Christian Odendahl
@codendahl.bsky.social
European economics editor @TheEconomist. London via Berlin, Stockholm and Cologne. Have no plans to write a book.
Premium trolling. ~"If NATO wants to join an alliance with Ukraine, it must first carry out reforms"
POLITICO Europe@politico.eu · yesterdayNATO's reliance on the "doctrines of World War II" and its slow adaptation to new forms of warfare make it unlikely Ukraine will ever join the alliance, said Kyiv's Ambassador to the U.K. and former Commander-in-Chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi.
Just seeing how many people bookmark this to read it later www.economist.com/science-and-...
How to stop procrastinating
Thwarting the thief of time
economist.com
I am excited to join @piie.com, where I will continue to advance my research on U.S. trade policy alongside a leading group of experts committed to advancing global prosperity and developing practical policy solutions to contemporary economic challenges.
Peterson Institute for International Economics@piie.com · 2d agoWe're thrilled to announce @inumanak.bsky.social is joining PIIE as a senior fellow! Welcome, Inu! 🎉
“No offence, but you look nice.” 9-year old twins’ communication, a beautiful mystery every time.
File under "Still don't like the look of this" (Posted one week on) climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_dai...
Oliver Morton, Eater of Sun@eaterofsun.bsky.social · last wk.File under "Really quite disturbing" If the preliminary data for the past few weeks are confirmed, we are now very close to a new world record, and seeing an alarming rate of change climatereanalyzer.org/clim/sst_dai...
Der podcast rund um den #Effzeh von Express und Koelner Stadtanzeiger heisst "Wir waren klar besser". Grossartig. Wie heissen die massgeblichen Podcasts bei anderen Vereinen?
Some slightly under-the-radar bad news from Ukraine: it's not doing the judicial reforms it promised to get into the EU (and indeed to continue getting EU aid) www.economist.com/europe/2026/...
Ukraine needs the EU to force it to reform
The government is shirking the work required for membership
economist.com
Pedro Sánchez has sent a letter to the EU institutions complaining about the political reaction of some member states to the migratory crisis in Ceuta. “In the current international context, the European Union cannot afford this kind of selfish, polarising and unlawful reaction.” 🧵
In conclusion: a very good stockpicker and a very bad portfolio manager, and the latter was sufficiently disastrous he wound up destroying most of his assets and probably causing the largest trading loss of all time. If the reported numbers are true, going $45bn -> $10bn is 3x the size of Archegos.
Very good @robarmstrong.bsky.social column on the economic structure of the AI industry. The most important question in markets at the moment, and as he says, it’s a hard question. www.ft.com/content/c167...
Markets are getting AI right
Recent volatility reflects economic reality
ft.com
How come these AI agents are all MacGyver on steroids and mine can’t read a PDF correctly.
Reuters@reuters.com · 5d agoEXCLUSIVE: OpenAI finds evidence other AI agents escaped containment as it widens hacking probe reut.rs/4bk7nNl
Because the 1st is a Saturday, “How is it August already?!” will be observed today, Friday, July 31, 2026. Please panic accordingly.
Not sure why this is news, it's called a lunch break
The tweet saying "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those 57 who have died trying to reach Ceuta" was part of this thread but got lost?
Ursula von der Leyen@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu · 5d agoThe images coming from Ceuta are unacceptable. We cannot allow anyone to come to our Union without abiding by our rules. Dangerous crossings must stop immediately. Smuggling networks must be dismantled. And returns must be swift, as our rules allow.
Taiwan's central bank has of course also devoted itself to a years-long crusade against the Big Mac index. (See www.cbc.gov.tw/en/cp-448-18..., www.cbc.gov.tw/tw/cp-432-57..., etc)
Central Bank of the Republic of China-Press Releases-Statement Regarding The Economist's Recent Piece ''The Hidden Risks in Taiwan’s boom''
cbc.gov.tw
Karthik Sankaran@rajakorman.bsky.social · 5d agoThe most interesting aspect of the Big Mac Index is that 2 non-city-states/non-petrostates that have the largest net foreign asset positions as a % of GDP— Taiwan and Switzerland — are among the weakest and strongest currencies on the planet respectively.
The State Department said it takes "full responsibility" for "hastily" altering and then presenting a map of Africa at a global AIDS conference that mislabeled every single country it highlighted. An analysis by Reuters found a watermark in the map image that suggests it was made with OpenAI.
And I’d add that even where this was a one-time event it leaves a long shadow. In the medium term it supercharges inter-generational inequality (young people had no assets), and in the long-term children of asset owners get a huge wealth boost, while children of those who had no assets don’t.
Quote in this story: “The real question is how did anyone invest so much money, and then lend so much money, to a . . . kid with no personal experience and no infrastructure?” as.ft.com/r/5f7537a7-0...
How Leopold Aschenbrenner, the ‘golden child’ of the AI trade, was laid low
The $20bn hedge fund manager’s wild ride ended with a call to Ken Griffin
as.ft.com
Europe’s dull, soulless banknotes are getting a facelift. For the euro area’s leaders, it is a chance to show confidence in the continent
How to design paper money that represents Europe
The euro gets a makeover
bit.ly
My boiling hot take on this is that, if tech companies are going to fund this kind of research (looking at Schmidt too), then the money needs to be given *no strings* to an independent arm's length research body, pooled with other funding, and treated as a donation not as direct funding.
Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · 5d agoAnthropic AI research fund offers $5m - $30m for social science research on themes of AI impact on workers; transition initiatives; income support; building worker stakes; and wider evidence on public investments. Total fund of $200m available www.anthropic.com/news/economi...
All 1850 MW of Hungary's Paks Nuclear Power Plant (red) could be shut down entirely for 1st time due to insufficient cooling water from Danube River. unn.ua/en/news/an-e... 1/4
“The FIFA World Cup belongs to football. It always will. And so long as Europe has a voice, it will never be for sale.” www.uefa.com/news-media/n...
Statement on behalf of UEFA and its 55 national associations
UEFA and its national associations will not participate in FIFA competitions.
uefa.com
Europe wants to become many things, but most certainly not the first AI Continent.
Ursula von der Leyen@vonderleyen.ec.europa.eu · 6d agoAI is the most important technology of our time. Europe wants to become the first AI Continent. For advanced healthcare, for the transport sector and so much more. European AI Gigafactories will provide the necessary computing power to make this possible.
For that, blame high national debts
A common European safe asset is still unlikely
For that, blame high national debts
bit.ly
Sixty years ago, England beat West Germany 4-2 to win the 1966 World Cup. England's third goal was much-debated in Germany, going down in footballing folklore as 'das Wembley-Tor'. Enormous crowds welcomed West Germany's "honourable losers" (Times) home the following day.
30y mtge price off the belly not the long end because their duration is more like 6-8 years than 30; that free prepayment option gets exercised and REGULARLY. Refis + moves mean the typical mortgage gets paid off long before scheduled maturity. More in the thread linked in next post.
Tom Hearden@followtheh.bsky.social · 6d agoI have a question for you bond market mavens. If 30 year treasury yields are above 2023 levels now why are 30 year mortgages 120 bps lower than the 2023 peak?
