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American investment in Liga MX: The growing appeal of Mexico's top flight
Liga MX is "the least explored, biggest opportunity in global sports," according to one Mexican club owner, and American investors are taking notice.
Bond breakout? Big effects of bad data. Immigration and thermostatic politics & dad-chat is coming for dad-books.
Thank you for opening your Chartbook email. Anna Airy, A Shell Forge at a National Projectile Factory, Hackney Marshes, London, 1918 Bond breakout - John Authers Across the developed markets, bond markets are staging a slow-motion car wreck. Looking at the drastic moves in the US, Japan, the UK and France, Barclays’ Ajay Rajadhyaksha commented: “Last week, long bonds broke. Not in one country. In all of them. Simultaneously. Four countries. Four different political systems. Four different central banks. But the same trade — “get me out of duration!”” Each country has its own contributing political problems, but the uniformity of the shift out of long-term bonds with high duration makes clear that something broader is afoot. For Rajadhyaksha, it is “simple and uncomfortable.” The developed world “has too much debt, too little fiscal discipline, and no political appetite for fixing either.” If there’s a trigger, it has been the Iran war and the resulting shock to oil supply. Source: Bloomberg G7 countries are now borrowing at rates that were enjoyed by EM in the early 2020s For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Trade between China and Russia has grown in recent years For contributing subscribers only. Subscribe Big effects of bad data A decade ago nearly nine in ten Americans, when approached, agreed to fill out the Current Population Survey, which is administered to about 60,000 households each month and asks about, among other things, employment. Fewer than seven in ten do so now (see chart 1). For the Consumer Expenditure Survey, which tries to capture 3,700 households monthly, the response rate is down from 68% to 40%. … When the information becomes less reliable, investment decisions get more difficult to make. Some may be delayed, creating a potential drag on the economy. A new working paper by Nicholas Bloom of Stanford University, Erica Groshen, former head of the Bureau of Labour Statistics (BLS) now at Cornell University, and Duncan Hobbs and Michael Strain of the American Enterprise Institute, a think-tank, hazards an estimate. Preserving trust in “the integrity and quality of official statistics”, the authors claim, generates economic benefits of about $25 for every $1 spent on the BLS, the agency with an annual budget of $700m that is responsible for many of these data. To arrive at their conclusion the quartet analysed an ignoble episode in the BLS’s recent history. On August 1st 2025 Donald Trump sacked Erika McEntarfer, appointed as the agency’s commissioner by his predecessor, Joe Biden. The president alleged, without evidence, that the BLS’s steep downward revision to recent jobs numbers had been “RIGGED in order to make the Republicans, and ME, look bad”. In fact, it was the wanton dismissal that looked bad in the eyes of many observers. In the following seven days there was a 50% leap, relative to the week before, in the average value of the index of Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU), which tracks the number of articles mentioning such uncertainty that are published daily in American newspapers. This was a discernible jump even when compared to the chaos caused by Mr Trump’s trade war in April 2025 and his real one in Iran in the past two months (see chart 2). Based on Mr Bloom’s earlier study with other colleagues of the EPU’s impact on business investment, industrial production and employment, the authors estimate that the jump reduced American GDP by over $100bn (0.3%) and non-farm payrolls by 168,000 (0.1%). Source: The Economist Immigration and thermostatic politics (Sarah O’Connor in the FT) A strange thing happened a year and a half ago. No sooner had Americans elected Donald Trump as president on an explicitly anti-immigration platform than US public opinion began to swing much more favourably towards immigration. … to political scientists who study “thermostatic” politics, this development is no surprise at all. Public opinion often moves against the prevailing party, especially if they are perceived to have gone “too far” in one direction. The phenomenon was first explored in the 1990s with reference to fiscal policy, but in recent years it has been particularly evident in the realm of immigration policy. While these swings in opinion polls can make it seem as if people don’t know their own minds, they can be a useful democratic check on governments by sending bright flashing warning lights when policies stray too far from the public’s comfort zone. The problem comes when politicians misinterpret those signals. When people tell pollsters they want less immigration, or think it is bad for the country overall (or the converse), they are often expressing an opinion about how things appear to be going in that moment relative to their preferences, rather than a deep shift in their underlying views. According to Alexander Kustov, a political scientist, most Americans’ views are quite stable and moderate: they support immigration that is controlled and in the national interest, and oppose flows that are disorderly or under-enforced. In the US, he argues the Trump administration over-interpreted dissatisfaction with high immigration under Joe Biden, and implemented policies that went too far for many voters. “People don’t necessarily change their idea about their ideal immigration policy, but they can react to what the government is currently doing,” he told me. “A lot of people are not happy with what the Trump administration are doing — right now we’re not talking about border enforcement, we’re talking about people not just getting harassed, but killed.” But similarly, he added, pro-immigration advocates would be making a mistake to interpret the recent, more favourable swing towards immigration as a deep-seated ideological shift in attitudes. The recent history of UK immigration policy offers another cautionary tale. After the 2016 Brexit referendum, public concern about immigration fell. This was partly because net migration statistics declined, but also because people felt a sense of catharsis and control, says Sunder Katwala, director of British Future, a think-tank. By 2019, the public ranked immigration as only the ninth biggest issue of concern, according to Ipsos polling. But when the Conservative government liberalised visa routes for students and care workers between 2019 and 2022, that helped net migration to surge. And so, too, did public concern. Today’s Labour government has implemented another sharply restrictive turn in immigration policy. As Kustov and researcher Caitlyn Yates argue, thermostatic public opinion should be a useful check on politicians. Instead it seems to have helped to magnify the pendulum swing in the UK. The government over-interprets and overreacts to a change in public opinion, which reacts in turn, prompting a sudden swing the other way. Source: Financial Times HEY READERS, THANK YOU for opening the Chartbook email. I hope it brightens your day. I enjoy putting out the newsletter, but tbh, what keeps this flow going is the generosity of those readers who clicked the subscription button. If you are persuaded to click, please consider the annual subscription of $50. It is both better value for you and a much better deal for me, as it involves only one credit card charge. Why feed the payments companies if we don’t have to. Subscribe Anna Airy, Shop for Machining 15-Inch Shells: Singer Manufacturing Company, Clydebank, Glasgow, 1918 Racing for a vaccine … we have been here before! The deadly Ebola outbreak in two African countries driven by a virus species with no vaccine has triggered an urgent search for a potential jab, in a test of troubled global efforts to avert threats posed by emerging diseases. A World Health Organization advisory group is due to would meet on Tuesday to recommend candidate jabs to prioritise for clinical trials, the global health body said. It will assess data including an analysis by the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (Cepi), which was set up after failures in the international response to a previous Ebola crisis. The latest Ebola outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda has infected hundreds of people and killed more than 80, health authorities say. Cepi’s reaction will be a crucial indicator of its progress towards its wider goal of producing vaccines for pandemic threats in just 100 days, despite steep cuts to international health funding. “If there was ever a time that we could show the world why Cepi is needed and show the world why the 100-day mission is needed, it’s now,” Nicole Lurie, the organisation’s executive director for preparedness and response, told the FT. “We’re happy to accept that responsibility, but obviously we need help from partners — particularly financial help in the long run.” DR Congo and Uganda would make the final decision on whether to press ahead with any vaccine candidates endorsed for clinical trials by the WHO experts, the global health body said. “Other ethical and community acceptability issues will be considered,” said the WHO, which declared the latest outbreak a public health emergency of international concern on Sunday. “This will be important to make sure that the trial, if it happens, will be adequately communicated to the population.” Lurie said Cepi had provided information from a survey of research teams and companies working on drugs that might be effective against the Bundibugyo virus behind the outbreak. The organisation hoped soon to announce partners in the quest for a jab, she added, although she declined to give a timescale for when one might be developed. Cepi’s Nicole Laurie said global health bodies were ‘getting some live-fire drills’ with hantavirus and the latest Ebola outbreak. The hunt for a vaccine should be helped by scientific advances including the use of artificial intelligence to find drugs active against viruses, Lurie said. Existing jabs against the Zaire Ebola virus responsible for many previous outbreaks might provide a basis for tackling the Bundibugyo species, she added. “We’ll see how far and how fast we can get,” Lurie said, adding that Cepi had done preliminary work recently on a possible jab for the rat-borne hantavirus responsible for a recent fatal outbreak on a cruise ship. “Both with hantavirus and now with Ebola, [we] are getting some live-fire drills.” Source: Michael Peel in the Financial Times Dad-chat is coming for dad-books. (By Pamela Paul and Jeffrey A. Trachtenberg in the WSJ) They were the go-to gifts for Father’s Day: a book about some little-known chapter of World War II, the sweeping narrative of a shipwreck, perhaps the latest presidential biography. These days, dad books are a dying breed. Nonfiction book sales have been in decline for the past four years, and are now the most challenged segment of the print book market. Publishers say certain types of books still fare well—including celebrity memoirs and religious titles. But in recent years, print sales in such categories as biography, current affairs and business and economics—what publishers refer to as “serious nonfiction” and which tend to resonate especially with men—have fallen considerably. Sales of nonfiction print titles were down nearly 8% through May 9 this year, and sales of books about politics and current affairs were down 19%, according to book tracker Circana BookScan. Publishing has long been subject to cyclical changes, with trends in format and genre taking over bookshelves in grand sweeps. (Remember the adult coloring-book craze? Or the stratospheric rise of romantasy?) But many in publishing believe the decline in serious nonfiction is more existential. “The trend couldn’t be clearer,” said Jonathan Karp, the former chief executive of Simon & Schuster and publisher of the new Simon Six imprint. “This is a sea change and people should wake up and realize we’re living in a new world.” One culprit for the shift: a new media diet for fans of more serious nonfiction. … Sixty-two percent of men and 54% of women consumed a podcast in the prior month, according to a recent survey by Edison Research at SSRS, up from 46% and 39%, respectively, in 2023. “When we have internal meetings to talk about this problem, it always comes around to podcasts,” said Jonathan Burnham, president and publisher of the Harper Group at HarperCollins Publishers. “The man who wants to read American history is now tuning into one of the many good podcasts about history that lends the quiet attention to a serious subject he’s looking for. It makes the idea of sitting down with a 700-page Ron Chernow book less appealing. You’ve scratched that itch.” Source: Wall Street Journal Remarkable report by Novara from the nationalist rally in London in mid May. Anna Airy, Leopard Moth and Plums, 1915 If you’ve scrolled this far, you know you want to click: Subscribe
India’s Goyal to visit Canada with 150 business leaders to boost trade ties
India's Trade Minister Piyush Goyal will visit Canada between May 25 and May 27, heading a delegation of about 150 Indian industry leaders as part of efforts to strengthen trade and investment ties between the two countries.
