Africa's struggle with reduced international aid.
There Is a Solution to the Global Health Care Crisis
Cuts in foreign aid have been devastating. Countries have a window to step in and craft plans for success.
China Politics
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi, center, looks on as diplomats and staff members gather for an official group photo following the presentation ceremony for the ministry's Outstanding Diplomat Medal in
China Politics
China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi arrives alongside foreign diplomats for the presentation ceremony of the ministry's Outstanding Diplomat Medal in Beijing, China, Monday, May 18, 2026. (Maxim Shemetov/Pool Photo via
Thailand to Pare 7,000 Business Rules to Lure Foreign Investment
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government plans a sweeping reform of more than 7,000 business regulations, aiming to cut bureaucratic hurdles and accelerate investment as it tries to compete for global capital.
The Aid Report: A shock to the system: Global health after US aid cuts
The abrupt freeze and rollback of US foreign assistance in early 2025 disrupted far more than clinics and medical supply chains.
The hopeful update Chase Rice just shared after stepping away from music this year
Stops at Red Rocks and Stagecoach reignited something in the singer, who says performing made him miss the stage all over again.
Now What? With Carbon Pricing Eroded and Pipeline Politics Advancing, Here Are the Pathways for Climate Success
At the end of a whirlwind week of news on carbon pricing and electricity strategy, capping a madcap year of pretty much non-stop, dramatic change, the word across much of Canada’s climate and energy transition community is that climate policy in this country has been shredded. Eviscerated. Hit with a sledgehammer by policy rollbacks that have pushed the country’s 2050 net zero target “well out of reach”. That means it’s never been more important to look for the rays of hope and glimmers of possibility. To glimpse the seeds of the next set of strategies to get Canada’s climate pollution under control and the country into the accelerating global dash away from fossil fuels. And then, once we’ve spotted those possibilities, get on with the hard, day-to-day slog of trying to make them a reality. Nothing takes away from the frustration and the deep disappointment so many climate and energy hawks are expressing, the sense of betrayal by the author of Value(s) and the former UN special envoy for climate action and finance. But we knew two things as the week drew to a close. We’re looking at the world as it most definitely is. And we don’t get to give up finding the pathways to confront climate change and deliver faster, deeper carbon cuts that leave no one else behind. So really, the first question we all have to ask ourselves is: What’s next? Subscribe All the Oxygen in the Room The outpouring of anger and grief over the carbon pricing deal between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been absolutely understandable. So much of the climate community poured years, more than a decade, into dragging the current federal pricing regime across the finish line, then defending it from a deluge of three-syllable rhymes after the Trudeau government proved utterly incapable of delivering its own message. The policy foisted on us by neo-classical economists took up all the oxygen in the room, burned through years of climate response time that we won’t get back, while cornering climate hawks into the position that the best response to the crisis of our lifetimes is a new tax…in an era of historic anti-tax sentiment. I mean, really—what could possibly have gone wrong? Against that history, let’s appreciate columnist Max Fawcett’s point that even a modest carbon pricing agreement with a government as off-the-wall libertarian/conspiracist as Danielle Smith’s—those adjectives are mine, not Max’s—is a win worth savouring (as long as Smith keeps her promises for a change). But part of living in the world as it is (no, I’m not letting that go) is to be clear-headed about what we can and can’t control. And one thing we get to decide, after seeing this week’s carbon price festivities take up all the oxygen yet again, is whether we want to keep letting that happen. Particularly when success down that road depends on a factor that no one with a climate agenda can control or influence—a provincial carbon pricing mechanism that has been manipulated and eroded beyond its lowest possible denominator. Thankfully, that’s not the way it has to go. Not when we have so many other powerful, practical tools at our disposal, including the ones still available to us through this abominable Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada and