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Jan Fichtner

@janfichtner.bsky.social
1.4K followers 846 following 527 posts

Senior Research Fellow at Leuphana University, Germany. Previously SuFi Project Uni Witten & University of Amsterdam | Global finance, age of passive investing, index providers, ESG, sustainable finance, greenwashing, decarbonization | www.jfichtner.net

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Reposted by Jan Fichtner
Abdul El-Sayed @abdulelsayed.bsky.social · 5h
Tomorrow, on October 1, the biggest transfer of wealth from the working class to the wealthy hits a critical milestone. Many of the provisions from the Big Ugly Bill will go into effect, harming hundreds of thousands of Michiganders in order to create tax cuts for the richest people in America.
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Paolo Bacigalupi @paolobacigalupi.bsky.social · 6h
They say similar things about oil and gas wells.
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 5h
Today on Volts: Heat-pump water heaters use a fraction of the energy of the conventional kind, but they've often been bulky, loud, & a hassle to install. A company called Reservoir has made one that's smaller, quieter, & much smarter, installed in hours by their own plumbers. I talk with the CEO.
volts.wtf
What’s up with heat-pump water heaters?
A conversation with Luke Winston-Almanzar of Reservoir.
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Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 10h
Something remarkable is happening: James Talarico is running an expansively pro-immigrant campaign in Texas, a state Trump won by 14 points, speaking in Biblical terms about our duty to "the stranger." And it's resonating. That's seismic. 1/ (new piece) newrepublic.com/article/2160...
newrepublic.com
In Texas, Something Seismic Is Happening—and It’s All Trump’s Fault
Thanks to the economy and ICE, Trump has lost Texas Latinos. And James Talarico is developing a humane pro-immigrant message that’s resonating—even in this ultra-Trumpy state.
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Alex Andreou @sturdyalex.bsky.social · 12h
Burnham on Social Care in July: "I ask the media, can we not let the country look at this in a clear-eyed way without all of the overwriting? On this issue, please, can we not have a factual debate? Allow people to weigh up the options and come to a considered view based on the facts?" The media:
Daily Mail: BURNHAM'S TRIPLE SHOCKThe Daily Telegraph: TRIPLE LOCK SCRAPPED BY 2030 (with a monstering photo of Burnham)Daily Express: IT'S A CRYING SHAME FOR OUR NATIONThe Sun: LOCKY HORROR SHOW
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Rasmus Corlin Christensen @phdskat.org · 29/09/2026
🚨 CfP: "Offshore Capitalism: Climate and Crisis", mini-conference at 2027 SASE in Glasgow 🚨 With @joseatiles.bsky.social, @andreabinder.bsky.social & Sabine Dörry, we welcome papers on 'the offshore' from a range of perspectives. DEADLINE: 1 Nov. Apply here: sase.org/conference-s...
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Jan Fichtner @janfichtner.bsky.social · 14h
🤑
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 17h
The White House accord on AI that was signed by all the big tech oligarchs today misspells United States as “Unites States.”
Document signed by Trump, Sundar Pichai
Google
Dario Amodei
Anthropic
Mark Zuckerberg
Meta