Budget conference: Florida State nets $174M in PECO funding
The sum includes nearly a $92M investment in the joint FAMU-FSU College of Engineering.
How $200 million will be doled out to Wyoming health care providers
The federal Rural Health Transformation Program funds come after months of negotiations, which led Wyoming to drop a planned investment fund. Instead, the state will focus on basic care.
FINN Partners and WifOR Institute Launch Global Initiative to Show Health Spending as an Economic Investment
For decades, ministries of health, finance leaders and policymakers have needed to defend health spending as a necessary cost to be managed. FINN Partners and WifOR Institute believe this framing is fundamentally outdated and increasingly harmful to public health in a world confronting aging populations, workforce shortages, rising chronic disease and widening health inequities.
How states can incentivize local investing to find new capital for businesses and housing
Geographic and corporate concentration in banking and retail is limiting entrepreneurship in many U.S. communities. Existing place-based policies help, but often fail to deliver scalable, tailored investment solutions broadly across rural and urban areas.
Abu Dhabi is ‘doubling down’ on tourism despite Iran war
The emirate has announced a $1.7-billion investment in the Sphere entertainment venue.
Sam McColgan
Stanford GSB has surpassed expectations on every front. I feel substantially better equipped to build my investment firm.
Berlin OKs bid to host Olympics on or after anniversary of 1936 Games under the Nazis
Supporters argue that hosting the Games could boost investment, tourism and international visibility for the city.
Stellantis to launch $70 billion business plan to 2030 with 60 new model offensive
Stellantis set out a new 60 billion euro ($70 billion) business plan on Thursday that includes 60 new car models by 2030 - from combustion engine to fully electric vehicles - new investments in technology, joint ventures with other carmakers and better use of its manufacturing capacity.
Stellantis launches $70 billion business plan to 2030 including 60 new models
AUBURN HILLS, Michigan, May 21 () - Stellantis set out a new 60 billion euro ($70 billion) business plan on Thursday that includes 60 new car models by 2030 - from combustion engine to fully electric vehicles - new investments in technology, joint ventures with other carmakers and better use of its manufacturing capacity. The Franco-Italian carmaker said it would also refocus its sprawling 14-brand portfolio, with 70% of brand and product investments going to Jeep, Ram, Peugeot and Fiat, a
Yasam Ayavefe Expands Active Investment Strategy Across Hospitality, Real Estate, Technology, and Energy Sectors
Dubai, United Arab Emirates, May 21, 2026 -- Yasam Ayavefe is advancing a cross-sector investment strategy focused on operational discipline, lo...
Musk’s SpaceX discloses massive losses ahead of expected record-breaking IPO
The company, whose initial public offering is expected to attract record investment, had nearly $18.7 billion in revenue in 2025 but overall lost $4.9 billion.
Welcome to the Victor Wembanyama economy. Plus: Should I ‘buy’ a sports bar?
This week's sports business newsletter from The Athletic includes Spurs relegation, NFL and CFP expansion and curious investment.
Inside NFL owners meetings: International Super Bowl talk, Rashee Rice fallout, Seahawks sale buzz and more
Plus, the Vikings narrowed their GM search, NFL owners approved another private equity investment and the league's Olympic flag football plans are taking shape
Here's what Mark Zuckerberg said about future layoffs at Meta
Zuckerberg thanked departing Meta staff as morale takes a big hit. Meta is cutting 10% of its staff today to offset huge AI investments.
Phoenix Suns, Phoenix Mercury and Gray Media double down on fan investment and the future of sports media
The extension ensures Suns, Mercury and Valley Suns games remain free over-the-air across Arizona through 2030 while also introducing a digital streaming option through Arizona’s Family.
Xbox expands leadership team with major hires
Xbox has added two big names to its leadership team: Matthew Ball and Scott Van Vliet. The new recruits are part of an on-going drive from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to move faster, build better products, and make more focused business decisions. The Game Business can reveal that Ball is joining as Chief Strategy Officer. He is a popular industry analyst who is responsible for the annual The State of Video Gaming report, which is widely read across the business. His first job will be to strengthen the console side of Xbox, which is facing significant pressures, not least from the rising costs of memory and storage. In an interview with The Game Business earlier in the year, he admitted he was “pretty frightened” by the situation for the console sector. Ball had previously worked as head of strategy and planning for Amazon Studios, and wrote the 2022 international best-seller The Metaverse. He is currently CEO of Epyllion, a venture partner at investment group Makers Fund and senior advisor at KKR & Co. Meanwhile, Scott Van Vliet joins as Chief Technology Officer. He was previously in charge of Azure OpenAI and AI Core infrastructure at Microsoft, and he also led engineering for Microsoft Teams during the COVID 19 pandemic. But he has a games background. He previously worked across games for Amazon, including Alexa, Amazon Game Studios and the Amazon App Store. He directly worked on the Minecraft: Fire TV Edition. Prior to that, he was VP of Digital Play at Mattel, and worked across brands such as Batman, Barbie, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and Cut The Rope. His job will be to improve how Xbox builds products so teams can move faster and deliver stronger results. For more breaking stories, sign-up to The Game Business today Subscribe In addition to these new hires, Xbox has promoted Chris Schnakenberg to Corporate Vice President, Partnerships & Business Development. He was previously VP of partnerships and business development, and joined from Activision Blizzard, where he spent 12 years in various strategy, business development and partner relations role. His focus is on third-party games, publishers and developers working with Xbox. The news follows a number of new hires and promotions earlier in the month, including Jason Ronald taking leadership over Xbox’s upcoming Project Helix console. “These changes are about strengthening our foundation by creating more clarity and improving execution,” Sharma said in an email to staff. “As we head toward Showcase and beyond, we’ll continue making the changes needed to position XBOX for the future.” Matthew Ball is speaking with Christopher Dring at The Game Business Live on Monday, June 8. More details on the event can be found here.
Xbox expands leadership team with major hires
Xbox has added two big names to its leadership team: Matthew Ball and Scott Van Vliet. The new recruits are part of an on-going drive from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma to move faster, build better products, and make more focused business decisions. The Game Business can reveal that Ball is joining as Chief Strategy Officer. He is a popular industry analyst who is responsible for the annual The State of Video Gaming report, which is widely read across the business. His first job will be to strengthen the console side of Xbox, which is facing significant pressures, not least from the rising costs of memory and storage. In an interview with The Game Business earlier in the year, he admitted he was “pretty frightened” by the situation for the console sector. Ball had previously worked as head of strategy and planning for Amazon Studios, and wrote the 2022 international best-seller The Metaverse. He is currently CEO of Epyllion, a venture partner at investment group Makers Fund and senior advisor at KKR & Co. Meanwhile, Scott Van Vliet joins as Chief Technology Officer. He was previously in charge of Azure OpenAI and AI Core infrastructure at Microsoft, and he also led engineering for Microsoft Teams during the COVID 19 pandemic. But he has a games background. He previously worked across games for Amazon, including Alexa, Amazon Game Studios and the Amazon App Store. He directly worked on the Minecraft: Fire TV Edition. Prior to that, he was VP of Digital Play at Mattel, and worked across brands such as Batman, Barbie, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and Cut The Rope. His job will be to improve how Xbox builds products so teams can move faster and deliver stronger results. For more breaking stories, sign-up to The Game Business today Subscribe In addition to these new hires, Xbox has promoted Chris Schnakenberg to Corporate Vice President, Partnerships & Business Development. He was previously VP of partnerships and business development, and joined from Activision Blizzard, where he spent 12 years in various strategy, business development and partner relations role. His focus is on third-party games, publishers and developers working with Xbox. The news follows a number of new hires and promotions earlier in the month, including Jason Ronald taking leadership over Xbox’s upcoming Project Helix console. “These changes are about strengthening our foundation by creating more clarity and improving execution,” Sharma said in an email to staff. “As we head toward Showcase and beyond, we’ll continue making the changes needed to position XBOX for the future.” Matthew Ball is speaking with Christopher Dring at The Game Business Live on Monday, June 8. More details on the event can be found here.
