Levente Koroes
@lkoro.es
Reporter for Central Banking covering Europe, reserves management, ESG, cybersecurity and fintech. I also like running, coffee and photography. Opinions are my own unless otherwise indicated.
1. I need @dieworkwear.bsky.social to tell me if his outfit makes sense (even if his tie is horrendously tied)
2. We’ve come a long way since the *tips fedora* meme of the early 2010s
2. We’ve come a long way since the *tips fedora* meme of the early 2010s
"Fedora man" is a 15yo boy who takes sartorial inspiration from Poirot and other mid-20th century detectives. “When something unusual happens, you don’t imagine a normal detective,” he said. “You imagine someone different.”
Gem of an interview by AP's Thomas Adamson, who's also a fashion writer
Gem of an interview by AP's Thomas Adamson, who's also a fashion writer
Fedora man unmasked: Meet the teen behind the Louvre mystery photo
Fifteen-year-old Pedro Elias Garzon Delvaux has become an internet sensation after an Associated Press photo captured him outside the Louvre on the day of a crown jewels heist.
apnews.com
November 10, 2025 at 8:05 AM
1. I need @dieworkwear.bsky.social to tell me if his outfit makes sense (even if his tie is horrendously tied)
2. We’ve come a long way since the *tips fedora* meme of the early 2010s
2. We’ve come a long way since the *tips fedora* meme of the early 2010s
I’ve heard good things about Masa tortilla chips but £21.50 for a bag seems excessive.
November 8, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I’ve heard good things about Masa tortilla chips but £21.50 for a bag seems excessive.
Reposted by Levente Koroes
Really interesting Schnabel speech today on the future of the ECB balance sheet. Here's @lkoro.es's write-up: www.centralbanking.com/central-bank...
ECB to tilt future QE to shorter-term bonds – Schnabel - Central Banking
Collateralised lending to play key role in Eurosystem asset composition
www.centralbanking.com
November 6, 2025 at 5:10 PM
Really interesting Schnabel speech today on the future of the ECB balance sheet. Here's @lkoro.es's write-up: www.centralbanking.com/central-bank...
Checking in on Europe's pro-natalist policies: Montenegrin central bank uses monetary financing to encourage childbirth this week
First Savings for Babies Born During Savings Week Increased to 2,000 euros - CBCG
In cooperation with commercial banks, the CBCG will grant all babies born between 31 October and 6 November a first savings deposit of 2,000 euros. This join...
www.cbcg.me
November 3, 2025 at 10:16 AM
Checking in on Europe's pro-natalist policies: Montenegrin central bank uses monetary financing to encourage childbirth this week
USDC/USDT create an "unprecedented level of concentration" in the stablecoin market, says ESRB
October 21, 2025 at 2:25 PM
USDC/USDT create an "unprecedented level of concentration" in the stablecoin market, says ESRB
Reposted by Levente Koroes
I think this is the weirdest story I've ever reported. www.londoncentric.media/p/terry-ball...
The snail farmer of London, his mafia friends, and a £20m vendetta against the taxman
Terry Ball runs elaborate mollusc-based tax avoidance schemes that are costing London councils millions of pounds. Yet when London Centric tracks him down, an even stranger story emerges.
www.londoncentric.media
October 18, 2025 at 6:00 AM
I think this is the weirdest story I've ever reported. www.londoncentric.media/p/terry-ball...
laughs in Swift, ICANNN, etc.
October 16, 2025 at 2:32 PM
laughs in Swift, ICANNN, etc.
Reposted by Levente Koroes
👀 Rutte: I sometimes make this joke that when you buy an F-35 or a Patriot system, it’s like the old Russian joke about the Lada and the refrigerator.
It will arrive in 10 years, and then they ask, in the morning or the afternoon?
It will arrive in 10 years, and then they ask, in the morning or the afternoon?
October 14, 2025 at 9:44 AM
👀 Rutte: I sometimes make this joke that when you buy an F-35 or a Patriot system, it’s like the old Russian joke about the Lada and the refrigerator.
It will arrive in 10 years, and then they ask, in the morning or the afternoon?
It will arrive in 10 years, and then they ask, in the morning or the afternoon?
Strava considering to IPO - it seems to me that they have been trying to maximise what they could get out of their old codebase but I think this is actually a case of using it because there is no better alternative. Almost all good features are paywalled & the Garmin lawsuit is not good publicity.
Strava plots Wall Street debut as running boom boosts fitness app
CEO Michael Martin targets US IPO to raise capital for deals to keep Strava ahead of rivals including Garmin and Nike
www.ft.com
October 13, 2025 at 9:53 AM
Strava considering to IPO - it seems to me that they have been trying to maximise what they could get out of their old codebase but I think this is actually a case of using it because there is no better alternative. Almost all good features are paywalled & the Garmin lawsuit is not good publicity.
