@redjen.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in Economics UWE Bristol; macro, finance (especially pensions) and also philosophy. Previously dabbled in politics, policy, public affairs
I wrote about how unregulated finance is now just, well, finance for @phenomenalworld.bsky.social
the center of gravity in finance has completely shifted & our mental models & policymaking approaches need to catch up
www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/fin...
Québec-based public pension fund La Caisse announced last Tuesday the renewal of its AI Expertise Program to encourage companies in the province to adopt artificial intelligence to improve growth and productivity. La Caisse will partner with Vooban—an AI services firm and portfolio company of the fund—to help develop customized support for companies to adopt AI in their operations. According to a spokesperson for the fund, while its portfolio companies are eligible for the program, it is designed to support La Caisse’s dual mandate: achieving optimal long-term returns and contributing to economic development in Québec. The program was opened to eligible companies last year. Approximately 20 companies from a broad range of sectors participated in the first cohort.
🙃
www.ai-cio.com/news/la-cais...
🚨 Our Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy entry on Computer Simulations in Science is now live. It was a lot of work but I’m proud of this substantial update. I hope it helps those in #philsci interested in the philosophical implications of computational methods.
plato.stanford.edu/entries/simu...
Very excited to share the US cover for my first book, THE ASSET CLASS, which publishes on 9 April (UK) and 23 June (US). I wanted it to feel more like a spy thriller than a business book, so it's full of darkly compelling characters and unexpected twists…
20.02.2026 12:12 — 👍 32 🔁 1 💬 3 📌 1
Hard to overstate how certain we can be that this is, in fact, going to end badly.
@robinwigglesworth.ft.com on the gutting of the SEC.
www.ft.com/content/b5d9...
private credit funds: why sell to outsiders when you can just sell to yourself
(*cough cough* & private equity too *secondary funds*)
it's almost as if the whole goal is to make money by moving money around
It's right at the bottom of the story, but important to note as Simons's entire claim rests upon allegation of material being hacked, not leaked: "Holden recently showed the Guardian his source materials, which indicate the story was based on files leaked from the Labour party by whistleblowers."
20.02.2026 12:04 — 👍 63 🔁 32 💬 3 📌 1
This is shocking
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
It is notable that Andrew has been arrested for "misconduct in public office", which is precisely what the US Supreme Court decided no American president can ever be charged with.
19.02.2026 12:22 — 👍 3260 🔁 1025 💬 34 📌 14Kent County Council latest:
Seven KCC councillors have defected to Rupert Lowe's Restore Britain tonight.
They are Paul Thomas, Brian Black, Oliver Bradshaw, Maxine Fothergill, Isabella Kemp, Robert Ford, and Dean Burns.
Most had already been kicked out of Reform, with the exception of Burns.
Today’s labour market statistics show that the UK’s unemployment problem is growing, with youth unemployment at its highest rate in over a decade. Here’s our @resolutionfoundation.org thread, from me and @louisemurphy.bsky.social :
17.02.2026 10:05 — 👍 4 🔁 5 💬 1 📌 2
this is such a weird story:
An influential Labour-aligned think-tank previously run by Morgan McSweeney, now Sir Keir Starmer’s chief of staff, paid a public affairs company to identify the source of leaks to journalists about the group’s funding.
www.ft.com/content/dca0...
Very good story from @manumidolo.bsky.social with shocking details of how top ST hack Gabriel Pogrund was targeted.
I have spent the week arguing with Josh Simons’s aides how a contract to investigate the sourcing of an article obviously targets the journalists - they disagreed.
Even after the UK phased out coal power, pension schemes are still financing coal overseas. This risks savers’ money and the climate — which is why peers are calling for stronger Government action via the Pension Schemes Bill.
👉 filab.uk/4rUMbU1
Two weeks ago, Peter Mandelson told us he had no recollection of planning to buy a £2m apartment in Rio via a Panama holding company and a Brazilian company.
Yesterday we found notarised incorporation documents for the Brazilian company, with Mr Mandelson's signature.
Can Mandelson be prosecuted?
We’ve discussed the law and the evidence with leading lawyers. The bottom line: "misconduct in public office" is the only viable route.
The law is messy and proving intent is hard - but we believe there is a realistic prospect of conviction.
🧵:
Screenshot of a home office tweet
If the PM reckons Jim Ratcliffe should apologise for spreading this exact same lie, should the Home Office apologise too, or? 🤨
12.02.2026 09:29 — 👍 1200 🔁 439 💬 65 📌 31
“Gender norms will need to be even more equal”
Goodness. Almost doesn’t seem possible 🙄🙄 giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Why are fertility rates collapsing? Gender roles
One of the enduring legends surrounding Jeffrey Epstein is that he inadvertently knocked over the first domino in the subprime meltdown.
But the Epstein files show the accepted history around his Bear Stearns fund stakes isn't true. The real story is nearly as wild, tho: www.ft.com/content/6901...
Bangor is a truly great university - one of our best. It's got a fantastic student experience and wonderful teaching. Anyone would be proud to go there. (1/2)
www.bangor.ac.uk/about/about-...
Think this intervention from Miliband is quite a big deal. It's clearly a call for a wider reset of the whole government approach - including on the economy. Comes after the Tribune group last night called for a reshuffle and broader church.
www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
Chart showing number of electricity and gas accounts in arrears
Over the past decade arrears on energy bills have soared: the number of energy accounts behind on payments now totals over 1.6 million for gas and nearly 2 million for electricity. The average amount owed has roughly doubled since 2022.
The Government should prioritise bringing down energy bills by moving more of the cost of government policy into general taxation.
Read Unsung Britain now ⤵️ buff.ly/7WcqrbQ
Still remember being publicly criticised by the then head of REF for writing a column saying that the REF was a form of collective punishment that the university sector imposes on itself. I think the room was with me though.
10.02.2026 10:21 — 👍 54 🔁 7 💬 5 📌 0
Global economy must move past GDP to avoid planetary disaster, warns UN chief
09.02.2026 08:13 — 👍 205 🔁 82 💬 11 📌 16NEW: McSweeney allies suggest he carried can for Starmer over Mandelson decision. They say it was wrong to suggest he pushed for appointment, and was careful to ensure others shared views, which were unanimous. “He gave his advice, but that’s all it was. Keir made the decision.”
08.02.2026 16:43 — 👍 102 🔁 20 💬 73 📌 32My 2026 Japanese general election thread starts here. We're now less than a half hour to polls closing.
08.02.2026 10:35 — 👍 194 🔁 55 💬 3 📌 5
One Whitehall official said there were robust processes in place to ensure that government contracts are awarded fairly and transparently.
That £240m contract Palantir won after Peter Mandelson took Keir Starmer to visit them? Government asserts "there were robust processes in place to ensure that government contracts are awarded fairly and transparently" but the award notice says it was a "directed award", ie without any competition.
07.02.2026 09:45 — 👍 636 🔁 362 💬 52 📌 34Hold on, as part of the Mandelson debacle, we just found out the hollowness of the “bond vigilante” narrative — Mandelson and Dimon against Darling, remember? Don’t try and pull this one on us now.
07.02.2026 09:37 — 👍 44 🔁 22 💬 3 📌 1Are they particularly warning of chaos… with Ed Milliband?!
07.02.2026 09:24 — 👍 25 🔁 1 💬 2 📌 0
Hhhmmm.
Can’t see any of the likely successors making *major* changes to borrowing. You might get more taxes & more spending.
And don’t rule out a more pro-growth attitude to immigration.
www.ft.com/content/c855... Starmer camp warns leadership challenge risks economic chaos