Health care investment firms GHO and CBC to merge
Scaling for suvival.
Assessing PEPFAR’s Health Spillover Effects Beyond HIV: An Update
This analysis updates prior work that assessed the association between PEPFAR investments and several health indicators, beyond HIV. It finds that PEPFAR continues to be associated with significant improvement in these broader health gains, suggesting a spillover effect beyond the program's HIV focus.
Advancing Gender Equality in Science for Sustainable Development in
UNESCO launches “Investing in Women in Science” report in Africa, revealing strong GDP gains from gender parity and calling for urgent reforms in STI investment.
Illinois is Closed for Business: Alan Jernigan and Joshua Meyer in Center Square - American Legislative Exchange Council
ALEC’s Alan Jernigan and Joshua Meyer examine how Illinois’ anti-growth policies are driving out businesses, residents, and investment.
Big Europe and Asian private equity health funds merge to defy AI disruption
Global Healthcare Opportunities and CBC Group say $21bn investment manager will be world’s largest in sector
Is The MBA Really In The Middle Of A ‘Fire Sale?’
A new battle is emerging over affordability, AI disruption, and whether the traditional MBA still delivers enough return on investment.
UC faculty and staff rally for state investment in science
President Milliken joined Senator Scott Wiener, UAW President Shawn Fain and hundreds of UC employees in rallying for investment in research.
The Cleveland Browns Will Sell 3 Percent Of Their Franchise
NFL owners are reportedly respecting to prove a sale of a small stake of the Cleveland Browns to a private investment firm.
Introducing new Surface devices built for business and AI acceleration
Every IT leader and partner we work with is navigating the same challenges: AI is changing the demands of how teams work, security threats are growing more sophisticated and agents are changing investment decisions for the future. All under greater s
Neogenyx CEO talks plans for new RNG business with $400M investment
The new company spun off from Ameresco, which retains a majority stake. The fresh infusion of capital will allow a biogas developer with a long history in the industry to more aggressively pursue its project pipeline.
CMS Freezes Medicare Enrollment for Home Health, Hospice U.S.
CMS freezes new Medicare enrollment for home health and hospice providers nationwide, raising fraud concerns and increasing compliance investment and operational risks.
Building the Backbone of Metabolic Health: Our Investment in Nourish
Nourish connects patients with registered dietitians for insurance-covered virtual sessions, handling credentialing, insurance verification, and more.
'Leeds must seize this moment at all costs'
After a tremendous finish to the season, Daniel Farke has called for Leeds United to invest heavily this summer. Had Farke found the formula faster, Leeds would be challenging for Europe. With meaningful investment and using these tactics from the start of next season, United could realistically place much higher than their current position of 14th.
CVS Health collaborates with America250 to support the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration
Omnicare has approved the sale of the Company’s business to GenieRx Holdings LLC ("GenieRx"), a joint partnership between private investment firm Milrose Capital LLC and health-care investment and management firm Integro Asset Management LLC, which does business as Integro Healthcare Services.
Jacobs Entertainment teases new additions to Reno's Neon Line District
a once dilapitated portion of downtown reno... Breathing new life after a $400 million investment. And more development could be on the way in the future: (lklv
Yomiuri: Japan Post to Strengthen Real Estate Business, Aims for Top 10 Rank Among General Developers
Japan Post Holdings Co. announced Friday its policy to strengthen its real estate business in a new medium-term management plan. The company will develop asset-turnover businesses through such initiatives as the sale of condominiums and the establishment of a real estate investment advisory firm.
Jacobs Entertainment celebrates the completion of Phase One in Downtown Reno
Jacob’s Entertainment is celebrating the completion of Phase One, following a $400 million investment and five years of revitalizing the historic 4th Street in Downtown Reno.
UC faculty and staff rally for state investment in science
UC President James B. Milliken and other leaders urged state lawmakers to pass SB 895, bipartisan legislation that would place a $12 billion bond to fund scientific research across California on the November 2026 ballot.
Sphere Entertainment secures $1.7B investment from Abu Dhabi for first international venue
The venue will built on a plot of land between Yas Mall and SeaWorld Abu Dhabi.
Indianapolis Tabbed No. 3 Best Sports Business City by Sports Business Journal
CHARLOTTE – Sports Business Journal (SBJ) has named Indianapolis as the No. 3 Best Sports Business City in the United States, the organization announced on Monday. The Best Sports Business Cities™ list highlights the top 50 cities for businesses operating in and around sports and influences strategic direction for sports business professionals across the United States. Started in 2023, Best Sports Business Cities™ is an editorial initiative developed by Sports Business Journal, the industry’s leading news source on the business of sports. Using extensive data from dozens of sources and insights from nearly 120 influential sports business executives, SBJ evaluated more than 2,000 markets to identify the top cities based on opportunity, economic environment and industry sentiment to identify cities with strong business presence, hiring potential and long-term investment viability.
Indianapolis Tabbed No. 3 Best Sports Business City by Sports Business Journal
CHARLOTTE – Sports Business Journal (SBJ) has named Indianapolis as the No. 3 Best Sports Business City in the United States, the organization announced on Monday. The Best Sports Business Cities™ list highlights the top 50 cities for businesses operating in and around sports and influences strategic direction for sports business professionals across the United States. Started in 2023, Best Sports Business Cities™ is an editorial initiative developed by Sports Business Journal, the industry’s leading news source on the business of sports. Using extensive data from dozens of sources and insights from nearly 120 influential sports business executives, SBJ evaluated more than 2,000 markets to identify the top cities based on opportunity, economic environment and industry sentiment to identify cities with strong business presence, hiring potential and long-term investment viability.
Illinois infrastructure investment strengthens economy and workforce
U of I professor Rober Bruno on how public infrastructure spending fuels job creation and long-term growth in Illinois.
How Termina selected and ranked the 2026 Seed 100, Seed 40 lists
Termina and Business Insider's Seed 100 list identifies top seed investors using data analysis, focusing on AI and investment success.
CARE for Women: An investment in health system redesign
An expansion of preventative care could widely improve health outcomes for women. The CARE framework, by the Forum and McKinsey health Institute, can help.
Thailand to Pare 7,000 Business Rules to Lure Foreign Investment
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul’s government plans a sweeping reform of more than 7,000 business regulations, aiming to cut bureaucratic hurdles and accelerate investment as it tries to compete for global capital.
Elliott builds big stake in life-science tools supplier Bio-Rad Labs, WSJ reports
Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a sizeable stake in U.S. diagnostics supplier Bio-Rad Laboratories NYSE:BIO, and plans to push the company to boost its underperforming stock price, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday.Bio-Rad's shares have fallen more than 18% so fa…
Elliott Builds Stake in Life-Science Firm Bio-Rad, WSJ Says
Activist investor Elliott Investment Management has built a sizable stake in Bio-Rad Laboratories to boost the firm’s underperfoming stock price, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Hims & Hers Health, Inc. Announces Proposed Convertible Senior Notes Offering to Support International Expansion and Accelerate AI-Driven Platform Investment
Proceeds intended to be used to preserve financial flexibility as Hims Hers executes on its international expansion strategy, including the proposed acquisition of Eucalyptus, invests in technology and operational infrastructure to drive anticipated cost efficiencies, and enhances the consumer experience with AI and its closed-loop data ecosystem. Hims Hers Health, Inc. (“Hims Hers” or the “Company”, NYSE: HIMS) today announced its intention to offer, subject to market and other conditions, $300 million aggregate principal amount of convertible senior notes due 2032 (the “notes”) in a private offering to persons reasonably believed to be qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Hims Hers also expects to grant the initial purchasers of the notes an option to purchase, for settlement within a period of 13 days from, and including, the date the notes are first issued, up to an
IRC to World Health Assembly: Close the Global Health Equity Gap — for the World’s Benefit
As the world faces the largest Ebola outbreak in more than a decade in a region with chronic violence and instability, and as infectious diseases such as the hantavirus command global attention, the International Rescue Committee is urging delegates gathering for the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA79) to make sustained investments into fragile and conflict-affected states.
