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What is there to teach a Kennedy about politics? As Jack Schlossberg has found out, a lot
If multiple polls and the wariness of friends who have been helping him are proven right, Jack Schlossberg is facing not just potential rejection in Tuesday’s primary but the prospect of letting down the Kennedy name and all the people who still get excited about it.
Jennifer Aniston joins “Friends ”in remembering James Burrows: 'He was a father figure to me'
Burrows, who directed the pilot of 'Friends' among other episodes, died on Friday at age 85.
Jennifer Aniston joins 'Friends' in remembering James Burrows: 'He was a father figure to me'
Jennifer Aniston joined fellow 'Friends' stars in paying tribute to James Burrows, who directed the pilot episode of the hit sitcom. Burrows died on Friday at 85.
Xbox Forces PS5 Players To Jump Through Hoops To Play ‘Halo: Campaign Evolved’
PlayStation and Xbox players are getting a look at just how many hoops they or their friends have to jump through in order to play Halo: Campaign Evolved together.
Trump says Meloni 'wants to be friends again' after Italy refused to help US amid Iran war
President Donald Trump said Giorgia Meloni did not let the U.S. use Italy's landing strips in its war against Iran and rejected being friends with her.
New research casts doubt on cannabis benefits, cites mental health risks
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel discusses new research on modern marijuana’s high THC potency and increased mental health risks on ‘Fox & Friends Weekend.’
Fortnite Star Clix Made His First $1 Million at 13. Now the 21-Year-Old Is Building a Business Empire
Clix dropped out of middle school and built one of the most loyal communities in streaming. He has a successful clothing line. He has a VeeFriends trading card. His collectibles sell out in minutes. Here's his secret.
‘He has to find a way to be friends’: The political fight behind Anthropic’s export controls
In an administration that rewards political deference, Anthropic’s CEO has repeatedly clashed with the White House.
More than a game: Football, friendship and mental health recovery
Men recovering from bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and other mental health challenges find help through football.
WATCH LIVE: Barack and Michelle Obama open Obama Presidential Center with Springsteen, Stevie Wonder
Former President Barack Obama is getting a little help from his friends in celebrating the opening of his presidential museum in Chicago.
Which WAGs Will Win the Summer of Sport?
As NBA finals celebrations kick on and the World Cup gets underway, Vogue Business breaks down the wives and girlfriends brands should be watching in the stands.
The chaos continues
We’re kicking off weeks of chaotic summer fun as we tackle two community challenges, do battle in multiplayer experiences, play with friends with Parties (beta), get more for less in Marketplace’s Summer Sale, and more!
Science 'under attack' from fossil fuel interests at UN climate talks
A coalition of some rich nations and the world's most vulnerable have vowed to protect climate science in UN negotiations
She paid $3,500 to watch 'Summer House' from the show's Hamptons home
Kerry Feeney watched the "Summer House" reunion at the show's house. "The best part was being able to share it with my friends," she said.
Armie Hammer explains how 'old Jamaican guy' helped quiet his anger over famous friends' lack of support
Armie Hammer explained how an 'old Jamaican guy' helped him get over the anger of his famous friends failing to publicly support him through his abuse scandal.
Dutch children are unusually happy and healthy. Is it because of the Avondvierdaagse?
Once a year, Dutch kids, parents and teachers take part in a walking festival, heading out for four nights in a single week to explore their neighbourhoods, exercise and make friends. It’s a tradition that seems to be genuinely transformative
Global Fund gathering in Luxembourg underscores international solidarity in health
A high-level working lunch with Members of Parliament, organized in Luxembourg by Friends of The Global Fund Europe, acknowledged that the contribution of Luxembourg to the Global Fund is an example of international solidarity and commitment for Europe and for the world.
Newsom says he's on Trump's 'hit list' as Justice Department interviews governor's friends
Gov. Gavin Newsom said the Trump administration appears to be investigating him and his wife. The Democrat said agents interviewed his friends and associates.