Alberta. Tools In Our Toolbox When I started roughing out this list, I didn’t expect it to grow to nearly a dozen bullet points. It’s probably still incomplete. Some of the greatest hits in today’s climate solutions toolbox include: • No Carbon Capture, No Pipeline: On Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney explicitly stated that there’s been no change to the MOU provision that there will be no West Coast pipeline without an industry commitment to build its massive, $16.5-billion carbon capture and storage (CCUS) hub in Northern Alberta, and vice versa. The two megaprojects were joined at the hip when the MOU was signed Nov. 27, and the implementation agreement this week affirmed that they still are. A parade of independent analysts have spent years pointing to the economic and technical flaws in CCUS, while the industry kept postponing its investment decision until it could arm-twist the government for more “clarity” (by which it meant even more lavish taxpayer subsidies) on the project. Now the industry itself is running away from the CCUS hub and insisting the pipeline should proceed without it, but Carney doesn’t seem to be budging from a central tenet of the MOU to which Smith has signed on. • No Subsidies, No Investors: Climate analysts and advocates have quite rightly been hammering away at Carney and his team, insisting that any new capacity the industry wants to build must proceed without new subsidies. The government has responded with a growing collection of funding and financing mechanisms for the very wide menu of industrial development and nation-building projects they say they want to take on, and that menu always includes fossil fuel infrastructure. But it’s hard to see how even the combined fiscal clout of the federal and supportive provincial governments will deliver the financial backing private investors would need when the business case for new fossil fuel development is evaporating before their eyes. Particularly when… • No Market, No Demand, No Investors: As our friend Markham Hislop at Energi Media (our apparently sleepless friend, given the massive volume of great material he’s been churning out) points out this morning, the biggest vulnerability in any pipeline deal is the assumption that Asian buyers will want the oil or liquefied natural ga that our fossil industry is so keen to send them. Hislop writes in part: Ottawa and Alberta are effectively betting that countries like China and India will continue increasing oil imports for decades as their economies grow and energy consumption rises. That assumption underpins the entire economic rationale for expanding oil sands production and building billions of dollars in new export infrastructure. But Asian energy systems are changing rapidly… China, India, South Korea, and other major hydrocarbon importers are now investing hundreds of billions of dollars into electricity systems built around wind, solar, batteries, nuclear, hydro, and expanded transmission infrastructure. Domestic “energy sovereignty” is increasingly replacing the old energy-security model based on stable oil and gas imports. Those investments are expected to sharply slow oil demand growth and eventually reverse it, even as overall energy consumption continues rising. There are also refining constraints. Many Asian refineries and petrochemical complexes are already optimized to process discounted heavy crude from the Middle East and Latin America. That raises serious questions about how much additional Canadian bitumen Asian markets can absorb at profitable prices. Small wonder that there’s still no private sector investor for the project, despite Smith’s government desperately beating the bushes to put together a deal. For now, Alberta is acting as proponent and covering early start-up costs for a pitch to the federal Major Projects Office, which could actually turn into the next tough hurdle for Smith and her pipeline to jump. • Canada Day Looms: How ironic that Canada’s birthday this year could become a major chokepoint for the provincial premier who’s been working so diligently to tear the country apart! The July 1 target date for Alberta’s pipeline proposal is baked into the MOU, was reaffirmed by the implementation plan, but it hadn’t dawned on me that it cuts both ways. As one very smart colleague wrote in an email yesterday, “they’ve thrown the ball into Alberta’s court to get the project proposal on the table really quickly and to have to do a whole pile of work to put together a massive, complicated project that would typically take years to assemble, and they’ve given them weeks to do it.” That makes July 1 a looming deadline that Smith won’t be able to run away from politically, especially with the separatists in her party and her caucus breathing down her