The Women’s Health Innovation Radar:
Advancing women’s health requires not only scientific progress, but an innovation ecosystem capable of translating discovery into evidence, technologies and scalable solutions that improve outcomes for women globally. Yet many high-impact conditions continue to receive insufficient targeted innovation. The Women’s Health Innovation Radar maps activity from research funding and scientific publications to clinical trials and product development across 10 high-impact conditions, highlighting where innovation is advancing and where critical gaps persist. It offers a foundation to guide research priorities, inform policy decisions and mobilize investment towards areas of unmet need, helping to ensure that scientific advances translate into meaningful impact for women worldwide.
The Women’s Health Innovation Radar:
Advancing women’s health requires not only scientific progress, but an innovation ecosystem capable of translating discovery into evidence, technologies and scalable solutions that improve outcomes for women globally. Yet many high-impact conditions continue to receive insufficient targeted innovation. The Women’s Health Innovation Radar maps activity from research funding and scientific publications to clinical trials and product development across 10 high-impact conditions, highlighting where innovation is advancing and where critical gaps persist. It offers a foundation to guide research priorities, inform policy decisions and mobilize investment towards areas of unmet need, helping to ensure that scientific advances translate into meaningful impact for women worldwide.
Q&A: Rays CEO Ken Babby on the MOU, public investment, and why the future of Tampa Bay is bigger than baseball
Ken Babby sees the new stadium as a regional play that reaches well beyond baseball.
Business investment growth in UK is less than half pace of US
There has been a widening divergence between the two economies since 2019
Donald Trump Jr’s VC firm flaunts political edge in investment push
1789 Capital is seeking to grow its assets to $10bn after building sprawling AI portfolio
Korea’s SK Siltron receives $544 mn loan from DOE for wafer investment
Doosan Group is set to close a deal to acquire 100% of SK Siltron Co., a roughly 5.5 trillion won ($3.7 billion) transaction that would recast the South Korean
Now What? With Carbon Pricing Eroded and Pipeline Politics Advancing, Here Are the Pathways for Climate Success
At the end of a whirlwind week of news on carbon pricing and electricity strategy, capping a madcap year of pretty much non-stop, dramatic change, the word across much of Canada’s climate and energy transition community is that climate policy in this country has been shredded. Eviscerated. Hit with a sledgehammer by policy rollbacks that have pushed the country’s 2050 net zero target “well out of reach”. That means it’s never been more important to look for the rays of hope and glimmers of possibility. To glimpse the seeds of the next set of strategies to get Canada’s climate pollution under control and the country into the accelerating global dash away from fossil fuels. And then, once we’ve spotted those possibilities, get on with the hard, day-to-day slog of trying to make them a reality. Nothing takes away from the frustration and the deep disappointment so many climate and energy hawks are expressing, the sense of betrayal by the author of Value(s) and the former UN special envoy for climate action and finance. But we knew two things as the week drew to a close. We’re looking at the world as it most definitely is. And we don’t get to give up finding the pathways to confront climate change and deliver faster, deeper carbon cuts that leave no one else behind. So really, the first question we all have to ask ourselves is: What’s next? Subscribe All the Oxygen in the Room The outpouring of anger and grief over the carbon pricing deal between Prime Minister Mark Carney and Alberta Premier Danielle Smith has been absolutely understandable. So much of the climate community poured years, more than a decade, into dragging the current federal pricing regime across the finish line, then defending it from a deluge of three-syllable rhymes after the Trudeau government proved utterly incapable of delivering its own message. The policy foisted on us by neo-classical economists took up all the oxygen in the room, burned through years of climate response time that we won’t get back, while cornering climate hawks into the position that the best response to the crisis of our lifetimes is a new tax…in an era of historic anti-tax sentiment. I mean, really—what could possibly have gone wrong? Against that history, let’s appreciate columnist Max Fawcett’s point that even a modest carbon pricing agreement with a government as off-the-wall libertarian/conspiracist as Danielle Smith’s—those adjectives are mine, not Max’s—is a win worth savouring (as long as Smith keeps her promises for a change). But part of living in the world as it is (no, I’m not letting that go) is to be clear-headed about what we can and can’t control. And one thing we get to decide, after seeing this week’s carbon price festivities take up all the oxygen yet again, is whether we want to keep letting that happen. Particularly when success down that road depends on a factor that no one with a climate agenda can control or influence—a provincial carbon pricing mechanism that has been manipulated and eroded beyond its lowest possible denominator. Thankfully, that’s not the way it has to go. Not when we have so many other powerful, practical tools at our disposal, including the ones still available to us through this abominable Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Canada and Alberta. Tools In Our Toolbox When I started roughing out this list, I didn’t expect it to grow to nearly a dozen bullet points. It’s probably still incomplete. Some of the greatest hits in today’s climate solutions toolbox include: • No Carbon Capture, No Pipeline: On Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney explicitly stated that there’s been no change to the MOU provision that there will be no West Coast pipeline without an industry commitment to build its massive, $16.5-billion carbon capture and storage (CCUS) hub in Northern Alberta, and vice versa. The two megaprojects were joined at the hip when the MOU was signed Nov. 27, and the implementation agreement this week affirmed that they still are. A parade of independent analysts have spent years pointing to the economic and technical flaws in CCUS, while the industry kept postponing its investment decision until it could arm-twist the government for more “clarity” (by which it meant even more lavish taxpayer subsidies) on the project. Now the industry itself is running away from the CCUS hub and insisting the pipeline should proceed without it, but Carney doesn’t seem to be budging from a central tenet of the MOU to which Smith has signed on. • No Subsidies, No Investors: Climate analysts and advocates have quite rightly been hammering away at Carney and his team, insisting that any new capacity the industry wants to build must proceed without new subsidies. The government has responded with a growing collection of funding and financing mechanisms for the very wide menu of industrial development and nation-building projects they say they want to take on, and that menu always includes fossil fuel infrastructure. But it’s hard to see how even the combined fiscal clout of the federal and supportive provincial governments will deliver the financial backing private investors would need when the business case for new fossil fuel development is evaporating before their eyes. Particularly when… • No Market, No Demand, No Investors: As our friend Markham Hislop at Energi Media (our apparently sleepless friend, given the massive volume of great material he’s been churning out) points out this morning, the biggest vulnerability in any pipeline deal is the assumption that Asian buyers will want the oil or liquefied natural ga that our fossil industry is so keen to send them. Hislop writes in part: Ottawa and Alberta are effectively betting that countries like China and India will continue increasing oil imports for decades as their economies grow and energy consumption rises. That assumption underpins the entire economic rationale for expanding oil sands production and building billions of dollars in new export infrastructure. But Asian energy systems are changing rapidly… China, India, South Korea, and other major hydrocarbon importers are now investing hundreds of billions of dollars into electricity systems built around wind, solar, batteries, nuclear, hydro, and expanded transmission infrastructure. Domestic “energy sovereignty” is increasingly replacing the old energy-security model based on stable oil and gas imports. Those investments are expected to sharply slow oil demand growth and eventually reverse it, even as overall energy consumption continues rising. There are also refining constraints. Many Asian refineries and petrochemical complexes are already optimized to process discounted heavy crude from the Middle East and Latin America. That raises serious questions about how much additional Canadian bitumen Asian markets can absorb at profitable prices. Small wonder that there’s still no private sector investor for the project, despite Smith’s government desperately beating the bushes to put together a deal. For now, Alberta is acting as proponent and covering early start-up costs for a pitch to the federal Major Projects Office, which could actually turn into the next tough hurdle for Smith and her pipeline to jump. • Canada Day Looms: How ironic that Canada’s birthday this year could become a major chokepoint for the provincial premier who’s been working so diligently to tear the country apart! The July 1 target date for Alberta’s pipeline proposal is baked into the MOU, was reaffirmed by the implementation plan, but it hadn’t dawned on me that it cuts both ways. As one very smart colleague wrote in an email yesterday, “they’ve thrown the ball into Alberta’s court to get the project proposal on the table really quickly and to have to do a whole pile of work to put together a massive, complicated project that would typically take years to assemble, and they’ve given them weeks to do it.” That makes July 1 a looming deadline that Smith won’t be able to run away from politically, especially with the separatists in her party and her caucus breathing down her neck. (See previous ref to off-the-wall.) But if Alberta comes in with a sloppy, incomplete submission, even after Carney bent over backwards to simplify the application process and the rules that govern it, it may be harder for the province or the industry to blame Ottawa and insist on the faster process they claim their investors are demanding. (Oh, wait—which investors would those be??) • We’ll See You In Court (Then We’ll See You Again): If Carney did cave, that would be just one more reason for Indigenous and other affected communities to take the government and the process to court—Just as Alberta First Nations did, successfully, in response to Smith’s half-baked separation referendum. Veterans of the Harper era have been warning that a shoddy process around fossil fuel infrastructure or other major projects will be a recipe for the very delays that process seeks to avoid. And now more than ever, with renewable energy and energy storage eating fossil fuels’ lunch in import markets around