Special Update 25/04/2026 Chernobyl+40. Going Electric. Dollar Decline

Baltic Dry Index. 2665 -08     Brent Crude 105.33

Spot Gold 4709                           Spot Silver 76.94

U S 2 Year Yield 3.78 -0.05

US Federal Debt. 39.161 trillion

US GDP 31.357 trillion

Tomorrow is 40 years on from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in what is now Ukraine. Sellafield, Three Mile Island, Fukushima. When will the world stop building nuclear disaster-prone threats to mankind?

The farmer and manufacturer can no more live without profit than the labourer without wages.

David Ricardo

According to the head of the International Energy Agency, Trump’s disastrous Gulf War has permanently changed the way the world will get its energy going forwards.

A massive switch to electrification will replace oil and gas ahead, he thinks.

If he’s only half way right, it’s the beginning of the end of the petro-dollar. Solar, wind, nuclear tidal and even coal, trade in local currencies with little to no reference to a dollar price, except of course in the USA.

If Mr. Birol is right, by mid next decade the petro-dollar will be in rapid decline. Global dollar usage will have fallen below 50 percent.

For Trump’s USA rapidly approaching 40 trillion in official Federal debt, a world going electric brings in a massive currency reality shock.

Though a very imperfect long term hedge against the decline of the dollar reserve standard, only physical holdings of gold and silver held outside of American jurisdiction, seem appropriate.

‘The damage is done’: global oil crisis has changed fossil fuel industry for ever, IEA chief says

Exclusive: International Energy Agency’s Fatih Birol, the world’s leading energy economist, also says UK should largely forgo North Sea expansion

Fri 24 Apr 2026 16.00 BST

‘The damage is done’: global oil crisis has changed fossil fuel industry for ever, IEA chief says

Exclusive: International Energy Agency’s Fatih Birol, the world’s leading energy economist, also says UK should largely forgo North Sea expansion

The oil crisis triggered by the Iran war has changed the fossil fuel industry for ever, turning countries away from fossil fuels to secure energy supplies, the world’s leading energy economist said.

Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency (IEA), also said that, despite pressure, the UK should forgo much of its potential North Sea expansion.

Speaking exclusively to the Guardian, Birol said a key effect of the US-Israel war on Iran was that countries would lose trust in fossil fuels and demand for them would reduce.

“Their perception of risk and reliability will change. Governments will review their energy strategies. There will be a significant boost to renewables and nuclear power and a further shift towards a more electrified future,” he said. “And this will cut into the main markets for oil.”

Birol said there was no going back from the crisis: “The vase is broken, the damage is done – it will be very difficult to put the pieces back together. This will have permanent consequences for the global energy markets for years to come.”

While focused on the global picture of shortages and future demand, the IEA chief also urged caution over the UK’s potential plans. The oil industry and its allies have called for increased North Sea drilling, including giving the go-ahead to the Jackdaw and Rosebank fields that have received exploration licences but not production permits.

Birol said: “It is up to the government, but these fields would not change much for the UK’s energy security, nor would they change the price of oil and gas. They would not make any significant difference to this crisis.”

----In a wide-ranging interview, Birol said the vastly changed future outlook presented expanded opportunities for renewable energy but also dangers that could throw progress on the climate off track. As the longtime head of the global energy watchdog, he is one of the most influential voices on governments globally.

Birol also said:

 Continuing high fossil-fuel prices could tempt developing countries to turn to coal, but solar was competitive with coal on cost and was growing faster.

 Renewables offerred a no-regrets alternative and nuclear power was also likely to be increased. Building renewables was an option “I never heard that anybody ever regretted”, he said. “I don’t see any downsides for renewable energy.”

Although he called for windfall taxes during the Ukraine crisis to skim some of the vast unearned profits of energy companies, Birol said it was too early in this crisis for new levies.

 Impacts on fertiliser, food, helium, software and other industries would continue even if the strait of Hormuz reopened.

This crisis was “bigger than all the biggest crises combined, and therefore huge”, he said. “I still cannot understand that the world was so blind-sided, that the global economy can be held hostage to a 50km strait.”

More

‘The damage is done’: global oil crisis has changed fossil fuel industry for ever, IEA chief says | Oil | The Guardian

European Energy Scarcity Arrives and Plans to Stay Awhile

April 24, 2026 at 5:06 PM GMT+1

A short time ago, most people wouldn’t have batted an eyelash over a ship passing through the Strait of Hormuz. But 55-days into the war on Iran, energy traders are locked on every movement in the narrow passage, through which huge volumes of the world’s oil, gas, fuel and fertilizer used to flow.

With no end in sight to US and Iranian efforts to blockade the channel, alarms are ringing louder over the consequences to the global economy. Goldman Sachs bankers figure almost three-fifths of Persian Gulf oil exports have ceased.

With dwindling fossil fuel reserves of its own, the situation looks particularly dire in Europe. The International Energy Agency reported today that tight gas supplies will extend into 2027. Scarcity on traded markets is already showing up in the data, with liquified natural gas imports dropping for the first time in more than a year. European Union policymakers are adding an additional challenge by cutting short term purchases of Russian LNG, which last year covered a significant part of the bloc’s consumption.

“Europe must have a lot more courage,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told reporters in Cyprus yesterday, shortly before talking with her counterparts about the energy crunch. We’re told EU heads of government left knowing they’re in a bind that won’t be easy to solve. —Jonathan Tirone

European Energy Scarcity Arrives and Plans to Stay Awhile - Bloomberg

Approx 24 minutes.

How the 1% Kept Their Gold in 1933 Confiscation

How the 1% Kept Their Gold in 1933 Confiscation

In other news.

Emirates boss Tim Clark says airline will resume full operations within 1-2 months of Strait of Hormuz reopening

Clark said Emirates is running at 65% capacity, with recovery dependent on corridor reopenings and expected to normalise within two months

Fri 24 Apr 2026

Emirates President Sir Tim Clark expects the Dubai carrier to restore capacity rapidly after regional aviation disruption reduced operations and left parts of its network inaccessible.

Clark told the CAPA Airline Leader Summit in Berlin on Thursday that Emirates was operating at more than 65 per cent of capacity, with about 13 per cent of airports in its network still unavailable because of airspace restrictions.

