Reading view
Mariana Mazzucato’s Latest Plea For Do-Gooders and Busybodies to Have Even More Influence Over the Economy is Predictably Unpersuasive (Unless You’re Ed Miliband)
Mariana Mazzucato’s new book setting out the case for ‘managed capitalism’ fails to address the risks of government over-reach identified by Friedrich Hayek (who isn’t even in the index), says Dr Tilak Doshi.
The post Mariana Mazzucato’s Latest Plea For Do-Gooders and Busybodies to Have Even More Influence Over the Economy is Predictably Unpersuasive (Unless You’re Ed Miliband) appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Digital Hormuz: Iran Turns Underwater Cables into a Trump Card Against the US and Israel
On China, Trump picked the right battle but the wrong strategy
A long trade war looms. Trump’s scattershot protectionism, chaotic tariffs and belligerence against our natural allies guarantees that US trade policy will remain a hot mess
We are in for a long trade war.
In the months since “Liberation Day” last year, when Donald Trump let loose a volley of tariffs against imports from everywhere, countries have rushed to build new relationships in the hope of maybe circumventing the US to protect the global trading system.
Continue reading...
© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images

© Composite: The Guardian/Getty Images
Greece Shakes Off Crisis-Era Label With Major EU Economic Upgrade

The EU’s Commission removed Greece from its list of macroeconomic imbalances on Wednesday, marking a turning point in the nation’s post-crisis recovery. The move formally winds down a painful sixteen-year chapter of heightened economic surveillance that led to the era of bailouts.
Among the factors emphasized in the European Commission’s report are: Greece’s resilient growth rate of 2.1% of GDP in 2025 in spite of conditions of global uncertainty, projections for continued strong growth, the continuous high primary surplus, reaching 1.7% of GDP in 2025, and the significant decline in public debt, projected to drop to 123.4% of GDP in 2027, making it one of the fastest rates of debt reduction in Europe. The country’s extensive reforms and speedy progress in the digital transition, especially in tax and public administration, were also taken into consideration.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomed the milestone on social media, writing that the decision effectively “closes a negative chapter that began 16 years ago.” He emphasized that the achievement was not merely a technocratic assessment but rather the “foundation for a better life” made possible by the sustained hard work of Greek citizens and the state.
According to Mitsotakis, the structural budget surpluses achieved through recent reforms can now be directly “channeled into higher wages and pensions,” offering tangible domestic relief to a population that endured years of harsh austerity. “This also marks the official end of all surveillance,” he stressed.
The Commission’s assessment highlights a reduction in risks associated with Greece’s public and external debt, alongside solid economic growth, progress on structural reforms, and a stabilized banking sector.
EU says Greece still lags behind
While the removal from the imbalance list signals Brussels’ confidence in Athens’ current trajectory, the Commission also issued a stark reminder: Greece still lags behind its European Union peers in several key economic areas. The country continues to carry a heavy public debt burden, and average disposable income remains well below Western European standards.
Nevertheless, analysts say that the formal easing of surveillance provides a major psychological and financial boost, potentially lowering market borrowing costs and attracting crucial foreign investment. For a nation that spent over a decade as the epicenter of the Eurozone crisis, the validation from Brussels confirms a hard-fought return to economic normalcy.
Related: Italy Set to Overtake Greece as Eurozone’s Most Indebted Country in 2026