Grab your popcorn! The @ecb.europa.eu pushed a not-too-thinly veiled correction to PwC's estimates of how much banks will have to spend on implementing the digital euro.
www.ecb.europa.eu
October 10, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Grab your popcorn! The @ecb.europa.eu pushed a not-too-thinly veiled correction to PwC's estimates of how much banks will have to spend on implementing the digital euro.
My conspiracy theory is that major marathon spots (in the US, UK, Germany, Japan and Australia) are limited to keep people aspiring for sub-3 so they get in through good-for-age qualification - and in case of conscription, in good fitness.
Ask what your gym can do for your country on.ft.com/46U4tf3 | opinion
Ask what your gym can do for your country
A loneliness epidemic and Gen Z’s obsession with fitness could help western countries bolster civilian defence
on.ft.com
October 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
My conspiracy theory is that major marathon spots (in the US, UK, Germany, Japan and Australia) are limited to keep people aspiring for sub-3 so they get in through good-for-age qualification - and in case of conscription, in good fitness.
Inflation is a crime. Economists in shambles. Where are your monetary policy levers now?!
"People don’t give a damn about your macro level." - said Belarusian President Lukashenko, who has banned price increases across the country — because, as he noted, things should be done so that people feel good.
October 9, 2025 at 10:15 AM
Inflation is a crime. Economists in shambles. Where are your monetary policy levers now?!
Fortune ran a story on Steve Hanke's contribution to saving Argentina, but the more interesting broader theme that he is hinting at is the explicit use of dollarisation as a foreign policy tool - and stablecoins are just one prong of attack.
Echoes of the sterling area, anyone?
Echoes of the sterling area, anyone?
Inside the Trump team’s secret talks to rescue Argentina—with the help of the ‘Money Doctor’ who wants to stop the 'pink tide' sweeping Latin America | Fortune
Johns Hopkins professor Steve Hanke is an expert on "dollarization" and has helped the Trump Administration run through the options for intervening in Argentina's economy.
fortune.com
October 9, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Fortune ran a story on Steve Hanke's contribution to saving Argentina, but the more interesting broader theme that he is hinting at is the explicit use of dollarisation as a foreign policy tool - and stablecoins are just one prong of attack.
Echoes of the sterling area, anyone?
Echoes of the sterling area, anyone?
While many are still focused on whether Tisza can displace Fidesz in Hungary next April, their econ head gave an interview today where he said that he believed that the country would be better off in the eurozone. He also praised the idea of a potential wealth tax.
Hungary’s opposition considering joining euro if elected - Central Banking
Country could be ‘biggest winner’ of non-eurozone EU countries by introducing shared currency
www.centralbanking.com
October 8, 2025 at 3:37 PM
While many are still focused on whether Tisza can displace Fidesz in Hungary next April, their econ head gave an interview today where he said that he believed that the country would be better off in the eurozone. He also praised the idea of a potential wealth tax.
Reposted by Levente Koroes
7/End result: Macron calls for a new enlightenment -- the end of dependence on US social media. Not because of economic argument (level playing fields) but because dependence threatens national security. Hate to say I told you so but @himself.bsky.social and I did.
defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...
defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...
"Europeans, let's wake up!" — Defend Democracy
“We have been incredibly naive in entrusting our democratic space to social networks.” President Macron on the occasion of German Unity Day, 3 October 2025.
defenddemocracy.eu
October 5, 2025 at 12:39 PM
7/End result: Macron calls for a new enlightenment -- the end of dependence on US social media. Not because of economic argument (level playing fields) but because dependence threatens national security. Hate to say I told you so but @himself.bsky.social and I did.
defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...
defenddemocracy.eu/macron-democ...
Excellent reporting by Riley here
Peter Shane, NYU law professor, on possible Trump coin: “We can now rely on the law, one hopes, rather than the incumbent president’s feelings about monarchy”
www.centralbanking.com/central-bank...
www.centralbanking.com/central-bank...
Experts slam proposal for dollar coin bearing Trump’s image - Central Banking
US treasurer’s suggestion attacked as illegal, monarchical and ‘tacky’
www.centralbanking.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:24 PM
Excellent reporting by Riley here
Triathlon has come a long way
Airborne
Bicycle
Infrantry
Bicycle
Infrantry
October 7, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Triathlon has come a long way
The Hungarian numbers are quite something. One interesting aspect is that for the most part, HU farmers lived off state subsidies during the 2010s and few of them used those to upgrade their methods - so when the EU funds stopped coming, they had to push prices higher.
