See my FT letter on the MPs' pension scheme - junk bond holdings and undisclosed investment management costs

My letter in today's Sunday Times on Jeremy Hunt's pension

Just to be clear: - Paracetamol does not cause autism. - Sadiq Khan is not introducing Sharia law in the UK - We do not have a massive free speech problem here. - Britain is not on the verge of civil war. These are not controversial subjects or contested, they're just not true.

"Flagging"

What’s gone wrong for WHSmith? on.ft.com/4lHE0H8

The stronger likelihood is that this summit is more likely to be the geopolitical equivalent of a loud farting noise that causes much embarrassment before everyone moves on

Extraordinary that anyone gives creedence to Osborne’s views on economics. Clearly thinks he knows more than Bailey about financial stability.

I have just had to verify my age for DMs here...

As Stephen Yaxley Lennon's public profile continues to rise, so do the chances of this Graham Keyes cartoon coming true each time TRB goes out on tour...

See p12 of PrivateEye HP sauce on Rachel Reeves Mansion House Speech. My contribution on Alastair King's claims about the wonders of private equity = his numbers were "the usual wishful thinking from people who want to charge retail investors an arm and a leg".

Just been on Times Radio with Kate McCann talking about increasing the SPA, getting rid of the Triple Lock and public sector pensions

On the 36th anniversary of Mel Blanc's passing, a classic. The time he went on Letterman in 1982. Within a minute, he did not disappoint.

"If Rachel ReevesMP wants to risk our pensions, she should start with her own" telegraph.co.uk/money/pensions… See my latest Telegraph piece on TPRgovuk conflict of interest in last week's newly minted regulatory policy

Dressing up or giving up? The heatwave trials of commuter clothing https://on.ft.com/3GdMWW3 | opinion

On June 21, 1948, Columbia Records introduced the long-playing (LP) record album at a press conference held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City.

Buried deep in the BBC iplayer is this gorgeous film with Martin Scorsese talking about Powell and Pressburger. His commentary is beautiful, insightful and really moving. Recommend it. www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/epis...

theguardian.com/business/2025/jun/07/pensions-report-cuts-rachel-reeves-planned-growth-funds-from-160bn-to-11bn?CMP=share_btn_url @theguardian.com article based on my analysis on behalf of PIC. See my quotes

"Hello darkness, my old friend"

telegraph.co.uk/money/pensions/state-pensions/reforms-attack-public-sector-pensions-doesnt-far-enough/ See my latest piece, on MPs' pensions with name checks to Rachel Reeves, Dame Meg Hillier, Dame Harriet Baldwin , @richardtice.bsky.social @nigelfarage1.bsky.social

EVERYONE should read this

Didn't you have 5 years as pensions minister to tackle this problem?

Fact-check: no they won’t, no they aren’t, no it won’t and no it isn’t.

At this point Steve Witkoff at meetings with Putin comes across as one of those socially desperate hedge fund billionaires willing to pay 10 million dollars for Beyonce to sing at their nephew's wedding

FT comment section still undefeated:

The problem with wealth taxes - on.ft.com/4iqdSyX via @FT very interesting by @philipcoggan.bsky.social As I have said before, the BMA has a de facto veto on pension tax policy - many of their members have very large public sector pensions - so no government will ever levy a wealth tax on pensions

Worth a read if you have the FT - be wary of claims that shares always outperform the long run

Are equities ‘always’ better in the long term? - on.ft.com/4i8VKt6 My latest FT piece. "Why won't firms pushing the "equities always outperform in the long run" mantra put their money where there mouth is, & offer a cheap guaranteed equity product?

"We do not base our choice on the goodness of democracy, which may be doubtful, but solely on the evilness of a dictatorship, which is certain."

After Howard Lutnick claims uninhabited islands may be used to get round Trump tariffs, evidence emerges that Heard Island penguins are disguising themselves as chickens to escape tax

@ppf.co.uk vows to invest more in ‘juicy’ UK assets ft.com/content/2f23... @ppf.co.uk again glosses over exactly how it would "consolidate" private sector DB schemes in deficit. Piece by @marymcd.bsky.social

🔥 🔥 🔥 www.ft.com/content/47c2...

The biggest tariff hike in about 80-90 years. Presented in the style of a low budget game show. Just absolutely insane.

The generally bonkers nature of the announcement, absurd history, random selection of numbers, and bizarre future visions add up to the picture of an administration totally divorced from economic reality.

BTW let's just be clear that these numbers are utterly made up, adding in all sorts of random stuff. By these calculations the EU charges the US 4x the tariffs that Brazil does. Not "reciprocal" in any way whatsoever.

French far-right leader Marine Le Pen has been banned from standing for office for 5 years with immediate effect and sentenced to jail after being convicted of embezzling EU funds the court ruling is likely to block her from running in the 2027 presidential election www.ft.com/content/ad5d...

Pinched from @linkedin.com

Excellent thread by @danneidle.bsky.social Thanks Dan!

However the new anti-avoidance proposals are excellent, and should be welcomed by everyone who wishes to see the tax avoidance industry ended.

Russell Brand posted and then deleted a completely fake document which he thought was from the newly released JFK files and proved British actress Penelope Keith, not Lee Harvey Oswald, killed JFK.

A scenario where Trump, Patel and Hegseth find pretexts to send in loyal feds and SOF (Bortac and Seals for a start) to depose and arrest Pritzker, Whitmer or Hochul in defiance of the courts is an underpriced risk. Imagine an armed standoff between loyal state-level forces and the federal level

The “speed at which they’ve operated” is down to ignoring or actively destroying laws and institutions. This is real “say what you will about Mussolini, but he made the trains run on time” territory. Very concerning that a leadership figure would consider this an appropriate thing to say in public.

Michael Caine is 91 On choosing his name: ‘I was in Leicester Square on the phone to my agent who said I had to change my name. I looked around at the cinemas & saw The Caine Mutiny & I loved Bogey so I chose that. If I looked the other way it would’ve been Michael 101 Dalmatians.’

Good advice of course but how ridiculous that the government continues to allow and even encourage these tax schemes based on a fiction. www.pinsentmasons.com/en-gb/out-la...

thetimes.com/business-money/companies/article/reach-plc-to-pay-255m-more-into-plundered-pension-fund-xj2jbdt3g See my quote

telegraph.co.uk/business/2025/03/11/robert-maxwell-fraud-haunts-mirror-publisher-pension-cash/ See my quote

#TrumpsEconomicsAdvisor 🫣😅💩