Joseph Cotterill
@jsphctrl.ft.com
Emerging Markets correspondent at the Financial Times.
Cuba: “Oil imports to the island reached zero in January for the first time since 2015, according to data from shipping reports and Kpler Ltd.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Cuba Isn’t Getting Oil Imports From Anyone for the First Time in a Decade
Mexico’s decision to halt all oil shipments to Cuba has delivered a fresh blow to the fuel-starved country, with the island logging its first month without oil imports in a decade.
www.bloomberg.com
February 10, 2026 at 11:11 AM
Cuba: “Oil imports to the island reached zero in January for the first time since 2015, according to data from shipping reports and Kpler Ltd.” www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reposted by Joseph Cotterill
With the IMF having updated the financial positions in the Fund data to end January, one can see that the matching SDR transactions for Argentina and USA have appeared again, +586m SDR for Argentina, -586m SDR (=$807m) for USA. www.imf.org/external/np/...
February 9, 2026 at 11:51 PM
With the IMF having updated the financial positions in the Fund data to end January, one can see that the matching SDR transactions for Argentina and USA have appeared again, +586m SDR for Argentina, -586m SDR (=$807m) for USA. www.imf.org/external/np/...
Not the only UK risk today with a gulf between the official term and the actual duration, amirite, send skeet www.ft.com/content/3260...
Alphabet lines up 100-year sterling bond sale
Deal comes as Google parent steps up AI borrowing rush with $15bn sale of dollar bonds
www.ft.com
February 9, 2026 at 3:54 PM
Not the only UK risk today with a gulf between the official term and the actual duration, amirite, send skeet www.ft.com/content/3260...
Reposted by Joseph Cotterill
Drew mentions something important: with every foreign bureau shut or correspondent laid off, local reporters, researchers, fixers, translators etc all lose jobs or work as well. These essential people, many of whom take substantial risks, just get cut off, likely without severance or support.
The Washington Post just laid off its entire award-winning photo team. They were our eyes in places we'll never see. It's a horrifying loss at a time when lying governments, propaganda and AI slop are on the rise.
February 6, 2026 at 7:52 PM
Drew mentions something important: with every foreign bureau shut or correspondent laid off, local reporters, researchers, fixers, translators etc all lose jobs or work as well. These essential people, many of whom take substantial risks, just get cut off, likely without severance or support.
The ‘Bell Pottinger’ death rattle.
Vodafone has put its contract with Global Counsel under review
pharmaceutical group GSK, which has been advised by Global Counsel in the past, said it “had no plans to engage with the firm any further”
www.ft.com/content/b3cc...
pharmaceutical group GSK, which has been advised by Global Counsel in the past, said it “had no plans to engage with the firm any further”
www.ft.com/content/b3cc...
Chief of lobbying firm founded by Mandelson quits after Epstein backlash
Benjamin Wegg-Prosser resigns as Global Counsel chief executive
www.ft.com
February 6, 2026 at 4:02 PM
The ‘Bell Pottinger’ death rattle.
Nothing says ‘America 250’ like hiring German mercenaries for a reactionary enterprise, I suppose www.ft.com/content/f869...
US government to fund Maga-aligned think-tanks and charities in Europe
State department grants to spread ‘American values’ are part of Washington’s 250th anniversary celebrations
www.ft.com
February 6, 2026 at 8:33 AM
Nothing says ‘America 250’ like hiring German mercenaries for a reactionary enterprise, I suppose www.ft.com/content/f869...
It was not in trading Argentine peso forwards, just to be clear. He tried that in 2018 and lost $1mn. www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
February 5, 2026 at 1:45 PM
It was not in trading Argentine peso forwards, just to be clear. He tried that in 2018 and lost $1mn. www.justice.gov/epstein/file...
Looks like Studwell's Africa follow-up to How Asia Works will focus a lot on population density: “At the start of the C20th, Africa’s pop. density — at under five people per km²— was similar to England’s in 1066... In 2030, Africa will finally reach [Asia's in 1960]“ www.ft.com/content/a926...
How Africa Works by Joe Studwell — how to change the economic trajectory
A dazzling reassessment of the continent’s historic handicaps, and its potential for economic development
www.ft.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Looks like Studwell's Africa follow-up to How Asia Works will focus a lot on population density: “At the start of the C20th, Africa’s pop. density — at under five people per km²— was similar to England’s in 1066... In 2030, Africa will finally reach [Asia's in 1960]“ www.ft.com/content/a926...
