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Prof Mike Yearworth

@mikeyearworth.bsky.social
1.2K followers 1.4K following 1.5K posts

Problem Structuring · Problem Formulation · Soft Systems Methodology · Practice of Operational Research · Process Thinking · Facilitation · Group Support Systems · Co-Editor-in-Chief European Journal of Operational Research · CEng

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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 1h
Drones changing things fast…
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 2h
Warnings of possible Iranian drone attack led US to pull bombers from RAF Fairford ft.trib.al/OhZ6jNr
ft.trib.al
Warnings of possible Iranian drone attack led US to pull bombers from RAF Fairford
Abrupt withdrawal of aircraft from the vital foreign US military installation followed arrest of five men near the base
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 4h
“If you’re keeping score, the things that are borked if AI encounters a serious problem now include: The entire global stock market Private markets The dollar” www.ft.com/content/4706...
ft.com
How AI could scupper the dollar
Things are fine until they’re not
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 4h
TalkTalk - another victim of private equity. Loaded up with debt and run into the ground. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
BT agrees rescue deal to buy broadband operator TalkTalk
The takeover still needs to be approved by the regulator, but would give certainty to TalkTalk's millions of customers
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Caro Flores @floresophize.bsky.social · 19h
Social media doesn't just feed you bad information. It trains you in how to treat information: who to trust, how much evidence is enough, what counts as a good explanation. And it trains you for a world that doesn't exist. New @PPR (yay!) and free here: philpapers.org/rec/FLOBMS
doi.org
Beyond Misinformation: Social Media and the Sculpting of Epistemic Agency
The dominant account of social media's epistemic harms focuses on the spread of misinformation and the production of false beliefs at scale. This paper argues that the misinformation narrative, whate...
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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 05/10/2026
"A series of deadly heat waves from May to August overwhelmed Germany’s healthcare and emergency response systems and led to an estimated 16,000 heat-related deaths during the summer, the most heat mortalities ever recorded in the highly developed country."
insideclimatenews.org
Mass Heat Wave Deaths in Europe Show Climate Extremes Are Outpacing Adaptation Efforts - Inside Climate News
As preparedness lags, many regions around the world could be overwhelmed by rising temperatures, climate experts warn.
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Josiah Mortimer @josiahmortimer.bsky.social · 22h
"Innovation agency Nesta is urging the Govt to keep the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS) under national control, warning that devolving heat pump subsidies to local authorities could disrupt installations and create uncertainty in the heating industry." Especially where Reform mayors are involved...
energylivenews.com
Labour urged to keep Boiler Upgrade Scheme under national control - Energy Live News
A report warns that devolving heat pump subsidies to local authorities could disrupt installations
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Tim O’Brien @timobrien.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The AI build-out is on track to become the biggest economic bet in U.S. history, dwarfing the investments made to fund other huge U.S. infrastructure projects such as the railroads, the highway system and the plumbing for the internet. www.wsj.com/economy/the-...
wsj.com
The AI Build-Out Is Becoming the Biggest Economic Bet in U.S. History
Data-center spending is greater than that for canals, railroads and grid combined—creating jobs and stock-market wealth, while boosting inflation and crowding out housing.
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Token humans in a LLM-fuelled race to the bottom
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Kevin J. Kircher @kevinjkircher.com · 05/10/2026
We're in the middle of a race to the bottom, where authors use LLMs to generate more and more proposals, so funders use LLMs to screen proposals to keep up with increasing submission volumes. At some level of "LLMs evaluating LLM-generated submissions," you've gotta ask what we're even doing here.
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Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 04/10/2026
Nobody is prepared for the world of drone warfare that is coming, in fact is already here www.nytimes.com/2026/10/04/u...
nytimes.com
U.S. Rushes to Withdraw Bombers From U.K. Air Base After New Threats
The withdrawal came with unusual speed, following what U.S. officials said were threats of an Iran-based plot against the installation.
