I am, of course, posting it on social media before 7am whilst vaping.

Will social media addiction go the way of cigarettes? Smoking among the rich has declined dramatically — and digital dependency could follow a similar pattern

Really interesting column.

www.ft.com/content/154d... Will social media addiction go the way of cigarettes?

Just saying.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whitlam...

Should probably give it another year or two.

By my count, it has been 221 days since Mandelson was sacked.
Mandelson was ambassador for 213 days.

V interesting. As I keep saying, economic statistics really matter (& need funding). A state that doesn’t know what’s what (about itself and its oppos) is in trouble.

Honestly, I think it looks too gaudy now.

“I’ve updated the terms of reference for the review”. Sounds furious.

Watching the statement. I think Number Ten sources and I have a different definition of angry.

It’s interesting. The eldest already employs quite a sophisticated approach to expectations management ahead of a school parents’ evening, worthy of a good IR type ahead of quarterly numbers.

“Friends of your father say he is really, really cross”

I think next time I need to tell off one of the kids, I might pre brief it to some journalists.

This is, quite obviously, rubbish.
But more generally - what sort of person thinks this is a good way to sell their increasingly politically contentious new technology to the public and politicians?

Seems to work more along the lines of:
The default is you are flying at a reasonable hour and staying in X hotel. If you’re happy to travel at an unsociable time and/or stay in a worse hotel then we can split the savings 50/50.

Congrats!
Welcome to the world of “always too busy or not busy enough”.

Another mate works for P&G. They have (or had anyway) a great scheme whereby if an employee could book their own flights & hotels for cheaper than the in-work travel agency, they could do that and would be given 50% of the saving in their next pay packet.

I had a mate who used to travel a ridiculous amount for work in the 2010s. Abroad three or four times a month - the US, Asia, Gulf, etc.
And was allowed not only to keep his air miles but to buy his own flights and hotels on an Amex and claim it back.
A stupendously valuable employee benefit.

There is an argument I should sell equity in myself. I think I’m quite countercyclical.

Me: I have too much work this week.
Also me: why yes, I will take a few hours out my Wednesday afternoon to take part in your radio show.

Is it just me or is the IMF data portal materially harder to use than the old WEO database?

I don’t mind airports at all.
Although a large train station is generally a more pleasant place than a large airport. I suppose because a large urban train station is also open to non-travellers.

Also: “missing a flight is fine” is highly correlated, in my experience, with “I am not paying for my own flights”.

We never seem to apply this standard outside of university either.
‘People should be prepared to be shocked and offended whilst at work/out shopping/on the bus’.

Whenever I hear that students should expect to be offended at university I always think of like an accountancy student.

“And now we’ve finished the cash flow statement onto the next section of the course: MEIN KAMPF!!!”

Right. So let's sum up. Private credit is full of cruddy loans issued by companies that couldn't get financed anywhere else, and assembled haphazardly into rattlebags, rather than carefully constructed portfolios, by dealmakers (cosplaying as managers) who get paid to shovel client money out as fast as they can. Consequently, they have concentrated client funds in sectors prone to Al disruption to a stupid degree - loans that were anyway turning sour even before anyone was talking about SaaSpocaplyse (although the industry has swept this under the carpet by restructuring problem loans into PIK loans) - and the juggernaut of insurance capital into the sector has even stopped valuations adjusting to the point where it might become sensible.

🚨 Took a look at Sona Asset Mgmt’s ‘Honest Assessment’ of Private Credit. www.ft.com/content/e57d...

I will occasionally add halloumi to breakfast at home.

A proper buffet breakfast is one of life’s true pleasures and one of my favourite bits of being on holiday.

This is quite fun.
Although obviously there are Partridge-esque ways around this.
“They could try different food layouts or see what happens if plates were 20% smaller, for example”.

So much for the theory. Iran should allow fertiliser to pass through the Strait of Hormuz; America should not blockade urea shipments from Iran. Tragically, neither shows any inclination to do so. High petrol prices make biofuel more attractive to farmers, not less. And rich countries are in a selfish mood. Failure to act thus looks baked in. In the face of an avoidable disaster, that is shameful.

Fair but depressing conclusion from @economist.com - we could avoid some of the worst of the hunger, but we won’t
economist.com/leaders/2026...

The David Byrne Driver’s License cover is, if I’m honest, a seven out of ten effort. But it annoys the Rodrigo obsessive middle child so much that I’m upgrading it to a nine.