Reposted by Joseph Cotterill
This is preying on my mind a bit. Jeffrey Epstein was not primarily a British scandal! So far we've removed a Prince from the Royal family, fired our US ambassador who was one of the most important political figures of the last few decades and banned the CEO of Barclays from the financial industry..
One by one, Europeans mentioned in the Epstein files who still hold political office are beginning to resign or are being forced out of office.
Meanwhile, ruled by an administration almost entirely made up of Epstein associates, the US carries on as if nothing really happened.
Meanwhile, ruled by an administration almost entirely made up of Epstein associates, the US carries on as if nothing really happened.
February 4, 2026 at 11:13 AM
This is preying on my mind a bit. Jeffrey Epstein was not primarily a British scandal! So far we've removed a Prince from the Royal family, fired our US ambassador who was one of the most important political figures of the last few decades and banned the CEO of Barclays from the financial industry..
Elon Musk has nothing on Indonesian tycoons. After the Jakarta market was hit by an MSCI warning over low free floats (largely in tycoon-dominated firms) - www.ft.com/content/e96e... - one tycoon responds with... stock buybacks (ie free float goes down): www.ft.com/content/18b5...
Indonesia’s richest man launches buybacks after worst stock rout in decades
Billionaire Prajogo Pangestu has lost more than a quarter of his net worth since the start of the year amid market turmoil
www.ft.com
February 4, 2026 at 11:15 AM
Elon Musk has nothing on Indonesian tycoons. After the Jakarta market was hit by an MSCI warning over low free floats (largely in tycoon-dominated firms) - www.ft.com/content/e96e... - one tycoon responds with... stock buybacks (ie free float goes down): www.ft.com/content/18b5...
Would be cool if this was a nom de plume (guerre?) inherited by all prime ministers, like the 007 designation. The name is Pond, John Pond, Theresa May quietly chuckled to herself as she read another PPS screed on Brexit, etc.
NEW: Who was John Pond?
This August 2009 email exchange which was forwarded to Jeffrey Epstein included Mandelson, the PM's PPS Jeremy Heywood, the minister/adviser Shriti Vadera and... John Pond.
Two sources have told the BBC that John Pond was in fact Gordon Brown, then the PM
This August 2009 email exchange which was forwarded to Jeffrey Epstein included Mandelson, the PM's PPS Jeremy Heywood, the minister/adviser Shriti Vadera and... John Pond.
Two sources have told the BBC that John Pond was in fact Gordon Brown, then the PM
February 2, 2026 at 3:06 PM
Would be cool if this was a nom de plume (guerre?) inherited by all prime ministers, like the 007 designation. The name is Pond, John Pond, Theresa May quietly chuckled to herself as she read another PPS screed on Brexit, etc.
I think of people cadging things from him (flights etc) that monetarily should've been baubles to them. Saw it before in patronage networks looting various states for bizarrely small sums. They didn't need it, got no real use of it, but they did it, because in a way that's just what patronage is.
know this is not something that could happen either in general or at least in the next few years but I would genuinely love it if a journalist could sit down with some of the powerful people who interacted with Epstein - even anonymously - so they could explain what they got out of the relationship
February 2, 2026 at 1:39 PM
I think of people cadging things from him (flights etc) that monetarily should've been baubles to them. Saw it before in patronage networks looting various states for bizarrely small sums. They didn't need it, got no real use of it, but they did it, because in a way that's just what patronage is.
I jinxed the emerging markets rally. A few days after this went out... South African stocks had their worst open in years today, (gold stocks down 8% plus). SK Hynix also off 8%. www.ft.com/content/bba3...
Emerging markets make roaring start to 2026 as dollar slides
Stocks, bonds and currencies have all soared as dollar weakness puts focus on fundamentals
www.ft.com
February 2, 2026 at 10:53 AM
I jinxed the emerging markets rally. A few days after this went out... South African stocks had their worst open in years today, (gold stocks down 8% plus). SK Hynix also off 8%. www.ft.com/content/bba3...