the world, a delayed pipeline or LNG terminal may be as good as a cancelled one. • Charged Up, Ready to Go: With its goal of doubling Canada’s electricity supply to meet a doubling of demand by 2050, the national electricity strategy that Carney unveiled Thursday has a lot to like. With its explicit language about speeding the shift from fuels to more efficient and affordable electricity, global investment and deployment patterns that already favour that shift, an emerging bidirectional power grid, the role of front-line options like rooftop solar and heat pumps, the emergence of electric vehicles as behind-the-meter energy storage, and the domestic jobs and manufacturing to make it all happen, the document doubles down on the essential cornerstone of a faster shift off fossil fuels. The strategy envisions a more prominent role for gas and nuclear power. But some of those provisions were already in the Clean Electricity Regulations that climate hawks are now fighting so hard to defend, inserted as a compromise in a futile attempt to mollify the industry and its political representatives in Alberta and Saskatchewan. But once again, gas will be a tougher sell when it’s more expensive and now so much more unpredictable than the clean alternatives. The new nuclear technologies are still speculative and deeply vulnerable to cost overruns. Increasingly, utilities, developers, and investors know it. Carney declared Thursday that “it doesn’t do us good to be sitting in court all the time with provinces. It doesn’t do us good to be talking past each other. What does do us good is to come together with specific projects.” There are no guarantees, but so much of the language and narrative-building in the electricity strategy suggests the lion’s share of those projects will be renewable. • The Party Has Already Started: The electricity strategy only rarely digs down to specific projects, but provinces representing three-quarters of Canada’s population are already embracing a faster transition. Hydro-Québec is working on a 10-year, $185-billion renewable energy and grid buildout by 2035. Ontario recently brought 10 provinces and territories together in a National Energy Corridor Agreement to boost interprovincial and -territorial transmission infrastructure. And the MOU implementation agreement commits Alberta to facilitate investment in renewable energy projects, a big step back from its continuing, punitive restrictions on renewables development. The electricity strategy envisions much of the financing and infrastructure that will be needed to pull those advances together into an integrated whole. • Delivering on Affordability: The MOU implementation plan has little or nothing to say about affordability (are you surprised?), but the electricity strategy does, with a top-line pledge to reduce home energy costs for seven out of 10 Canadian households by 2050, a total saving of $15 billion across the board. It’s just a start, but it puts affordability on the government’s narrative map. If they’re serious and deliberate about patching together a least-cost energy strategy, it’ll have little if any room for oil, gas, or nuclear—not with powerful evidence, for example, that electricity prices are higher when those prices are set by gas. • Smith Proves that Canada Works: By signing a deal that makes it harder to claim the federal government is blocking a new pipeline, Smith has helped prove Carney’s constant anti-separatist refrain that “Canada works”—incurring the rage, no doubt, of her own political base. Canada also needs to work for anyone who depends on a clean environment, healthy and thriving ecosystems, and safe, stable climate. But with Smith and her separatist constituents setting up as a fifth column for annexation by Donald Trump’s United States, let’s set aside any notion that 51st state status for Canada is a recipe for anything other than climate disaster (and so much else). Resisting and withstanding Trump (just 170 more sleeps until mid-term elections, which is a damn sight better than the 730 we started with) doesn’t mean a free pass for a pipeline, but we can still appreciate it that keeping Canada whole and sovereign is still Carney’s Job One. • The Words Not Spoken: Apart from a commitment to export a million barrels of “low-emission” Alberta bitumen per day (memo to Smith and Carney: You realize that that’s less than the industry is already exporting??), the MOU implementation plan says nothing about the international trade and economic sovereignty deals that Carney has been travelling the world to negotiate. It didn’t have to. Carney doesn’t need permission from Danielle Smith, her American enablers, or her separatist allies to continue building the alliances that will ratchet down our economic dependency on our unstable, unreliable neighbour to the south. But every connection he builds with countries outside North America helps align our economy and our future with a faster shift off fossil fuels. Little if any of this was on our bingo cards a year or two ago. But it’s the pathway that has opened up to us. And if it gives Canada any climate or energy gains at all in an era still dominated by Trump and his increasingly ridiculous tariffs, his loutish trade negotiations and his continuing annexation threats, we have to take the wins. Not least because they’ll be the point of departure for what we can achieve in 2027, 2029, and beyond, as Trump’s grip and this era begin to loosen and then fade. What is Carney Doing? If this line of thought is right—and it’s a possibility, not a prediction—it means that Carney’s actions and decisions are largely about buying time. Time for Trump’s power to wane. Time for Alberta’s separatist/conspiracist virus to spread, mutate, die out, or at least die back, with help from a vaccine of federal steadiness and calm (appropriate enough, for a movement populated largely by vaccine deniers) that no conspiracy theory can dismiss. And time for the government’s trade and investment agenda to deliver results—even knowing that some of those results will bring impacts that front-line communities will not and should not accept. In the immediate moment, none of this changes the way the wider climate community has to respond, from campaigners to investors to front-line practitioners. All of our voices are still essential. But those voices will be stronger and more confident if we have a clearer sense of the brutal game we’ve been pulled into, and a plausible path (or two it three) for playing it to the win we need. This conversation also underscores our biggest task for the remaining years of what was supposed to be the “decisive” decade for climate response: if we can shift the energy narrative in Canada, make it a mainstream view that the country’s preoccupation with oil and gas has us falling farther behind a changing world, we’ll see far better results in the 2030s and beyond. For many veteran climate advocates, taking on that part of the fight will begin with recognizing that most of our friends and family, neighbours and colleagues already understand that climate change is real and right in front of us: they’re looking away and staying silent because they don’t have what climate communicator Katharine Hayhoe calls “efficacy”. As Hayhoe recently pointed out in a feature interview with The Energy Mix, it amounts to science denial to keep hammering away at the dire news about global warming without also helping audiences understand what they can do about it, with multiple studies telling us why that won’t work. Far better to open those conversations with the dominant crises like energy security, food security, emergency preparedness and business continuity, affordability, and financial security that have knocked climate change far lower on the list of public priorities, and will likely keep it there. We Knew This Would Happen Climate hawks have always known this day would come. For decades, we warned that everyone had to pay attention to climate change right now, because it would be much tougher to respond once the crisis itself started affecting our daily lives. We were right, and here we are. But now, thanks to decades of hard work, communities and countries have an alternative to doubling down on fossil fuels. “In 10 years everyone will have ‘always known’ that solar and batteries were going to win,” Morgan Solar Executive Chair Mike Andrade writes on LinkedIn. With the disruption in the Strait of Hormuz roiling energy priorities around the world, Canada and the United States are among the shrinking number of countries that are still very keen on fossil fuel development. Understanding that gap is a first, essential step in spotting the opportunities ahead, and averting the deep economic as well as environmental and social risk we face if we don’t seize them. Thanks for reading The Energy Mix Weekender! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support our work. Subscribe Mitchell Beer traces his background in renewable energy and energy efficiency back to 1977, in climate change to 1997. Now he and the rest of the Energy Mix team scan 1,200 news headlines a week to pull together The Energy Mix and The Energy Mix Weekender. Chart of the Week BYD Eyes 20 Dealership Locations After Canada Greenlights Chinese EV Imports ‘Sledgehammer’ Carbon Price Deal Boosts Emissions by 230Mt, Aims for Fall 2027 Pipeline Approval ‘Worse Than Harper’: Regulatory Rollback Would Stop Canada from Assessing Project Impacts, Critics Warn Electricity Strategy Aims for Doubling by 2050, Allows ‘Flexibility’ for Gas Power Plants Opposition Mounts as O’Leary’s Data Centre Approved in Drought-Stricken Utah Diluted Carbon Price Misses ‘Reality of the World We’re In’, Could Impede Diversified Trade: Climate Institute $200B in Clean Energy Investment Will Need On-Time Delivery, Reliable Policies, Trade Association Says ‘Sovereign Pipeline’: CEO Pitches to Keep Trans Mountain in Government Hands What a Supercharged El Niño Could Mean for Canada Canada’s future is electric, and here’s how a power grid superhighway would get us there (Toronto Star) The Perilous Waters of Hecate Strait (Globe and Mail) Saudi Aramco profits jump despite conflict in Middle East (The Guardian) Farmers confront rising cost of fertilizer and fuel as spring seeding under way (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) Clarkson forecasts 24% decline in offshore oil, gas capital expenditures (Oil & Gas Journal) Pipe Dreams: How Oil and Gas Fail to Deliver Economic Development in Africa (Oil Change International) Developing countries must hold the pen to script the fossil fuel transition (Climate Home News) Iran war threatens the dream of a post-oil economy in the Gulf (Washington Post) U.S. Oil, Gas Work Force Hits Lowest Level Since 2022 (Rigzone) Why Polestar Is Doubling Down on Net Zero as Rivals Pull Back on EVs (Bloomberg) Why this Michigan utility plans to sell its hydro dams for $13 (E&E News/Politico) Levees can no longer save New Orleans (Vox)
Governor Moore Highlights Military Infrastructure and Small Business Investment during “Delivering for Maryland” Tour in Harford County
Governor Moore Highlights Military Infrastructure and Small Business Investment during “Delivering for Maryland” Tour in Harford County
College to Boost Region’s Health Care Workforce with $3 Million Kenan Investment
Wake Tech is expanding the Boost student success model, a workforce development initiative designed to help students complete their degrees sooner, into nursing and other health care programs.