“We can get this back. The brand is particularly strong,” Clark said, adding that passenger demand remained resilient despite longer routings and adjusted schedules.

Bloomberg mentions that while speaking from Dubai to the Capa Airline Leader Summit in Berlin, Clark said the carrier is operating at 65 per cent of capacity, with only about 13 per cent of the airports in its network still cut off. Once the Strait of Hormuz reopens, there should be 1-2 months of disruptions before things return to normal.

Capacity recovery

Clark said network restoration would depend on the reopening of key regional corridors, after which Emirates expects one to two months of disruption before operations normalise.

Regional airspace restrictions have forced Middle East carriers to reduce schedules, reroute services and manage fleet utilisation across longer flight sectors. Emirates has kept passenger demand, fuel access and brand strength at the centre of its recovery plan.

Clark said Emirates was not concerned about jet fuel supply. He said the UAE had an adequate supply and produced and refined Jet A-1 fuel domestically.

Emirates entered the disruption from a record profit base. Emirates Group posted a profit before tax of AED 12.2 billion for the first six months of 2025 to 2026, while Emirates airline recorded AED 11.4 billion in profit before tax and AED 65.6 billion in revenue.

Fleet investment

Emirates carried a 79.5 per cent passenger seat factor in the first half of 2025 to 2026. Capacity measured in available seat kilometres rose 5 per cent, while passenger traffic measured in revenue passenger kilometres increased 4 per cent.

Clark said Emirates would continue its aircraft retrofit programme as the carrier uses available maintenance windows to upgrade cabins and maintain product consistency.

Arabian Business reported in November 2025 that Emirates had moved into the next phase of its retrofit programme, with 60 A380S and 51 Boeing 777s scheduled for cabin upgrades from August 2026.

Emirates closed the 2024 to 2025 financial year with AED 21.2 billion in airline profit before tax and AED 127.9 billion in airline revenue. Emirates Group revenue reached AED 145.4 billion, with cash assets of AED 53.4 billion.

Clark expects Emirates to remain the most profitable airline by the end of 2026, supported by Dubai’s hub connectivity, premium cabin demand and wide-body fleet deployment.

Emirates boss Tim Clark says airline will resume full operations within 1-2 months of Strait of Hormuz reopening - Arabian Business: Latest News on the Middle East, Real Estate, Finance, and More

 

Five things to know about Chinese AI startup DeepSeek

Beijing (AFP) – As DeepSeek releases its first major new artificial intelligence model in over a year -- DeepSeek-V4 -- here are five things to know about the Chinese startup:

Issued on: 24/04/2026 - 07:39

Founded by Liang Wenfeng in the eastern Chinese tech hub Hangzhou, DeepSeek started life in 2023 as a side project of Liang's data-driven hedge fund that had access to a cache of powerful AI processors made by US chip giant Nvidia.

It shot to global attention in January 2025 with the release of its R1 deep-reasoning large language model, which sparked a US tech share sell-off.

Industry insiders were stunned by R1's high performance -- at a level similar to ChatGPT and other leading US chatbots -- and DeepSeek's claims to have developed it at a fraction of the cost.

Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen described it as a "Sputnik moment" -- referencing the 1957 launch of Earth's first artificial satellite by the Soviet Union that stunned the Western world.

Censorship concerns

Like other Chinese chatbots, DeepSeek's AI tools eschew topics usually censored in the world's second-largest economy, such as the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown.

That and data privacy concerns have led DeepSeek AI to be banned or restricted on government-issued devices in several countries, including the United States, Australia and South Korea.

However, its low cost and ease of deployment have made it a popular choice in developing countries, analysts say.

The company holds four percent of global market share for chatbots, according to web traffic analysis company Similarweb. ChatGPT dominates at 68 percent.

Open source

DeepSeek's systems are open-source -- meaning their inner workings are public, allowing programmers to customise parts of the software to suit their needs.

That is the same for other major Chinese AI players, including tech giant Alibaba, in contrast to the "closed" models sold by OpenAI and other Western rivals.

The Chinese government has trumpeted its lead in open-source AI technology, which it says can accelerate innovation.

"Chinese AI models are leading the way in the open-source innovation ecosystem," National People's Congress spokesman Lou Qinjian told policymakers this month.

Startup boost

The success of DeepSeek has galvanised China's AI scene, despite hurdles posed by rivalry with the United States, and fears of a global market bubble.

Shares in two leading Chinese AI startups, Zhipu AI and MiniMax, soared on their market debuts in Hong Kong this year, and it has been a similar story for Chinese chipmakers such as MetaX.

Shi Yaqiong and her team at Beijing-based Jinqiu Capital told AFP there has been a "clear surge" in enthusiasm around Chinese AI -- and competition among investors -- since the DeepSeek shock.

Chip smuggling reports

DeepSeek's rise has not been without controversy.

Reports, including in technology outlet The Information, say DeepSeek has been skirting a US ban on the export of top-end chips to China to train its new V4 model.

The Information said in December, citing six people with knowledge of the matter, that DeepSeek developed V4 using thousands of chips dismantled in third countries and smuggled to China.

DeepSeek did not respond to AFP's request for comment. Nvidia did not respond to a request for comment but told The Information that they had not seen any evidence of this and that "such smuggling seems farfetched".

Five things to know about Chinese AI startup DeepSeek

White House memo claims mass AI theft by Chinese firms

24 April 2026, 00:13 BST

The White House has said it will work more closely with US artificial intelligence (AI) firms to combat "industrial-scale campaigns" by foreign actors to steal advances in the technology.

Michael Kratsios, Director of Science and Technology Policy, wrote in an internal memo that the administration had new information indicating "foreign entities, principally based in China" were exploiting American firms.

Through a process called "distilling", such firms are essentially copying AI technology developed by US companies, he said.

A representative of China's US embassy in Washington DC said its development was "the result of its own dedication and effort as well as international cooperation".

In the memo, Kratsios said the aim was to "systematically undermine American research and development and access proprietary information".

