Nothings too good for the working class.

Vickers and David Aikman (head of @niesrorg.bsky.social ) note rightly that lobbying from the financial sector should have been resisted. Worryingly, the Bank is dismissive but offers no economic rationale that holds water www.ft.com/content/4f15...

“I have been calling this the Turner curve and drawing it on napkins to explain to my friends.” open.substack.com/pub/josgalla...

Beyond a certain point more financial services stop being a benefit to the economy and become a drag. #EconSky open.substack.com/pub/josgalla...

Good afternoon

let thine eye look like a friend on Denmark.

📢 Starting today, the #TooMuchFinance conference explores evidence that bigger finance doesn’t mean better outcomes. Experts at LSE will discuss how oversized financial sectors affect growth, inequality, and policy. Find out more: bit.ly/3Z99xIX

I’ve updated this #playlist. open.spotify.com/playlist/46u...

I would not have guessed that this would be how capital controls would arrive to America…

I’ve updated this #playlist. open.spotify.com/playlist/46u...

US Stock Market waiting to open

I appreciate @kevinclimate.bsky.social's thought experiment regarding this.

“Starmer should not be afraid to pick a fight to get things done” Indeed, but not with his own side, as Conservative commentators want. He should fight the unaccountable and powerful finance chiefs whose rent seeking is holding back the economy. www.ft.com/content/2851...

At the museum.

The long year of the dog is drawing to a close. #CodyfromAndalucia is going to a better place (North Berwick). Here are a few memories.

Government of the City, for the City by the City. www.ft.com/content/8d9a... UK to exclude financial services from push for closer EU alignment

I’ve tabled in Parliament a further Early Day Motion calling on David Lammy, as the Secretary of State for Justice, to engage with the legal representatives of the pro Palestinian activists on hunger strike & whose health has seriously deteriorated. Urge your MP to sign EDM 2573

What is the western hemisphere? I know the northern hemisphere and I know the southern hemisphere but where is the western hemisphere? Perhaps Winnie the Pooh could organise an Expotition to find the West Pole. #WinnieThePooh

Callous the extreme.

Yet another huge contract, awarded without any competitive bidding process, to Wes Streeting's favourite NHS supplier, the Hard Right US surveillance tech specialists Palantir, for military decision making capability.

“Taxes will need to rise before next UK election, economists predict” When did #economics become a branch of soothsaying? www.ft.com/content/bdf5...

2/3 The fact that academic economists continue to insist that trade surpluses are simply an expression of comparative advantage shows not only how little they understand comparative advantage, but also how little they know about the world outside.

Blame the spark not the kindling.

I understand Soros’s idea of “reflexivity” differently from Coggan, but Pettis is right about Minski’s idea and how well it fits today’s conditions. #EconSky

Perhaps it’s time to start making the positive case for a smaller population.

We all know this but it is good to be reminded. Finance changed after the GFC but not reformed. The risk is still there. www.ft.com/content/c1a2... Year in a word: cockroaches

What I always hear: “We can’t afford to pay our workers more than $15 an hour.” What I never hear: “We can’t afford to pay our CEO millions of dollars a year.” Funny how that works.

"One major question, going into 2026, is which party will speak for the Americans who abhor the incursions of AI into their lives and want to see its reach restricted. Another is whether widespread public hostility to [AI] even matters given all the money behind it." - @michellegoldberg.bsky.social

Is there a tipping point where the masses realise that the new aristocracy has no God-given right to their extreme wealth and power and organise to take back the riches of the Earth for the benefit of all?

I mention this because I am interested in the stagnation of productivity the UK. Could it be that a financial sector that takes up 9% of GDP is just too big; that it is well past the optimal point on the Turner Curve? #EconSky

I think we should call this the Turner Curve. A larger financial sector is beneficial only up to a point, after which it adds nothing but takes resources from the the rest of the economy.

I think we should call this the Turner Curve. A larger financial sector is beneficial only up to a point, after which it adds nothing but takes resources from the the rest of the economy.

“few economists are capable of thinking about trade except in terms of models that implicitly assume balanced trade”

Is there a tipping point where the masses realise that the new aristocracy has no God-given right to their extreme wealth and power and organise to take back the riches of the Earth for the benefit of all?

www.ft.com/content/6a95... Year in a word: Tipping point

Good morning

The striking thing about this sentence in an FT opinion piece is the writers assumption not only that liberalism is a Good Thing but also that all right thinking FT readers share this belief. Clearly I do not belong to that tribe.

Any forecasts for the biggest financial event of 2026? #EconSky www.ft.com/content/0ae9... Tech groups shift $120bn of AI data centre debt off balance sheets

This is well observed. The subscription model is yet another way technology and market power are intertwined. #EconSky www.ft.com/content/3ac8... Subscription overload is exhausting Americans

The more interesting essay question would be “ is Christmas good for the economy?” #EconSky www.ft.com/content/fa98... Is Christmas as good for the UK economy as it used to be?

I was sitting in the hall when this speech was made and the same thought went through my head. As it did when Mr Lammy then Mr Streeting made their comments.

Economic targets like growth and debt are results of investment and innovation—exactly what missions create. They shouldn’t be goals in themselves. 2/3

🤑Thames Water creditors are haggling with Ofwat. 💩They want permission to pollute our waters until 2040. 😡But we've had a year of reasons why Ofwat should just say NO. Take 2 minutes to email Ofwat and tell them to reject the outrageous deal. #OFWATsayNO vist.ly/4jdfb

This is correct. Lenders are sophisticated financial players who know about risk. They made the decision to lend to the company fully aware of the state it’s in. When companies fail owners and bondholders lose money. That’s how it works. It’s not for taxpayers or customers to bail them out!

This is correct. Lenders are sophisticated financial players who know about risk. They made the decision to lend to the company fully aware of the state it’s in. When companies fail owners and bondholders lose money. That’s how it works. It’s not for taxpayers or customers to bail them out!

The sun rises later here.

Tomorrow will be brighter.