Newsom says DOJ conducting baseless investigation of him and his wife at Trump's direction
Newsom said that in recent days, "federal agents have knocked on the doors of family friends and former employees," and have been "demanding records" in a quest to find any kind of wrongdoing by him or his wife.
The Batture sparks legal fight between childhood friends who became business partners
The longtime friends and business partners are splitting up over a disagreement about how Jacobson is running the Batture, a 10-acre park on the Uptown riverfront.
The Batture sparks legal fight between childhood friends that became business partners
The longtime friends and business partners are splitting up over a disagreement about how Jacobson is running the Batture, a 10-acre park on the Uptown riverfront.
'Sweet Magnolias' Needs To Focus On What Made Us Fall In Love With It In The First Place
The Netflix drama is a sprawling look at friendship and family life in the South.
Living with strangers instead of friends after college; worth it
When I moved to San Francisco after college, I signed a lease with three strangers I met online. So far, it's been easier than living with friends.
Living with strangers instead of friends after college; worth it
When I moved to San Francisco after college, I signed a lease with three strangers I met online. So far, it's been easier than living with friends.
I spent $2,500 on throwing birthday party at a French castle: 1 regret
A woman who is a fantasy fan threw her 30th birthday at a French chateau, hosting 21 friends and spending around $2,500 on the celebration.
My daughter and I are reconnecting after the turbulent teenage years
My daughter's teenage years were tough for us. We're finally reconnecting, and our bond goes beyond mother and daughter — now, we're friends.
Asking Eric: Why did my friend lie to me about her political beliefs?
A friendship is questioned after the letter writer finds out their friend follows thousands of radical organizations on Instagram.
Freedom Festival WV | live entertainment, food & family fun
VIENNA, WV (WVNS) – Friends of Vienna is presenting the 2026 Freedom Festival this summer. According to the Friends of Vienna website, the 2026 Freedom Festival will take place on Thursday, June 25, F...
Freedom Festival WV | live entertainment, food & family fun
VIENNA, WV (WVNS) – Friends of Vienna is presenting the 2026 Freedom Festival this summer. According to the Friends of Vienna website, the 2026 Freedom Festival will take place on Thursday, J…
Inside the war to sideline stronger climate science, before it’s used in court
An emerging field of research that can measure how much climate change has worsened individual disasters is under attack by friends of the fossil fuel industry. Billions of dollars are at stake.
Small Business Focus: Organized by Katie: Bringing real-life order to Arlington homes
Starting a business often begins with recognizing a need, and for professional organizer Kathryn “Katie” Kersavage, that need was closer than she realized. Kersavage officially launched Organized by Katie in March 2026, turning more than 15 years of informal experience helping friends and family declutter into a professional service designed for real life. Based in
K-pop, '90s TV nostalgia is defining this year's baby name trends
Names inspired by "KPop Demon Hunters," and from beloved TV shows like "Friends," are gaining popularity among Millennial and Gen Z families.
Arizona Sunshine announced for Nintendo Switch 2
Today, Vertigo Games announced that it’s working on Arizona Sunshine for Nintendo Switch 2. Launch timing will be provided at a later date. Arizona Sunshine is a third-person zombie apocalypse shooter. Online play and multiplayer splitscreen modes will both be supported. Further details can be found in the following overview: Sharpen your machete, reload your shotgun, and bring your friends....
Super Yooka-Laylee Kart announced for PC
Publisher Playtonic Friends and developer Playtonic Games have announced Super Yooka-Laylee Kart for PC (Steam). A release date was not announced. A series of multiplayer-focused beta tests are pla…
Final Fantasy VII’s remake trilogy will conclude with Revelation
Another adventure with Cloud and his friends.
Crossfire Is a Single Player PS5 Shooter with Soul from Ex-Naughty Dog Devs
Friends close, enemies closer
See the cast of the live-action “Masters of the Universe” movie with the animated characters they play
The new take on He-Man and his friends sets out to right the wrongs of the 1987 box office bomb.