In an attempt avoid and halt "malicious exploitation," he said the White House will be doing four things:

• sharing more information with US AI companies about "tactics employed and actors involved" in distillation campaigns
• working to "better coordinate" with companies to fight the attacks
• develop a set of "best practices to identify, mitigate, and remediate" them
• "explore" how the White House can hold foreign actors accountable for such distillation

The memo did not detail any specific plans for action against foreign entities found to be undertaking distillation of US AI technology.

A White House spokesperson declined to comment beyond the memo.

A representative of China's US embassy in Washington DC took issue with "the unjustified suppression of Chinese companies by the US" in response to the memo

"China is not only the world's factory but is also becoming the world's innovation lab," the representative added.

More

White House memo claims mass AI theft by Chinese firms - BBC News

Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession Watch.

Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians, inflation now needs an entire section of its own.

The demand for money is regulated entirely by its value, and its value by its quantity.

David Ricardo

Germany’s economy was set to rebound. But soaring energy prices have derailed Europe’s biggest comeback

Published Fri, Apr 24 2026 7:59 AM EDT

Europe’s biggest economy was set for a rebound, but now it’s being hammered by soaring energy costs caused by the Iran war, prompting the federal government to halve growth forecasts.

Germany’s flagship fiscal stimulus package is in the spotlight as ministers scramble to cushion the impact of higher bills.

Before the war, the country had been powered by rising industrial orders, dropping inventories, and improving sentiment, thanks mainly to fiscal spending on defense and infrastructure.

But higher energy prices and supply chain risks are “spoiling the German growth party before it even started,” said Carsten Brzeski, global head of macro research at ING.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy this week slashed its growth forecast for 2026 to 0.5% from 1%, while its 2027 forecast was cut from 1.3% to 0.9%. Inflation is now projected to reach 2.7% this year and 2.8% the next.

Brzeski noted that industrial production was already “stuttering” before the war, sliding 0.3% month-on-month in February and printing flat on an annual basis.

But now the Iran conflict has sent business sentiment into freefall.

‘Trouble ahead’

On Friday, the Ifo Institute for Economic Research’s latest business climate index — a key temperature gauge of Germany’s economic mood — dropped to 84.4 in April, down from 86.3 in March, its lowest level since May 2020, early in the Covid-19 pandemic.

Current assessments dipped from 86.7 to 85.4 month-on-month, while forward expectations tumbled from 85.9 to 83.3. Separately, the ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment slumped 16 points to -17.2 in April, its lowest reading since December 2022. The ZEW tracker tumbled from +58.3 in February to -0.5 points in March, indicating a rapid and deepening pessimism over the country’s economic outlook.

“What we are seeing is that the German economy is hit hard by the Iran crisis,” Clemens Fuest, president of Ifo, told CNBC on Friday. “Companies are telling us there is trouble ahead.”

Germany remains one of Europe’s largest net importers of energy, about 6% of which comes from the Middle East, according to ING analysis, while its so-called “energy-intensive” industries, which employ almost 1 million people, account for about 17% of industrial gross value added.

More

Germany growth forecast cut on energy shock, signaling trouble ahead

Nestle to cut 450 jobs at UK chocolate factories - makes KitKats, Aeros and Yorkies

The makers of beloved Nestle chocolate lines are making sudden job cuts in the UK.

07:47, Fri, Apr 24, 2026 Updated: 07:48, Fri, Apr 24, 2026

The popular UK chocolate company, Nestle, could cut as many as 450 jobs across the UK, union GMB has said. The company is known for making several popular chocolate items such as KitKats, Aero bars and Polos.

It comes after Nestle announced 16,000 job cuts worldwide in October last year.

The company has factories in Halifax in West Yorkshire, Tutbury in Derbyshire, Dalston in Cumbria, and Staverton in Wiltshire.

Nestle's headquarters was moved to Gatwick from Croydon. It moved all employees based at its City Place office, which is located near Gatwick Airport, to a new site at Park House, Manor Royal BID from September 2023.

KitKats are made in York while is made in Nescafé is made in Derbyshire and Cumbria.

Quality Street, which is also produced by the brand, is made in Halifax.

A spokesperson for Nestle said it announced plans to “reduce our global workforce by 16,000 roles” last year and details of any changes would be shared with staff affected first.

Announcing the mass cull in October, Nestle said it needed to “change faster” and secure its future “as a leader in our industry”, reports The Mirror.

The reductions are expected to include around 12,000 “white-collar professionals” across business functions.

This was expected to save the company around one billion Swiss francs (£940 million) each year by the end of 2027.

Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB National Secretary, said: “These job cuts will rip the heart out of communities.

“Nestle workers – who make some of the UK's best loved treats – have already put up with years of uncertainty and job losses.”

The union will be working closely with members and the company to “ease the pain” as much as possible, Charlotte says.

A Nestle spokesperson said: “As always, we will manage any changes in the right way and in consultation with our people.

“Any proposed changes will always be shared with those affected first and we have no further update to give at this time.”

Nestle to cut 450 jobs at UK chocolate factories - makes KitKats, Aero and Yorkies | UK | News | Express.co.uk

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, I’ve added this section.

CATL is launching sodium-ion batteries in EVs in 2026, aiming for 370+ miles range

Apr 22 2026 - 9:25 am PT

CATL is bringing sodium-ion batteries to EVs in 2026

During its Tech Day Event this week, CATL revealed its latest battery innovations as it looks to maintain its dominant lead on the global EV battery market.

The battery giant showcased major breakthroughs, including its third-generation Shenxing Ultra-fast charging battery, capable of a full recharge (10% to 98%) in just 6 minutes and 27 seconds, beating rival BYD’s Blade Battery 2.0 that offers 9-minute charging.

CATL confirmed during the event that its sodium-ion batteries will begin rolling out in passenger EVs by the end of 2026.

CATL’s chief scientist, Wu Kai, said during the event that LFP is “nearing its theoretical energy density limit,” making it critical to focus on fast charging solutions. He added that “Sodium-ion batteries offer broad potential for extreme temperatures and energy storage applications.”

The Naxtra sodium-ion battery “marks CATL’s transition from laboratory breakthrough to large-scale manufacturing,” the company said.

After overcoming “hundreds of engineering challenges,” the battery giant has achieved GWh-level industrialization.

CATL said it had overcome four key barriers this year: extreme water control, gas generation in hard carbon, aluminum foil adhesion, and self-forming anode systems, paving the way for full-scale mass production by the end of 2026.

