Rhys Davies
@rcdavies.bsky.social
Common culture and community. Believer in manufacturing & interested in productivity. Trade should be balanced & energy should be renewable.
Pinned
Rhys Davies
@rcdavies.bsky.social
· Oct 23
👇The very obvious solution to Britain's housing crisis, and Thatcher's most damaging legacy for the nation.
Reposted by Rhys Davies
I got pulled back into
Some plein air watercoloring by the Maine November evening skies.
#maine #pleinairpainting #novemberlight
Some plein air watercoloring by the Maine November evening skies.
#maine #pleinairpainting #novemberlight
November 30, 2025 at 1:58 PM
I got pulled back into
Some plein air watercoloring by the Maine November evening skies.
#maine #pleinairpainting #novemberlight
Some plein air watercoloring by the Maine November evening skies.
#maine #pleinairpainting #novemberlight
Reposted by Rhys Davies
This is necessary
Handwritten and oral exams are making a comeback
AI is accelerating a tech backlash in American classrooms
Handwritten and oral exams are making a comeback
econ.st
November 30, 2025 at 7:32 PM
This is necessary
Reposting this in the vain hope any British politicians on here will see it.
2/10
While this is widely believed, it isn't true. Foreign capital inflows don't fund fiscal deficits. They fund current account deficits, and they must be matched domestically either by higher US investment, higher US unemployment, or higher US household and fiscal debt.
While this is widely believed, it isn't true. Foreign capital inflows don't fund fiscal deficits. They fund current account deficits, and they must be matched domestically either by higher US investment, higher US unemployment, or higher US household and fiscal debt.
November 30, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Reposting this in the vain hope any British politicians on here will see it.
Reposted by Rhys Davies
2/10
While this is widely believed, it isn't true. Foreign capital inflows don't fund fiscal deficits. They fund current account deficits, and they must be matched domestically either by higher US investment, higher US unemployment, or higher US household and fiscal debt.
While this is widely believed, it isn't true. Foreign capital inflows don't fund fiscal deficits. They fund current account deficits, and they must be matched domestically either by higher US investment, higher US unemployment, or higher US household and fiscal debt.
November 30, 2025 at 9:34 AM
2/10
While this is widely believed, it isn't true. Foreign capital inflows don't fund fiscal deficits. They fund current account deficits, and they must be matched domestically either by higher US investment, higher US unemployment, or higher US household and fiscal debt.
While this is widely believed, it isn't true. Foreign capital inflows don't fund fiscal deficits. They fund current account deficits, and they must be matched domestically either by higher US investment, higher US unemployment, or higher US household and fiscal debt.
Reposted by Rhys Davies
Jason Anderson (British Artist, born 1970)
"Nightlife 5", 2025.
Oil on Linen, 60 × 60 cm.
Private Collection.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
"Nightlife 5", 2025.
Oil on Linen, 60 × 60 cm.
Private Collection.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
November 30, 2025 at 5:22 PM
Jason Anderson (British Artist, born 1970)
"Nightlife 5", 2025.
Oil on Linen, 60 × 60 cm.
Private Collection.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
"Nightlife 5", 2025.
Oil on Linen, 60 × 60 cm.
Private Collection.
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
Reposted by Rhys Davies
Otto Hesselbom, Swedish, 1848–1913
Winter Landscape with Cottage (undated; securely attributed and signed O. Hesselbom)
Oil on canvas
70 × 51 cm
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
Winter Landscape with Cottage (undated; securely attributed and signed O. Hesselbom)
Oil on canvas
70 × 51 cm
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
November 30, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Otto Hesselbom, Swedish, 1848–1913
Winter Landscape with Cottage (undated; securely attributed and signed O. Hesselbom)
Oil on canvas
70 × 51 cm
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
Winter Landscape with Cottage (undated; securely attributed and signed O. Hesselbom)
Oil on canvas
70 × 51 cm
#art #painting #artist #BlueSkyArt
Reposted by Rhys Davies
Have to say it’s deeply frustrating that the BBC News team simply cannot ask a tough question about POLICY rather than politics. It is infantilising the audience - unless the audience is other journalists in the lobby.
I’ll give Laura K some questions for free:
Are you really going to introduce tax on salary sacrifice pension contributions on your own voters months before the election?
Where will the money for special educational needs come from when it’s moved from local government to central?
Are you really going to introduce tax on salary sacrifice pension contributions on your own voters months before the election?
Where will the money for special educational needs come from when it’s moved from local government to central?
November 30, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Have to say it’s deeply frustrating that the BBC News team simply cannot ask a tough question about POLICY rather than politics. It is infantilising the audience - unless the audience is other journalists in the lobby.
Reposted by Rhys Davies
Playing with Fire.
British banks expect their capital requirements to be eased.
Lower capital requirements and higher leverage to be permitted as post-2008 crash reforms scrapped.
Banks will do more gambling to boost profits. Public purse will bear the cost of bailouts.
archive.ph/hygat
British banks expect their capital requirements to be eased.
Lower capital requirements and higher leverage to be permitted as post-2008 crash reforms scrapped.
Banks will do more gambling to boost profits. Public purse will bear the cost of bailouts.
archive.ph/hygat
Lenders gear up for loosening of capital rules by Bank of England
Bankers are expecting easing of leverage ratio as part of forthcoming review
www.ft.com
November 30, 2025 at 8:48 AM
Playing with Fire.
British banks expect their capital requirements to be eased.
Lower capital requirements and higher leverage to be permitted as post-2008 crash reforms scrapped.
Banks will do more gambling to boost profits. Public purse will bear the cost of bailouts.
archive.ph/hygat
British banks expect their capital requirements to be eased.
Lower capital requirements and higher leverage to be permitted as post-2008 crash reforms scrapped.
Banks will do more gambling to boost profits. