Ian Smith
@iankmsmith.ft.com
Senior Markets Correspondent at the Financial Times. Previously insurance, finance, stocks, pensions, you get the idea. This is my real account: I never promote crypto or any other investment
Stories: https://www.ft.com/ian-smith
Contact: [email protected]
Stories: https://www.ft.com/ian-smith
Contact: [email protected]
Pinned
Our Big Read today is on the $2tn monster — a debt-servicing burden that gobbles up tax revenues and has the power to overwhelm elected leaders.
“These massive sovereign debts are having to get refinanced at ever-increasing rates ... Global investors are already starting to get scared.”
“These massive sovereign debts are having to get refinanced at ever-increasing rates ... Global investors are already starting to get scared.”
The outside chance of a surprise BoE hike today diminished a bit yesterday on the CPI numbers, read this preview from earlier in the week on the broader picture
www.ft.com/content/050b...
www.ft.com/content/050b...
Oil price surge revives prospect of Bank of England rate rise this year
Investors expect BoE to hold borrowing costs this week but signal a possible increase later in the year
www.ft.com
September 17, 2026 at 9:34 AM
The outside chance of a surprise BoE hike today diminished a bit yesterday on the CPI numbers, read this preview from earlier in the week on the broader picture
www.ft.com/content/050b...
www.ft.com/content/050b...
in case you missed it, Fed rate rise and presser greeted with stronger dollar and flatter curve
Story: Donald Trump fails to bend the Federal Reserve to his will
www.ft.com/content/fb8e...
As it happened blog:
www.ft.com/content/61b5...
Story: Donald Trump fails to bend the Federal Reserve to his will
www.ft.com/content/fb8e...
As it happened blog:
www.ft.com/content/61b5...
September 17, 2026 at 6:34 AM
in case you missed it, Fed rate rise and presser greeted with stronger dollar and flatter curve
Story: Donald Trump fails to bend the Federal Reserve to his will
www.ft.com/content/fb8e...
As it happened blog:
www.ft.com/content/61b5...
Story: Donald Trump fails to bend the Federal Reserve to his will
www.ft.com/content/fb8e...
As it happened blog:
www.ft.com/content/61b5...
it's a brand I guess
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/u...
September 17, 2026 at 6:29 AM
it's a brand I guess
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/09/16/u...
Gilts enjoying a nice little yes-inflation-is-painfully-high-but-maybe-it-is-not-yet-a-total-disaster rally today
📈 prices 📉 yields
www.ft.com/content/57c0...
📈 prices 📉 yields
www.ft.com/content/57c0...
UK inflation rose to 3.1% in August
Figure worsens squeeze on households ahead of BoE meeting
www.ft.com
September 16, 2026 at 3:05 PM
Gilts enjoying a nice little yes-inflation-is-painfully-high-but-maybe-it-is-not-yet-a-total-disaster rally today
📈 prices 📉 yields
www.ft.com/content/57c0...
📈 prices 📉 yields
www.ft.com/content/57c0...
Reposted by Ian Smith
excellent scoop from two excellent Georges www.ft.com/content/2750...
OpenAI weighs funding round at $1.2tn valuation before IPO
Sam Altman’s start-up could capitalise on demand for its technology after new model launches
www.ft.com
September 15, 2026 at 10:57 PM
excellent scoop from two excellent Georges www.ft.com/content/2750...
Great stuff from @journosooz.bsky.social with some great photos. I also always try and match my car with my summer wear
www.ft.com/content/a4d9...
www.ft.com/content/a4d9...
A top London lawyer wants to create ‘the California of Europe’ in the Algarve
Neel Sachdev helped take a wrecking ball to London’s legal market, to then rebuild it. Now his side hustle as a property developer is turning his attention to Portugal
www.ft.com
September 16, 2026 at 11:10 AM
Great stuff from @journosooz.bsky.social with some great photos. I also always try and match my car with my summer wear
www.ft.com/content/a4d9...
www.ft.com/content/a4d9...
Reposted by Ian Smith
US MBA 30-YR MORTGAGE RATE ACTUAL 6.97% (FORECAST -, PREVIOUS 6.85%) $MACRO
September 16, 2026 at 11:01 AM
US MBA 30-YR MORTGAGE RATE ACTUAL 6.97% (FORECAST -, PREVIOUS 6.85%) $MACRO
Great reporting by Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran
www.ft.com/content/ffe4...
www.ft.com/content/ffe4...
Iran’s hidden leader stirs unease at home
Mojtaba Khamenei’s absence from public view has been a source of bafflement and suspicion
www.ft.com
September 16, 2026 at 9:40 AM
Great reporting by Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran
www.ft.com/content/ffe4...
www.ft.com/content/ffe4...
UK inflation figs interesting. Grim at headline level but traders say slightly-weaker-than-expected services number and others show that there is "still no evidence that inflationary pressures are spreading beyond energy [prices]". An escape hatch for BoE?
www.ft.com/content/57c0...
www.ft.com/content/57c0...
UK inflation rose to 3.1% in August
Figure worsens squeeze on households ahead of BoE meeting
www.ft.com
September 16, 2026 at 8:50 AM
UK inflation figs interesting. Grim at headline level but traders say slightly-weaker-than-expected services number and others show that there is "still no evidence that inflationary pressures are spreading beyond energy [prices]". An escape hatch for BoE?
www.ft.com/content/57c0...
www.ft.com/content/57c0...
apart from that it has gone superbly
www.ft.com/content/e89b...
www.ft.com/content/e89b...