Earlier this year, CATL launched the sodium-ion batteries for light commercial vehicles. The 45 kWh sodium-ion battery pack can charge at temperatures as low as -30°C (-20°F), and at -40°C (-40°F), it still retains 90% of its usable capacity.

CATL’s sodium-ion batteries will begin rolling out in passenger EVs by the end of the year, starting with the Changan Nevo A06. CATL and Changan unveiled the new EV in February, deeming it the world’s first mass produced EV with a sodium-ion battery.

The sodium-ion batteries achieve an energy density of about 175 Wh/kg, but CATL aims to bring it on par with lithium iron phosphate within the next three years, enabling up to around 600 km (372 miles) of CLTC driving range.

Sodium-ion batteries perform better in cold weather and also offer a sustainable alternative to lithium with the abundance of sodium.

CATL is launching sodium-ion batteries in EVs in 2026

Next, the world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.

World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org)

Exponent Calculator

Enter values into any two of the input fields to solve for the third.

Exponent Calculator

This weekend’ s music diversion. More genius from Mr. Handel. Approx. 8 minutes.

G.F.Handel: 'Alla caccia / Diana Cacciatrice', Cantata HWV 79 (1707)

G.F.Handel: 'Alla caccia / Diana Cacciatrice', Cantata HWV 79 (1707)

Next, how funny money came into our world.  Approx. 16 minutes.

Why They Stopped Making Silver Coins in 1964 — The Real Reason They Hide

Why They Stopped Making Silver Coins in 1964 — The Real Reason They Hide

Finally, Operation Bernhard, German economic warfare. Approx. 16 minutes.

Operation Bernhard: The Nazi Plot to Crash Britain's Economy

Operation Bernhard: The Nazi Plot to Crash Britain's Economy

It is here we come to the heart of the matter. The economic principle of comparative advantage', 'a country may, in return for manufactured commodities, import corn even if it can be grown with less labour than in the country from which it is imported

David Ricardo

Trumpflation Day 56. Did Iran “Win?” Did Anyone?

Baltic Dry Index. 2673 -02      Brent Crude 105.95

Spot Gold  4668                           Spot Silver 75.26

US 2 Year Yield 3.83 +0.04

US Federal Debt. 39.156 trillion

US GDP 31.354 trillion.

"On the whole human beings want to be good, but not too good, and not quite all the time.”

George Orwell.

Stock casinos at or near all time highs. Brent crude back to $105. Trumpflation rising globally even as strategic petroleum reserves are released to cushion Trumpflation.  Corporate failures and closures soaring, corporate layoffs accelerating.

What could possibly go wrong?

Asia-Pacific markets trade mixed as Israel-Lebanon ceasefire extension fails to calm investors

Published Thu, Apr 23 2026 7:46 PM EDT

Asia-Pacific markets opened mixed as investors remained cautious despite a three-week extension of the Israel-Lebanon ceasefire, underscoring lingering geopolitical uncertainty.

Israel and Lebanon agreed to extend their ceasefire by three weeks following a meeting in the White House with top U.S. officials, President Donald Trump said Thursday.

“The Meeting went very well!” Trump said in a Truth Social post announcing the extension of the temporary truce.

The temporary truce, originally set to expire after 10 days, will now provide additional time for diplomatic efforts, with Washington also pledging to work with Lebanon to strengthen its defenses against Hezbollah.

U.S. oil futures rose about 1.23% to around $97.03 per barrel.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 0.71% while the Topix rose 0.30% after core inflation in Japan accelerated for the first time in five months, rising to 1.8% in March, with Iran war fueling energy worries.

Government data showed the inflation figure — which strips out prices of fresh food — was in line with the 1.8% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and was higher than the 1.6% seen in February.

South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.23%, while the small-cap Kosdaq was up 1%.

Hong Kong Hang Seng index declined 0.61%, while the CSI 300 lost 0.28%.

In Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 was down 0.29%.

Overnight in the U.S., stocks pulled back on Thursday, led by a drop in software shares and higher oil prices, as investor uncertainty about the trajectory of the Iran war weighed on markets.

The S&P 500 traded down 0.41% to close at 7,108.40, after earlier hitting a new all-time intraday high. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite declined 0.89% to finish at 24,438.50. It had also scored a new all-time high in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 179.71 points, or 0.36%, to finish at 49,310.32.

Asia-Pacific markets: Nikkei 225, CSI 300, Hang Seng Index

Iran Ceasefire Fails to Reassure a Global Economy on Edge

April 23, 2026 at 5:05 PM GMT+1

A tense ceasefire may be in place between Iran and the US, but with no peace talks on the horizon and with both sides enforcing oil blockades, it’s hardly reassuring for a global economy on edge.

Besides blocking the Persian Gulf, the US is also boarding carriers thousands of miles from Iranian waters, depriving Tehran’s customers, by far the biggest being China, of millions of barrels of supply. Iran, for its part, continues to keep the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, preventing the passage of hundreds of millions of barrels of oil and fuel as well as other commercial traffic.

The standoff sent oil higher as stocks fluctuated on concern that a prolonged closure of the waterway could worsen energy disruptions, boosting inflation and slowing the economy.

In contrast to the symmetric shock across much of the world during first few weeks of the Iran war, S&P Global’s purchasing manager indexes now suggest further damage to euro-zone private-sector activity, alongside fragile resilience in Asia.

“Significant damage to the economy has already been done — now it’s just a question of how much worse it will get,” said Sonja Marten, chief economist at DZ Bank in Frankfurt. — Zoltan Simon

Iran Ceasefire Fails to Reassure a Global Economy on Edge - Bloomberg

Stock markets are too high and set to fall, says Bank of England deputy

23 April 2026

The Bank of England expects stock markets around the world to fall as share prices do not reflect the many risks facing the global economy, its deputy governor has told the BBC.

Sarah Breeden said: "There's a lot of risk out there and yet asset prices are at all-time highs. We expect there will be an adjustment at some point."

It is unusual for a senior figure at the Bank to be so forthright on market movements.

Breeden, who is also the Bank's head of financial stability, declined to say when she expected markets to fall or by how much, but pointed to a number of factors that markets seemed complacent about.