Reposted by Joseph Cotterill
Stanley Druckenmiller says Kevin Warsh is not a permanent policy ‘hawk’ - scoop by @pollard.bsky.social. The billionaire investor is a long time mentor of Warsh (and also Scott Bessent) www.ft.com/content/4ec8...
Stanley Druckenmiller says Kevin Warsh is not a permanent policy ‘hawk’
Fed chair nominee ‘believes you can have growth without inflation’, according to his longtime mentor
www.ft.com
January 30, 2026 at 2:40 PM
Stanley Druckenmiller says Kevin Warsh is not a permanent policy ‘hawk’ - scoop by @pollard.bsky.social. The billionaire investor is a long time mentor of Warsh (and also Scott Bessent) www.ft.com/content/4ec8...
Fun reminder in this that the Baltic states (and Iceland) are both advanced economies (in IMF terms) and frontier markets (MSCI terms).
📊 Friday Chart Quiz: the US has almost 50% more road traffic deaths per 100k people than the next worst advanced economy. Can you guess any of the other top 5?
Might surprise some people to see the UK is one of safest. Not so broken Britain!
Might surprise some people to see the UK is one of safest. Not so broken Britain!
January 30, 2026 at 10:45 AM
Fun reminder in this that the Baltic states (and Iceland) are both advanced economies (in IMF terms) and frontier markets (MSCI terms).
David Hackett Fischer in ‘Albion’s Seed’ seems way more interested in the Cavaliers/Virginians than Puritans or Quakers as a mass of cultural contradictions (viz. ‘hegemonic liberty’). And as the most self-aware that ‘folkways’ were often reconstructed.
January 29, 2026 at 9:46 PM
David Hackett Fischer in ‘Albion’s Seed’ seems way more interested in the Cavaliers/Virginians than Puritans or Quakers as a mass of cultural contradictions (viz. ‘hegemonic liberty’). And as the most self-aware that ‘folkways’ were often reconstructed.
Reposted by Joseph Cotterill
Great read on the Khamenei family's shadowy, exported wealth >>
Thousands have died in recent anti-government protests in Iran, while Mojtaba Khamenei - touted as a possible next leader of the country - has built a global property empire. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Thousands have died in recent anti-government protests in Iran, while Mojtaba Khamenei - touted as a possible next leader of the country - has built a global property empire. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
How the Son of Iran’s Supreme Leader Built a Global Property Empire
Mojtaba Khamenei has amassed sprawling international investments, while economic hardship at home has sparked Iran's deadliest protests in decades.
www.bloomberg.com
January 29, 2026 at 2:20 PM
Great read on the Khamenei family's shadowy, exported wealth >>
Thousands have died in recent anti-government protests in Iran, while Mojtaba Khamenei - touted as a possible next leader of the country - has built a global property empire. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Thousands have died in recent anti-government protests in Iran, while Mojtaba Khamenei - touted as a possible next leader of the country - has built a global property empire. www.bloomberg.com/news/feature...
Reposted by Joseph Cotterill
My story, written this morning from Minneapolis, is part of The Economist's cover package this week
Inside the movement challenging—and disrupting—ICE
www.economist.com/united-state...
Inside the movement challenging—and disrupting—ICE
www.economist.com/united-state...
Inside the movement challenging—and disrupting—ICE
A non-violent network of activists is forming across America
www.economist.com
January 29, 2026 at 4:07 AM
My story, written this morning from Minneapolis, is part of The Economist's cover package this week
Inside the movement challenging—and disrupting—ICE
www.economist.com/united-state...
Inside the movement challenging—and disrupting—ICE
www.economist.com/united-state...
Westerners cosplaying 996 (obviously grounded in critique, not emulation, and now subject to intense regulation in China itself) feels like the vogue for chinoiserie from another era. It’s about as deep www.ft.com/content/d0b7...
Grindcore is the new hustle culture
In Silicon Valley, long hours have fused with a monastic male wellness aesthetic
www.ft.com
January 29, 2026 at 9:32 AM
Westerners cosplaying 996 (obviously grounded in critique, not emulation, and now subject to intense regulation in China itself) feels like the vogue for chinoiserie from another era. It’s about as deep www.ft.com/content/d0b7...
The continued sharp drop in Indonesian stocks over the MSCI warning is, ironically enough, the sort of thing you might see in a market where free float and liquidity were significantly exaggerated. I fear it’s not beating the allegations… www.ft.com/content/ae6f...