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
England's water infrastructure at breaking point. Large part of water network installed 130-150 years ago. Thames Water infrastructure has average age of 79 years; industry average 56 yrs. 40% of TW assets are 100+ yrs old. Must end privatisation, remove profit motive.
standard.co.uk
MP says London water network is 'at breaking point' with two incidents in a week
London MP Paul Kohler said the two incidents highlighted the poor state of the region's water infrastructure
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Fair Moderation, Equitable Access, and AI: arXiv’s Updated Rate Limit Policy blog.arxiv.org/2026/10/01/u...
blog.arxiv.org
Fair Moderation, Equitable Access, and AI: arXiv’s Updated Rate Limit Policy
arXiv, and the scientific community at large, are facing a watershed moment. Scholarly publishing is currently changing at a rapid pace, and we are seeing a…
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arXiv @arxiv.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
arXiv has updated our policy on rate limiting for all submitters. This update was made to fairly distribute moderator time & support the arXiv community of staff, volunteers, readers & authors. Please read our announcement to learn more: blog.arxiv.org/2026/10/01/updated-r…
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Sustainable Us @havantenviro.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
"Two people were reported dead on Sunday, with at least one person missing, after torrential rain triggered flooding in Spain's northeastern Catalonia region." www.dw.com/en/torrentia...
dw.com
Torrential rain and flooding leave 2 dead and 1 missing in Spain's Catalonia region
Authorities warned of extreme danger around Barcelona and Girona, with rivers at risk of overflowing and residents urged to stay indoors.
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Kees van der Leun @sustainable2050.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Barcelona metro stop. bsky.app/profile/aler...
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Holger Hestermeyer @hhesterm.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
The sheer number of insiders pointing out that security culture at AI companies is broken combined with the number of incidents would, usually, translate into enormos punitive damages awards. Yet, so far, nothing www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
theguardian.com
OpenAI safety leader quits, warning AI company’s culture is ‘broken’
David Robinson joins other insiders in urging industry to take more care over rapidly developing technology
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Political Quarterly @politicalquarterly.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Andy Burnham just announced that Labour will launch a National Commission on Electoral Reform. If the moment for electoral reform at Westminster has finally arrived, what are the necessary conditions for its success? By @robfordmancs.bsky.social onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
Has the Moment for Electoral Reform at Westminster Finally Arrived?
The rise to power of Andy Burnham, a vocal critic of first past the post, has put Westminster electoral reform back on the political agenda. This article examines the case for reforming the voting sy...
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More Perfect Union @moreperfectunion.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
A 'tidal wave' of forever chemicals are being pumped out to satisfy the AI industry, according to The Guardian. Nearly all of the 10 biggest manufacturers of Pfas are planning to increase production for use in semi-conductors and data center cooling systems.
theguardian.com
‘Tidal wave’ of Pfas being launched to satisfy AI industry, campaigners warn
Big manufacturers planning to produce more of the forever chemicals to meet demand from datacentres
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 03/10/2026
Brighton-Newcastle via Reading and Birmingham?! Needs Diesel. This seems to be a route created to make use of old Class 180 sets. Do we want diesel sets on a line that has 3rd rail? www.sussexexpress.co.uk/business/pla...
sussexexpress.co.uk
Plans unveiled for new Newcastle-London Gatwick-Brighton rail route
A proposed new rail service linking London Gatwick directly with the North East and South Coast has moved a step closer after Grand Central secured four trains for what will be one of England's longes...
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Perhaps the regulator could ask to see what insurance firms have to protect essential operational assets. I feel sure insurance companies will be proving firms with very clear insurance costs and/or exclusions based on climate change. Or just regulate for disclosing this information in the accounts.
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Russ Jones @russincheshire.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
Counter-argument: This is awful. Lego used to be a £20 box of bricks and no rules, to let a kid's imagination run riot. Then smash it and start again. Now it's a £140 kit to make one thing that happened before the kid was even born. Then put it on a shelf and dust it. Go shit in your hat, Lego.
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Jed Brown @jedbrown.org · 20/05/2026
The professional obligation of intentional thinking in conceptualization and framing is not unique to law, though precedent there is perhaps most clear and with the strongest enforcement mechanisms when evidence of misconduct is observed. law.justia.com/cases/oregon...
Finally,  so  that  the  clear  does  not  become  cloudy,  we state the obvious: Using generative artificial intelligence to generate legal briefs and then simply cite-checking them bears no resemblance to the competent practice of law. See Mattox, 807 F Supp 3d at 1353 (“When lawyers trade reflection for automation, they surrender the very quality that makes their words worthy of belief.”)
