Barron’s (August 20)
“Japan has leapfrogged France and Germany to become the No. 3 destination for cross-border real estate investment after the U.S. and United Kingdom…. The flows are a vote of confidence in a new Japan where prices are rising and wages are rising faster.”
Tags: Confidence, Cross-border, Destination, Flows, France, Germany, Investment, Japan, Leapfrogged, No. 3, Prices, Real estate, Rising, U.S., UK
The Times (August 5)
“The ruse to offset new ‘assets’ may allow the Burnham government to say it has not broken its fiscal rules,” but more borrowing “is still more borrowing. And more borrowing will mean more expensive interest payments….. Whether it is the NHS, benefits or the state pension, spending is too high. For the UK to avoid fiscal disaster, it must be restrained if the debt pile is ever to shrink. Rising borrowing cannot continue indefinitely.
Tags: Assets, Benefits, Borrowing, Burnham, Debt, Expensive, Fiscal disaster, Government, Interest payments, NHS, Offset, Pension, Ruse, Spending, UK
The Times (July 29)
The UK’s “reckless lack of gas storage invites disaster.” Britain maintains “90 days’ worth of oil imports,” but “just two or three days’ worth of gas in reserve.” Since oil and gas each account for approximately one third of domestic energy, this “peculiarity” contributes “to energy insecurity and our soaring bills.” It’s completely out of step with reality. “Germany can store 90 days’ gas; France, over 100; Italy, somewhere in between; and the Netherlands, about 60.” Britain’s “reckless lack of gas storage invites disaster.” This obvious failure “ought to be a considerable source of worry.”
Tags: Disaster, Domestic energy, Failure, France, Gas, Gas storage, Germany, Insecurity, Italy, Netherlands, Oil imports, Peculiarity, Reckless, Reserve, Soaring bills, UK, Worry
Investment Week (July 2)
While Nasdaq IPOs have drawn the most attention, “European initial public offering (IPO) proceeds increased by 76% year-on-year during the first half of 2026, according to data from PwC, as improving market conditions helped revive activity despite geopolitical uncertainty.” During the first half of 2026, proceeds from European IPOs increased 76% over a year earlier. In contrast, Brexit has weighed on the UK where IPO volumes “remained relatively modest.”
Tags: 2026, Brexit, Europe, Geopolitical uncertainty, Improving, IPOs, Market conditions, Nasdaq, Proceeds, PwC, Revive, UK
The Times (June 11)
“Since the historic Nato summit in The Hague one year ago this month, European leaders have pledged massive increases in defence spending in the face of increasingly acute threats of Russian aggression. Yet the reality is that key west European governments – especially the UK, France and Italy – are not putting their money where their mouth is for fear of undermining lenders’ confidence in their national debt.”
Tags: Confidence, Defense spending, Europe, France, Governments, Historic, Italy, Leaders, Lenders, National debt, Nato summit, Pledged, Russian aggression, Threats, UK
The Guardian (June 3)
“Although western Europe is now mostly free from last week’s heat dome – which shattered temperature records for May in the UK and Ireland – it is already bracing for yet another sweltering summer. Oppressive days, restless nights and furious fires are brewing.” Though there are some “exceptions to the collective denial,” Europe is “still not ready for extreme heat.” It must get fully prepared. “Heat kills more people in Europe than almost any other issue you worry about – from crime to terror attacks – with many tens of thousands of early deaths each year.”
Tags: Crime, Deaths, Extreme heat, Fires, Heat dome, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jun/03/why-is-europe-still-not-ready-for-extreme-heat Europe, Ireland, May, Oppressive, Restless, Shattered, Summer, Sweltering, Temperature records, Terror attacks, UK
The Economist (May 18)
“Since Donald Trump took office in January last year, America’s economy has continued to be the envy of the rich world. In 2025, while Britain, France and Japan eked out annual GDP growth of 1%, give or take, and Germany all but stood still, American output grew by 2.1%.” That growth could have been far more impressive. The Economist calculates that without the drag created by “fitful presidential policymaking,” the U.S. “might be rocketing ahead at nearly 5% annualised growth.”
Tags: 2025, 5%, Drag, Economy, Envy, Fitful, France, GDP growth, Germany, Japan, Policymaking, Rich world, Trump, U.S., UK
South China Morning Post (April 20)
A “Hormuz moment” might signal the “decline of US dominance.” Citic Securities analysts are comparing the unfolding situation in Iran to the “Suez moment,” when Great Britain “lost control of the Suez Canal along with its global superpower status.” On Saturday, the analysts wrote “that a similarly consequential ‘Hormuz moment’ could be a watershed for America’s global supremacy.” In fact, Citic posits “the global order may have already undergone subtle but significant changes.”
Tags: Analysts, Citic Securities, Consequential, Control, Decline, Dominance, Hormuz moment, Iran, Suez Canal, Superpower status, Supremacy, U.S., UK, Unfolding, Watershed
Financial Times (April 16)
“Iran is America’s Suez crisis — and just as ridiculous. The parallels with Britain’s disastrous Middle East adventure in the 1950s are impossible to resist.”
Tags: 1950s, Adventure, Disastrous, Iran, Middle East, Parallels, Ridiculous, Suez crisis, U.S., UK
Barron’s (April 5)
The global economy is in for a “crude awakening.” Even under the best (or least worst) scenario, the Iran “war will shave about a percentage point off global economic growth, taking it down to 2% this year. Growth forecasts for large, developed economies—Japan, France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom—were modest before the war at around 1%. If the conflict extends past June, GDP growth for these countries could evaporate, while inflation keeps rising.”
Tags: 2%, Conflict, Crude awakening, Developed economies, Economic growth, Forecasts, France, GDP, Germany, Global economy, Inflation, Iran war, Italy, Japan, Scenario, UK
