‘PIIGS’ were Europe’s laggards. Now it’s the ‘BIFs’ – led by Britain
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/04/17/piigs-were-europes-laggards-now-its-the-bifs-led-by-britain/
In the worst depths of the eurozone debt crisis, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain were branded by bond investors with a cruel acronym: “Piigs”. Such were the strains on the indebted governments’ finances that investors were desperate to avoid holding their debt, demanding exorbitant interest payments in return, or at times locking them out of financial markets altogether.
However, those days are a distant memory, as long, hard and painful reforms turned those nations’ fortunes around. Instead, Britain is now in the bond markets’ bad books. The situation is so stark that the Financial Times has branded the most unpopular nations among bond traders the Bifs: Britain, Italy and France. More than a decade after the eurozone crisis unfolded, these three economies are bearing the brunt of wild swings in debt markets.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/04/17/piigs-were-europes-laggards-now-its-the-bifs-led-by-britain/
In the worst depths of the eurozone debt crisis, Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain were branded by bond investors with a cruel acronym: “Piigs”. Such were the strains on the indebted governments’ finances that investors were desperate to avoid holding their debt, demanding exorbitant interest payments in return, or at times locking them out of financial markets altogether.
However, those days are a distant memory, as long, hard and painful reforms turned those nations’ fortunes around. Instead, Britain is now in the bond markets’ bad books. The situation is so stark that the Financial Times has branded the most unpopular nations among bond traders the Bifs: Britain, Italy and France. More than a decade after the eurozone crisis unfolded, these three economies are bearing the brunt of wild swings in debt markets.
A Guide to the Gulf’s Trillions of Dollars of Sovereign Wealth
https://www.wsj.com/finance/a-guide-to-the-gulfs-trillions-of-dollars-of-sovereign-wealth-c17b505e
Before the Iran conflict, the oil-rich region was a reliable source of financing for Wall Street deals.
https://www.wsj.com/finance/a-guide-to-the-gulfs-trillions-of-dollars-of-sovereign-wealth-c17b505e
Before the Iran conflict, the oil-rich region was a reliable source of financing for Wall Street deals.
Is the US Falling Victim to the Resource Curse?
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/is-us-falling-victim-to-the-resource-curse-by-jeffrey-frankel-2026-04
The argument that the natural-resource curse is at work in the US rests on the assumption that rising oil and gas production will necessarily crowd out manufacturing, including renewables. But while the argument is increasingly heard, past experience in the US—as well as in Australia, Chile, Norway, and elsewhere—does not support it.
https://www.project-syndicate.org/commentary/is-us-falling-victim-to-the-resource-curse-by-jeffrey-frankel-2026-04
The argument that the natural-resource curse is at work in the US rests on the assumption that rising oil and gas production will necessarily crowd out manufacturing, including renewables. But while the argument is increasingly heard, past experience in the US—as well as in Australia, Chile, Norway, and elsewhere—does not support it.
Global imbalances are back. Who’s to blame?
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/04/16/global-imbalances-are-back-whos-to-blame
The suspects look familiar.
https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/04/16/global-imbalances-are-back-whos-to-blame
The suspects look familiar.