"The thing that really keeps me awake at night is the likelihood of a number of risks crystallising at the same time – a major macroeconomic shock, confidence in private credit goes, AI and other risky valuations readjust - what happens in that environment and are we prepared for it?" she said.

The US stock market is home to the world's biggest companies and has set a series of all-time highs recently despite warnings from the International Energy Agency that the world economy is facing the biggest energy shock in history.

Technology firms have poured hundreds of billions of dollars into AI infrastructure prompting some, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates to call it "a frenzy" that resembles the dotcom bubble of the late 1990s, when investors threw money at unproven start-ups that quickly went bust or had billions wiped off their value.

Nvidia boss Jensen Huang, the biggest supplier of chips to AI companies, is among those to dismiss these concerns.

A number of funds that mimic the role of banks and lend privately to businesses have sustained losses and have had to restrict withdrawals from investors, sparking concerns of weaknesses in the financial system.

Breeden said the enormous growth in this so called "shadow banking" system has not been tested.

"Private credit has gone from nothing to two-and-a-half trillion dollars in the last 15 to 20 years. It hasn't been tested at this scale with the degree of complexity and interconnections it has with the rest of the financial system so far," she said.

"It's a private credit crunch, rather than a banking-driven credit crunch, that we're worried about."

The UK stock market does not contain the kind or size of AI companies that have helped drive US markets to records but the FTSE 100 index is also within 5% of its own all-time high.

Breeden said her job was not to predict when and how much the markets fall but to ensure the financial system is ready if it does.

"What we are watching for: is how might those prices fall? Will there be a sharp adjustment downwards? And if there is such an adjustment, how will that affect the economy? I'm not saying it will happen today, tomorrow, in 12 months' time. It's ensuring that if it happens the system is resilient."

Global stock markets are too high and set to fall, says Bank of England deputy - BBC News

Meta will cut 10% of workforce as company pushes deeper into AI

Published Thu, Apr 23 2026 2:00 PM EDT Updated Thu, Apr 23 2026 4:23 PM EDT

Meta plans to lay off 10% of its workforce, about 8,000 employees, as it continues ramping up investments in artificial intelligence.

The cuts will begin May 20, and the company is scrapping plans to hire people for 6,000 open roles, according to a Thursday memo to employees. Bloomberg was first to report on the layoffs.

Meta’s latest round of cuts follows several smaller job reductions that the company said was necessary to to improve efficiency while focusing its efforts on generative AI, where it’s lagged OpenAI, Google and Anthropic.

CNBC reported in January that Meta fired about 10% of employees who were working on metaverse-related projects. Roughly 1,000 people in the company’s Reality Labs unit were let go at that time.

Another round of layoffs commenced in March and affected hundreds of employees working in a variety of units, including Facebook, Reality Labs, global operations and sales. Meta also said last month that it would shift away from third-party vendors and contractors, which have historically handled content moderation tasks, in favor of relying on various AI technologies.

Job cuts are picking up across the tech sector as companies reckon with the AI boom. Microsoft confirmed on Thursday that it will offer voluntary buyouts to some U.S. employees, a first for the 51-year-old software giant. About 7% of U.S. employees are eligible, according to a person familiar with the plans who asked not to be named because the number isn’t being made public. 

In January, Amazon announced plans to eliminate about 16,000 corporate jobs, marking its second round of mass job cuts since last October.

More

Meta will cut 10% of workforce as company pushes deeper into AI

Nike cuts 1,400 roles in second round of layoffs this year

Published Thu, Apr 23 2026 4:30 PM EDT Updated Thu, Apr 23 2026 5:17 PM EDT

Nike announced a new round of layoffs Thursday affecting approximately 1,400 employees across the organization, mostly concentrated in its technology department.

In a note from COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy, the company said the layoffs were part of Nike’s broader “Win Now” turnaround strategy aiming to reshape its technology team, modernize its Air manufacturing, move some of its Converse Footwear operations and integrate its materials supply chain work into its footwear and apparel supply chain teams.

“Collectively, these changes will result in a reduction of approximately 1,400 roles in global operations, with the majority in technology,” Alagirisamy wrote. “These reductions are very hard for the teammates directly affected and for the teams around them, too.”

A Nike spokesperson said the layoffs are about better positioning the organization for the current pace of sports and accelerating its growth. The layoffs affect employees across North America, Asia and Europe and represent less than 2% of the company’s total global head count.

“This is not a new direction,” Alagirisamy wrote. “It is the next phase of the work already underway.”

Affected employees will be notified beginning Thursday, Nike added.

CEO Elliott Hill has been working to turn Nike around after years of slumping sales. While Hill has made some initial progress, it’s come with some bumps in the road.

Nike announced 775 job cuts in January, primarily at its U.S.-based distribution centers, due to the company’s work in accelerating its use of automation. At the time, the company said the cuts are part of Nike’s goal to return to “long-term, profitable growth.”

Those layoffs came on top of a round of cuts last summer that affected less than 1% of Nike’s corporate staff as part of the company’s efforts to realign the business.

In its third fiscal quarter earnings report last month, the retailer warned that sales will continue to fall for the rest of the year, primarily led by an anticipated 20% decline in China during the current quarter.

Nike cuts 1,400 roles in second round of layoffs this year

Holiday chaos as 28 major airlines cancel flights or hike prices - full list

23 April 2026

Many major airlines are adapting their flight schedules or introducing new costs in the wake of the Iran war, which has sent the cost of jet fuel soaring. Europe was previously warned that it has just six weeks of jet fuel left, according to the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA).

It comes as the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most important oil transit passage, remains shut due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Fatih Birol, the Executive Director of IEA, said flights could be cancelled across Europe if the vital passageway remains shut.

The benchmark price of European jet fuel has surged from $831 (£614) per tonne at the start of the war to $1,838 (£1,387) at the beginning of April.

According to Mr Birol, Europe has "maybe six weeks of jet fuel left". This means airports could face critical shortages by May, causing travel chaos for Brits heading abroad.

He told AP: "In the past there was a group called Dire Straits. It's a dire strait now, and it is going to have major implications for the global economy. And the longer it goes, the worse it will be for the economic growth and inflation around the world."

