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Patrick Smith

@psmithjournalist.bsky.social
3.1K followers 1.7K following 1.9K posts

Digital News editor for @bloomberg.com in London. Former NBC News, BuzzFeed News and was psmith on Twitter. SWFC and St Albans City fan. Mancunian. Likes memes.

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Reposted by Patrick Smith
Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 4h
BMW plans to use AI to help eliminate a fifth of management roles, with around 8,000 positions set to go by next year. bloom.bg/4rH5MIq 📷: Sean Gallup / Getty Images
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 4h
Quite something to defend while arguing immigration and benefit culture are costing taxpayers money
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Reposted by Patrick Smith
Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 4h
A flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv narrowly avoided catastrophe after one of the pilots tried to stab his colleague, forcing the plane into a steep plunge and an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. Get the latest: bloom.bg/4jwpPHd 📷: AP Photo
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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 22h
I think about this interview with the distinguished philosopher Conan O'Brien a lot. I actually think this is a healthy way to live your life! www.nytimes.com/2019/01/14/a...
Is this how you want to go out, with a show that gets smaller and smaller until it’s gone?

Maybe that’s O.K. I think you have more of a problem with that than I do. [Laughs.] At this point in my career, I could go out with a grand, 21-gun salute, and climb into a rocket and the entire Supreme Court walks out and they jointly press a button, I’m shot up into the air and there’s an explosion and it’s orange and it spells, “Good night and God love.” In this culture? Two years later, it’s going to be, who’s Conan? This is going to sound grim, but eventually, all our graves go unattended.

You’re right, that does sound grim.

Sorry. Calvin Coolidge was a pretty popular president. I’ve been to his grave in Vermont. It has the presidential seal on it. Nobody was there. And by the way, I’m the only late-night host that has been to Calvin Coolidge’s grave. I think that’s what separates me from the other hosts.