The Cold Front: This is how Ben & Jerry's ice cream in Israel defeated BDS
Avi Singer was a student in New York when he met Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the Jewish owners of the Ben & Jerry's ice cream empire: their acquaintance developed into friendship and a business partnership, until politics and BDS got in the way
Word on the Street: Election-night parties prove politics cures the loneliness epidemic
Watch parties, campaign friends and the ritual 8:45 p.m. vote drop create a rare sense of belonging in an increasingly disconnected age.
‘He hated women’: Explosive abuse, new Nazi tattoo allegations from exes rock Platner's campaign
Graham Platner's ex-girlfriends allege rape fantasies, violent episodes and heavy drinking in new report as Maine Democrat faces mounting scandals.
Asking Eric: I don’t want to argue about politics with my longtime friend
In today's Asking Eric column, R. Eric Thomas responds to someone who is considering ending a longtime friendship with someone who won't stop talking about politics.
Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow tear up over “Friends” and“ The Comeback” connection: 'S---!'
The real-life friends reunited on June 3 for the season 24 premiere of the "Variety" interview series Actors on Actors.
Moved my family to 2 different countries; difficult parts surprised me
Our family moved abroad twice to different countries. We were surprised the biggest challenges involved housing and healthcare, not making friends.
Behind the Business: Two Fat Friends
Two Fat Friends is located at 1950 Highway 49 in Wiggins.
With ‘Star Fox,’ Nintendo Finally Has a Reason to Use the Switch 2’s GameChat
Don your VTuber furry suit and whine at your friends as Slippy Toad. Come on, you know you’ve always wanted to.
Why interviewing Anthony Joshua made me uncomfortable
COMMENT: Six months after the ex-heavyweight champion survived a car crash that killed two of his friends, he spoke to Alex Pattle and others about how he is coping – whether he wanted to or not
'Surging enthusiasm': Byron Donalds' campaign through May raises upward of $81 million
More than 35,000 individual donors have now givien to his Friends of Byron Donalds committee.
Local sports loses ‘heart, soul, voice’ and a friend
Old-timers called him the “heart, soul and voice” of Hazleton-area sports, and they weren’t wrong. I called Ron Marchetti my friend. Separated by a generation but bonded by an unabashed, unwavering love of faith, family, friends, com…
Celebrity art auction to raise money for Lake County mental health, recovery programs
The Friends of Lake ADAMHS Celebrity Art Auction will feature local artists and leaders supporting mental health and recovery programs
Match for the Marsh with Barton Health
We’re back with another awesome opportunity to transform the south end of the Upper Truckee Marsh, this time with help from our friends at Barton Health! Now that the California Tahoe Conservancy has demolished the former Motel 6 building, restaurant, and parking lot from the Upper Truckee Marsh in South Lake Tahoe, planning is underway […]
Actress Amanda Peet discusses 'Your Friends and Neighbors'
Peet stars alongside Jon Hamm in the hit series on AppleTV. She also shares stories from her career, working with Jack Nicholson and Bette Midler.
Chimpanzees and bonobos have human-like friend circles, study finds
Great apes appear to build friendships much like humans do. By studying grooming behavior, researchers discovered that chimpanzees and bonobos form close inner circles along with wider networks of weaker social connections. Chimpanzees focus on a few trusted partners and become more selective with age, while bonobos maintain a more egalitarian social style.
Dear Abby | Longtime friend may want more out of relationship
Dear Abby: I met "Maureen" 25 years ago, and we dated for a few months. Since then, we have remained friends in loose contact, married to and then divorced from
“It was just an immediate friendship”: says business partner of NASCAR champion Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch, the two-time NASCAR champion and co-owner of Boyd’s Chevrolet in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, is being mourned by the dealership and its employees, who are committed to honoring hi…
4 student-athletes at Aquinas Academy commit to collegiate sports
Four student-athletes from Aquinas Academy in Hampton celebrated their official signing day May 21 by inking their intentions to continue sports at the collegiate level. Seniors Caitlyn Abbett of Aspinwall, Meghan McGee of Renfrew, Patrick Richthammer of Hampton and Jonah Burchill of Ambridge gathered in the school’s gymnasium with friends
Friendship fuels research success for KSU science students
Cecilia Le and Lily Schwartz have bonded over boba tea and chemistry research, but not necessarily in that order. The Kennesaw State University juniors met in the lab of Associate Professor of Biochemistry Mohammad Halim, and a partnership flourished – as did a friendship. They presented research into the effectiveness of certain peptides in mitigating COVID-19 twice at the Symposium of Student Scholars, and have continued to make their way as undergraduate researchers.
