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Philip Stafford

@staffordphilip.bsky.social
6.6K followers 267 following 902 posts

Reporter at the Financial Times bsky.app/profile/financialtimes.com. Bits of UK retail, markets, bits of market structure, bits of crypto or mix of all of them. If you've been spammed in your DM with a crypto scam, it's not me.

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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 3h
And in a very accessible way, folks. Fascinating stuff if, like me, you love market structure nerdery.
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Ian Smith @iankmsmith.ft.com · 06/10/2026
"France is probably too big to fail, but it is not too big for the markets to punish" Our Big Read today on France, caught between the street and the bond market. Investors fear the country could be tipped into a debt crisis that would shake the Eurozone as.ft.com/r/4827a084-b...
as.ft.com
France: between the bond market and the barricades
The country is being hit by a pre-election debt sell-off. Many fear it could shake the Eurozone
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Robin Wigglesworth @robinwigglesworth.ft.com · 05/10/2026
At the SEC — the primary regulator for about 2/3 of the global financial system — you now only need one vote to change or implement a rule. www.ft.com/content/3120...
ft.com
One person is now a quorum at the SEC
The Ankh-Morpork approach to US financial regulation
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
With the rise of Aldi/Lidl + online, CMA could be more amenable than 2019. Why SBRY would want to take on struggling Morrison and its debt is another matter. www.ft.com/content/5f23...
ft.com
Sainsbury’s held merger talks with smaller rival Morrisons
Supermarkets discussed potential multibillion deal between November and February
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
From "Don't do evil" to "oh well" in one generation.
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Paul McNamara @mpaulmcnamara.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
Is this how you do this stuff?
Bayeux Tapestry of the City 115 charges
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 04/10/2026
www.ft.com/content/ac1f... “A parody of capitalism” is @sigh’s verdict on prediction markets. “But it’s not actually creating any value,” he said.
ft.com
Polymarket’s Alpha traders
In a private group chat, an elite crew of prediction-market bettors turn elections, wars and disasters into ‘free money on the floor’
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 02/10/2026
The company behind the $TRUMP memecoin said it is planning a third gala next month for top holders, as the president’s and his family’s ventures to cash in on virtual assets have turned him from hero to scourge among some crypto investors.
washingtonpost.com
Trump memecoin plans another gala amid backlash to self-enrichment
The latest event will take place next month at the president’s golf club in Northern Virginia.
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Dr Kat Day (she/her) 🎃🌒 @chronicleflask.katday.com · 01/10/2026
Another week, another “we’re vaguely familiar with the basic premise of the story while at the same time wilfully missing the entire point” moment
Screenshot:

Is this a 3D model?
@IsThisA3DModel

80% of the children who accepted Wonka's Golden Ticket died

Josh Daws
@JoshDaws 
Rejecting Al is like refusing Wonka's golden ticket.
Anything you want to, do it Wanna change the world?
There's nothing to it
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Ice cold, Bespoke. $NKE
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Corey Frayer @csfrayer.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Coingecko Chart showing spike in Donald Trump Memecoin Price
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Wrongdoing has been established, PM. Keep up.
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Paul McNamara @mpaulmcnamara.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Helpful diagram of Man City’s finances. Not entirely sure it’s helpful to the transparency argument
Spaghetti type diagram
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The Empty City @davidallengreen.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
NEW The diabolical defending of Manchester City Understanding an aggressive litigation strategy By me, at @prospectmagazine.co.uk (Prospect paywall is down currently.) www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/ideas/law/th... #MCFC
What can explain such an aggressive and counterproductive approach? To an extent the answer may be in the facts and the evidence. Perhaps the view was that the only chance of getting out of this was to be unhelpful as well as robust. In respect of an earlier dispute with Uefa, an internal communication at the club apparently said “Uefa doesn't respond to anything other than aggression”. Maybe the view was taken that this would work here too. Maybe the club still thinks it will work in the end, with the league being pushed into settlement on appeal or at the doors of the High Court.

But this does not offer a total explanation. What may work with Uefa may not work with other adversaries. The structure of the league’s investigation and the disciplinary approach meant that aggression would not only be unhelpful, but would count heavily against the club. An appeal on the law or procedure at the High Court in this sort of case only has a remote chance of success. It can be assumed the club was warned of all this.

