iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Olaf Storbeck

David Firn @davidfirn.bsky.social · 21/03/2026

This is fine gif

Iran’s ballistic missile ranges - which include Londondon if they can reach Diego Garcia

Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 02/01/2026

European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde’s full pay is more than 50 per cent higher than her disclosed salary, according to a Financial Times analysis. www.ft.com/content/c7cd...

ft.com

Christine Lagarde’s pay is 50% higher than disclosed by ECB

Europe’s top central banker earns almost four times more than Fed chair Jay Powell, FT analysis shows

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 12/11/2025

Over the past few weeks, Sebastien Ash, Florian Müller and I took a deep dive into the demise of German manufacturing. The situation appears so bleak that it really blows my mind. www.ft.com/content/239e...

ft.com

Can anything halt the decline of German industry?

Europe’s manufacturing champion is in free fall. Economists are suggesting radical steps to save what is left

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 11/11/2025

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has been accused by economists of channelling billions of euros of new debt intended for defence and infrastructure investments to fund a higher welfare budget and other ongoing expenditures. on.ft.com/4qUndnM

on.ft.com

Merz accused of using debt bazooka for welfare and tax cuts instead of investment

Two prominent institutes and the Bundesbank sound alarm over use of new borrowings

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 10/11/2025

The ECB will soon fire the starting gun on a sweeping reshuffle of its top ranks — a contest that will ultimately decide who succeeds its president Christine Lagarde. Klaas Knot, Joachim Nagel and Pablo Hernández de Cos are among the contenders. on.ft.com/3JoMCFC

on.ft.com

ECB to kick off race for top roles as Lagarde era enters final stretch

Four of six jobs on central bank’s executive board become vacant before end of 2027, including the presidency

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 25/10/2025

Rarely seen such a powerful @financialtimes.com reader‘s comment. I went off the sauce more than 1.5 years ago and my only regret is not having done it much earlier. My general wellbeing — including my mental health — improved beyond description. on.ft.com/3L7IoCy

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 24/10/2025

Can Porsche be saved? Once one of the most reliable sources of profits for Volkswagen, it has plunged into its deepest crisis in three decades. Sebastien Ash & Kana Inagaki take stock - they even talked the the new CEO (when he still was at McLaren.) www.ft.com/content/a0c3...

ft.com

Porsche hits reverse on EV push as new CEO shifts back to petrol

Luxury-car maker U-turns on strategy after China weakness, US tariffs and disappointing uptake of battery vehicles

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 24/10/2025

I did not design the coin 🤷‍♂️

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 23/10/2025

Man darf, aber man kann nicht (zumindest vorerst)

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 23/10/2025

Crazy days... who would have thought that there would be a day when I mention Tuffi, the circus elephant who famously jumped out of Wuppertal's suspension monorail in 1950 when a PR stunt went wrong, and roman emperor Nero in the very same FT article? www.ft.com/content/0400...

ft.com

Germany shelves commemorative coins over surging silver price

Value of precious metal exceeds face value of €20 and €25 collectibles

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 20/10/2025

This post on the ECB's blong about the science behind this year's Economic Nobel laureates, is rather good: www.ecb.europa.eu/press/blog/d...

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 20/10/2025

Rapha is in crisis mode with plunging sales and big losses - how Fran Millar, the fourth CEO in three years, wants to fix the cycling fashion brand. www.ft.com/content/8b55...

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 08/10/2025

Industrieproduktion ist im August auf Niveau von 2005 eingebrochen - und 20% unter dem Peak von 2017. Die Autoproduktion liegt derzeit auf dem Niveau von 2000 und ist 60 Prozent unter dem Allzeit-Hoch. www.ft.com/content/745f...

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 22/09/2025

also note we are not talking about Germany's competitiveness but about firms' competitiveness

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 22/09/2025

Vielleicht erklärt dem SPIEGEL jmd bei Gelegenheit den Unterschied zwischen RAUB und DIEBSTAHL?

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 22/09/2025

the more relevant chart in the competitiveness context / labour costs is this one

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 21/09/2025

doyou think share of GDP was hih in 2008 under current definitions?

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 21/09/2025

Also trend since 2009 is very clear: welfare spending is on a rising trajectory and expenses are rising faster than nominal GDP

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 21/09/2025

Chart is straight out of official government reporting www.bmas.de/SharedDocs/D...

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 21/09/2025

Dating back to the days of Otto von Bismarck, German’s welfare spending is at all time high. It’s not v good at fighting poverty and set to become even more €€€. Joint work with @chassnews.bsky.social and @claradoodle.bsky.social on.ft.com/4mqdq5G

on.ft.com

In charts: Can Germany afford its €1.35tn welfare state?

Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants benefit cuts, but his coalition partners are pushing back

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 20/09/2025

Erinnert mich an das Schild am Reibekuche-Stand auf dem Düsseldorfer Karlsplatz ”Vorsicht Fettspritzer - keine Haftung!”

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 19/09/2025

Bei der Führung durch die neuen Container der Europäischen Schule Frankfurt dachte ich ja, ich hätte mich in der Adresse geirrt und würde ein Flüchtlingsheim besuchen

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 19/09/2025

Die @stadtffm.bsky.social hat es heute auf die Titelseite der @financialtimes.com geschafft - weil sie ihr Versprechen bricht, der European School Frankfurt einen neuen Standort zu besorgen. Dort bezahlt die EZB jetzt neue Container. Christine Lagarde: "Das ist peinlich!"

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 18/09/2025

A decade after rescuing Greece from default, the ECB has launched a very different bailout in its own backyard: It has provided €6.9mn of funding to Frankfurt’s oversubscribed European School after the City of Frankfurt failed to deliver on promises to find a new site. www.ft.com/content/4a8c...

ft.com

ECB’s unlikely €6.9mn school bailout funds classrooms in containers

Central bank provides emergency help to oversubscribed Frankfurt European school after plan for new premises fails

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 16/09/2025

Langsam bekomme ich wirklich Mitleid mit Markus Braun. Der hat nicht nur eine Milliarde verloren und seine Freiheit, die Kollegen vom Spiegel nehmen ihm jetzt auch noch seinen Titel als Wirecard-Boss.

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 01/09/2025

We asked 94 economists to describe the future path of US monetary policy in one sentence. Many only needed one word: “horrible”, “chaos”, a “disaster” an “Turkey“ on.ft.com/4n6eDj4

on.ft.com

Investors underestimate Donald Trump’s threat to the Federal Reserve, economists warn

FT survey cites fears that president’s assault has caused long-term damage to the US central bank and economy

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Reposted by Olaf Storbeck

Olli Rehn @ollirehn.suomenpankki.fi · 31/08/2025

I had a good talk with @olafstorbeck.ft.com & @financialtimes.com. There is simply no room for complacency about price stability. We have to be mindful of the downside risks to inflation. on.ft.com/4n4gSU7

on.ft.com

‘No room for complacency’, warns top ECB policymaker after traders cool on rate cuts

Finland central bank governor Olli Rehn says inflation risks ‘currently tipped to the downside’

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 31/08/2025

A top European Central Bank policymaker has pushed back against the view among investors that another rate cut over coming months is off the table, stressing that inflation risks are currently “tipped to the downside”. Olli Rehn: “There is simply no room for complacency" www.ft.com/content/763f...

ft.com

‘No room for complacency’, warns top ECB policymaker after traders cool on rate cuts

Finland central bank governor Olli Rehn says inflation risks ‘currently tipped to the downside’

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 30/08/2025

We don’t hide anything but they have to pay my salary somehow. Please don’t discuss articles you have not read in future in conversations with me as I don’t want to waste my time

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 30/08/2025

If you read one article this weekend, read this one on Israel. “The country’s moderates are not giving up the struggle against their rogue government — and progressives elsewhere must not give up on them, writes historian Fania Oz-Salzberger” on.ft.com/3Vo4r9Q

on.ft.com

The battle for the soul of Israel

The country’s moderates are not giving up the struggle against their rogue government — and progressives elsewhere must not give up on them, writes historian Fania Oz-Salzberger

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Reposted by Olaf Storbeck

A Reader of the FT @a-reader-ft.bsky.social · 28/08/2025

Asbestos, gold and spiralling costs: Bundesbank weighs abandoning Frankfurt headquarters—It might be more economical to sell the old premises, which could be turned into a prime residential development… www.ft.com/content/e9d6... @olafstorbeck.ft.com @en.finalfantasyxiv.com

ft.com

Asbestos, gold and spiralling costs: Bundesbank weighs abandoning Frankfurt headquarters

A €3.3bn refurbishment of the brutalist site has come under fire from Germany’s Federal Audit Office

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 26/08/2025

But higher female labour participation now - or having Beamte pay into the PAYG system, does not address the fundamental issue: you have more people paying in now and earning claims, while workforce over time is shrinking

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 26/08/2025

re 1) yes, we addressed this here: www.ft.com/content/ad7b... re 2) well, if the world's demography was shrinking, and the world's productivity was as well, capital- backed pensions might feel the pinch. But that's not the case.

ft.com

A nation of slackers? Why Friedrich Merz wants Germans to work more

Bleak demographics and short average work weeks could come to haunt Europe’s largest economy

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 26/08/2025

Right - demographics are different for females, how could I forget. And increasing captal returns i.e. higher productivity has been the hallmark of the German economy for years

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 25/08/2025

“We botched it with Riester, and I don’t know how many more chances we will get. We simply cannot afford to get it wrong again.” The prospect for Germany's state pension is dire. Berlin is now trying to nudge people to the stock market with a €10-a-month subsidy for kids www.ft.com/content/f1cb...

ft.com

Germany’s pensions crisis: can €10 a month change how people invest?

Europe’s largest economy offers the young a subsidy to invest in equities as public retirement scheme creaks

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 24/08/2025

The Bundesbank is considering abandoning its landmark brutalist headquarters amid regulatory criticism of a multibillion euro redevelopment of the asbestos-stricken site, where half of the country’s gold reserves are stored. on.ft.com/460UoxH

on.ft.com

Asbestos, gold and spiralling costs: Bundesbank weighs abandoning Frankfurt headquarters

A €3.3bn refurbishment of the brutalist site has come under fire from Germany’s Federal Audit Office

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Reposted by Olaf Storbeck

Audax UK @audaxuk.bsky.social · 22/08/2025

"London Edinburgh London 2025 must have been the best ‘cancelled’ ride in the history of cycling. Quickly relabeled “London Floris London”, it was a mass application of the principle that “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” #LEL25 #LEL2025 #Randonneur #Cycling #Audax #CyclingStories

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Olaf Storbeck @olafstorbeck.ft.com · 15/08/2025

BILD -Werbung in der Tradition von Patagonia(“Don’t buy this jacket!“) gegen das eigene Produkt?

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