High-potency hemp products are hurting Colorado kids
By Heidi Lawrence Six years ago, my daughter, by most metrics, was a typical overachieving teenager. She was a straight-A, pre-professional ballet dancer. She loved school and art, had lots of friends, and above all else, she was kind, funny and driven. Unfortunately, her life was derailed upon her discovery and usage of THC. I […]
Youth sports leaders: Ahern Field needs artificial turf
We are a coalition of leaders representing the youth sports organizations in Cambridge. We have sent to the City Council the following letter on Ahern Field: Our programs share a key mission: we provide an opportunity for Cambridge kids to play locally and inexpensively among friends — something that is increasingly rare in the youth […]
I moved back to Canada after living abroad; my friendships changed
I lived abroad in the UK for five years before moving back home to Canada. I was surprised by how much my friendships here have changed.
Go ahead and spoil it: The people who love having movies and TV ruined for them
Accidentally scrolling past a spoiler doesn't faze the people who beg their friends to ruin endings for them.
A Grip on Sports: Connections run deep in the sports world, from teams to athletes to the friends we meet along the way
A GRIP ON SPORTS • There is not much of May left on the table. Not much of spring either as evidenced by the lilac petals that seem to have covered the lawn for the past week or so. That’s fine. Rebirth and all that. But it also reminds us it’s getting late for all of the fine folks who want to say it’s still early. In any context.
Friends make snarky comments about my wealth. Hax readers give advice.
Is a mid-40s letter writer, getting snark from friends about wealth, “supposed to be embarrassed” about early career success?
May 28 Vallejo-Vacaville Arts/Entertainment Source: Activities
Come look for adorable furry friends on Saturday at Kitty Meet and Greet – Pet Adoptions, noon, PetSmart, 952 Admiral Callaghan, Lane, Vallejo.
Bari Weiss: Think For Yourself, Not By Yourself
When we launched The Free Press, the plan was simple: Tell the truth plainly, and let readers come to their own conclusions. I thought there would be a sizable enough group of people who would pay the cost of one coffee a month to read high-quality news and opinion journalism. But what happened next surprised even me. Yes, you came for the stories—for the investigations, essays, debates, interviews, podcasts, and arguments. But over the past few years, you also found one another. I’ve watched strangers become friends in the lobby before our debates. I’ve seen people trade numbers after live recordings of Honestly, launch businesses after Free Press dinners, fall in love after our meetups—even get married (!?), and say some version of the same sentence over and over again: I thought I was the only one. We live in the most connected age in history, and yet, millions of people feel isolated, alienated, politically homeless, and starved for real conversation. We have followers and no neighbors. Algorithms instead of interlocutors. Our social media feeds are like troughs, but what we really need is a table to gather around. The Free Press is a publication, yes, but it is also a gathering place for independent minds. So today, I’m thrilled to share our new investment in you. We are launching a new world of community experiences for our paid subscribers, designed to bring _Free Press_ers together online and in real life. Introducing Our Community Launch The Free Press Forum Our new digital home for paid subscribers, the Forum, is now live. This is where _Free Press_ers can meet, debate, recommend, organize, joke, argue, and converse like civilized people. Imagine that. This is not social media as you know it. No bots. No algorithmic rage bait. No performative nonsense. Just smart people talking to one another. Inside the Forum, you’ll find conversations on the things our readers already care about most: the issues of the day, recommendations (books, music, travel), work and networking, parenting, dating, and where to find your people—online and in real life. Jump in! Introduce yourself and join the first conversations in the Free Press Forum here. You’ll also find announcements from us (paid subscribers are first to hear!) and our writers, hosting regular Ask Me Anythings (AMAs)—live conversations where subscribers can ask questions, push back, and continue the discussion beyond the