He added that "everybody is going to suffer" without the permanent reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

He continued: "Some countries may be richer than the others. Some countries may have more energy than the others, but no country, no country is immune to this crisis."

Air India

Revising its fuel surcharge from a flat domestic fee to a distance-based one.

Air New Zealand

Cutting flights in May and June and hiking fares.

Akasa Air

Introducing a fuel surcharge between 199 and 1,300 rupees on domestic and international flights.

Alaska Air

Increasing the cost of the first checked by by $5, $10 for the second, and $150 for the third on North American flights.

More

Holiday chaos as 28 major airlines cancel flights or hike prices - full list

11 Reasons the US and Israel Clearly Lost to Iran

From a failed bid for regime change to Iran’s control of Hormuz and trillions in shattered Gulf capital, this was not a close contest – it was a historic rout.

The Silver Academy  Apr 22, 2026

Foreword:
No modern blunder rivals launching a discretionary Iran war that empowers Tehran, endangers global trade routes, and destabilizes trillions in allied capital while advertising U.S. impotence to the entire world

I. Strategic “genius” that handed Iran the win
a. The U.S.–Israel war machine went in with four maximal goals – regime change, zero enrichment, elimination of long‑range missiles, and cutting off Hamas/Hezbollah/Houthis – and achieved exactly 0 out of 4.
b. Iran walked out with 1 consolidated regime, 1 intact nuclear program, 1 intact missile arsenal, and 3 functioning proxy networks that are now more battle‑tested and politically justified than before.
c. The entire “pressure campaign” produced the opposite of what was sold: instead of regime collapse, you got regime consolidation and a hard lesson for every non‑aligned state that only hard deterrence works against Washington and Tel Aviv.

II. Hormuz: turning the West’s jugular into Iran’s toll road
a. Before this fiasco, Iran did not exercise de facto day‑to‑day control over the Strait of Hormuz; after a few months of Trumpian escalation, Tehran effectively operates a choke point over a sea lane that touches a massive slice of global oil flows.
b. The U.S. spent tens of trillions over decades on carrier groups, bases, and “freedom of navigation” branding, and still ended up in a position where Iran can open or close a toll booth on the world’s energy a few days at a time.
c. Every attempt by Washington to reassert control – airstrikes, ship seizures, blockades – has been met with Iranian tit‑for‑tat: ships seized, brief openings followed by closures, while Western markets price in a permanent Hormuz risk premium.
d. Ships passing through SOH used to pay in petro-dollar now they pay in Chinese Yuan

III. Nukes and missiles: from “we’ll stop them” to “we proved why they need them”
a. Officially, the war was supposed to reduce the chance of Iran ever getting a nuclear weapon; in practice, it produced 1 textbook case study that nuclear deterrence is the only thing that stops a U.S. “war of choice.”
b. Iran’s enrichment and missile infrastructure withstood an air campaign that burned through billions in munitions to change precisely 0 core strategic variables.
c. Net result: 1 regime more convinced it needs a credible nuclear option, multiple peer governments quietly drawing the same conclusion, and 0 evidence Washington can actually disarm a determined mid‑tier power without blowing up the world economy.

More

11 Reasons the US and Israel Clearly Lost to Iran

In other news.

All the alternative routes for Middle East oil and gas to bypass the Strait of Hormuz

The Strait is considered the world's most important oil chokepoint – but there are other options

Thursday 23 April 2026 06:43 BST

The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with only three vessels passing the waterway in the past 24 hours, shipping data showed.

The Strait is considered the world's most important oil chokepoint and had been handling roughly one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas supply before the U.S. and Israel's war on Iran began on February 28.

More than a dozen tankers passed through the Strait after Iran briefly declared it open on Friday. But a ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appeared in jeopardy on Tuesday as Iran vowed to retaliate for the U.S. seizure of one of its vessels and refused to join new peace talks.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has called it the largest supply disruption on record, bigger than the oil shocks of the 1970s and the loss of Russian pipeline gas after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine combined.

There are some existing and possible alternative oil and gas export bypasses of the Strait of Hormuz. These include:

EAST–WEST PIPELINE (SAUDI ARABIA)

Saudi Arabia's 1,200‑km East–West pipeline can transport up to seven million barrels per day (bpd) of crude to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, with effective exports estimated at about 4.5 million bpd, depending on tanker and jetty availability.

From Yanbu, shipments can travel to Europe via the Suez Canal or south via the Bab el-Mandeb strait to reach Asia, a route carrying security risks from Yemen's Houthi militants, who have attacked tankers during the Gaza war.

HABSHAN–FUJAIRAH PIPELINE (UAE)

The Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) runs from Abu Dhabi's Habshan onshore fields to Fujairah on the Gulf of Oman, outside Hormuz. Operated by ADNOC and commissioned in 2012, the 360‑km pipeline has a capacity of about 1.5 to 1.8 million bpd.

Oil loadings at Fujairah, however, have been affected by drone attacks since the Iran war started at the end of February.

KIRKUK-CEYHAN PIPELINE (IRAQ-TURKEY)

Iraq's main northern export route runs from Kirkuk to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan via the Kurdistan region.

The pipeline restarted last September after a two and a half year shutdown following an interim deal between Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government.

On March 17, Iraq began pumping 170,000 bpd, with plans to reach 250,000 bpd, after Iraq's national oil company SOMO signed export contracts via Turkey, Jordan and Syria.

GOREH-JASK PIPELINE

Iran may be able to utilise the Jask terminal, fed by the one million bpd Goreh-Jask pipeline, to bypass the Strait, the IEA said in its latest oil market report.

The construction of the terminal is not fully complete, but a loading from Jask was tested in 2024, it said.

Possible alternative routes:

IRAQ–OMAN PIPELINE

Iraq said last September it was considering a pipeline from Basra to Oman’s port of Duqm on the Gulf of Oman.

The project remains at an early conceptual stage, with routes under study including an overland line via neighbouring countries or a costly subsea pipeline.

IRAQ–JORDAN PIPELINE

The proposed 1 million bpd pipeline would ship crude from Basra to Jordan's Red Sea port of Aqaba, bypassing Hormuz.

First proposed in the 1980s and approved in principle in 2022, the project remains stalled by cost, security and political hurdles.

