Kate Barker

I was chair of ARU when we first put it up - and it makes me smile too

Why? Rice isn’t a challenge to cook well?

The North starts at Stafford

Simple- little screen cleaners and then cotton wool buds and vey dilute washing up liquid

Not Jude. Less challenging - Madding Crowd and return of the native (with the annoying Clym Yeobright)

I had Hardy at O and A level. Not a fan. But Anthony and Cleo at A which I adored, plus Arthur Miller short plays

This is spot on. I’m re reading Jane Jacobs on US cities - some of this has dated but not about communities.

Sympathy. I’m just recovering from leg fracture

Dan Corry also

It’s a really good read - but bad people are bad…did you watch make very good tv adaptation?

Well at least I wouldn’t feel sick on them

I know I’m not a literature expert - but each year read 2 of Booker short list. This year - ‘Flesh’ ( the winner) and ‘the Land in Winter’. Thought the Land in Winter excellent and the other meretricious . What am I missing? (May have been gems in the other4 too).

Financing infrastructure without unnerving the bond market - Bennett School of Public Policy The Chancellor’s attempt to increase capital investment in her first budget resulted in a negative reaction from the bond market. As growth slows, the Chancellor needs to fundamentally rethink her app...

And now I’ve learned to do links - really interested in any thoughts on the proposal re fiscal definitions in this piece: www.bennettschool.cam.ac.uk/blog/financi...

New Towns Taskforce: Report to government The government has published the independent New Towns Taskforce report as well as its initial response to that report.

New towns locations, design proposals and planning recommendations - all published today www.gov.uk/government/p....
Together with a positive government response

Tedious how this argument keeps on. Household size is unchanged -but we expected a fall with increasing age. The big rise in young adults living with parents, numbers in temp housing and recent rental inflation suggest supply issues. ‘It’s all about supply’ is simplistic- so is the opposite.

I’m surprised by 2 things - those prepared to pay me significant sums to speak and by contrast those who believe I’m a free good prepared to help them profit from a commercial event

Supporting?

Laugh track - The National

Liverpool is always great to visit- especially Royal Liver Building - but I’m biased

Agree. And possibly desperate

Agree about undersaving. But will people look at the dashboards? They probably don’t look at the DC info already sent

Even my non economist husband spotted that oddity . But he was sorry as for some reason it inspired me to explain why the big sectoral imbalances have to balance.

The AI Productivity Opportunity 💡⚡ Be the Business' Chief Executive Anthony Impey at our interactive workshop on AI and productivity, with Be the Business. TPI's Managing Director @bartvanark.bsky.social is also speaking at the event.

Me

Dutch pension fund ABP sells all Alphabet and Meta shares, CEO tells newspaper FD ABP, the Netherlands' largest pension fund, has sold its shares in tech companies Meta and Alphabet , its CEO told Dutch newspaper FD in an interview published on Monday.

💥The Netherlands' largest pension fund, has sold its shares in Tesla, Meta, and Alphabet (Google). The fund with US $569 billion equivolent in assets is "directing more money to companies and projects that help to improve society and the environment." #Divest

www.reuters.com/markets/euro...

The role of universities in supporting technical pathways and the delivery of innovation - The Productivity Institute A commentary on the critical role of technicians in boosting productivity and innovation.

Technicians play an important role in delivering growth, productivity and innovation, but there is an increasing shortage. Read Professor Dame @athenedonald.bsky.social's new piece for the Productivity Policy Unit to find out more: www.productivity.ac.uk/news/the-rol...

Good piece. I find myself pining for the 5 drivers

The world in banking has apparently stayed in the 1980s

Media and other commentary on todays GDP and yesterday’s CPI combines undue weight on monthly numbers and, very often, a lack of interest in what is actually being measured and the range of uncertainty

What's on - National Productivity Week Find out the events that are happening around the UK for National Productivity Week.

📢 Join us for two events featuring our research during National Productivity Week on 31 January.

08:30 - Unlocking Productivity: Insights from C-Suite Leaders

14:30 - Launch of East Anglia Insights Paper

👉 Explore & register www.productivityweek.co.uk/whats-on

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