page. This Thursday, subscribers can chat with our brilliant reporter, culture vulture, and co-founder Suzy Weiss. Friday, I’ll be lending you Nellie Bowles, queen of TGIF, to answer subscriber questions live. Read more about The Forum directly from Nellie here. The Free Press Supper Club The best part of being a _Free Press_er is meeting other _Free Press_ers. So we’re inviting you all to dinner to do just that. It’s part salon, part blind date, part old-fashioned dinner party. Here’s how it works: You answer a short questionnaire. We match you with a small group of _Free Press_ers in your city. We send you to a great restaurant. You show up for supper. The rest is up to you. Your next best friend, co-founder, or future spouse may already be waiting at the table. Learn more and sign up here for our first Supper Club in 12 cities in three countries taking place on June 18. Don’t see your city? Raise your hand if you’d like a Free Press Supper Club near you. Yes, St. Louis—we hear you. The Free Press Retreats and Excursions We’re also building something new for 2027: immersive experiences for Free Press readers who want to continue the conversation trailside, poolside, or around a fire long after dessert. The Free Press Retreat will be an intimate long weekend built around big ideas, outdoor adventure, great meals, and the kinds of discussions that happen when curious people spend meaningful time together. Bring your spouse, your parents, your children—or come on your own. Free Press Excursions will take us farther afield: curated trips with Free Press writers and contributors exploring places that help explain the world we live in, from the battlefields of Gettysburg and Normandy to the Vatican in Rome. We’ll share more details this summer. If you’d like an early look when these experiences open for registration, show your interest here.**A Note to Our Subscribers** These new offerings exist because of our paying subscribers. If you’re already one: Thank you. You built this. And you keep us going. If you’ve been reading us for free and wondering whether to join, this is a very good time. For a short while only, we’re offering a rare 20 percent discount for you to join our community as a paid subscriber. You’ll unlock everything we publish, plus exclusive access to our members-only Forum, Supper Clubs, and more insider perks. Thinking for yourself shouldn’t mean thinking by yourself. See you there. —Bari
PS Plus Essential, Extra Games for June 2026 Announced
Hope you've got friends
‘The patient is a VIP’: Inside Jeffrey Epstein’s close ties to Mount Sinai Hospital
Epstein’s special treatment from the hospital included doctors being at his beck-and-call, including for house calls, and giving preferential treatment to his friends for medical care and job prospects.
Reservations Requested For FONS Annual Meeting To Include Pig Roast-Picnic Dinner, Live Entertainment
The 2026 Friends of Newtown Seniors Membership Meeting will be conducted Thursday, June 11, at 5 pm, at Newtown Community Center, 8 Simpson Street. The event is open to Newtown residents age 55 and ov...
Country star steps away from music to focus on himself after fame took a toll
Country star Jake Worthington announces hiatus from music, saying he needs to work on himself for his family. Famous friends rally in support.
The Political Truths of Harold Bloom's Literary Friendship
The private letters of famed literary critic Harold Bloom offer an ethical guide for politics.
‘No regrets’ - Actress Pauline Stone celebrates 80th birthday in style
The call to Pauline Stone Myrie's 80th birthday celebration at Pompano Beach in South Florida arrived many weeks ago by way of a glittering black, gold and white evite. After studying it, one knew immediately this was a not-to-be-missed milestone celebration, one that Pauline wanted to keep small and intimate between family and close friends.
Pigskin Prattle: Lookin’ Ahead
I don’t always think about football in May. But when I do, I drink Dr. Brown’s Diet Cream Soda. Stay thirsty, my friends. So, yeah, it’s drizzly, as it is most every Memorial Day weekend it seems. Didn’t there used to be a Reggae Fest at the Water Tower that would get rained upon more […]
Unified track and field team brings Klamath County students together through sports
Klamath County students are building friendships and athletic skills through Unified track and field, an inclusive program that brings together athletes with and without disabilities.
