Ricardo's threads | Nothing contributes so much to the prosperity and happiness of a country as high profits

Sectoral interconnectedness in the euro area economies: insights from network analysis

05/05/2026 European Central Bank Central banks

Using who-to-whom data for the last quarter of 2024, I build networks of financial interconnections in the euro area countries. After representing them in chord diagrams, I consider centrality metrics and find that banks dominate, with four exceptions: Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta. In these countries, other financial institutions and investment funds are at the core, with limited links to domestic sectors and strong ones with the rest of the world.

Why keeping collaborative remote work environment options open is key for business innovation

05/04/2026 The Conversation News & Comments

At a time when remote work is increasingly up for debate among companies, it remains an often underestimated lever for fostering open innovation. This article examines how initiatives designed to encourage collaborative work outside the workplace can contribute to the development of open innovation.

Beyond borders, within societies: inequality and the global transmission of US monetary policy

05/04/2026 European Central Bank Central banks

This paper provides novel evidence on how income inequality shapes the heterogeneity of US monetary policy spillovers to GDP across foreign economies. Using state-dependent local projections and exploiting variation in disposable income inequality across 87 countries over 1966-2020, we show that household heterogeneity influences how foreign GDP responds to a US monetary tightening. GDP contracts up to one and a half times more when inequality is above average. However, while higher inequality amplifies negative spillovers in advanced economies, it mitigates them in emerging markets.

Working from home in Nigeria: study finds women don’t have much choice

04/30/2026 The Conversation News & Comments

Nigerian women of working age are mostly (90%) self-employed. By comparison, self-employment accounts for less than 16% of employment in high-income countries such as the United States, Germany and the United Kingdom. It is far lower in middle-income countries like South Africa and Turkey too.

Exchange of letters between the Governor and the Chancellor regarding CPI Inflation - April 2026

04/30/2026 Bank of England Central banks

Exchange of letters between the Governor and the Chancellor

Bank Rate maintained at 3.75% - April 2026 Monetary Policy Summary and Minutes

04/30/2026 Bank of England Central banks

The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee is responsible for making decisions about Bank Rate.

A probe into ‘forever chemicals’ in activewear lays bare fashion’s greenwashing problem

04/28/2026 The Conversation News & Comments

Mart Production/PexelsHave you ever paid more for a product because a brand told you it was good for you and the planet? Many activewear shoppers do exactly this, trusting that the “healthy” image on the label matches what is actually in the fabric. That trust is now being questioned.

Perseverance doesn’t always pay off for companies – sometimes it’s better to ‘fail fast’

04/27/2026 The Conversation News & Comments

Slack's embrace of a ‘fail fast’ approach helped it become the world's dominant intra-office messaging app. AP Photo/Kiichiro SatoAcross the business world, companies often double down on struggling ideas, retreating only after clear evidence shows they won’t work.

Russell’s Teapot: Dispatches From the Final Stage of the AI Bubble

04/27/2026 Ineteconomics Analysis

What if the AI future being sold to markets rests on claims that cannot survive scrutiny? From superintelligence to mass job loss, the loudest promises around generative AI begin to look less like foresight than hype dressed up as inevitability.

Russell’s Teapot: Dispatches From the Final Stage of the AI Bubble

04/27/2026 Ineteconomics Analysis

Beneath the grand claims and vast capital spending, AI is delivering weak productivity, mounting losses, and growing financial strain. If the boom cannot generate profits, jobs, or durable gains, how much longer can the bubble hold?

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