There is a phrase in football punditry that “the defending is diabolical”. Here diabolical is, of course, a synonym for dreadful. But in its more literal sense, diabolical means bedevilled with wrongful purpose. And the strategy adopted by Manchester City in contesting this matter is also in this sense diabolical. The club will have known that it was unlikely to work, and that it would make things harder, but the club decided to do it anyway.
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Ben McKennaaaargh @benmckenna.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
I guess the question is what you like more, the reputation and integrity of the national sport and our greatest cultural export, or bag loads of moody petrodollars. It's a tough choice, it really is. www.theguardian.com/football/202...
theguardian.com
Andy Burnham admits to ‘concern’ if Manchester City lose their owners after guilty verdicts
The primer minister said: ‘City have been a huge partner in building modern Manchester,’ while the Independent Football Regulator said it is monitoring the case
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H.E. Cas Piancey @cascoinfoundation.org · 25/09/2026
Hester Peirce has sent in her resignation to the SEC, looking forward to finding out about the lucrative crypto job she’s taken instead
Hester Peirce on X: T minus 7
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Tom Hearden @followtheh.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
After all the nonsense with Bob Kraft and Ed Sheeran mother nature just stepped in and shut it down. Gillette shows canceled due to the nor'easter lmao.
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Lewis @lgambrose.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The investigations/charges only go up to 2018 but make no mistake: everything - absolutely everything - that City have done in the years since was built on the foundations of these breaches as well. And everything they continue to do in the coming years. There is no separating these things.
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
"As far as I'm concerned, the first thing you can do for me is to chuck all your medals into the biggest bin you can find, because you've never won any of them fairly."
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David Ornstein @david-ornstein.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Manchester City found guilty on virtually all charges relating to breaches of Premier League financial regulations. #MCFC expected to appeal against verdict issued by independent commission. Sanctions undecided, process ongoing @theathleticfc.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/athletic/704...
nytimes.com
Manchester City found guilty on almost all Premier League charges relating to financial breaches
City were charged by the Premier League in February 2023.
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The UK's cold and rain? Not a man who has been here any time recently. www.ft.com/content/bdb6...
ft.com
Subway rival bets hot sandwiches will sell in UK’s ‘cold and rain’
US chain Jersey Mike’s embarks on ambitious expansion plan despite struggling hospitality sector
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
If I owned a dog, I'd be legally responsible for its behaviour. www.ft.com/content/5613...
ft.com
OpenAI ‘agent’ hacked an Australian health service website
AI lab took months to spot the problem, which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called ‘obviously unacceptable’
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Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Emailing a public email address to notify a government of an AI hack does not inspire confidence that OpenAI has the processes in place to deal with these issues - or that it treated it seriously www.ft.com/content/5613...
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Treasury market in the mood to bounce Warsh into another rate rise. www.ft.com/content/5b11...
ft.com
US Treasury yields soar most since ‘liberation day’ tariffs shook markets
Traders crank up bets on Federal Reserve rate rises after new data fuel worries economy is overheating
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Kalshi wants to “financialise everything”, so why not financialise its own fate? www.ft.com/content/d13b...
ft.com
The argument for Kalshi taking bets on its own legality
Predictor, predict thyself
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Ben Collins @bencollins.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
heartstopping Google News check
Alex Jones announced as BBC Children in Need presenter ahead of 2026 Appeal show. (Different Alex Jones)
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Mic Wright @brokenbottleboy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
NEW | I’m not surprised, but I am livid. BBC NEWS, ‘DANNY TOMMO’ AND THE DINGHY ATTACK THAT DISAPPEARED While the rest of the media – even the very worst parts – report on Daniel Thomas’ actions, BBC News fails to give its audience the facts. brokenbottleboy.substack.com/p/bbc-news-d...
brokenbottleboy.substack.com
BBC News, ‘Danny Tommo’ and the dinghy attack that disappeared
While the rest of the media – even the very worst parts – report on Daniel Thomas’ actions, BBC News fails to give its audience the facts.
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Brandy Zadrozny @brandyzadrozny.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Bonus for whoever wrote this chyron
Trump speaking at UN — MS NOW chyron reads: Trump touts being a peacemaker while asking if he should annihilate Iran
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
It sure looks like a CFD, which are banned in the US.
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Cozy and Comforting Hedgie 🌻 @shadow.hedgie.social · 21/09/2026
you can just do things
In February, a company processing debit-card transactions for Polymarket's U.S. betting platform delivered some alarming news:
Fraudsters were flooding the app.
Users were linking stolen debit cards to Polymarket US accounts, then trying to use them to make wagers and withdraw the money into clean cards or accounts they controlled. Thieves tried to make off with at least $10 million.
At one point, the processor rejected as fraudulent more than 80% of the deposits it was handling, a rate that far exceeded industry standards of roughly 1%. Polymarket employees quickly raised their concerns with Chief Executive Shayne Coplan, according to people familiar with the events.
The compliance team, those people recalled, was floored by Coplan's response: Just keep growing and pay a fine if regulators ever find out.