Greg Brockman
OpenAl

Elon Musk
XAI

Jensen Huang
nvidia “Unites States”
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Alex Papadopoulos @egeasri.bsky.social · 17h
Small reactors just had their “best year ever.” Solar is already doing what SMRs hope to do: mass production at scale. Keep developing clean energy—but solar isn’t waiting for 2050, and neither is the world ☀️ #Solar #CleanEnergy youtube.com/watch?v=zrNa...
youtube.com
How Solar Is Beating Nuclear's Best Idea
YouTube video by Undecided with Matt Ferrell
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 29/09/2026
Either this is true, in which case *what are we doing here*? Shut it down. Or it's bullshit, in which case these are truly silly people unworthy of our money
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Sander Tordoir @sandertordoir.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
China isn’t going to easily agree to curb its export glut. Franco-German backing for an ambitious response gives Commissioner Sefcovic some much needed leverage in his negotiations with China, ahead of the October deadline. 1/
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Jens van 't Klooster 💸💸💸 @jvtk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The puzzle: The EU is deeply embedded in the global dollar system, creating geopolitical risks and undermining EU sovereignty. However, the EU is a large trading block and has all the institutional conditions to make the euro into an alternative to the dollar.
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Jens van 't Klooster 💸💸💸 @jvtk.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Finally out, with @shahinvallee.bsky.social our ambitious story for European Macro Policy Network (EMPN) on the future of the global euro empn.eu/publication/...
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Crawford Kilian @crof.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
Trump allies could use midterms ‘counting window’ to disrupt results, experts warn
Fears grow that loyalists in key states could use critical period when votes are counted to amplify false claims
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Albert Pinto @70sbachchan.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
now thats an anecdote with a punch, from Gillian Tett www.ft.com/content/c0ae...
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Mark Hamill @markhamillofficial.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Isn't it nice when there's something we can ALL agree on? #ReleaseTheUnredactedEPSTEIN-Files
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Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The desecration, commercialization, and sell-off of the nation's precious environmental jewels is a Republican party platform. www.washingtonpost.com/climate-envi...
washingtonpost.com
Trump administration considers building baseball park in Grand Teton National Park
Major League Baseball contacted the administration about hosting a game in a national park, with an agency official scouting Grand Teton as a possible location.
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Kyle Griffin @kylegriffin1.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The Pentagon's public tally of troops wounded during the Iran war was quietly increased this week without explanation from Trump's Defense Department. The total number of troops now wounded during the war is 861, according to DCAS.
washingtonpost.com
Pentagon quietly adds dozens to tally of troops wounded amid Iran war
With the addition of 29 U.S. sailors and eight Marines, the total number of personnel wounded since the start of hostilities has risen to 861, a Pentagon database shows.
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Karthik Sankaran @rajakorman.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Have I mentioned that...
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Gregory Norminton @gregorynorminton.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Remember how conservatism used to pretend to be all about personal responsibility? And yet today, across the Anglosphere, its defining characteristic is petulant selfishness.
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Sara Gibbs @sararoseg.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
He imposed Shania Law
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Robin Wigglesworth @robinwigglesworth.ft.com · 26/09/2026
I know I’ve hardly been shy about talking about my new book, but wanted to share some more nice things that people have said about it.
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Jan Fichtner @janfichtner.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Cheap sodium-ion batteries could become absolutely crucial for decarbonization. We do need gigafactories in the EU too.
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Stefan Krauter @solarpapst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Karte der USA ohne illegale Immigranten
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Özden Terli @terliwetter.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Dieser #Extremwetterkongress war anders. Rebellisch und mit massiver Kritik, wie ich es so auf einem EWK nicht gesehen habe. Durchweg massive Kritik an Politik, Medien und Gesellschaft. Fachleute können die Ignoranz nicht mehr ertragen! www.sueddeutsche.de/projekte/art...
sueddeutsche.de
Extremwetterkongress: „Es wird super, super übel werden“
Beim Extremwetterkongress in Hamburg sind viele der Klimaexperten fassungslos über die Ignoranz in der Gesellschaft. Der Sommer war ein Fanal, aber statt zu sagen, lasst uns die Welt retten, werden Me...
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Sascha Schmidt @saschaschmidt.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Diese Abstimmung ist ein Skandal. Und vor dem Hintergrund der - zum Teil berechtigten - Vorwürfe der CDU in Bezug auf Antisemitismus in der Linken, umso mehr. Die CDU sollte auch den Antisemitismus in den eigenen Reihen angehen.
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Robin Wigglesworth @robinwigglesworth.ft.com · 24/09/2026
Some people have actually already been getting their books, but happy UK publication day to me! 🥳 The US book isn’t published until next week, so let’s call this a small win for Europe over America.
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Amin Samman @aminsamman.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Out now: the new issue of @finandsoc.bsky.social. It's the first of two themed special issues. Part 1 opens with an agenda-setting article on technofinance by the editors and a key essay by Paul Langley and Andrew Leyshon on the disappearance of fintech. Check it! www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
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David Fickling @davidfickling.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
EV charging in China was 17.2 TWh in August, up 51.2% year-on-year. That's equivalent to ~1.3 million barrels of oil a day, in a global oil market that shifts about 100m bpd. Just the change from last year cuts global oil demand by 0.5m bpd. english.cec.org.cn#/newsdetails...
english.cec.org.cn
cec
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Ben Phillips @benphillips76.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Hate speech doesn’t end with words.
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Peter Maxwill @pmaxwill.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Die AfD-Regierung wird wahrscheinlicher - und nun sagen die ersten Bewerber für den Schuldienst in Sachsen-Anhalt ab, »mit der ausdrücklichen Begründung des Wahlerfolges der AfD«. www.mz.de/mitteldeutsc...
mz.de
AfD-Wahlsieg mit Folgen: Erste Bewerber auf Lehrerstellen sagen ab
Der Wahlsieg der AfD in Sachsen-Anhalt zeigt offenbar erste Auswirkungen. Nach Angaben des Landesschulamts haben bereits mehrere Bewerber ihre Zusage für Lehrerstellen zurückgezogen. Als Grund wird ei...
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Schrödinger's Sneetch Belly @rtodkelly.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Please know that this is one of my few legitimate areas of actual, high-level professional expertise: Kicking the healthiest people off of a health insurance program will bankrupt it. Not 'could;' not 'might,' not 'probably," but absolutely will, with mathematical certainty.
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Joe Bak-Coleman @jbakcoleman.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
One of the more common responses I got yesterday was the argument from philosophy of mind that roughly asserts simpler organisms than ourselves must also have minds (lest we be human chauvinists); perhaps even groups of organisms therefore LLMs must have minds too. It's a rhetorical switcheroo tho.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21/09/2026
LMFAO -- Trump is holding an event at the White House right now but there's no audio because the press pool isn't there. The Newsmax host notes that this is an example of Trump's attacks on the press "backfiring just a little bit"
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Jim Kane @kanejim.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Another day, another exposé of one of the endless tax avoidance maneuvers used by the wealthy. www.wsj.com/personal-fin...
Anatomy of a Grantor-Retained Annuity Trust

The grantor transfers assets like stock shares into a GRAT.

