WTFC Episode 5 – Liam Halligan talks to leading Canadian podcast about UK's looming fiscal crisis

When The Facts Change - Episode 5

I was pleased to chat recently with Keith Dicker, Steve Saretsky and Richard Dias – co-hosts of The Loonie Hour, one of Canada’s most popular economics and investment podcasts.

I know Keith from my former life in the fund management industry – and was interested to see he has teamed up with two other economists and launched a highly-successful independent media platform.

During this discussion, Keith, Richard and Steve quiz me about the UK’s public finances, ask me why gilt yields have been spiking and what will be in Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ next budget statement, expected in October or November.

We also discuss UK politics more generally and the various parallels between UK and Canadian economics and politics.

The guys ask me as well about my memories of Mark Carney and Chrystia Freeland - Canada’s current Prime Minister and Minister of Transport/Trade. I was at university with both Mark and Chrystia and also worked alongside Chrystia in Moscow and London when I was a journalist at The Economist and then The Financial Times.

I want to thank Keith, Steve and Richard for inviting me on their podcast - and I should reassure UK readers that the name of their “Loonie Hour” podcast derives from the term used in foreign exchange markets to refer to USDCAD cross-rate – that is, the exchange rate between the Canadian dollar and the US dollar.

The podcast name has nothing to do with their mental faculties (they are NOT lunatics but are, in fact, very smart folks!) The nickname for the USDCAD currency pair itself is derived from Canada's $1 coin – which has long featured a picture of a common loon (a bird).


Follow the Loonie Hour: https://thelooniehour.ca/

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