Some personal news…

When @washingtonpost.com goes full @theonion.com

Funding warning from Edinburgh University principal Mathieson Sir Peter Mathieson says ministers must act over the future funding model for Scotland's universities.

More money needed, from government or better off students or graduates - pols have to choose: @EdinburghUni principal says it’s not enough to be against tuition fees, warning other universities could face the same battle for survival as Dundee:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

BBC Radio 4 - The Subsea War Douglas Fraser investigates the struggle to defend critical subsea infrastructure.

Where Lobsters Dare: what is Russia up to on the seabed, why, and how to detect and deter it? on @BBCRadio4 and @BBCSounds
#implausibledeniability

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

BBC Radio 4 - Rearming the UK Douglas Fraser asks what it will take to get the UK defence sector on a war footing.

As Sir Keir Starmer boosts UK defence spending, how far is Britain from battle-readiness?
What’s needed? How to procure it? More collabs with EU allies? What to learn from Ukraine and Russia?
I made ‘Re-arming the UK’, for @BBCRadio4, now on @BBCSounds

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

a man in a suit and tie is sitting in a chair with his hands in the air . ALT: a man in a suit and tie is sitting in a chair with his hands in the air .

Lloyds Banking Group results are out. Charlie Nunn, chief executive, said: “We successfully completed the first phase of our ambitious and purpose-driven strategy, exceeding our revenue target and transforming our propositions and capabilities as we returned the business to growth.”

I'm new to Bluesky. This is my first thread here on economy and business related news. I used to fire out such news on another platform. Feedback welcome, particularly if it's friendly.

How to respond? Get close and find pressure points for influence - in the administration and in Congress, while quietly preparing a programme for retaliatory tariffs.
How not to respond? 'Hey, we're over here, Mr President - please don't hit our very important and vulnerable exporters!'

On Chinese technology, which side is he on? On regulation of big tech? On a looming battle with the Trump administration over minimum tax rates on companies with profits from different countries? On the prospect of taking control of Panama Canal or Greenland?...

Sir Keir Starmer has said Britain should not have to choose between the EU and US. But he could well be forced to, as he tries to reset UK-EU relations, today meeting the 27 leaders at a defence-heavy summit...

There could be upsides. If there's a high cost to trade with the US, goods may be available on the global market at a lower cost. But the downsides include the likely pressure on friends and allies to align with the USA on its foreign policy priorities, which could get uncomfortable.

Even with no trade tariffs, UK and others open to trade will suffer consequences, including volatile markets. With a 10% tariff on Canadian oil entering the US, spot markets in oil have pushed up global prices. The US dollar is up as a safe haven and because interest rates are less likely to fall..

Does it matter that the US runs trade deficits with other countries? It does to Donald Trump. Other countries conventionally seek to balance all their exports with all their imports, and not focus on bilateral deficits or surpluses...

POTUS doesn't like EU barriers to US agri and food, nor the unequal approach to cars. Lots of Americans like to buy European cars, but there are barriers to US cars getting into the EU...

That risks undermining one of America's strengths: it has a lot of friends and admirers compared with its global rivals. As that Norwegian minister said, friends expect to be treated reasonably. He said tariffs on EU imports into the US will be 'pretty soon'...

what does it mean for the UK? Nothing yet. When asked, Trump said he likes Sir Keir Starmer, which is the personal and transactional way he sees international affairs. But he clearly doesn't mind tearing up rules and walloping close allies...

... as we learned that they do for the UK and EU car manufacturers. If the intention is to protect US business behind the tariff barriers, many of those that export don't like the protection - they can see what retaliation will mean for US exports...

Expectations are of a steep recession in Canada and Mexico if these tariffs go ahead (they may not, as this is clearly part of a negotiation). Exports to the US are around 20% of Canada's economy and 76% of its total exports...

So with a boost to US inflation, meaning the Fed will use interest rates to get it back towards 2% target, plus reduced profitability in importing companies, stock markets have already started falling. More expected as Monday starts round the world...

Tariffs: a tax on imports as they arrive at the US border and ports. They are paid by importing companies, who then pass on those costs, or some of them, to customers. Costs can also be absorbed through lower profits...

The stated intention is to lower the smuggling into the US of synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and he wants to pressure his neighbours on immigration flows across the border. But the clear underlying intention is to hit those who are successful at selling to Americans...

He may love it less when he sees the likely consequences of 25% tariffs on Canadian and Mexican goods, and 10% on Chinese, with the promise that the EU will face something similar "pretty soon"...

One Norwegian minister: "207 weeks to go, one week down". He was referring to NATO, as it awaits the Donald Trump wrecking ball. Less than 2 weeks in, though, POTUS is focussed on tariffs, a word he loves...

Liking the look of this: Fred Goodwin and the RBS calamity, on stage at the Edinburgh Festival featuring the ghost of Logan Roy.

Trump's Scottish links may bring no special favours The President's vow to use tariffs to protect America could have negative effects on Scotland's economy.

How will Trump 2.0 affect us across the Atlantic? Possibly tariffs, exports, inflation, energy and climate change, and (in)security in Europe:
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

'Ending child poverty remains complex issue for John Swinney' Recent figures suggest a quarter of Scotland's children were living in poverty in the early years of this decade.

Good article by @douglasffraser.bsky.social looking at child poverty which recognises that solving this problem isn't just the responsibility of one part of government, or government alone www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

So here it is, Merry Easter at the Co-op

A late arrival, as usual, and a refugee from the other planet. I nearly failed the 'are you human?' test, and I'm not always as grumpy as that picture indicates.