September's Financial Geopolitics Chungus is out, with original reporting on hostile state use of crypto to hire "disposable agents," the interplay of AI regulation and geopolitics, and more. Do subscribe! reporter.london/2346/

CAMPAIGN BATTLE WON: "The government is also deferring the roll-out of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax to several taxpayer groups until further notice."

All we will be able to afford is gherkins and marmalade after this next budget.

Romanian authorities have exposed a sabotage network coordinated by the Russian Federation behind the September 14th arson attack at the Carfil industrial platform in Brașov/Romania near a defense industry manufacturer. This is part of a broader campaign of sabotage across Europe, targeting also defense production. Hybrid attacks will not hold us back from strengthening our resilience and defence.

Serbia's must be the most well-read parliament ever, by the way: 160 PhDs in 250 candidates

Vucic just conceded defeat!!!

Romania’s 🇷🇴 economic statistics are, in general, incredibly weird. I have repeatedly taken Romania out of charts I was making because it just seemed so far out there. 1.) The Bucharest metro area comes out as one of the richest in Europe, richer per capita than Geneva or Copenhagen (in PPS). Its GDP grew by 33% in five years, roughly Shenzhen-level growth, while the regions surrounding Bucharest shrank by more than 5%. 2.) Labour productivity per employed person in ICT and in professional, scientific and technical services is, in nominal terms (!!!), on par with or even higher than in Germany, and it swings wildly from year to year. 3.) Romania has higher actual individual consumption per capita than Czechia or Slovenia, which are well ahead of it in GDP per capita. This is fuelled by a near-zero or even negative household saving rate, the largest budget deficit in the EU and a current account deficit of around 8% of GDP. Depending on which statistic you pick, Romania looks either like an absolute rocket or like an economy on the verge of collapse. My guess is that a lot of this is measurement rather than reality: a huge shadow economy that has to be estimated, millions of emigrants making “per capita” figures shaky, tax regimes that reshuffle how work and income get reported, companies booking their output at Bucharest headquarters, and national PPPs flattering an expensive capital. I should visit Bucharest.

Émeutes : Carrefour réduit ses objectifs 2026 📉 À la suite des émeutes de ce week-end, Carrefour décide d’abaisser ses objectifs annuels. La situation était déjà fragilisée par la hausse des coûts de l’énergie. Aussi, de nouvelles mobilisations sont prévues. 🎙️ Pauline Tattevin

The UK’s public sector debt has officially surpassed £3 trillion, on a provisional basis. It is striking how rapidly £2 trillion pounds has been added to the national debt. ONS: “Public sector net debt first exceeded £2 trillion in June 2020, during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, having first exceeded £1 trillion in February 2010 following the global financial crisis.”