Current and former employees said Coplan's reaction, which hasn't previously been reported, was characteristic of his plan for Polymarket-growth at all costs.
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 18/09/2026
Sports brand On signs Kylian Mbappé from Nike to lead new football push ft.trib.al/zLzegdb
ft.trib.al
Sports brand On signs Kylian Mbappé from Nike to lead new football push
Swiss group targets long-term partnership with French star, similar to relationship with tennis great Roger Federer
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Princes for Justice. Fun tale about the royal family feud in Liechtenstein www.ft.com/content/6fd9...
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Rules allow issuers to block their shares from being tokenised, by objection. Will be interesting to see how many blocks get sent out straight out of the gate. www.ft.com/content/b528...
ft.com
US regulator opens markets to tokenised stock trading
Blockchain-based representations of traditional equities can be traded around-the-clock and more easily used as collateral
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Possum @pollytics.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
World records will be broken. Nothing focuses the mind like being chased by a 5 meter salty in a plastic canoe. www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/s...
theguardian.com
Crocodile-inhabited river approved as Brisbane 2032 Olympic rowing venue
International Olympic Committee endorses Australia’s Fitzroy River course while World Rowing and Paddle Worldwide back the regional venue
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Jemima Kelly @jemima.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Wow, how gross and nasty. This is the kind of behaviour that makes me feel he will never actually get to be PM. Lack of empathy is surely not a vote-winner
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
OpenAI's explanation should be followed by reading @robarmstrong.bsky.social's shrewd column on Apple www.ft.com/content/2c34...
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Tony Tassell @tonytassell.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
the Revolut hack story is quite something www.ft.com/content/97f3...
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
All that lobbying money and the crypto 'industry' still can't score the next hit it needs. www.ft.com/content/8d0c...
ft.com
Landmark US crypto bill fails as Senate splits over Trump ethics concerns
Defeat is a massive setback to an industry that has spent record sums lobbying for a favourable market structure
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Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 15/09/2026
US says Chinese groups used Binance to launder $61mn from Iranian oil deals ft.trib.al/QGk2r8U
ft.trib.al
US says Chinese groups used Binance to launder $61mn from Iranian oil deals
US Justice Department files forfeiture lawsuit to seize $61mn in alleged proceeds processed through cryptocurrency platform
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
It doesn't surprise but it still somehow takes the breath away. www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
bloomberg.com
Trump Made 29,000 Securities Trades, More Than All of Congress
Donald Trump made nearly 29,000 securities trades in 17 months — more than every member of Congress combined. The stock-purchasing ban he’s pushing would leave him exempt
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Ivan the K ™ @ivanthek.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Four weeks ago.
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Katie Martin @katie0martin.ft.com · 11/09/2026
omg. (it wasn't me) www.famouscampaigns.com/2026/09/meta...
famouscampaigns.com
Meta smart glasses mocked by fake notices on London Underground
London’s backlash against camera-equipped smart glasses has reached the Tube, with spoof stickers styled as official TfL safety notices appearing inside Underground carriages and warning wearers that ...
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FT Alphaville @alphaville.ft.com · 11/09/2026
Is it over yet? ftav.substack.com/p/nothing-is...
ftav.substack.com
Nothing is certain except death and robotaxis
Also: moonshots, Michelin stars, fly brains, fake cigarettes, and revolting Scots
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Luke Kawa @ljkawa.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
There’s been a lot of philosophizing about how AI compresses economic and market time, but holy shit this is next-level. *SITUATIONAL AWARENESS ACTIVE IN OPTIONS MARKET: CNBC'S FABER
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Rory Johnston @roryjohnston.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Crude flying this morning—Brent now above $104/bbl. Wheels coming off.
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Lucy Fisher @lucyfisher.ft.com · 10/09/2026
EXC: Dorchester hotel to sell Qatari sheikh’s car over unpaid £460,000 bill www.ft.com/content/031b...
ft.com
The Dorchester hotel to sell Qatari sheikh’s car over unpaid £460,000 bill
Member of ruling family ran up debt at Mayfair institution equivalent to stay of up to several months
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Terrible idea. As an international financial centre London already is top level. www.ft.com/content/32aa...
ft.com
City of London set to drop century-old rule against logos on buildings
Square Mile’s governing body considers allowing companies to display their logos on the top of offices for the first time
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Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
The Mail's write-up of the thugs outside is vintage Mail, marred only by the failure to tell us how much his mother's home is worth:
dailymail.com
Balaclava-clad activists led by convicted criminal stage latest demo
The rabble-rouser, real name Daniel Thomas, organised protests that saw hundreds of masked men descend on Dover and Portsmouth over the weekend.
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Philip Stafford @staffordphilip.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
Add another $1tn to US govt spending? Sure, why not. It's only money. www.ft.com/content/acfc...
ft.com
Trump promises $5,000 ‘dividend’ for US voters if Republicans win midterms
President puts himself at centre of congressional election campaign despite his plummeting approval ratings
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Henry Morris @mrhenrymorris.substack.com · 09/09/2026
Shin Fein?
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