Ariel Investments Cuts Stake in Dolan’s Sphere Entertainment by 22%
Ariel is still the third largest institutional holder of Sphere's shares, which have been on a tear, up 455% from their April 2025 low.
Chartbook 449: Voldemort on Threadneedle street. The Bank of England and the "haunted house" of English politics.
Imagine the scene: In some Harry Potter version of 21st-century London, a group of deathless UK Treasury officials gathered from across the last century huddle over warm pints and glasses of Chardonnay. Around the table there are officials from the 1920s, the 1930s, the 1970s, 2022 and today. Inevitably, in May 2026, the subject of conversation is the disintegration of the current Labour government. Despite its huge majority in parliament, it has been reduced to tatters by catastrophic local election result. These exposed the fact that rather than having a government with a clear popular majority, the UK is like most other modern societies divided into 5 segments each of which commands between 26 and 16 percent of the vote. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the leadership at Nos 10 and 11 Downing Street - where the Prime Minister and the Chancellor (Treasury Secretary) work - seem paralyzed. They are caught between mounting discontent over unfairness and the cost of living, and tough fiscal strictures that push them into making unpopular spending decisions. In the London pub, the Treasury officials from across the ages, can barely hide their satisfaction at the latest display of democratic politics caught in the vice-grip of financial logic. “Remember the mur d’argent and the banker’s ramp?” “Just like yesterday!” There are smirks around the table. Then the representative of 2026 pipes up: “One thing you have to say about the current lot (referring to the latest hapless Labour government), you don’t have to teach them about the bond market!” There is a murmur of ascent from the Treasury Mandarins. The trauma of the fiscal crisis of September-October 2022 sits deep. Back then, in the final stages of Tory decay, a ‘mini budget’ that challenged fiscal orthodoxy led to a brief but fierce panic in one of the oldest government bond markets in the world (aka gilt market). Now all you have to do is to mention the “bond market” to hush debate. [ Paul Mason@paulmasonnews In the name of public service, and as ex-economics editor of BBC Newsnight, I offer to do a zoom call, tonight, with any Labour MP who wants to understand why bond markets do not "fall into line" with governments. 1/ 3:57 PM · May 12, 2026 · 466K Views 224 Replies · 674 Reposts · 3.93K Likes ](https://x.com/paulmasonnews/status/2054229532404519082?s=20) “And the funny thing is”, the young man in the huddle continues, “they don’t even want to talk about … ”. There is a sudden hush. Significant looks are exchanged around the table. About? One of the senior figures puts down his glass with a decisive “clink”. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has entered their thoughts. Meanwhile, a few miles away in a grubby pub in Bloomsbury, two conspirators from the camp of Critical Macrofinance huddle over cans of low-alcohol IPA. They look at each other and blurt out loud: “The Bank!” “Everyone in the bloody Labour party is talking about the bond market. But why aren’t they even mentioning … the Bank of England!?” “Why is no one talking about Voldemort?” In Paul Mason’s blogpost, after much chest-thumping about basic fiscal logic, the basic point about the Bank of England is buried in the fine print at #3 in his list of suggestions as to what a radical Labour government might actually be able to do! [ Conflict & Democracy Down with the bond market! Down with gravity! It may seem unfair to focus on Labour MP Paula Barker for her off-the-cuff assertion that the bond market would have to “fall in line” with Andy Burnham, should he replace Keir Starmer as prime minister. But Burnham himself told the New Statesman that Labour had to “get beyond this thing of being in hock to the bond markets… Read more 2 days ago · 100 likes · 3 comments · Paul Mason ](https://htsf.substack.com/p/down-with-the-bond-market-down-with?utm_source=substack&utm_campaign=post_embed&utm_medium=web) Back in Bloomsbury they shake their heads and ask: “Didn’t we learn anything from the Eurozone crisis?” Meanwhile, as if summoned to the conversation by some higher force, the “pink pages” announce: “The days of ultra-cheap government borrowing have come to an end” and Martin “Whizzard” Wolf publishes the graph of the season Look at the UK in 2026, perilously positioned on the upper edge of the pack. No wonder no one in London needs any lessons about the “bond market”. But, look again. Imagine how they feel in Rome. What is London’s nightmare in 2026? The nightmare is that you end up like Italy in the early 2010s during the Eurozone crisis. Once comfortably situated in the middle of the pack, watching with horror as your ten-year yields explode to 7 percent and “spreads” become a national nightmare. One of the largest economies in Europe, a founding member of the euro, stigmatized. But the message of the Italian experience is ambiguous. After all, the stigma didn’t last. In 2026, Italy borrows at rates lower not only than the UK but the US. The US, which, as everyone knows, enjoys the “exorbitant privilege” of being the issuer of reserve, safe asets. What kind of magic is this? How did Italy, in the space of fifteen years, go from being good, to bad and back again? Which brings us back to our dissident friends in their Bloombury boozer and their memories of the Eurozone crisis. Italy never was Britain - with its ongoing fiscal deficits. Without interest payments, on primary balance, from 2000 to 2020 Italy ran a tight fiscal ship. Even in 2008 it barely went into deficit and when it was being put on the rack in the early 20210s its primary surplus matched that of austere Germany. So, what happened? How did it end up stigmatized? Of course Italian politics didn’t help. Berlusconi was at the helm and he had legal issues. But amongst friends in the Bloomsbury pub, Berlusconi is a sideshow, the name we whisper to each other is “Trichet”. From 2004 to 2011 the ECB was headed by Jean-Claude Trichet, ex of the French Treasury, more German than the Germans. After 2009 as the news of the Greek fiscal disaster broke, the European bond markets wento into panic mode and Trichet began a brutal game of cat and mouse. Between 2009 and 2011, Trichet intervened in the bond market to help, only when he thought he had compliance with austerity. When he thought they were uncooperative, he withdrew. In the summer of 2011, he even made direct suggestions to his Italian counterparts in Rome, as to how Italy should be governed. It was this cat and mouse game that drove the bond markets crazy and exposed Italy to a violent squeeze. When Mario Draghi took over the ECB at the end of 2011 and declared “whatever it takes”, the pressure on Italy, gradually eased. It is that starring role that has made Draghi into the towering figure in European politics that he remains today. So now you see why voices in London hush when it comes to the Bank of England. “The bond market” isn’t an irresistible objective force like the weather or an avalanche. It can appear like that. But that depends on the way it is being handled, or not handled by the central bank. Which is why the silence about the Bank of England in London right now is so significant. If you think this all sounds a bit fishy, coming from a left-liberal Keynesian like myself, well, let me introduce you to Robin Brooks, who, to put it mildly, plays on a different quidditch team to me. Here, from the position of a fiscal hawk is Robin’s celebratory account of the Bank of England’s role since 2022; In October 2022, at the height of the bond market blow-up in the UK, something incredible happened. Governor Andrew Bailey told British pension funds the Bank of England would end its support program for the country’s fragile gilt market, drawing a line under how much help the central bank was willing to give to exposed pension funds and - implicitly - the government. By the end of that week, Kwasi Kwarteng - the finance minister - had resigned. Prime Minister Liz Truss would soon follow. This episode is so incredible because it contrasts with what happened in the Euro zone earlier that year. Bond markets in Spain and Italy were under pressure amid high inflation and rising interest rates. In the middle of this, Mario Draghi - Italy’s Prime Minister - resigned, compounding pressure on bond markets of high-debt countries on the Euro periphery. Unlike the Bank of England, the ECB caved. It bought Italian and Spanish government bonds in an effort to cap yields and introduced a new tool that signaled to markets it might do such caps more frequently going forward. Faced with pressure on bond markets, the ECB capitulated to political pressure from high-debt countries like Italy and Spain. The Bank of England stood its ground and toppled the Truss government. This kind of thing has long-lasting consequences. It means markets price a higher probability of yield caps in the Euro zone, which keeps Italian and Spanish yields artificially low, while markets feel free to push up UK yields without fear of central bank intervention. As I flagged in yesterday’s post, this means you really can’t compare UK yields to those of other high-debt countries. The UK looks worse, but only because its central bank isn’t interfering with markets. There’s more to this than just that 2022 episode. The Bank of England has also been much more aggressive in its quantitative tightening (QT) than other central banks. If one motivation for quantitative easing (QE) is to lower bond yields - especially longer-dated ones - then it stands to reason QT pushes yields up. The left chart above shows a four-quarter moving average of UK government debt issuance (black line) in percent of GDP and which sectors absorb this issuance, including the Bank of England (blue bars). The right chart above compares the Bank of England’s accumulation or run-off of government bonds (blue line) with that of other central banks, where this blue line is the same as the blue bars in the left chart. The Bank of England was quicker and more aggressive than other central banks in downsizing its bond holdings, so UK yields will have risen more than elsewhere also for this reason, not just because of Governor Andrew