Trump’s Iran war has cost US $38bn and caused munitions ‘shortfall’
New federal government reports shed light on sweeping fiscal toll of Middle East conflict
www.ft.com
September 15, 2026 at 8:53 PM
apart from that it has gone superbly
www.ft.com/content/e89b...
www.ft.com/content/e89b...
On tomorrow's international FT front page
September 15, 2026 at 8:50 PM
On tomorrow's international FT front page
tfw you say the market is doing the tightening for you, and then the market frogmarches you towards an interest rate rise you don't want to do😅
September 15, 2026 at 4:02 PM
tfw you say the market is doing the tightening for you, and then the market frogmarches you towards an interest rate rise you don't want to do😅
Reposted by Ian Smith
Will US debt burst the AI bubble? very good, crisp podcast here with Ruchir Sharma and @chrisgiles.ft.com (standing in for @soumayakeynes.ft.com). Including a great section on why the 5% threshold on the 10-year US Treasury yield matters so much www.ft.com/content/ae62...
Will US debt burst the AI bubble? With Ruchir Sharma
Why America’s mounting debt could become the AI boom’s biggest threat
www.ft.com
September 15, 2026 at 8:18 AM
Will US debt burst the AI bubble? very good, crisp podcast here with Ruchir Sharma and @chrisgiles.ft.com (standing in for @soumayakeynes.ft.com). Including a great section on why the 5% threshold on the 10-year US Treasury yield matters so much www.ft.com/content/ae62...
this but "going up" 📈
September 15, 2026 at 10:59 AM
this but "going up" 📈
Interesting one led by @emilydherbert.bsky.social. US stocks📈 and worries over US Treasuries' risk-free status see equities becoming a favoured choice for international investors. Not a dedollarisation, or a Sell America trade, but an interesting shift nonetheless
www.ft.com/content/e565...
www.ft.com/content/e565...
Foreign investors prefer US stocks to Treasuries as debt worries grow
International flows into American equities exceed government debt for first time this century outside pandemic and aftermath of global financial crisis
www.ft.com
September 15, 2026 at 9:49 AM
Interesting one led by @emilydherbert.bsky.social. US stocks📈 and worries over US Treasuries' risk-free status see equities becoming a favoured choice for international investors. Not a dedollarisation, or a Sell America trade, but an interesting shift nonetheless
www.ft.com/content/e565...
www.ft.com/content/e565...
👇🏻
September 14, 2026 at 10:51 PM
👇🏻
the technical market term for this is 😬
www.ft.com/content/06cb...
www.ft.com/content/06cb...
Ten-year Treasury yield hits 5% for first time since 2023
Rise in US borrowing costs takes world’s most important financial gauge into perilous territory
www.ft.com
September 14, 2026 at 3:00 PM
the technical market term for this is 😬
www.ft.com/content/06cb...
www.ft.com/content/06cb...
It's another big week for central banks, and all eyes are on whether Kevin Warsh, who Donald Trump put at the head of the US Federal Reserve, will disappoint him with an interest rate rise, as traders have increasingly been betting...
www.ft.com/content/904c...
www.ft.com/content/904c...
Warsh and Trump on collision course as investors expect Fed to raise rates
Central bank chair under pressure to back warnings on inflation with action despite risking president’s ire
www.ft.com
September 14, 2026 at 10:25 AM
It's another big week for central banks, and all eyes are on whether Kevin Warsh, who Donald Trump put at the head of the US Federal Reserve, will disappoint him with an interest rate rise, as traders have increasingly been betting...
www.ft.com/content/904c...
www.ft.com/content/904c...
"whoever wins AI, wins"
www.ft.com/content/cae6...
www.ft.com/content/cae6...
Donald Trump rejects calls from tech bosses for an AI slowdown
President denounces demands for regulation as existential fears over technology move to the centre of US politics
www.ft.com
September 13, 2026 at 4:36 PM
"whoever wins AI, wins"
www.ft.com/content/cae6...
www.ft.com/content/cae6...
what's another £9bn i guess
www.dailymail.com/news/article...?
www.dailymail.com/news/article...?
Inheritance tax faces axe if Kemi Badenoch wins next election
The move to abolish inheritance tax would strike a powerful contrast with the array of new taxes being imposed by Labour.
www.dailymail.com
September 13, 2026 at 4:19 PM
what's another £9bn i guess
www.dailymail.com/news/article...?
www.dailymail.com/news/article...?
looks like they both kicked each other...
Phil Foden is sent off at Old Trafford after kicking out at Bruno Fernandes.
September 13, 2026 at 4:17 PM
looks like they both kicked each other...
How's the outlook for Trump-Warsh relations?
www.ft.com/content/2464...
www.ft.com/content/2464...
US inflation held steady at 3.4% in August as high fuel prices persist
Figure prompts traders to increase bets on Fed rate rises ahead of high-stakes meeting
www.ft.com
September 11, 2026 at 2:34 PM
How's the outlook for Trump-Warsh relations?
www.ft.com/content/2464...
www.ft.com/content/2464...