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SocArXiv @socarxiv.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
SocArXiv now has a limit of two papers per week. If authors submit more than that we assume they are LLM-generated and reject them all. Normal humans who need to upload a batch of papers, which sometimes happens, must make arrangements. Also today, ArXiv set a two papers per month limit.
blog.arxiv.org
Fair Moderation, Equitable Access, and AI: arXiv’s Updated Rate Limit Policy
arXiv, and the scientific community at large, are facing a watershed moment. Scholarly publishing is currently changing at a rapid pace, and we are seeing a…
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Fionna O’Leary @fascinatorfun.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
OpenAI’s data hacking worse than previously known and also tried to cover up the hacks ““Asymmetric Security, a digital forensics company, found OpenAI’s models pulled data from 55 websites belonging to businesses, non-profits and government agencies” & medical clinics www.ft.com/content/1150...
ft.com
OpenAI’s agents obscured hacking activity in government site breaches
New findings by Asymmetric Security provide further evidence of novel tactics AI tools use to conduct hacks
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
““This is an attack we have not seen before,” according to the post. “Not because it’s our first, but because the modus operandi indicates that this is an agentic AI powered attack.”” www.theregister.com/security/202...
theregister.com
AI agents hacked the hackers, stealing email addresses from security research org
Chained Zammad flaws enabled session hijacking, code execution, and root escalation in seconds
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Make Votes Matter @makevotesmatter.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The vast majority of European countries use forms of Proportional Representation, and have done so for many decades. Not one of them has a significant grassroots campaign for switching to First Past the Post.
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
“…the China General Technology Research Institute, is accused of paying UK academics working in sensitive fields such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity for “research that directly improves MSS technical capability for espionage”” www.theguardian.com/education/20...
theguardian.com
MI5 China alert will send chill through UK’s cash-strapped universities
Institutions have for years turned to China for funding opportunities but national security concerns are mounting
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
“However, Bailey said a big potential benefit from AI is its ability of "speeding up the work that supports the Monetary Policy Committee [MPC]" which sets interest rates.” Really? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
AI boom could trigger market shocks, Bank of England boss warns
Andrew Bailey says the central bank is watching the waves of cash being invested in artificial intelligence "very carefully".
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“The reality is that, post Brexit, Rosslare-Cherbourg has a strategically significant route for Brittany Ferries, carrying nearly 25% of all freight traffic so we must prioritise.” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Brittany Ferries ends Poole - Cherbourg route early
Barfleur's final crossing from Poole has been brought forward from the start of November.
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Civil Service World @civilserviceworld.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Professor Dame Angela McLean, the government’s chief scientific adviser, said the toolkit will help civil servants to connect with academics "with greater confidence" www.civilserviceworld.com/professions/...
civilserviceworld.com
Toolkit launched to help civil servants engage with academics
Government chief scientific adviser Angela McLean says toolkit will help officials make connections 'with greater confidence'
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Deloitte paid its UK-based partners £1.125m. Firm has 784 equity partners. Due to self-employed status of partners, employer national insurance (ENI) is not paid on profits shared. 150,000 ENI avoided on every £1m of profits shared. Billions lost across the country. Must end this privilege.
cityam.com
Deloitte UK advisory arm rebounds to growth as new boss insists AI 'can’t replace lived experience'
Big Four giant Deloitte's new UK boss, Darren Graves, insisted AI “can’t replace lived experience” as the firm's advisory arms return to growth.
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Dr Anna Clark @drannaclark.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
Ada, Countess of Lovelace, 1815-1852, daughter of Lord Byron, mathematician & a pioneer of computing. Painted by Margaret Sarah Carpenter 1836. UK Government Art Collection
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Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 30/09/2026
Singapore and Kuala Lumpur are choking under severe haze spewing from wildfires in neighboring Indonesia, with air quality deteriorating dramatically ahead of major sporting events. bloom.bg/3VatLUe 📷: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images
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Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
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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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
“Salty seas get saltier and world ocean more acidic as heatwaves bring ‘profound change’” www.ft.com/content/aad4... [£]
ft.com
Salty seas get saltier and world ocean more acidic as heatwaves bring ‘profound change’
Scientists say rapid warming has also led to accelerated sea level rise over the past decade
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The Guardian @theguardian.com · 29/09/2026
Trial of live facial recognition in London stations ends with a false positive and no arrests
theguardian.com
Trial of live facial recognition in London stations ends with a false positive and no arrests
Freedom of information request finds six-month trial cost £320,000, used almost 100 police hours and led to just one – incorrect – alert A six-month trial of live facial recognition (LFR) technology in London’s railway stations that cost more than £320,000 and almost 100 hours of police officers’ time ended in one false match against a watchlist of suspects and no arrests. More than half a million faces were scanned between February and July this year in some of the capital’s busiest transport hubs during the British Transport Police (BTP) trial of the surveillance technology, which aimed to help catch offenders and people breaching court orders. Continue reading...
