Britain's Borrowing Costs Rise

Welcome to the week, seven past six. The most interesting thing about the Starmer Fight is what money did over the weekend if you follow these things. Borrowing costs reach their highest level in years. Why? Because Andy Burnham is of the far left, and the last thing Britain needs is a lifetime or a lefty running the place broke. It's already got enough debt to last several lifetimes. Now Burnham has got to win the by-election, of course, yet, and then he faces where Streeting, who tossed his hat in as well over the weekend. Starmer may well still survive. But none of this is good. There isn't a single scenario there where Britain emerges stronger or more stable, and that's before you get to the bit where of Burnham and Streeting when they're unelected Prime Ministers with a vote not due until 2029. A fatal flaw of a five-year term, I would have thought. Meantime, and the other gripping story of the globe, Donald Trump returned home, the loser, surely, in the two-way between him and sheep. Glass half full. It was cordial, it was pleasant. Reciprocal visit to Washington is a few months away, apparently. But nothing real on Iran, nothing real on Taiwan. An order for planes from China under half what was predicted in some oil sales. It was best summed up in an article I read that suggested Trump left an increasingly self-reliant China. That 1,000 year game plan they have looks increasingly successful in an ever fragile world. Next question for Trump is just how many times can you say Iran better make a deal or else before we all start rolling our eyes? On the plane home, he said he's now prepared to accept a 20-year promise on nuclear. That would do it, apparently. That's a man under the sort of pressure he's starting to panic, isn't he? And where is Epic Freedom, by the way? It got paused because progress was so good on a deal, progress is stalled on the deal. Where's the escort program for those ships in the straight? Iran will fold. I'm still convinced of that. I mean, a deal will eventually be everyone will claim a win and all that sort of stuff. But unlike she, who has no length of runway problems, Trump does. The prediction markets have shifted from 50-50, this is on the midterms from 50-50 to 6535. And I tell you what, they haven't shifted Trump's way. As much as he may not want Iran to be nuclear, my bet is he also doesn't want to be a lamed up president.