Indonesian stocks tumble as Goldman warning adds to MSCI concerns
Jakarta Composite index falls 10% as investors worry about potential reclassification
www.ft.com
January 29, 2026 at 8:01 AM
The continued sharp drop in Indonesian stocks over the MSCI warning is, ironically enough, the sort of thing you might see in a market where free float and liquidity were significantly exaggerated. I fear it’s not beating the allegations… www.ft.com/content/ae6f...
Brazil wants to issue its first ever renminbi bond this year per its latest borrowing plan. Panda or offshore? Anyway if this will help set a benchmark for later corporate issuance that’s a big deal. cdn.tesouro.gov.br/sistemas-int...
cdn.tesouro.gov.br
January 28, 2026 at 6:32 PM
Brazil wants to issue its first ever renminbi bond this year per its latest borrowing plan. Panda or offshore? Anyway if this will help set a benchmark for later corporate issuance that’s a big deal. cdn.tesouro.gov.br/sistemas-int...
Bari Weiss is going for the good old ‘scoop of interpretation’, so the UK takeover of US newsrooms is clearly advancing also in the spiritual sense www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/b...
January 28, 2026 at 3:00 PM
Bari Weiss is going for the good old ‘scoop of interpretation’, so the UK takeover of US newsrooms is clearly advancing also in the spiritual sense www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/b...
Reposted by Joseph Cotterill
Maybe CBS' new Ukraine correspondent is very talented. One point of comparison: it took me 10 years to get a permanent staff job as an international correspondent.
Does Bari Weiss expect him to go to the frontline, though? If so, that's potentially irresponsible, given his lack of experience
Does Bari Weiss expect him to go to the frontline, though? If so, that's potentially irresponsible, given his lack of experience
Odd how when people like Bari Weiss go on about 'merit-based hiring', what they mean is hiring nice-looking white boys from elite schools regardless of their experience.
Here's CBS's new Ukraine correspondent. Graduated college less than a year ago. Yale Rugby. Only job: 7 months freelancing. 1/
Here's CBS's new Ukraine correspondent. Graduated college less than a year ago. Yale Rugby. Only job: 7 months freelancing. 1/
January 28, 2026 at 12:45 PM
Maybe CBS' new Ukraine correspondent is very talented. One point of comparison: it took me 10 years to get a permanent staff job as an international correspondent.
Does Bari Weiss expect him to go to the frontline, though? If so, that's potentially irresponsible, given his lack of experience
Does Bari Weiss expect him to go to the frontline, though? If so, that's potentially irresponsible, given his lack of experience
Tether say it's a ‘gold central bank’ buying a tonne a week. Meanwhile last year Uzbekistan, a 'gold central bank'/ big producer did buy tonnes here and there but overall holdings were largely constant at 380-390 tonnes (their value went up $19bn to more than $50bn... out of $61bn total reserves).
Every week, more than a ton of gold is hauled into a high-security vault located in a Cold War-era bunker owned by Tether. The hoard has turned the crypto giant into a major player in the industry. Read more: bloom.bg/4t0qVO5
📷: Francesca Volpi/Bloomberg
📷: Francesca Volpi/Bloomberg
January 28, 2026 at 1:12 PM
Tether say it's a ‘gold central bank’ buying a tonne a week. Meanwhile last year Uzbekistan, a 'gold central bank'/ big producer did buy tonnes here and there but overall holdings were largely constant at 380-390 tonnes (their value went up $19bn to more than $50bn... out of $61bn total reserves).
When free floats aren't quite as free as thought. MSCI could cut Indonesia's stock market from 'emerging' to 'frontier' status if by May it hasn't addressed “ongoing opacity in shareholding structures and concerns about possible coordinated trading behaviour”:
www.ft.com/content/baf0...
www.ft.com/content/baf0...
Indonesian shares plunge after MSCI warns on market’s investability
Sharp sell-off triggers trading halt as investors fret over possible reclassification
www.ft.com
January 28, 2026 at 10:50 AM
When free floats aren't quite as free as thought. MSCI could cut Indonesia's stock market from 'emerging' to 'frontier' status if by May it hasn't addressed “ongoing opacity in shareholding structures and concerns about possible coordinated trading behaviour”:
www.ft.com/content/baf0...
www.ft.com/content/baf0...