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Kathleen Bachynski @bachynski.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Great to see: “Tunnel boring is set to begin on the Hudson Tunnel Project, marking a major milestone in the effort to build a new rail connection between New Jersey and New York and expand capacity along one of the nation's busiest rail corridors.”
abc7ny.com
Tunnel boring set to begin on Hudson Tunnel Project, a new NJ-NY rail link
A major milestone has been reached on the long-awaited Hudson Tunnel Project, with tunnel boring set to begin on a new rail connection between New Jersey and New York.
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Rachel Coldicutt @rachelcoldicutt.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Some people really are worried about loss of control, and I'm quite worried that unwarranted panic about loss of control will become a bigger social problem than actual loss of control
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Jim Pickard @pickardje.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
as a satire on so-called late stage capitalism how could one beat investors pouring a trillion into a company offering to wipe out humankind
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Saritha Rai @saritharai.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The global AI industry needs to earn $6 trillion in annual revenues by 2031 to justify the capital being deployed to build data centers around the world, a new Bain & Co. report says www.bloomberg.com/news/article... #AI
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Andy Bruce (Reuters) @bruceandy.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Anthropic is making a bet that AI will transform the global economy more profoundly than industrialization, electricity and the internet, according to its IPO prospectus seen by Reuters. ‌Anthropic reported a net loss of $42 billion in 2025, the prospectus said. www.reuters.com/business/fin...
reuters.com
EXCLUSIVE: Anthropic's IPO prospectus shows sweeping AI vision, surging costs
Anthropic is making a massive bet that AI will ​transform the global economy more profoundly than industrialization, electricity and the internet, according to its IPO prospectus seen by Reuters. The ...
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Prem Sikka @premnsikka.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Swiss private equity firm and UK investor buy 1,570-bed student accommodation. Another sector taken over by PE, loaded with debt, high rents, profiteering. Rents outstrip govt maintenance loans. No UK tax charged on dividends paid to foreign investors.
living.insidehousing.co.uk
Swiss private equity firm and UK investor buy 1,570-bed student housing portfolio
A Swiss private equity firm and UK investor have bought a 1,570-bed student housing portfolio for £165m.
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“…boss of insurance giant Aviva ... Amanda Blanc said the risk of flooding is "absolutely increasing", but based on current building patterns 115,000 new homes will be built in flood zones in the next decade… building homes that might be uninsurable at some point…” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
Aviva boss warns more homes will be uninsurable due to flood risk
Aviva boss Amanda Blanc said England was "for sure" building homes that might be uninsurable at some point in the future.
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evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Meta Muse appears to read your Apple messages and upload them to the cloud even if you explicitly tell it not to: appleinsider.com/articles/26/...
appleinsider.com
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“OpenAI will not release its new AI model - GPT-6.1 Astra - due to safety concerns, the ChatGPT-maker confirmed on Tuesday.” www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
bbc.co.uk
OpenAI scraps rollout of new AI model over safety concerns
The firm also issued an update on incidents in which its models accessed Australian government systems.
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
“The nearly $1tn AI start-up led by Dario Amodei devoted almost a third of its lengthy S1 filing to detailing “risk factors”, including the potential of increasingly advanced AI models to manipulate, blackmail and exhibit other unpredictable behaviours.” www.ft.com/content/c768... [£]
ft.com
Anthropic warns of ‘existential risks to humanity’ in IPO prospectus
Long-awaited S1 filing reports Claude maker lost $8bn last year on $4.6bn in revenue
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Prof Mike Yearworth @mikeyearworth.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“…just what does happen when a medium-sized economy loses its senses and wrenches itself out of a densely woven trading area?” www.ft.com/content/6b21...
ft.com
Why the EU fears Britain becoming a back door for Chinese cars
Brussels is urging UK tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, but it might take more than that
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Noel Healy @drnoelhealy.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The assault on US universities didn't start in 2025. Our new paper traces the decades of corporate capture that made it possible, and why climate research is a primary target. Open access: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
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Giles Wilkes @gilesyb.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
'Where a typical industrial product might have a few dozen suppliers, an ASML EUV has more than 100,000 parts provided by 200 principal suppliers and 2,000 companies overall." giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/... Industrial strategy so much harder than monetary policy, Exhibit LXIB
giftarticle.ft.com
ASML chief: ‘There is only one company making those machines’
Christophe Fouquet has built Europe’s biggest business through a total monopoly over the most advanced chipmaking equipment
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