There’s a lot we could talk about this morning. We could talk about Janet Yellen’s base case of the US avoiding recession, or Microsoft’s block to buy Activision Blizzard, or Li Keqiang’s pledge to the IMF that China will offer developing countries “fair and equitable” debt restructuring. We could talk about the Edinburgh Reforms, which is a City rulebook rejig we’ve been told not to call Big Bang 2.0. We could talk about Santander being fined for AML failings. Or we could boggle for the umpteenth time at Argo Blockchain.
Instead, we’re going to talk about ourselves. The FT’s running an auction for lunch in some quite top-drawer places, including The Colony Grill Room, The Goring and Hélène Darroze at the Connault. The only downside is that you’ll have to sit opposite an FT staffer and listen to their war stories.
One of the staffers to offer their time/war stories is Robin Wigglesworth, FT Alphaville editor, who’s threatening to tell you about passive funds or whatever over crustacea and a bottle of champagne at St Pancras.
As an optional bonus, and absolutely without the agreement of Robin, Alphaville would like to extend an additional offer. On the same day, Alphavillians present and past will be gathered in the Prince Arthur Pub in Kings Cross (“adequate” – Tripadvisor). The highest bidder has an option — but not an obligation! — to drop by post lunch for a pint and maybe even a packet of scampi fries. Bid extravagantly.
Elsewhere on Friday . . .
— China’s balance of payments data does not add up (Council on Foreign Relations)
— China’s brute force economics: waking up from the dream of a level playing field (Texas National Security Review)
— Do financial markets consider European common debt a safe asset? (Bruegel)
— Reassessing the role of supply and demand on housing bubble prices (Kevin Erdmann / Substack)
— We might have Long Covid all wrong (TNR)
— Concrete built the modern world. Now it’s destroying it (Noema)
— Tesla says its self-driving technology may be a ‘failure’ — but not fraud (Los Angeles Times)
— You’re being lied to about electric cars (Motortrend)
— From systems in motion, infinite patterns appear (Quanta)
— How the Trocadero blew London’s mind then vanished for ever (Time Out)
— Christmas (Twitter video)
#reading #Financial #Times