Bailey’s remarks in October 2022. Back in October 2025, after a conversation in New York with friends in British politics, my sense of dysphoria was such that I raised the issue of the Bank of England openly in the FT Since 2008, the UK has slid into a deep economic and political predicament. Growth has stagnated to a degree far worse even than in the 1970s. The Tory leadership’s wager on the Brexit referendum spectacularly backfired, leaving the UK isolated from Europe and at the mercy of its special relationship with the US, many of whose political class regard the UK as a basket case. After years of austerity, the Labour party lurched to the left and then back to the centre. The Tory party has been eclipsed by the populist nationalism of Reform. Any British government should be worrying first and foremost about how to restart growth. Instead, Keir Starmer is beset by shades of the gilt market panic triggered by the Liz Truss government in 2022. The debt level is higher than in recent years, but there is no cause for panic. UK debt is at far from critical levels and of long duration. Whether you want to “take back control” or launch progressive economic policy, a democracy dogged by fear of bond market vigilantes is unhealthy. In a country that is a monetary sovereign, this climate points to one thing: a disconnect between the government and the central bank. Since 1997, the independence of the Bank of England has become a sacred cow. But independence is what you make of it. And in the wake of the gilt market crisis of September 2022, relations between the Bank of England and the UK government need a reset. In normal times, there is no doubt that an inflation-targeting independent central bank can serve a country well. But since 2008, the UK and other advanced economies have not had the luxury of such simple problems. To their credit, central bankers around the world have not stood on orthodoxy. After 2008, the US Federal Reserve rescued the global banking system and, through quantitative easing, it stabilised the Treasury market in the face of huge deficits. In Europe, things were trickier. Both the Bank of England under Mervyn King and Jean-Claude Trichet’s European Central Bank played cat and mouse with national governments. This was a high stakes wager that between 2010 and 2012 escalated bond market tension and triggered a disastrous turn to austerity. Shaken by the impact of those shocks, their successors, Mark Carney and Mario Draghi adopted a more protective stance (assuming you were not the government of Greece). Recall that Draghi’s legendary slogan, “Whatever it takes”, was uttered to face down the City of London’s bond vigilantes. In 2015, Draghi launched QE — financial repression by another name. In 2016, Carney used the authority of the Bank of England to stabilise markets following the vote for Brexit, an exemplary demonstration of how central banks can underpin democratic choice, even when those choices are wrong headed. All these were independent central bankers steeped in the best practice of the 1990s, who recognised that historic crises demanded radical action. It was the price surge of 2021-2023 that poisoned the atmosphere. Though the shock came mainly from the supply side, central banks ended up in the dock. Nowhere more so than in the UK. The Bank of England reacted with aggressive normalisation. Faced with a cost of living crisis, the governor called for workers to accept real wage cuts. In early 2022, as gas prices were at record levels and Russia’s army was poised to invade Ukraine, the Bank adopted a stringent programme of quantitative tightening, elevating interest rates. When the Truss government got itself in trouble, the Bank took almost a week to come to the rescue. Rather than enacting a charade of normality, it is time to recognise that in 2025 the UK faces a period of historic transition. To meet this challenge, what is needed is a new concordat with the Bank. This should not ignore inflationary pressures or the long-run trajectory of debt, but should affirm the priority of reviving investment-led growth. One could follow Donald Trump in demanding interest rate cuts. The Bank could shadow the ECB in its commitment to capping Eurozone yields. But the top priority should be to lay the ghost of September 2022. The Bank’s slowing of QT last month was a concession. An immediate and complete end would send the right signal. Such a concordat will not by itself restore sanity to politics, solve the housing problem or rebuild the NHS. But it would help to lift the fear of bond market crisis, which is paralysing the effort by democratic politicians to answer the fundamental questions facing the nation. Now, that call for a new concordat between government and Bank of Englands seems more urgent than ever. The problem is that in October 2025, Starmer still had some authority. Today the government is in tatters. And when you are the “under the harrow” - to echo a phrase of Montagu Norman’s from the 1920s - it is the worst possible time to consider institutional change. To make general arguments at a time of crisis can only seem like special pleading rather than a general argument for long-term change. The same, unfortunately, is also true for the other basic institutional reform that Britain urgently needs i.e. the abolition of the out-dated first past the post electoral system and its replacement by a moderated form of proportional representation. And thirdly - whilst we are saying the quiet parts out loud - Britain needs to reopen the question of EU membership. What the local election results of 2026 show is that this remains a key issue. And what they also show is that there is a clear majority that would favor a return. Until these basic features of Britain’s political economy are addressed the country will carry on its politics as though in a haunted house, governed by governments that lack actual majorities, conjuring up false constraints whilst ignoring the real ones. This one is for DG and MI. I love writing the newsletter. If you enjoy it too and fancy buying me a coffee once a month, you know what to do. Click below! Subscribe
Downtown Wyandotte construction squeezes local businesses, but city leaders say payoff is coming
Downtown Wyandotte businesses are struggling with construction disruptions, but a $12M city investment promises long-term gains.
Kate Marmion School of Public Health celebrates gift and inaugural graduating class - UT Health San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio formally celebrated the naming of the Kate Marmion School of Public Health on Wednesday, May 13, to recognize a $30 million transformational investment from the Kate Marmion Charitable Foundation to drive the school’s future impact by educating the next generation of public health professionals who will benefit the health of communities across South Texas.
A free concert, bigger parade and expanded entertainment: Buckhannon's investment helps Strawberry Festival festival reach new heights
Buckhannon boosted its support for the West Virginia Strawberry Festival with a record $50,000 contribution, helping fund a free Main Street concert headlined by Parmalee and expanded entertainment.
Howard Community College Featured in 'State of Business' Address
In his Business Outlook Luncheon remarks at Turf Valley Resort last week, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball outlined how Howard County “stands on business” through five pillars: managing crises, investing in people, backing businesses, making strategic investments, and preparing for the future. Howard Community College appears by name in the pillar that anchors the others: investing in people. Dr. Ball highlighted the $11 million county investment in HCC’s Cathy and Danny Bell Workforce and Trades Center, which will open this fall. He described the facility as a world-class center with state-of-the-art training in key industries, championed by HCC President Dr. Daria J. Willis, and positioned to help Howard County compete with institutions worldwide. He also recognized HCC’s Complete4Success program, supported by a $3.5 million county investment in 2022, as a continuing driver of certifications and degrees that prepare students to enter Howard County’s workforce ready to contribute on day one. Dr. Ball connected HCC’s work to the broader economic moment in the county, including more than 1,580 apprentices now training across Howard County businesses, up from roughly 1,100 in 2018, and the SPARK program that bridges classroom learning to high-demand industries. Each of these efforts depends on the kind of workforce pipeline HCC is built to deliver. Educational Services is one of the top three employment sectors for county residents, alongside Professional, Scientific, & Technical Services and Health Care & Social Assistance. HCC will award 1,263 degrees next week at its annual commencement ceremony, and every year, that output feeds directly into the industries the County Executive named as drivers of Howard County’s growth. The full picture also includes the families who are not yet there. The 2024 ALICE update from United Way of Central Maryland found that 35,346 households in Howard County, 29% of the total, fell below the ALICE Threshold in 2022, meaning they earned more than the Federal Poverty Level but less than the basic cost of living in the county. The Household Survival Budget for a Howard County family of two adults, an infant, and a preschooler reached $118,608 annually, requiring an hourly wage of $59.30 to cover housing, child care, food, transportation, and other essentials. Affluence and economic strain coexist within the same county lines. That gap is the reason higher education and economic development are inseparable. Every certification, associate degree, and apprenticeship credential issued at HCC represents a household closer to crossing the ALICE Threshold and into long-term financial stability. The Bell Center, Complete4Success, Howard P.R.I.D.E., Parent Scholars, and the institution’s transfer-rate gains are significant components of Howard County’s economic mobility infrastructure. HCC is grateful to Dr. Ball for his sustained partnership over nearly eight years of service and for recognizing that this college plays a central role in the economic story Howard County is telling. Standing on business in Howard County means standing alongside the flagship institution that prepares its workforce.