Annuity payments are made to the grantor over the GRAT’s term, gradually returning the initial value of the assets plus interest.

Gains in the value of the assets above a certain interest rate are transferred to a trust for beneficiaries like a spouse or children, free of gift and estate taxes.

People set up GRATs for a set number of years, typically ranging from two to 10, to hold assets they expect to notably appreciate in value. Generally, if the assets appreciate faster than a special federal interest rate in the month the GRAT is formed—5.4% for September—the gains escape transfer taxes.

The grantor sets annuity payments to get back amounts that mirror the original contribution, plus interest at the special federal rate, to avoid gift taxes on the contribution. Payments must be made at least once a year.

If the assets don’t clear the hurdle rate, the grantor simply gets their money back through the annuity payments, leaving a balance of zero. Many simply roll over the annuity payments into another GRAT.
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Timmons Roberts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Worth another look, and updating please! www.npr.org/2023/02/18/1...
npr.org
An activist group is spreading misinformation to stop solar projects in rural America
An NPR/Floodlight investigation found that a longtime Republican insider is stoking solar opposition by spreading bad information about health and environmental risks. Her influence is growing.
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Miska Knapek @miskaknapek.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Household buying power in Germany, be decile
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Bob Libal @blibal.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
This happened a few miles from my house in North Austin. A very similar violent and terrifying arrest happened to a friend on Friday in Austin. I attended this afternoon’s protest our community is rightly beyond angry. This violent thuggery must stop now and its victims set free
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
International criminals preparing to punish International Criminal Court
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Joe Bak-Coleman @jbakcoleman.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
For whatever reason the fact that LLMs manifest their task completion with language has had folks wanting to jump the gun on a big thorny question of whether/when they “think” in the sense that we all have come to understand it. They may simply not need “think” to to complete complex tasks.
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Joe Bak-Coleman @jbakcoleman.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
We can simulate fish schools or ants in ways that solve complex problems (gradient detection, bridge building, nest selection) but no one would create this weird soul/no-soul dichotomy to argue they these that multi-agent swarms of extremely simple rules are “thinking”.
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Bo Vagner Hansen @bovagner.eurosky.social · 20/09/2026
It's also part of the recommendations in the EU Electrification Action Plan. "The Commission encourages Member States to take actions to bring national electricity-to-gas price ratios down for households to maximum 2.5 and for industry to maximum 2 by 2030." energy.ec.europa.eu/topics/eus-e...
National electricity-to-gas price ratios for EU member states for industry and households, showing most nations are above the recommended maximum ratios.
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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Can someone please explain the logic of the German government to me? 1) Try to prevent the phase out of the internal combustion engine and slow down EVs. 2) When petrol prices soar cut taxes. 3) Demand for petrol remains high and so do prices. 4) Repeat. www.politico.eu/article/germ...
politico.eu
Germany cuts fuel tax as Middle East conflicts send prices soaring
Germany issues its relief measures as its finance minister calls on Brussels to draft a windfall tax proposal on oil companies.
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Nicolai von Ondarza @nvondarza.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
Another fossil fuel rebate coming up in Germany. While I can understand the social reasons behind it, it also shows our vulnerabilities. Whereas since 2022 we personally made a choice for a heat pump, EV and solar, German media and society resisted as much as possible.
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Bo Vagner Hansen @bovagner.eurosky.social · 20/09/2026
It seems to me it would make more sense to lower the electricity prices.
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Ryan Moulton @moultano.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
This is insane.
Under a new interpretation of the law’s language outlined in the memo, the accidental killing or injury of an animal would no longer be considered illegal; only actions specifically intending to target an animal would.

The change would be transformative because, in the United States, the killing of endangered animals almost always happens incidentally, in the course of economic activity. Until now, industries and individuals could be held accountable for those foreseeable deaths and, as a result, they have been incentivized to avoid them.
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Jan Fichtner @janfichtner.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
This!
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Jan Rosenow @janrosenow.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Thermal batteries aren't a future technology any more. 80 projects worldwide, 51 operating. Half of those came online in 2025 or 2026. Mostly 1–100 MWh, but Antora (5 GWh) & Chinese molten salt plants (up to 2 GWh) show what's possible. More soon on Substack. Sign up here janrosenow.substack.com
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Nils Gilman @nilsgilman.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
Six Nobel laureate economists, including Joseph Stiglitz and Peter Diamond, have penned an open letter backing California’s proposed one-time 5 per cent levy on billionaires, saying it could kick-start a movement to introduce wealth taxes across America and the world. www.ft.com/content/94ec...
ft.com
Nobel economists throw support behind California billionaire tax
Progressive laureates say November ballot measure could ‘start reining in the power’ of ultra-wealthy
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Jaap Burger @jaapburger.eu · 20/09/2026
For those who missed the warning signs, they are now appearing on car dashboards. And they can hear the ticking and rattling as the internal combustion engine comes to a halt.
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