Neil Lewis
@neil-lewis
Spanish Olive Oil Guy - international trade, foreign policy, economics, clean energy, food, transport. European liberal social democrat. Oh, and trees. Spain, Europe. (Don't do DMs. Don't need hookups nor $$$ ops!)
If it's better for Northern Ireland and better for Gibraltar, why not the / the rest of the UK? giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Sunday, 8am. Angry burning sun. 30km down wind from the Vall D'Uixo forest fire and the air smells of smoke. And the ground feels crispy with faint ash. The emergency forces helicopters are seen heading to the area. #Spain #IF #SierraEspadan
Key paragraph: if the UK isn't going to be a bystander in the EU, then it needs to take part in EU leadership - and that is only possible if the UK adopts the €. Let's not duck the argument. By @nialloconghaile.bsky.social
Key comment ⬇️ You don't have to own / install solar - batteries to benefit! It's almost like socialism - those who can, install; to also benefit those who can't. No wonder Maga hates renewables. 🤷🏼♀️
New rules of nationality have been proposed. Forget blood and land. Forget language and history tests. If you eat 🥘 on a hot day, you're Spanish. If you drink ☕ in the middle of a July afternoon, you're English.
All those right-wing dikchaeds arguing for deregulation across the EU (and Reform in the UK) need to own this too: Regulation and an equal playing field is far better for business than an ad-hoc (bribe) culture. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
This is genuinely exciting. It's the best response to Maga America and China. Good luck Ireland in helping to deliver the EU's Capital Union. giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
And, catching up with Pope Leo's visit to the dock in the Canaries where so much human hope mixed with tragedy arrives: "Europe cannot get used to its seas becoming cemeteries without headstones."
We need a bit more team Pope Leo - this week in Spain: "Our prosperity and security comes from meeting with (and seeking to understand) other cultures not from seeking conflict." "A nation which loses the ability to conduct sincere dialogue, turns public debate into an ideological battle field."
I dunno, maybe Elon needs to tweak his Addressable Market slide in SpaceX's IPO... www.ft.com/content/8e9a...
This is a problem for US expensive (currently heavily discounted) AI producers because they're not adding enough financial value to justify the actual costs of their business. www.ft.com/content/8e9a...
Lol. I went to Belgrade (2007) and bought a bunch of the old currency from a guy selling old notes to tourists in the main park Kalemagan (I think). I brought them home, framed them and hung them on my office wall. The 500 Trillion note is quite a reminder of what currencies can do!
Everything you buy from €urope just got more expensive. Yes, including holidays... (But then again, swapping £ for € just got more attractive, so there is that to look forward to in 10 trillion years...)
Typically, it takes a great journalist, outside the UK, to say things like this: "Instead of Britannia Unchained, there is Stagnation Nation" There are a few UK exceptions, but this is far from the mainstream.
TLDR: Short term, fossil fuel companies get a boost before suffering long term demand destruction, meanwhile, the real winners are clean energy producers. So, maybe we're going to save the planet by accident... giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
Just a normal morning walk among the cork trees of La Sierra Espadan, Spain, this morning. The large cork oak tree is probably 300 to 400 years old - and you can see from its trunk, that it has provided many cork harvests.
Today, Greece might have more reason to worry about the UK joining the €. And if 🇬🇧 where to achieve 🇬🇷 bond rates, the UK would have saved ~£28bn in interest payments in 2025. Imagine spending that on the NHS instead?
I'm not a professional economist - but if you search Spain or Italy's bond rates vs the UK - you will find that the difference is between ~ 5% and 3.5% interest rates. You can look up UK govt debt payments in 2025 in ONS. Mortgage rates are set by BoE (3.75%) and ECB (2%) etc...
Average cost of wholesale electricity in Spain today is €5.15 per MWh. We've got lots of sun, long days, windy weather in the north and the hydro dams are full while battery storage increases every day.
Blue skies, nearly 14 hours of full potential solar power, upto 100 km/ hour gusts making wind turbines go wrrrr and wholesale electricity prices around €2/ MWh for much of the day. Ya gotta love Spain, eh? Oh, and fcuk Trump and his Nazi war machine. #NoKings
Whereas Dutch TTF Gas Futures touched €52.889 on 3rd March and today (27th March) stands at ~€55.5. So, oil and gas are not moving in sync?
Really, Italy shouldn't have an energy problem. No, really, it shouldn't. www.ft.com/content/61ac...
I suspect that the US is also blowing up its own economy. Higher inflation, lower growth and now a hugely expensive war to fund whilst refunding Chinese companies for the illegal tariff taxes they were forced to pay.
If the first victim of war is truth, then Dubai is a war zone giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...