neck. (See previous ref to off-the-wall.) But if Alberta comes in with a sloppy, incomplete submission, even after Carney bent over backwards to simplify the application process and the rules that govern it, it may be harder for the province or the industry to blame Ottawa and insist on the faster process they claim their investors are demanding. (Oh, wait—which investors would those be??) • We’ll See You In Court (Then We’ll See You Again): If Carney did cave, that would be just one more reason for Indigenous and other affected communities to take the government and the process to court—Just as Alberta First Nations did, successfully, in response to Smith’s half-baked separation referendum. Veterans of the Harper era have been warning that a shoddy process around fossil fuel infrastructure or other major projects will be a recipe for the very delays that process seeks to avoid. And now more than ever, with renewable energy and energy storage eating fossil fuels’ lunch in import markets around the world, a delayed pipeline or LNG terminal may be as good as a cancelled one. • Charged Up, Ready to Go: With its goal of doubling Canada’s electricity supply to meet a doubling of demand by 2050, the national electricity strategy that Carney unveiled Thursday has a lot to like. With its explicit language about speeding the shift from fuels to more efficient and affordable electricity, global investment and deployment patterns that already favour that shift, an emerging bidirectional power grid, the role of front-line options like rooftop solar and heat pumps, the emergence of electric vehicles as behind-the-meter energy storage, and the domestic jobs and manufacturing to make it all happen, the document doubles down on the essential cornerstone of a faster shift off fossil fuels. The strategy envisions a more prominent role for gas and nuclear power. But some of those provisions were already in the Clean Electricity Regulations that climate hawks are now fighting so hard to defend, inserted as a compromise in a futile attempt to mollify the industry and its political representatives in Alberta and Saskatchewan. But once again, gas will be a tougher sell when it’s more expensive and now so much more unpredictable than the clean alternatives. The new nuclear technologies are still speculative and deeply vulnerable to cost overruns. Increasingly, utilities, developers, and investors know it. Carney declared Thursday that “it doesn’t do us good to be sitting in court all the time with provinces. It doesn’t do us good to be talking past each other. What does do us good is to come together with specific projects.” There are no guarantees, but so much of the language and narrative-building in the electricity strategy suggests the lion’s share of those projects will be renewable. • The Party Has Already Started: The electricity strategy only rarely digs down to specific projects, but provinces representing three-quarters of Canada’s population are already embracing a faster transition. Hydro-Québec is working on a 10-year, $185-billion renewable energy and grid buildout by 2035. Ontario recently brought 10 provinces and territories together in a National Energy Corridor Agreement to boost interprovincial and -territorial transmission infrastructure. And the MOU implementation agreement commits Alberta to facilitate investment in renewable energy projects, a big step back from its continuing, punitive restrictions on renewables development. The electricity strategy envisions much of the financing and infrastructure that will be needed to pull those advances together into an integrated whole. • Delivering on Affordability: The MOU implementation plan has little or nothing to say about affordability (are you surprised?), but the electricity strategy does, with a top-line pledge to reduce home energy costs for seven out of 10 Canadian households by 2050, a total saving of $15 billion across the board. It’s just a start, but it puts affordability on the government’s narrative map. If they’re serious and deliberate about patching together a least-cost energy strategy, it’ll have little if any room for oil, gas, or nuclear—not with powerful evidence, for example, that electricity prices are higher when those prices are set by gas. • Smith Proves that Canada Works: By signing a deal that makes it harder to claim the federal government is blocking a new pipeline, Smith has helped prove Carney’s constant anti-separatist refrain that “Canada works”—incurring the rage, no doubt, of her own political base. Canada also needs to work for anyone who depends on a clean environment, healthy and thriving ecosystems, and safe, stable climate. But with Smith and her separatist constituents setting up as a fifth column for annexation by Donald Trump’s United