Health Alert: U.S. Embassy in Rwanda (May 23, 2026) - U.S. Embassy in Rwanda
Health Alert: U.S. Embassy in Rwanda (May 23, 2026) Health Alert: U.S. Embassy in Rwanda (May 23, 2026) Location: Rwanda, countrywide Event: Entry and Exit Requirements Due to the Ebola outbreak, Rwanda has implemented new entry and exit requirements. On May 22, 2026, the Ministry of Health of Rwanda announced that all foreign nationals who have traveled to, or transited through, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) within 30 days of their travel to Rwanda will be denied entry. Rwandan nationals and foreign residents with valid proof of residency in Rwanda can enter and are subject to mandatory quarantine procedures. Travel to the U.S. Review the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) information on what travelers need to know about returning to the United States from DRC, Uganda, and South Sudan. Actions to Take: Do not travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Monitor the Ministry of Health of Rwanda webpage for local updates. If you are planning to travel to the United States, contact your airline to confirm your flight and route. Review the CDC webpage on the Ebola Current Situation. Review Consular Information for Americans Regarding the Ebola Outbreak. Review the CBP webpage for information on entry restrictions Notify friends and family of your safety. Have a plan to depart in case of emergency. Have travel documents up to date and easily accessible. Review the CDC Travelers’ Health Page for Rwanda. Continue to take malaria prophylaxis as recommended, as the symptoms of malaria can mimic symptoms of Ebola, leading to preventable health scares. Monitor your health for 21 days following travel in an area with an Ebola outbreak. If at risk for Ebola, alert your healthcare provider if you are experiencing symptoms consistent with Ebola to receive guidance prior to presenting for care. Review the Department of State’s Rwanda Travel Advisory for general health information. Refer to the U.S. Embassy’s list of medical providers. Check with your travel insurance provider about medical evacuation options should you fall ill while overseas. Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive safety and security updates. Assistance: U.S. Embassy Kigali, Rwanda 30 KG 7 Avenue (Kacyiru) +250-252-596-400 ACSKigali@state.gov https://rw.usembassy.gov State Department – Consular Affairs 888-407-4747 or 202-501-4444 Rwanda Country Information Enroll in Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security updates. Follow us on Facebook and X
Indiana official touts the state’s low tax rates, business benefits amid NYC exodus
Indiana Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith promotes the state’s low corporate tax rates, ‘Hoosier hospitality’ and contrasts it to New York City’s tax-the-rich agenda on ‘Fox & Friends Weekend.’
Old Friends the Vikings Could Bring Back This Summer
The Minnesota Vikings’ roster is fully stocked in late May, but before the end of the summer, the club could […]
My husband and I moved to a small town. Here's how we made friends.
My husband and I moved to a small town where we didn't know anyone. I thought it would be hard to make friends, but it took us no time at all.
Trump Has a Plan to Give Taxpayer Money Directly to His Friends—and It Still Might Not Be This Week’s Worst Political Blunder
Does anyone want to win the midterms?
Should You Lend Money to Friends? More People Are Open to the Arrangement.
Friendship and money don’t always mix. But many Americans feel comfortable discussing financial issues with their friends and lending them money.
Anti-social: It's fads, not friends, which now dominate our feeds
Social media platforms used to be about communication between friends. The business model is to increase the time people spend on their apps and increase ad revenue.
I moved to Denver, made friends; but they left due to cost of living
Denver had everything I wanted, including a strong group of friends. Now that prices are going up, many of those friends are moving away.
