November 11, 2023

An adequate response to a Covid pandemic needs more views than what epidemiologists and statisticians can provide.

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Sir, I refer to “ Please put statisticians in charge of data for the next crisis ” Sir David Norgrove, FT November 11. July 2020, I tweeted:...
July 17, 2023

How long will it take for bank regulators to ask AI regulators for a little favour?

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Sir, Michael Skapinker writes: “Why did no one speak up “inside Sil­icon Val­ley Bank before it col­lapsed? People thought speak­ing up woul...
June 25, 2023

A strong national spirit/character is what’s most needed for any preparedness, even against a pandemic.

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Sir, I refer to Tim Harford’s “ Is it even pos­sible for coun­tries to pre­pare for a pan­demic? ” FT June 24, 2023. “Be pre­pared! It’s the...
April 17, 2023

To stand a chance, UK must refrain from imprudent risk-aversion and embrace some prudent risk-taking.

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Sir, I refer to Martin Wolf’s “ The UK’s future depends on improving economic performance ” FT, April 15 2023.  Wolf at the end of it recomm...
April 03, 2023

Are British authorities more aware of risks than those in the US? Martin Wolf, dare find out.

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Sir, Martin Wolf writes “The best pro­tec­tion against occa­sional huge bank­ing crises is fre­quent smal­ler ones.” “ The UK must learn its...
January 23, 2023

For our grandchildren sake we must recover the “democratic capitalism” we inherited and lost too much of.

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“We have inherited democratic capitalism from the struggles of our predecessors. We must reform and protect it for our descendants.” Martin ...
January 11, 2023

Creditworthiness should be grounded on what’s worthy of credit.

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Sir, Martin Wolf writes “The vicious circle in which low creditworthiness begets unaffordable spreads, which beget debt crises and even lowe...
October 03, 2022

Five comments on Patrick Jenkins “Failure to learn lessons of 2008 caused LDI pension blow-up”

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Five comments on Patrick Jenkins “ Failure to learn lessons of 2008 caused LDI pension blow-up ”. Not sent by a letter to the Financial Time...
September 21, 2022

Britannia, to have a chance to become its former self, needs to free its financial systems from its mis-regulators.

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Sir, Martin Wolf asks: “Britannia is not ‘unchained’. It is instead sailing in perilous waters. Can the new captain and first mate even see ...
April 28, 2022

Why does the world ignore regulations that totally disrupt the allocation of bank credit?

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Sir, I refer to Martin Wolf’s “ Shocks from war in Ukraine are many-sided. - The conflict is a multiplier of disruption in an already disru...
March 11, 2022

Chile can also set a great example for the developed world.

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Sir, in “ Chile can set an example for the developing world ” FT, March 10, 2022, you refer to “the risk of European levels of debt” With ba...
March 05, 2022

FT, on banking and finance who are you to believe, Francis Fukuyama or Paul Volcker?

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Sir, Francis Fukuyama in “ The war on liberalism ” FT March 5, writes: “ Liberals understand the importance of free markets — but under the ...
February 25, 2022

What if the State of Maryland USA, where I live, was treated by the Fed as Italy is by its EU bank regulators?

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Sir, Tony Barber writes: “Paradoxically, as Italy’s debt has ballooned in size, it has become more manageable. Particularly over the past tw...
February 23, 2022

For inflation, where the money supply goes, matters a lot too

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Sir, I refer to Martin Wolf’s “ The monetarist dog is having its day ”, FT February 23. Yes, the money supply impacts inflation, no doubts b...
February 18, 2022

Compared to more than three decades ago, what is the current leverage ratio of our banks?

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Sir, Martin Wolf, in FT on July 12, 2012, in “ Seven ways to clean up our banking ‘cesspit ’” opined: “Banks need far more equity: In settin...

How can you hold governments accountable, while their borrowings are being non-transparently subsidized?

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Sir, Aveek Bhattacharya discusses various options to improve the productivity and effectiveness of public spending. “ A future case for the ...
February 07, 2022

If we want public debt to protect citizens today and tomorrow, it behooves us to make sure it cannot be too easily contracted.

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Sir, I refer to John Plender’s “ The virtues of public debt to protect citizens ” FT February 7, 2022. Sir, as a grandfather I do fear debt ...
November 02, 2021

The Basel Committee blocks development

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I refer to Aleksandr V Gevorkyan’s “ Small economies require new development model ” November 5. What would FT opine on a development model ...
October 18, 2021

Martin Wolf, again, any good economic plan needs, sine qua non, to get rid of bank credit distorting regulations.

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Sir, I refer to Martin Wolf’s “ Without an economic plan, patriotism is Johnson’s last refuge ” FT, October 18, 2021 In Martin Wolf’s Econom...
October 01, 2021

The history I’ll tell my grandchildren has little to do with Philip Stephens’ history.

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Sir, Philip Stephens writes: “Twenty-five years ago… the world belonged to liberalism. Soviet communism had collapsed. Historians will recor...
July 01, 2021

Do we know of a display of hubris greater than “risk weighted bank capital requirements”?

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Sir, Gillian Tett in “ Economists can’t predict the future — policy should reflect that ” July 1 wrote: “Robert Rubin, Peter Orszag and Jose...
June 28, 2021

The main ingredient of any safe pension system is a healthy and sturdy economy.

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Sir, I refer to Martin Wolf’s “ It is folly to make pensions safe by making them unaffordable ” FT, June 28. Wolf writes: “We also need true...
June 16, 2021

Spurn bank regulators' false promises.

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Sir, Martin Wolf makes a good case for “We should not throw liberal trade away for the wrong reasons and in the wrong way”, “ Spurn the fals...
June 12, 2021

Central banks and regulators cancelled the creative part of destruction.

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I refer to Martin Wolf’s comments on Philippe Aghion, Céline Antonin and Simon Bunel’s “The Power of Creative Destruction”, “ The innovation...
June 10, 2021

Bank regulators never considered the unexpected, like a pandemic

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Sir, Angela Merkel, Justin Trudeau and Erna Solberg opine: “The Covid-19 pandemic has taught us that the costs of prevention and early respo...
May 25, 2021

It’s sad when we need to remind regulators to prepare for the unexpected

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“The time to prepare for the next threat is now”, that’s how Bill Emmott ends his “ How to build global resilience after the pandemic ” FT, ...
May 16, 2021

Should the Louvre, a homage to inequality, have to be culturally cancelled?

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Sir, I refer to Ruchir Sharma’s “ The billionaire boom ” FT Weekend, May 15. In this case, as so often happens in articles about the wealthy...
May 11, 2021

The “Parable of talents” is currently quite inapplicable to any wealth tax.

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Sir, I refer to “ Why the toughest capitalists should root for a wealth tax ” Martin Sandbu, FT, May 10. Much of the current wealth is the d...
May 08, 2021

Will this tweet be ignored by FT?

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How much hubris is needed for regulators to impose risk weighted bank capital requirements, as if they know what the risks are? How much wis...
April 22, 2021

About Italy, there are serious questions that FT, and others, should not silence.

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Sir, I refer to “ Draghi plots €221bn rebuilding of Italy’s recession ravaged economy ” Miles Johnson and Sam Fleming, and to “ Europe’s fut...

No remittances without representation!

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Sir, you write “ Poor government plagues Central America”, “Central America needs a bold gesture from the US ”, FT April 22.Those migrants w...