States, let’s set aside any notion that 51st state status for Canada is a recipe for anything other than climate disaster (and so much else). Resisting and withstanding Trump (just 170 more sleeps until mid-term elections, which is a damn sight better than the 730 we started with) doesn’t mean a free pass for a pipeline, but we can still appreciate it that keeping Canada whole and sovereign is still Carney’s Job One. • The Words Not Spoken: Apart from a commitment to export a million barrels of “low-emission” Alberta bitumen per day (memo to Smith and Carney: You realize that that’s less than the industry is already exporting??), the MOU implementation plan says nothing about the international trade and economic sovereignty deals that Carney has been travelling the world to negotiate. It didn’t have to. Carney doesn’t need permission from Danielle Smith, her American enablers, or her separatist allies to continue building the alliances that will ratchet down our economic dependency on our unstable, unreliable neighbour to the south. But every connection he builds with countries outside North America helps align our economy and our future with a faster shift off fossil fuels. Little if any of this was on our bingo cards a year or two ago. But it’s the pathway that has opened up to us. And if it gives Canada any climate or energy gains at all in an era still dominated by Trump and his increasingly ridiculous tariffs, his loutish trade negotiations and his continuing annexation threats, we have to take the wins. Not least because they’ll be the point of departure for what we can achieve in 2027, 2029, and beyond, as Trump’s grip and this era begin to loosen and then fade. What is Carney Doing? If this line of thought is right—and it’s a possibility, not a prediction—it means that Carney’s actions and decisions are largely about buying time. Time for Trump’s power to wane. Time for Alberta’s separatist/conspiracist virus to spread, mutate, die out, or at least die back, with help from a vaccine of federal steadiness and calm (appropriate enough, for a movement populated largely by vaccine deniers) that no conspiracy theory can dismiss. And time for the government’s trade and investment agenda to deliver results—even knowing that some of those results will bring impacts that front-line communities will not and should not accept. In the immediate moment, none of this changes the way the wider climate community has to respond, from campaigners to investors to front-line practitioners. All of our voices are still essential. But those voices will be stronger and more confident if we have a clearer sense of the brutal game we’ve been pulled into, and a plausible path (or two it three) for playing it to the win we need. This conversation also underscores our biggest task for the remaining years of what was supposed to be the “decisive” decade for climate response: if we can shift the energy narrative in Canada, make it a mainstream view that the country’s preoccupation with oil and gas has us falling farther behind a changing world, we’ll see far better results in the 2030s and beyond. For many veteran climate advocates, taking on that part of the fight will begin with recognizing that most of our friends and family, neighbours and colleagues already understand that climate change is real and right in front of us: they’re looking away and staying silent because they don’t have what climate communicator Katharine Hayhoe calls “efficacy”. As Hayhoe recently pointed out in a feature interview with The Energy Mix, it amounts to science denial to keep hammering away at the dire news about global warming without also helping audiences understand what they can do about it, with multiple studies telling us why that won’t work. Far better to open those conversations with the dominant crises like energy security, food security, emergency preparedness and business continuity, affordability, and financial security that have knocked climate change far lower on the list of public priorities, and will likely keep it there. We Knew This Would Happen Climate hawks have always known this day would come. For decades, we warned that everyone had to pay attention to climate change right now, because it would be much tougher to respond once the crisis itself started affecting our daily lives. We were right, and here we are. But now, thanks to decades of hard work, communities and countries have an alternative to doubling down on fossil fuels. “In 10 years everyone will have ‘always known’ that solar and batteries were going to win,” Morgan Solar Executive Chair Mike Andrade writes on LinkedIn. With the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz roiling energy priorities around the world, Canada and the United States are among the shrinking number of countries that are still very keen on fossil fuel development. Understanding that gap is a first, essential step in spotting the opportunities ahead, and averting the deep economic as well as environmental and social risk we face if we don’t seize them. Thanks for reading The Energy Mix Weekender! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. Subscribe Mitchell Beer traces his background in renewable energy and energy efficiency back to 1977, in climate change to 1997. Now he and the rest of the Energy Mix team scan 1,200 news headlines a week to pull together The Energy Mix and The Energy Mix Weekender. Chart of the Week BYD Eyes 20 Dealership Locations After Canada Greenlights Chinese EV Imports ‘Sledgehammer’ Carbon Price Deal Boosts Emissions by 230Mt, Aims for Fall 2027 Pipeline Approval ‘Worse Than Harper’: Regulatory Rollback Would Stop Canada from Assessing Project Impacts, Critics Warn Electricity Strategy Aims for Doubling by 2050, Allows ‘Flexibility’ for Gas Power Plants Opposition Mounts as O’Leary’s Data Centre Approved in Drought-Stricken Utah Diluted Carbon Price Misses ‘Reality of the World We’re In’, Could Impede Diversified Trade: Climate Institute $200B in Clean Energy Investment Will Need On-Time Delivery, Reliable Policies, Trade Association Says ‘Sovereign Pipeline’: CEO Pitches to Keep Trans Mountain in Government Hands What a Supercharged El Niño Could Mean for Canada Canada’s future is electric, and here’s how a power grid superhighway would get us there (Toronto Star) The Perilous Waters of Hecate Strait (Globe and Mail) Saudi Aramco profits jump despite conflict in Middle East (The Guardian) Farmers confront rising cost of fertilizer and fuel as spring seeding under way (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Clarkson forecasts 24% decline in offshore oil, gas capital expenditures (Oil & Gas Journal) Pipe Dreams: How Oil and Gas Fail to Deliver Economic Development in Africa (Oil Change International) Developing countries must hold the pen to script the fossil fuel transition (Climate Home News) Iran war threatens the dream of a post-oil economy in the Gulf (Washington Post) U.S. Oil, Gas Work Force Hits Lowest Level Since 2022 (Rigzone) Why Polestar Is Doubling Down on Net Zero as Rivals Pull Back on EVs (Bloomberg) Why this Michigan utility plans to sell its hydro dams for $13 (E&E News/Politico) Levees can no longer save New Orleans (Vox)
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Chartbook 449: Voldemort on Threadneedle street. The Bank of England and the "haunted house" of English politics.
Imagine the scene: In some Harry Potter version of 21st-century London, a group of deathless UK Treasury officials gathered from across the last century huddle over warm pints and glasses of Chardonnay. Around the table there are officials from the 1920s, the 1930s, the 1970s, 2022 and today. Inevitably, in May 2026, the subject of conversation is the disintegration of the current Labour government. Despite its huge majority in parliament, it has been reduced to tatters by catastrophic local election result. These exposed the fact that rather than having a government with a clear popular majority, the UK is like most other modern societies divided into 5 segments each of which commands between 26 and 16 percent of the vote. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the leadership at Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street - where the Prime Minister and the Chancellor (Treasury Secretary) work - seem paralyzed. They are caught between mounting discontent over unfairness and the cost of living, and tough fiscal strictures that push them into making unpopular spending decisions. In the London pub, the Treasury officials from across the ages, can barely hide their satisfaction at the latest display of democratic politics caught in the vice-grip of financial logic. “Remember the mur d’argent and the banker’s ramp?” “Just like yesterday!” There are smirks around the table. Then the representative of 2026 pipes up: “One thing you have to say about the current lot (referring to the latest hapless Labour government), you don’t have to teach them about the bond market!” There is a murmur of ascent from the Treasury Mandarins. The trauma of the fiscal crisis of September-October 2022 sits deep. Back then, in the final stages of Tory decay, a ‘mini budget’ that challenged fiscal orthodoxy led to a brief but fierce panic in one of the oldest government bond markets in the world (aka gilt market). Now all you have to do is to mention the “bond market” to hush debate. [ Paul Mason@paulmasonnews In the name of public service, and as ex-economics editor of BBC Newsnight, I offer to do a zoom call, tonight, with any Labour MP who wants to understand why bond markets do not "fall into line" with governments. 