GULF–SEA OF OMAN CANAL

A canal bypassing Hormuz - similar to the Suez or Panama Canals - remains purely conceptual. A project to cut through the Hajar Mountains toward Fujairah would face extreme engineering challenges and could cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

All the alternative routes for Middle East oil and gas to bypass the Strait of Hormuz | The Independent

Strait of Hormuz blockade drives up costs at Panama Canal

Published Apr 22, 2026, 09:43 AM  Updated Apr 22, 2026, 05:48 PM

PANAMA CITY - The war in the Middle East has boosted demand to move vital cargo through the Panama Canal to such an extent that one vessel carrying liquefied natural gas (LNG) paid US$4 million (S$5 million) to skip the line and avoid a wait that can take up to five days, according to an official report.

A surge in such payments has been recorded since the US-Israeli attack on Iran began on Feb 28, which led to the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for one-fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas exports from Gulf countries.

To meet fuel demand, Asia’s refineries are choosing to buy oil or gas from the United States and ship it through the transoceanic waterway instead of purchasing from Gulf countries that rely on the Strait of Hormuz, according to reports from the Panama Canal Authority.

The average number of ships passing through the canal on a daily basis has “remained strong”, the authority told AFP on April 21, with 34 ships in January and 37 ships in March.

Some days exceeded 40 transits.

“The increase reflects changes in global trade patterns and market conditions, including geopolitical factors affecting key routes,” the authority said.

More

Strait of Hormuz blockade drives up costs at Panama Canal | The Straits Times

Global Inflation/Stagflation/Recession Watch.

Given our Magic Money Tree central banksters and our spendthrift politicians.

Japan core inflation accelerates after five months as Iran war stokes energy worries

Published Thu, Apr 23 2026 7:34 PM EDT

Core inflation in Japan accelerated for the first time in five months, rising to 1.8% in March as the Iran war fuels worries around energy prices.

Government data showed the core inflation figure — which strips out prices of fresh food — was in line with the 1.8% expected by economists polled by Reuters, and was higher than the 1.6% seen in February

Headline inflation came in at 1.5%, compared with 1.3% in February, staying below the central bank’s 2% target for a second straight month.

The so-called “core-core” inflation rate, which strips out prices of both fresh food and energy, dipped to 2.4% from February’s 2.5%, marking its lowest level since October 2024.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has been considering steps ‌to cushion the economic blow from rising fuel costs, including curbing gasoline prices. Tokyo has also released crude from its stockpiles to mitigate an oil shock.

According to Japanese media reports, fuel subsidies have been rolled out since March, with Takaichi saying that she plans to cap pump prices at an average of 170 yen ($1.07) per liter nationwide, warning that gasoline could potentially hit 200 yen per liter.

If gasoline prices were at roughly 200 yen and capped at 170 yen, the subsidy could cost around 300 billion yen per month, according to Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama.

Following government support measures, including ending the provisional gasoline tax, energy costs fell 5.7% in March.

More

Japan core inflation accelerates after five months as Iran war stokes energy worries

Goldman just released its inflation playbook for the rest of 2026

April 22, 2026

Inflation is back in the headlines, and this time, it's not just the Fed's doing. Goldman Sachs released its U.S. Inflation Monitor for March 2026 on April 20, 2026, and the picture it paints is one shaped by forces that didn't exist a year ago. 

Headline CPI surged 0.87% in March alone, pushing the year-over-year rate to 3.29%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, driven in large part by a 10.9% spike in energy prices tied directly to the start of the Iran war. Headline PCE is estimated to have risen 0.64% for the month, lifting its year-over-year rate to 3.45%, according to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

The good news, buried beneath those numbers, is that core inflation, the measure the Federal Reserve watches most closely, is actually decelerating. The question is whether the war's commodity ripple effects and lingering tariff pressures can be contained before they undo that progress.

Goldman thinks they can. But the bank isn't without caveats.

How the Iran war is driving Goldman Sachs' inflation concern

The single biggest inflation wildcard right now isn't monetary policy. It's geopolitics. Oil prices jumped from an average of $71 per barrel in February to $103 per barrel in March, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) confirms.

That’s a 45% spike in a single month. Goldman's oil strategists expect Brent crude to pull back to $80 per barrel by the fourth quarter of 2026, but the bank is explicit that risks remain tilted to the upside.

"Given the reduction in the risk premium at the front of the curve and already edging up oil flows through the SoH, we nudge down our Q2 forecast for Brent/WTI," Goldman's commodity analysts wrote in a note, according to TheStreet.

The energy shock flows directly into headline inflation through household energy costs and transportation services, where passthrough is most pronounced. But oil isn't the only commodity the Iran war is disrupting.

Goldman raises its December 2026 PCE inflation forecast

The conflict has also raised prices on Gulf exports, including nitrogen fertilizer and aluminum. Goldman estimates that higher fertilizer costs will push food prices up roughly 1.5% this year, adding approximately 0.1 percentage point (PP) to headline inflation. Higher food prices, in turn, feed into restaurant prices within core PCE, contributing an additional 0.05 to 0.10 percentage points to core inflation.

Taken together, Goldman has raised its December 2026 year-over-year headline PCE inflation forecast by a full percentage point since the war began, with most of that revision attributable to energy.

You, and every other consumer, are already feeling it. Short-term inflation expectations jumped one percentage point in the University of Michigan survey to 4.8% for the year ahead. The New York Fed's equivalent measure rose 0.4 percentage points to 3.4%. Long-term expectations, historically more anchored, also crept higher in both surveys, a development the Fed will be watching closely.

Financial market-implied expectations for 2026 headline CPI inflation rose 0.8 percentage points to 3.3% since the war began, according to Trading Economics.

More

Goldman just released its inflation playbook for the rest of 2026

UK inflation rises after Iran war pushes up fuel prices

22 April 2026

The UK inflation rate rose to 3.3% in the year to March, after the US-Israel war with Iran caused the largest jump in petrol and diesel prices in over three years.

The rise from 3% in the year to February was "largely due to increased fuel prices", while airfares and food also contributed, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

The figures provide the first official look at the impact of the Middle East conflict on the cost of living in the UK.

Inflation is now expected to be higher this year due to the war, and higher energy costs could also slow down the economy as people and businesses have less money to spend.