I had a great conversation with Albert Brooks once. When I met him for the first time, I was kind of stammering. I said, you make movies, they live on forever. I just do these late-night shows, they get lost, they’re never seen again and who cares? And he looked at me and he said, [Albert Brooks voice] “What are you talking about? None of it matters.” None of it matters? “No, that’s the secret. In 1940, people said Clark Gable is the face of the 20th Century. Who [expletive] thinks about Clark Gable? It doesn’t matter. You’ll be forgotten. I’ll be forgotten. We’ll all be forgotten.” It’s so funny because you’d think that would depress me. I was walking on air after that.
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Rachel Cunliffe @rmcunliffe.bsky.social · 5h
This is your semi-regular reminder that pensioner poverty: a) is real b) is significantly less prevalent than working-age poverty and half the rate of child poverty, and c) is such that a pensioner is statistically more likely to live in a household worth over £1 million than to live in poverty
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Gaby Hinsliff @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social · 7h
such a good eg of why political argument matters - polling previously showed over 60% support for keeping triple lock. Argue to unlock it *for something people also want* & numbers can change. (Obv can change back again if someone makes a good argument against, but either way, politics=argument)
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 9h
Tories campaigning on behalf of benefit recipients
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 9h
Exactly this -- PM openly speculating about ending Brexit, the dominant narrative of UK politics for a generation and the reaction is ... 🤷
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 9h
Very true and I thought this reading Dan Simmons' Hyperion
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 9h
🐻 FAT BEAR WEEK WINNER 🐻
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Chris Grey @chrisgrey.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Important development in clearly stating Brexit was harmful & reset isn't a solution. But (unlike ER commission) no obvious process for how "we can find consensus". And on what? The options (again)? Or which to pursue? Still, definitely pitchrolling for something beyond 'make Brexit work'.
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 10h
"rain hell"
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 10h
Burnham Says Britain Could Rejoin the EU After Next Election www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Burnham Says Britain Could Rejoin the EU After Next Election
Prime Minister Andy Burnham said he could campaign to take Britain back into the European Union at the next general election, reopening the country’s debate on its relationship with the continent a de...
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 10h
Me facing the prospect of another 10 years of Brexit air war
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I wondered this - so many twists and turns left before 2030. Half of Burnham's inherited fiscal headroom is now gone just because of the increased cost of borrowing.
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
UK public service broadcasting proposed exactly this kind of collaboration in 2009 with Project Kangaroo, an open source platform to promote free / ad-funded / paid-for digital content. The but the Competition Commission stopped it amid huge private sector opposition. Huge missed opportunity.
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Joël Reland @jreland.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
What's that Andy? You want to look at the different options for the UK's relationship with the EU? If only someone had set them out already... ukandeu.ac.uk/introducing-...
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Wow he's done it on pensions triple lock. Will go by 2030, replaced by what sounds like a double lock (earnings or 2.5%)
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Burnham no tie but keeps his jacket. He should take it off, or he won't feel the benefit when he goes out.
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Matthew Holehouse @matthewholehouse.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
fascinating
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The proposition that pension reform is political suicide needs road-testing with actual voters across the spectrum imho. Polling / recent elections suggest there is a progressive centre-ish bloc of working age people which might be willing to hear the arguments on this.
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Lee @justlee.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Reminds me of one of my favourite cartoons. Any excuse to repost.
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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Ending the triple lock isn’t the same as cutting pensions. Thatcher linked the state pension to inflation rather than earnings growth with the result that the value of pensions fell relative to earnings. The triple lock was designed to reverse than trend. It’s done its job. Restore the earnings link
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David Higham @oldtrotter.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
As a matter of logic you cannot be “hard working” if you rely on the state pension. I hope ministers will keep (start?) explaining that the state pension isn’t paid out of an investment fund but by the contributions of those currently working.
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The historical background to anything Burnham might (or might not) announce today. UK still hasn't recovered from the debt burden of the 2008 financial crisis. Cost of borrowing means he might have to act decisively just to stand still on public finances. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
There is an element of the AI safety panic that reminds me of the hype around the Millennium Bug. Not to dismiss the risks, which may well be rooted in reality, but there is a similar feeling of existential tech dread.
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Yes it's a bit like with MAGA. When exactly did we have hope?? You're talking about British people, who expect the worst.
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
"Quiet patriotism" in John Healey's speech a mild echo of "quiet bat people."
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Good thread
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
“My husband got sold the dream of getting on the property ladder,” Dean said. “If he had put that money into the stock market, it would have been a much better result.” In a nutshell, the problem with UK housing. An investment first, a home second.
ft.com
Home - Financial Times
News, analysis and opinion from the Financial Times on the latest in markets, economics and politics
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@Julianshea.bsky.social @julianshea.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
114 of them.
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
I mourn the loss of BuzzFeed News not least because of the great journalism, but because I want a comprehensive roundup of the best Man City memes.
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Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 25/09/2026
Manchester City has been found guilty of nearly all 115 charges for breaking Premier League rules, in a seismic ruling that could be a massive hit to one of the world’s top football clubs. Read more: bloom.bg/4xOzMU2 📷: Naomi Baker/Getty Images
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Man City guilty of virtually all the financial regulation charges against it, reports the Athletic. www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
nytimes.com
Manchester City found guilty on almost all Premier League charges
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
“.. a surreal week in the life of Washington. The president of the United States barred American reporters .. and rolled out a literal red carpet for the communist president of China ..” @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/u...
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
When you get your terminal windows to line up perfectly #justlittlethings #bloomberglife
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The US college fraternity / sorority scene feels so alien to me. This fascinating piece spells out how it's also big business -- parents paying $6k on *coaching* to get their daughter into a famous one in Mississippi. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
I won't tag him because, just no, but I'm finally reading Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadow of the Apt series, I'm 6 books in, and it's great. Must-read for epic fantasy fans and anyone who's enjoyed his [prolific!] work. Surprised this series isn't more widely reccomended.
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Romania's blood bank: government offers investors a higher yield on bonds IF they give blood! www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
origin.www.bloomberg.com
Give Blood, Buy Bonds: Romania's Unusual Pitch to Lure Investors
Faced with heavy debt burdens, governments across the world are finding creative ways to borrow money.
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A great artist and well-written piece on his stroke. Scary it can happen to someone so young. www.theguardian.com/music/2026/s...
theguardian.com
‘Everyone can relate to pain and struggle. So I’m sharing mine’: Michael Kiwanuka on life after his devastating stroke
The Mercury prize winner hasn’t been able to go home since falling ill last summer. In his only interview, he opens up about the ‘poignancy’ of finally releasing the new album his stroke shelved
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I appreciate everyone likes podcasts, I like podcasts, but I also want people to continue to write things down, especially if they are complex and involve lots of data.
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Much going on here, including his continued efforts to rebrand AI as something else for some reason
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Madhu Pai, MD, PhD @madhupai.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
With more confirmed measles cases already in 2026 than in the entire of 2025, it seems highly likely that the USA will lose its measles-free status later this year www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
thelancet.com
US measles elimination status likely to be lost as cases surge
With more confirmed measles cases already in 2026 than in the entire of 2025, it seems highly likely that the USA will lose its measles-free status later this year. Tony Kirby reports.
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Very mixed views on this. Laissez faire approach works fine in non-league but not convinced everyone would use this freedom responsibly.
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Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Trade Secrets today. Meet Hank. Hank was doing well until Trump abolished "de minimis", the $800 tariff-free import allowance. Now Hank's one-man operation is swamped with paperwork and has to pay duties whose level isn't even clear. Hank will vote Democrat in November. as.ft.com/r/6c4f1d86-a...
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I read the story and it doesn't seem to cite any evidence that this is what people do with benefit payments
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Bloomberg News @bloomberg.com · 24/09/2026
Once heavily reliant on Iran for finished weapons, the Houthis are now able to assemble arms — including ballistic missiles and drones — inside Yemen using commercial goods imported from China. Read more in the Big Take: bloom.bg/4h8KNKV 📷: Mohammed Huwais/AFP
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
US 30-year bond yield at highest since 2004 🚨 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Day 2 of this: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
bloomberg.com
Morgan Stanley Rushes to Contain Fallout After Deal List Leak
Morgan Stanley raced to contain the damage from a leaked deal list as some rival bankers weighed how they might capitalize on the incident and at least two regulators began assessing the potential fal...
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Patrick Smith @psmithjournalist.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Lots of governments (UK included) are expected to come up with some cost-of-living measures and economic help with households and businesses -- but the bond market is making that much harder to do www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
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