1/ 3:57 PM · May 12, 2026 · 466K Views 224 Replies · 674 Reposts · 3.93K Likes ](https://x.com/paulmasonnews/status/2054229532404519082?s=20) “And the funny thing is”, the young man in the huddle continues, “they don’t even want to talk about … ”. There is a sudden hush. Significant looks are exchanged around the table. About? One of the senior figures puts down his glass with a decisive “clink”. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has entered their thoughts. Meanwhile, a few miles away in a grubby pub in Bloomsbury, two conspirators from the camp of Critical Macrofinance huddle over cans of low-alcohol IPA. They look at each other and blurt out loud: “The Bank!” “Everyone in the bloody Labour party is talking about the bond market. But why aren’t they even mentioning … the Bank of England!?” “Why is no one talking about Voldemort?” In Paul Mason’s blogpost, after much chest-thumping about basic fiscal logic, the basic point about the Bank of England is buried in the fine print at #3 in his list of suggestions as to what a radical Labour government might actually be able to do! [ Conflict & Democracy Down with the bond market! Down with gravity! It may seem unfair to focus on Labour MP Paula Barker for her off-the-cuff assertion that the bond market would have to “fall in line” with Andy Burnham, should he replace Keir Starmer as prime minister. But Burnham himself told the New Statesman that Labour had to “get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets… Read more 2 days ago · 100 likes · 3 comments · Paul Mason ](https://htsf.substack.com/p/down-with-the-bond-market-down-with?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) Back in Bloomsbury they shake their heads and ask: “Didn’t we learn anything from the Eurozone crisis?” Meanwhile, as if summoned to the conversation by some higher force, the “pink pages” announce: “The days of ultra-cheap government borrowing have come to an end” and Martin “Whizzard” Wolf publishes the graph of the season Look at the UK in 2026, perilously positioned on the upper edge of the pack. No wonder no one in London needs any lessons about the “bond market”. But, look again. Imagine how they feel in Rome. What is London’s nightmare in 2026? The nightmare is that you end up like Italy in the early 2010s during the Eurozone crisis. Once comfortably situated in the middle of the pack, watching with horror as your ten-year yields explode to 7 percent and “spreads” become a national nightmare. One of the largest economies in Europe, a founding member of the euro, stigmatized. But the message of the Italian experience is ambiguous. After all, the stigma didn’t last. In 2026, Italy borrows at rates lower not only than the UK but the US. The US, which, as everyone knows, enjoys the “exorbitant privilege” of being the issuer of reserve, safe asets. What kind of magic is this? How did Italy, in the space of fifteen years, go from being good, to bad and back again? Which brings us back to our dissident friends in their Bloombury boozer and their memories of the Eurozone crisis. Italy never was Britain - with its ongoing fiscal deficits. Without interest payments, on primary balance, from 2000 to 2020 Italy ran a tight fiscal ship. Even in 2008 it barely went into deficit and when it was being put on the rack in the early 20210s its primary surplus matched that of austere Germany. So, what happened? How did it end up stigmatized? Of course Italian politics didn’t help. Berlusconi was at the helm and he had legal issues. But amongst friends in the Bloomsbury pub, Berlusconi is a sideshow, the name we whisper to each other is “Trichet”. From 2004 to 2011 the ECB was headed by Jean-Claude Trichet, ex of the French Treasury, more German than the Germans. After 2009 as the news of the Greek fiscal disaster broke, the European bond markets wento into panic mode and Trichet began a brutal game of cat and mouse. Between 2009 and 2011, Trichet intervened in the bond market to help, only when he thought he had compliance with austerity. When he thought they were uncooperative, he withdrew. In the summer of 2011, he even made direct suggestions to his Italian counterparts in Rome, as to how Italy should be governed. It was this cat and mouse game that drove the bond markets crazy and exposed Italy to a violent squeeze. When Mario Draghi took over the ECB at the end of 2011 and declared “whatever it takes”, the pressure on Italy, gradually eased. It is that starring role that has made Draghi into the towering figure in European politics that he remains today. So now you see why voices in London hush when it comes to the Bank of England. “The bond market” isn’t an irresistible objective force like the weather or an avalanche. It