Bonus 228: The $1.776B Political Question
Every so often a story comes along that is so brazen, so cleanly emblematic of the moment we are living through, that staying quiet about it feels like a kind of complicity unto itself. Monday’s announcement by the Department of Justice that the Acting Attorney General has unilaterally created a $1.776 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” to compensate so-called “victims of lawfare” is one of those stories. And the reason I want to write about it here, in a newsletter ostensibly devoted to the Supreme Court and the law and politics surrounding it, is that I’m increasingly worried that we’re asking the wrong institution to save us from one of the most offensive, alarming, and anti-constitutional things we’ve seen from any president in American history. As I explain below the fold, the Anti-Weaponization Fund is not principally a legal problem awaiting a judicial fix. It is a shockingly egregious political abuse—the President suing his own government, purporting to settle with himself, and routing nearly $2 billion from the Treasury to his own supporters as a not-so-subtle (and not-so-formal) reward, if not an incentive, for political violence. And the Constitution’s answer to political abuses of this kind and magnitude is a political remedy, not a legal one. In his majority opinion in NFIB v. Sebelius (the Affordable Care Act case from 2012), Chief Justice Roberts defended the Court’s endorsement of Congress’s power to adopt the individual mandate by noting that it is “not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.” As much of a judicial supremacist as I am, that sentiment is, for better or worse, an entirely correct (and, in the long term, normatively desirable) institutional assessment. One can believe in substantial judicial power without believing that literally every political dispute in our country can and should be resolved by unelected judges. The real upshot of this latest headline (among so, so many other similar headlines) is that it is past time to reinvigorate impeachment—not because conviction is realistic in this Senate, or even because impeachment itself is feasible in this House, but because forcing every member of Congress to vote on the record whether this brazen, corrosive, and affirmatively dangerous corruption is impeachable is itself a point worth fighting for (and fighting with our friends over). Assuming the courts will save us absolves our political leaders of both responsibility and accountability for allowing this kind of mischief to continue, and it absolves all of us of our responsibility to refuse to tolerate those who would just as quickly shrug their shoulders and move on. For those who aren’t paid subscribers, we’ll be back (no later than) Monday with our continuing coverage of the Supreme Court. For those who are, please read on.
Nate Nickerson, force behind southern Maine public health programs, dies at 69
Nickerson influenced several programs for homeless Portland residents and led an organization for healthcare in Haiti. Friends and former colleagues say they will most remember his passion and humility.
EDC Fairhaven Friends Business Mixer with State Rep. Mark Sylvia – June 4 at 5:30pm
FAIRHAVEN’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE INVITES YOU TO FAIRHAVEN & FRIENDS BUSINESS MIXER MEET STATE REP MARK SYLVIA, BUILD CONNECTIONS & EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES! JUNE 4, 2026…
S. ‘Soma’ Somasegar, 1966-2026: Microsoft and Madrona leader was a champion of developers and startups
Friends and colleagues remembered S. "Soma" Somasegar, the longtime Microsoft developer leader and Madrona managing director, as a generous mentor to developers and founders, and a fixture of Seattle's tech community.
With Love: Blackburn Students, Entrepreneurs Support Selma Business Owners
At a professional development opportunity made possible by Blackburn Institute students, two Selma entrepreneurs gained both knowledge and friendship.
Gen Z’s political gender divide is now showing up in schools
Young men and women split sharply in 2024. Teachers and students say that rift is reshaping classrooms, friendships and dating.
Gen Z’s Political Gender Divide Is Now Showing Up in Schools
Young men and women split sharply in 2024. Teachers and students say that rift is reshaping classrooms, friendships and dating.
Nintendo reveals new mobile game Pictonico
Nintendo is releasing a brand new mobile game titled Pictonico, the company just revealed. It will be available on May 28, 2026. Pictonico is a mini-game experience centered around using photos. You can use your own face (or friends as well) across 80 different challenges. The game is free to start. A few mini-games will be available for free, but...
Kin Health raises $9M to build an AI notetaker for patients
The app is similar to a meeting notetaker: you can record doctor visits, and it will return an AI summary of the meeting, with the next steps, all of which you share with family and friends if you want to.
My 8-year-old calls his friends to make playdates himself
My son arranges his own playdates by phone, and watching him do it has changed how I think about independence.
Friendship, family, relationship breakups over politics all rising, new study finds
Politics in America is no longer just dividing voters at the ballot box... it may also be wrecking group chats, family dinners, and lifelong friendships.
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)
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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
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