Salesforce, Echo Health Ventures back Optura's $17.5M series A to track AI performance
Healthcare organizations are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence technologies but without a clear blueprint for how to measure the business value of these investments. | Optura claims that more than $2 billion in AI initiatives currently run on its platform, with $120 million in tracked value at a 700% return on AI investment on in-flight initiatives.
Akon's top business mistake: Stop hustling backwards
Yahoo Finance Executive Editor Brian Sozzi sits down with Musician and Entrepreneur Akon to chat about his new album, his successful investments, and his advice for entrepreneurs.
AI-driven layoffs aren’t making business sense
Most large enterprises lay off workers after launching AI projects, but industry research says job cuts have no correlation to return on AI investment. Experts offer better routes to ROI.
Kevin Smart Says the 'Smartest' Business Moves Follow This Specific Rule
The comedian turned serial entrepreneur shares his investment strategy.
Read the internal memo from LinkedIn's CEO on layoffs
LinkedIn is laying off employees and "scaling back" other investments, an internal memo shows.
Agriculture in Africa: science and research can’t make an impact without investment and good policies
Science can only change the world when societies decide to give it the means to do so.
Apreo Health® Adds Independent Director and Strategic Investor to Advance Novel Airway Scaffold for Severe Emphysema
Apreo Health, a clinical-stage medical device company pioneering a tissue-sparing treatment for severe emphysema, today announced the appointment of David Amerson to its Board of Directors and a strategic investment from OSF Ventures, the corporate investment arm of OSF HealthCare. The company also announced it will present new clinical data at the American Thoracic Society (ATS) 2026 International Conference in Orlando, Florida.
Jack Ma-Backed Ant’s Profit Fell 79% on AI, Health Care Costs
Ant Group Co.’s quarterly profit continued to decline after the company increased investment in artificial intelligence technology for its health care, large language model and payment services.
Tencent Maintains Double-Digit Profit Growth Amid Intensified AI Investment
Tencent Holdings extended its streak of double-digit profit growth in the first quarter.
Celebrating 15 years of investments in pandemic influenza preparedness at this year’s World Health Assembly
The Pandemic Influenza Preparedness (PIP) Framework marks 15 years in action at this year’s World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland, to be held on 18–23 May. The innovative global approach to preparing for and responding to influenza pandemics was adopted in 2011, prompting WHO and its Member States to look back at what has been achieved and look ahead to the role it can continue to play in the future.
U builds out Utah Health AI Vault, supercomputer with $33 million in state support
New state investment in the Utah Health AI Vault (UHAIV) will position Utah to lead the nation in AI-enabled health innovation.
How The Investment Story Is Shifting For AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC)
Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for AMC Entertainment Holdings, with some referencing fair value estimates around US$2.03 per share and others setting more cautious targets near US$1.10 to US$1.50. These moves reflect a split view, where bullish research relies on revenue and margin assumptions, while bearish reports focus on capital structure and execution risks, especially around box office expectations. As you read on, you will see how these differing calls fit into the...
5 ways HKFoods is strengthening its poultry business in 2026
Key drivers include market shifts, sustainability investments and product innovation.
Sacramento Kings and Sutter Health Announce Strategic Partnership
Sutter Health to Serve as Official Healthcare and Jersey Patch Partner to Advance Community Health and Clinical Excellence SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Today, the Sacramento Kings and Sutter Health announced a new strategic partnership, uniting two purpose-driven organizations dedicated to community impact, advancing healthy outcomes and long-term investment in the greater Sacramento region. Anchored in Sutter’s […]
PayPal pays $30 million to settle DOJ probe over 'DEI' investment program
PayPal agreed to pay $30 million to settle a U.S. probe over an investment program created for black and minority-owned businesses that was "unlawful" and "discriminatory," the U.S. Department of Justice said in a statement on Tuesday.
Shapiro Administration Highlights Governor’s Proposed Budget Investments Using Healthy Meals to Support Better Health for Medicaid Recipients
Shapiro Administration Highlights Governor’s Proposed Budget Investments Using Healthy Meals to Support Better Health for Medicaid Recipients
WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. to Participate in Upcoming Investor Conferences
LOS ANGELES, May 12, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WEBTOON Entertainment Inc. (Nasdaq: WBTN) (“WEBTOON Entertainment” or “the Company”), a leading global entertainment company and home to some of the world’s largest storytelling platforms, today announced it will participate in the following upcoming investor conferences: J.P. Morgan 2026 Global Technology, Media and Communications ConferenceMay 20, 2026Presentation Time: 10:40 am ETLocation: Boston, MA UBS Asian Investment Conference 2026May 28, 202
The Apprentice: Boafo fills coffers with support from Hoyer’s political network
It’s no secret that Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-5th), the dean of Maryland’s federal delegation, is working hard to elect Del. Adrian Boafo (D-Prince George’s) to succeed him. But the full extent of Hoyer’s investment in Boafo’s campaign is only now coming into focus.
Australia business confidence shaken as costs climb, survey shows
Australian business confidence remained mired in gloom in April, a survey showed on Tuesday, as spiking energy costs from the Middle East war squeezed profit margins and pressured investment plans.
Stonepeak to Acquire BMO Transportation and Vendor Finance
NEW YORK & TORONTO – May 11, 2026 – Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets, and BMO Financial
What people are saying about OpenAI's big investment in enterprise AI
OpenAI is working with some big names to start a new company focused on advising businesses on how to build and deploy AI.
Economists warn of downturn as US businesses face rising costs
Costs are piling up for businesses during the U.S. and Israel’s war against Iran — and many economists see a bleak outlook, with some bracing for a downturn in hiring and investment in the coming months.
Chicago investment bank Lincoln International seeks $421M in IPO
The Chicago-based firm and some selling shareholders are offering around 21 million Class A shares for $18 to $20 each, according to its filing Monday with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The state of women's health in numbers
Addressing women's health outcomes could unlock $1 trillion annually by 2040, but investment is still vital to closing the gap.
Bruin Capital Buys Stake in Sports Promoter Matchroom
Bruin Capital’s investment, a highly coveted asset in the private equity world, is expected to fuel Matchroom’s expansion in the U.S. market.
Matchroom sells minority stake to US investment firm Bruin Capital
Barry and Eddie Hearn’s sports promotional company is reportedly valued at more than £1bn
Illinois road investment impact business competitiveness
Illinois road conditions drive higher costs, delays and safety risks for businesses statewide. Learn why sustained investment is critical.
Apollo Strikes Deals for Two Live-Events Businesses
The investment firm is set to buy Emerald Holding and Questex with plans to combine them.
Allegheny Health Network unveils new medical helicopter. What to know
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Elon Musk's SpaceX Could See Orbital Datacenter Business 'Dwarf' Starlink, Says Cathie Wood
Investor Cathie Wood, the founder of investment firm ARK Invest, thinks Elon Musk-led SpaceX could stand to benefit highly from orbital datacenters. Orbital Datacenters Could ‘Dwarf’ Starlink On Thursday, ARK posted a video on the social media platform X, in...
Is Q1 2026 Legal Accrual-Driven Loss Altering The Investment Case For Live Nation (LYV)?
In the first quarter of 2026, Live Nation Entertainment reported sales of US$3,793.03 million, but a net loss of US$389.1 million as a US$450 million legal accrual tied to investigations and litigation pushed the company into an operating loss. At the same time, the long-running Popp v. Live Nation and Ticketmaster nationwide class action over allegedly supracompetitive ticketing fees advanced, while management emphasized double-digit adjusted operating income growth expectations and record...
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders highlight maternal health investments
Sanders said she raised alarms about maternal health in Arkansas after noticing the state had one of the highest maternal mortality rates.
Wilton Rancheria expands Sacramento stadium project to $450M sports and entertainment venue
Wilton Rancheria and Sacramento Republic FC plan a $450 million, 20,000-seat stadium in downtown Sacramento, expanding the tribe’s investment in sports, entertainment and real estate development.
Will Caesars’ Narrowed Loss and New Venues Reshape Caesars Entertainment's (CZR) Investment Narrative?
In the first quarter of 2026, Caesars Entertainment reported higher sales of US$2,153 million and revenue of US$2,870 million, while reducing its net loss to US$98 million compared with the prior year. Alongside these improved results, Caesars has been expanding its entertainment offerings with new venues such as OMNIA Dayclub & Skybar in Las Vegas and the upcoming Caesars Beach Club in Atlantic City, aiming to draw more visitors to its properties. Next, we will examine how Caesars’ narrowed...
My grandfather's advice helped me retire early from Google at age 55
A former Googler assumed only people who got rich from their startups being bought out could retire early. He shared the simple investment strategies he says helped him do it.
North Memorial plans merger with South Dakota-based Sanford Health
The health systems plan a $600 million investment in Robbinsdale and Maple Grove hospitals.