can appear like that. But that depends on the way it is being handled, or not handled by the central bank. Which is why the silence about the Bank of England in London right now is so significant. If you think this all sounds a bit fishy, coming from a left-liberal Keynesian like myself, well, let me introduce you to Robin Brooks, who, to put it mildly, plays on a different quidditch team to me. Here, from the position of a fiscal hawk is Robin’s celebratory account of the Bank of England’s role since 2022; In October 2022, at the height of the bond market blow-up in the UK, something incredible happened. Governor Andrew Bailey told British pension funds the Bank of England would end its support program for the country’s fragile gilt market, drawing a line under how much help the central bank was willing to give to exposed pension funds and - implicitly - the government. By the end of that week, Kwasi Kwarteng - the finance minister - had resigned. Prime Minister Liz Truss would soon follow. This episode is so incredible because it contrasts with what happened in the Euro zone earlier that year. Bond markets in Spain and Italy were under pressure amid high inflation and rising interest rates. In the middle of this, Mario Draghi - Italy’s Prime Minister - resigned, compounding pressure on bond markets of high-debt countries on the Euro periphery. Unlike the Bank of England, the ECB caved. It bought Italian and Spanish government bonds in an effort to cap yields and introduced a new tool that signaled to markets it might do such caps more frequently going forward. Faced with pressure on bond markets, the ECB capitulated to political pressure from high-debt countries like Italy and Spain. The Bank of England stood its ground and toppled the Truss government. This kind of thing has long-lasting consequences. It means markets price a higher probability of yield caps in the Euro zone, which keeps Italian and Spanish yields artificially low, while markets feel free to push up UK yields without fear of central bank intervention. As I flagged in yesterday’s post, this means you really can’t compare UK yields to those of other high-debt countries. The UK looks worse, but only because its central bank isn’t interfering with markets. There’s more to this than just that 2022 episode. The Bank of England has also been much more aggressive in its quantitative tightening (QT) than other central banks. If one motivation for quantitative easing (QE) is to lower bond yields - especially longer-dated ones - then it stands to reason QT pushes yields up. The left chart above shows a four-quarter moving average of UK government debt issuance (black line) in percent of GDP and which sectors absorb this issuance, including the Bank of England (blue bars). The right chart above compares the Bank of England’s accumulation or run-off of government bonds (blue line) with that of other central banks, where this blue line is the same as the blue bars in the left chart. The Bank of England was quicker and more aggressive than other central banks in downsizing its bond holdings, so UK yields will have risen more than elsewhere also for this reason, not just because of Governor Andrew Bailey’s remarks in October 2022. Back in October 2025, after a conversation in New York with friends in British politics, my sense of dysphoria was such that I raised the issue of the Bank of England openly in the FT Since 2008, the UK has slid into a deep economic and political predicament. Growth has stagnated to a degree far worse even than in the 1970s. The Tory leadership’s wager on the Brexit referendum spectacularly backfired, leaving the UK isolated from Europe and at the mercy of its special relationship with the US, many of whose political class regard the UK as a basket case. After years of austerity, the Labour party lurched to the left and then back to the centre. The Tory party has been eclipsed by the populist nationalism of Reform. Any British government should be worrying first and foremost about how to restart growth. Instead, Keir Starmer is beset by shades of the gilt market panic triggered by the Liz Truss government in 2022. The debt level is higher than in recent years, but there is no cause for panic. UK debt is at far from critical levels and of long duration. Whether you want to “take back control” or launch progressive economic policy, a democracy dogged by fear of bond market vigilantes is unhealthy. In a country that is a monetary sovereign, this climate points to one thing: a disconnect between the government and the central bank. Since 1997, the independence of the Bank of England has become a sacred cow. But independence is what you make of it. And in the wake of the gilt market crisis of September 2022, relations between the Bank of England