Inflation could peak around 3.5% to 4% this year, economists have predicted. This would be higher than the Bank of England's target of 2%, but much lower than the double-digit rates seen early on in the war in Ukraine in 2022.

Wholesale energy prices have soared since the Iran war began on 28 February, with the production and transportation of energy across the Middle East slowing or stopping entirely due to missile strikes and drone attacks.

The ONS collected its March data in the middle of the month, a few weeks into the war.

Motor fuel increased by 8.7% month-on-month, the largest increase since June 2022, shortly after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Over the year to March, fuel prices rose by 4.9%. This was the highest rise since January 2023.

In addition to fuel, ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner said airfares and rising food prices also played a part, while "the only significant offset came from clothing costs, where prices rose by less than this time last year".

"The monthly cost of both raw materials for businesses and goods leaving factories rose substantially, driven by higher crude oil and petrol prices," he added.

The rise in airfares was largely due to the relatively early timing of Easter this year - the long-haul flights monitored by the ONS had a return date of the Tuesday after the Easter weekend and were recorded before the Iran war started.

Food inflation rose from 3.3% to 3.7% in the year to March, driven by chocolate and confectionery, meat, fish, and soft drinks – which may also be linked to the timing of Easter.

More

UK inflation rises after Iran war pushes up fuel prices - BBC News

LVMH CEO Arnault warns of ‘world catastrophe’ if Middle East conflict is not resolved

Published Thu, Apr 23 2026 6:31 AM EDT

LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault warned Thursday of “world catastrophe” if the conflict in the Middle East is not resolved.

His comments came after the Iran war weighed on demand in the first three months of the year, halving the luxury giant’s sales growth.

“The world is now in a pretty serious crisis in the Middle East,” the longtime CEO told shareholders at the company’s Annual General Meeting in Paris. 

“Either it’ll be a world catastrophe with very serious and very negative economic impact – in which case, who can say how 2026 will unfold – or it will be resolved more rapidly in some shape or form that we all hope for, even if it doesn’t seem to be easy, in which case, business will recover and resume their normal course,” he said, according to a translation by LVMH. 

Organic sales at the world’s largest luxury company grew 1% in the first quarter. The Middle East conflict had a 1% negative impact on organic growth, LVMH said last week, effectively cutting quarterly growth in half.

If a solution can be reached between Iran, the U.S. and Israel, however, Arnault expects to see a return to growth in the second half of this year.

His comments come as many of LVMH’s peers also faced a hit to sales in March, weighing on both quarterly earnings and shares.

The conflict comes at a particularly precarious time for the luxury sector, which had been largely expected to return to growth in 2026 after a year-long slump – a recovery that is now in jeopardy.

“The Middle East was one of the hot spots for growth... what I am hearing from our clients is that there is a double whammy of consumer sentiment declining, traffic declining, and spend declining,” McKinsey Senior Partner Gemma D’Auria told CNBC.

In the short term, brands will be impacted by the conflict, which is significantly reducing traffic in the region, D’Auria said. “It is yet to be seen whether this decline would be compensated for by Middle East clients shopping elsewhere outside of the Middle East.”

LVMH CEO Arnault warns of 'world catastrophe' if Middle East conflict is not resolved

Technology Update.

With events happening fast in the development of solar power and graphene, among other things, I’ve added this section Updates as they get reported.

Masdar and ScottishPower set UK record for offshore wind turbine blades

Apr 21, 2026

ScottishPower and Masdar have set a UK record for the longest blade installation at an offshore wind farm.

The first turbine installed at the $5.4 billion East Anglia THREE project features 115-metre blades — the biggest manufactured and used in the UK, with each one longer than a Premier League football pitch.

Impressive statistics

All 285 blades for the project’s 14MW turbines — 95 in total — are being manufactured at Siemens Gamesa’s factory in the north England city of Hull.

When complete, the 1.4GW East Anglia THREE project will produce enough clean power for more than 1.3 million homes.

At 262 metres, the turbines stand higher than the observation deck at The Shard, Britain’s tallest building.

Each turbine has a rotor diameter of 236 metres, and one single revolution will produce enough electricity to power a home for more than four days, charge about 1,700 mobile phones, or brew almost 1,000 cups of tea.

Defining moment

ScottishPower — part of Iberdrola Group — has invested $41 billion in the UK over 15 years. Its ScottishPower Renewables business has 40-plus operational offshore and onshore wind farms and solar sites, generating enough green electricity to power about two million homes.

Charlie Jordan, ScottishPower Renewables’ CEO, described the installation as a UK industry first and a defining moment for ScottishPower, Iberdrola and Masdar as we “celebrate and accelerate the deployment of homegrown renewable energy at scale”.

He continued: “East Anglia THREE will be the biggest and most powerful offshore wind farm in our portfolio.

“That means billions invested in the UK and global supply chains. East Anglia THREE will play a crucial role in the UK’s clean energy future.”

Wind power at scale

Located off the Suffolk coast, it will become one of the world’s largest offshore wind farms when it comes into operation. More than 2,300 jobs have been supported during construction.

“We see tremendous potential for offshore wind, not just in the UK but across the wider European market, where offshore wind can provide critical energy security, power economic progress, and help nations achieve their clean energy objectives,” said Husain Al Meer, Director of Global Offshore Wind at Masdar.

The East Anglia THREE turbine blades are seven metres longer than the previous record.

“These are the biggest blades ever built for a project in UK waters — a real landmark for offshore wind,” added Darren Davidson, UK Head of Siemens Energy and Siemens Gamesa.

Masdar and ScottishPower set UK record for offshore wind turbine blades

Next, the world global debt clock. Nations debts to GDP compared.

World Debt Clocks (usdebtclock.org) 

Another weekend and a so called “ceasefire” war weekend, although no one seems to have told the Israelis in Lebanon. Have a great weekend everyone.

UK PM Starmer: I'm innocent till I'm proved guilty. This is a free country. The law is impartial.
UK AG: Who's been filling your head with that rubbish?
UK PM Starmer: I can't be had for anything. You've no proof.
UK AG: When I make out my report I shall say you've given me a confession. It could prejudice your case if I have to forge one.

With apologies to Joe Orton and Loot.