Breaking news: With more than 70% of the votes counted, Péter Magyar’s Tisza party is projected to win a two-thirds majority in Hungary's election ft.trib.al/a7M8jyZ

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The riches of Viktor Orbán’s home village [FREE TO READ] Hungary’s longtime leader is trailing in the polls ahead of April’s election, as the opposition alleges widespread corruption

Perhaps now is a good time to share the @financialtimes.com investigative series on Viktor Orban. To start with here’s the one we sent a reporter up in a plane for … (300 free clicks)

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🇭🇺 Polymarket gives Péter Magyar a 97% chance of becoming Hungary’s next PM

Polls suggest Tisza is on course to win, potentially ending Orbán’s 16-year grip on power

Turnout hit a post-Communist record of nearly 78%

FT www.ft.com/content/d02a...

Good there is more attention on the disaster that Orbanomics has been - Hungary has not shared in the economic miracle of CEE.

The Trumpists did not only bet on the weakest economy of Europe, but also on a political force that has no sway in the EU other than occasional obstructionism and delay.

Should Hungarians make a decisive pivot at the ballot box against the odds of a slanted electoral system, they would be better positioned to improve their lot

One striking example — prices have risen 57 per cent cumulatively since 2020 in Hungary, about double the EU rise due to domestic policy

In Hungary, Orbánomics is on the ballot [FREE TO READ] The country’s economic model has stoked inflation and weighed on growth

Viktor Orban’s self-styled illiberal economics model is on the ballot today in Hungary

My verdict in the @financialtimes.com today: the model has been a disaster for Hungarians, who are much poorer as a result

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As with wider Hungarian society and economy, the polls in Hungary have been Orbanised over the last 16 years

Large disconnect between government affiliated polls, showing Orban's party in the lead, and independent polls

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New: US business adoption of Anthropic’s products is closing in on OpenAI even after the Pentagon branded it a supply chain risk in Feb, Ramp data shows

How we gave up on forgiveness What was once seen as a virtue is now viewed as a moral weakness — leaving a society mired in toxicity

Jemima Kelly | How we gave up on forgiveness ft.trib.al/WMyDhbw #FTEdit

One battle after another: Netanyahu’s new security doctrine - a read here www.ft.com/content/6d0e...

UK to receive last tanker of jet fuel from Middle East this week Industry warnings of disruption contrast with government calls for calm

Hilarious how for years serious people have said that you can't rely on renewables because they are prone to disruptions in supply www.ft.com/content/19f1...

Stagflation is back [FREE TO READ] War in Iran threatens to hit growth and confidence, deepen governments’ unpopularity and hurt public finances

as.ft.com/r/0cb6efe1-7... Stagflation is back

How to Win a Trade War, in sea shanty form...

I'm posting this today because @barnesandnoble.com has a special 25% off deal on pre-orders with the code PREORDER25.
Deal runs until tomorrow, so pre-order How to Win a Trade War now!

www.barnesandnoble.com/w/how-to-win...

#BNPreorder

A bar chart showing a shift since 2005: fewer people live in democracies, while autocracies and autocratising countries now account for a much larger share of the world’s population.

A line chart comparing democratic decline across countries. The US shows a faster early drop in democratic standards than peers, outpacing countries like India and Serbia, though Hungary and Turkey see deeper long-term declines.

Democracy is on the brink of a worldwide depression — with the US leading the decline. Civil rights and equality in the land of the free have fallen to the levels of the mid-1960s and freedom of expression is at its lowest since the 1950s.

Read Martin Wolf on #FTEdit 👉 ft.trib.al/ylR5qXv

How the shadow fleet is capitalising on the chaos of war The Iran conflict has offered the illicit oil trade a lifeline — while the easing of US sanctions widens a transatlantic rift

NEW: The net seemed to be tightening around the shadow fleet, but now these ships are ready to capitalise on the chaos of the Iran war and restricted supplies of oil.
ig.ft.com/shadow-fleet/

Hmmmmmmmmm. www.ft.com/content/1171...

Where we are at with markets and Trump - from the latest Unhedged from @robarmstrong.bsky.social and @katie0martin.ft.com as.ft.com/r/53bc8677-7...

Secure Premises Appeal

After my father had been waiting two hours for an NHS ambulance, Hatzola sent one in half an hour. The antisemitic attack on its service will hurt real people. If you can support their campaign to buy new ambulances, please do www.charityextra.com/hatzola-emer...

Reading Socrates in Silicon Valley [FREE TO READ] Self-proclaimed stoics who denounce self-examination only prove the bankruptcy of the tech bro worldview

Yesterday I had a story out about eggs, today I have a column out about Marc Andreessen. Make of that what you will.

as.ft.com/r/14d0d9d8-6... (gift link! 💝)

It's only force majeure if it comes from the Majeure region of France. Otherwise it's just a sparkling shitshow.

Line chart of central bank sentiment score showing the BoE's language has shifted sharply negative this week

Heatmap of mentions of energy prices in central bank announcements and decisions showing the energy shock loomed large in central bank messaging

The Bank of England’s hawkish pivot in language has rattled markets. @financialtimes.com analysis shows it was the largest shift of any major central bank, raising questions about whether it misjudged its tone

Lots of number crunching from me and @joelsuss.ft.com here:
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Ha yes sometimes we like to point out the obvious

The Bank of England was a real outlier with its comms this week, far more hawkish than peers

Language analysis shows a sharp shift in tone from the UK central bank this week

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Mine is up next year 😰

Massive repricing after yesterday: the market now thinks Bank of England will hike rates in the near term

Over 85% chance of one hike by June, 30% probability of back-to-back hikes 😮

congratulations to Viktor Orbán's father on his house, which raises no questions at all as.ft.com/r/e20a43e6-e...

The irrepressible Nigel Farage [FREE TO READ] Ten years after they first had lunch together, ‘the Brexit guy’ tells Henry Mance why the country needs his help once again

Almost exactly ten years ago @henrymance.ft.com had lunch with Nigel Farage www.ft.com/content/864c.... It remains legend. Quite a lot has happened over the subsequent decade so we sent him back in. as.ft.com/r/edeac2c6-0...