Food prices have risen a lot more than other stuff since Covid...
My newsletter asks whether they are now a leading indicator of inflation
www.ft.com/content/de31...
My newsletter asks whether they are now a leading indicator of inflation
www.ft.com/content/de31...
October 7, 2025 at 12:57 PM
The Hungarian numbers are quite something. One interesting aspect is that for the most part, HU farmers lived off state subsidies during the 2010s and few of them used those to upgrade their methods - so when the EU funds stopped coming, they had to push prices higher.
Reposted by Levente Koroes
An observation while on sabbatical, living in CET Time Zone. I get a lot more academic content on this site. I'm wondering how much more I've been missing out on by sleeping in the US.
October 7, 2025 at 10:04 AM
An observation while on sabbatical, living in CET Time Zone. I get a lot more academic content on this site. I'm wondering how much more I've been missing out on by sleeping in the US.
Pour one out for the 20-something PhD at the EBA who had to define what a "meme coin" was on their new flyer.
www.eba.europa.eu/sites/defaul...
www.eba.europa.eu/sites/defaul...
www.eba.europa.eu
October 7, 2025 at 9:58 AM
Pour one out for the 20-something PhD at the EBA who had to define what a "meme coin" was on their new flyer.
www.eba.europa.eu/sites/defaul...
www.eba.europa.eu/sites/defaul...
I love my friends so much, they got me the #1 fashion accessory for my birthday.
(Also thanks @robinwigglesworth.ft.com / @alphaville.ft.com)
(Also thanks @robinwigglesworth.ft.com / @alphaville.ft.com)
October 4, 2025 at 12:26 PM
I love my friends so much, they got me the #1 fashion accessory for my birthday.
(Also thanks @robinwigglesworth.ft.com / @alphaville.ft.com)
(Also thanks @robinwigglesworth.ft.com / @alphaville.ft.com)
David Runciman reviewing @tommctague.bsky.social 's new book in the LRB is the birthday present I didn't know I wanted.
October 3, 2025 at 10:10 AM
David Runciman reviewing @tommctague.bsky.social 's new book in the LRB is the birthday present I didn't know I wanted.
"A source that has seen materials related to sales has confirmed that, as of August 2025, Microsoft has around eight million active licensed users of Microsoft 365 Copilot, amounting to a 1.81% conversion rate across the 440 million Microsoft 365 subscribers."
Newsletter: This is The Case Against Generative AI, a comprehensive analysis of a financial collapse built on myths I’ll dispel, the markets’ unhealthy obsession with NVIDIA's growth, and the fact that there is not enough money in the world to fund OpenAI.
www.wheresyoured.at/the-case-aga...
www.wheresyoured.at/the-case-aga...
The Case Against Generative AI
Soundtrack: Queens of the Stone Age - First It Giveth
Before we go any further: This is, for the third time this year, the longest newsletter I've ever written, weighing in somewhere around 18,500 wo...
www.wheresyoured.at
October 1, 2025 at 9:16 AM
"A source that has seen materials related to sales has confirmed that, as of August 2025, Microsoft has around eight million active licensed users of Microsoft 365 Copilot, amounting to a 1.81% conversion rate across the 440 million Microsoft 365 subscribers."
Reposted by Levente Koroes
@lkoro.es spoke to the ECB’s Evelien Witlox about the digital euro. Lots of really interesting detail in here about the sorts of design choices that are now getting close to being finalised www.centralbanking.com/fintech/cbdc...
ECB’s Evelien Witlox on design choices for the digital euro - Central Banking
The digital euro’s program director speaks about holding limits, waterfall arrangements, programmability, blockchain usage and offline ‘secure elements’ for
www.centralbanking.com
September 30, 2025 at 4:06 PM
@lkoro.es spoke to the ECB’s Evelien Witlox about the digital euro. Lots of really interesting detail in here about the sorts of design choices that are now getting close to being finalised www.centralbanking.com/fintech/cbdc...
Reposted by Levente Koroes
Turkey has tied itself in knots trying to avoid having to do standard inflation targeting. The result has been some very innovative (and equally foolhardy) policies... www.nber.org/papers/w34287
Türkiye's Homemade Crises
Founded in 1920, the NBER is a private, non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to conducting economic research and to disseminating research findings among academics, public policy makers, an...
www.nber.org
September 29, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Turkey has tied itself in knots trying to avoid having to do standard inflation targeting. The result has been some very innovative (and equally foolhardy) policies... www.nber.org/papers/w34287