and the UK government need a reset. In normal times, there is no doubt that an inflation-targeting independent central bank can serve a country well. But since 2008, the UK and other advanced economies have not had the luxury of such simple problems. To their credit, central bankers around the world have not stood on orthodoxy. After 2008, the US Federal Reserve rescued the global banking system and, through quantitative easing, it stabilised the Treasury market in the face of huge deficits. In Europe, things were trickier. Both the Bank of England under Mervyn King and Jean-Claude Trichet’s European Central Bank played cat and mouse with national governments. This was a high stakes wager that between 2010 and 2012 escalated bond market tension and triggered a disastrous turn to austerity. Shaken by the impact of those shocks, their successors, Mark Carney and Mario Draghi adopted a more protective stance (assuming you were not the government of Greece). Recall that Draghi’s legendary slogan, “Whatever it takes”, was uttered to face down the City of London’s bond vigilantes. In 2015, Draghi launched QE — financial repression by another name. In 2016, Carney used the authority of the Bank of England to stabilise markets following the vote for Brexit, an exemplary demonstration of how central banks can underpin democratic choice, even when those choices are wrong headed. All these were independent central bankers steeped in the best practice of the 1990s, who recognised that historic crises demanded radical action. It was the price surge of 2021-2023 that poisoned the atmosphere. Though the shock came mainly from the supply side, central banks ended up in the dock. Nowhere more so than in the UK. The Bank of England reacted with aggressive normalisation. Faced with a cost of living crisis, the governor called for workers to accept real wage cuts. In early 2022, as gas prices were at record levels and Russia’s army was poised to invade Ukraine, the Bank adopted a stringent programme of quantitative tightening, elevating interest rates. When the Truss government got itself in trouble, the Bank took almost a week to come to the rescue. Rather than enacting a charade of normality, it is time to recognise that in 2025 the UK faces a period of historic transition. To meet this challenge, what is needed is a new concordat with the Bank. This should not ignore inflationary pressures or the long-run trajectory of debt, but should affirm the priority of reviving investment-led growth. One could follow Donald Trump in demanding interest rate cuts. The Bank could shadow the ECB in its commitment to capping Eurozone yields. But the top priority should be to lay the ghost of September 2022. The Bank’s slowing of QT last month was a concession. An immediate and complete end would send the right signal. Such a concordat will not by itself restore sanity to politics, solve the housing problem or rebuild the NHS. But it would help to lift the fear of bond market crisis, which is paralysing the effort by democratic politicians to answer the fundamental questions facing the nation. Now, that call for a new concordat between government and Bank of Englands seems more urgent than ever. The problem is that in October 2025, Starmer still had some authority. Today the government is in tatters. And when you are the “under the harrow” - to echo a phrase of Montagu Norman’s from the 1920s - it is the worst possible time to consider institutional change. To make general arguments at a time of crisis can only seem like special pleading rather than a general argument for long-term change. The same, unfortunately, is also true for the other basic institutional reform that Britain urgently needs i.e. the abolition of the out-dated first past the post electoral system and its replacement by a moderated form of proportional representation. And thirdly - whilst we are saying the quiet parts out loud - Britain needs to reopen the question of EU membership. What the local election results of 2026 show is that this remains a key issue. And what they also show is that there is a clear majority that would favor a return. Until these basic features of Britain’s political economy are addressed the country will carry on its politics as though in a haunted house, governed by governments that lack actual majorities, conjuring up false constraints whilst ignoring the real ones. This one is for DG and MI. I love writing the newsletter. If you enjoy it too and fancy buying me a coffee once a month, you know what to do. Click below! Subscribe
Rep Jayapal defends outreach after Cuba trip drew conspiracy allegations, death threats
Rep. Pramila Jayapal says she has received death threats after revealing she spoke with foreign ambassadors during a congressional trip to Cuba.