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In the Blind Spot (In defense of forward deployed engineers)

  SNEAK PEEK — Is spytech contractor Palantir miscast as the source of all evil? As the company takes control of the U.K MoD’s contracting review, Izzy considers the counter-narrative. — U.K. Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ National Wealth Fund announcement invited more questions than answers. We look at what we know for sure. — There’s a […]

Quickfire blind spots (We’re starting a new type of update!)

  SUBSCRIBER UPDATE Good morning subscribers! We had a few technical issues with the send-out of our newsletter again this week. If you were expecting it and it didn’t land in your inbox, it was published on Sunday and is available here. To avoid these issues, we will shortly be moving to a new content […]

In the Blind Spot (Mario Draghi’s great reformation)

SNEAK PEEK — NOT TO BE MISSED: Mario Draghi is set to reveal his big plan to save the EU from near-certain stagnation. Weirdly, almost nobody outside Brussels knows about it.— What the revelation that Russia is paying off influencers tells us about the murky world of independent media . — Dario catches you up […]

In the Blind Spot (Two-sided markets in software and hospitality)

  SNEAK PEEK — Do waterspouts ever strike twice? A boating incident in Lake Maggiore in 2023 suggests yes. — Izzy argues that the software industry is and always has been plagued by a ‘market for lemons’ problem, and that’s why the business is fundamentally two-sided. — If the bosses of social media platforms are […]

Back soon!

Just a quick note to say that normal service will resume this week. We much appreciate your patience and understanding while we took our break. And hey, it’s not like there was any significant news this August 😉

In the Blind Spot (The productivity paradox lives on)

  SNEAK PEEK — Lessons from James Goldsmith on what’s really ailing Western productivity.  — Make being a housewife great again — not least because it will help improve corporate productivity, argues Izzy.  — Bangladesh is being destabilised by students scrambling over 3,000 precious government jobs. Dario has more.  Good morning subscribers! There’s no better […]

In the Blind Spot (A Truss-style stitch-up for France?)

  SNEAK PEEK   — Why this week’s petrodollar 50th anniversary “fake news” saga demonstrates a major misunderstanding about what really empowers the dollar.  — China is issuing ultra-long bonds at 2.53 percent, but is it a sign of strength or weakness? — We check in on Russell Napier’s prophetic warnings about why France, not […]

Counter-disinfo tactics are getting more sophisticated ahead of election season

A coalition of publicly-funded fact-checking institutions, some boasting NATO affiliations, have embarked on a grand tour of American newsrooms to “inoculate” journalists against the disinformation of bad actors and foreign powers ahead of this year’s presidential elections, the Blind Spot can report. In a sign of growing counter-disinformation sophistication among fact-checking bodies, reporters are being […]

In the Blind Spot (Carthago delenda est)

  SNEAK PEEK — Dario delves into what constitutes the “state of exception” in the democratic world. — Who is Holland’s new prime minister Dick Schoof really? — Tunisia’s fledgling democracy is experiencing a few setbacks. Happy Sunday afternoon, and to those of you fielding half-term, well done. It’s over now. You’ve now got about […]

In the Blind Spot (Trader justice)

  SNEAK PEEK — A SocGen trader flung out of the bank for unauthorised risk-taking takes to social media to call for “trader justice” and new dismissal rules. — Georgia’s foreign agent bill is causing havoc on the streets of Tbilisi again. — Dario argues that Chinese EV competitiveness isn’t down to subsidies or forced […]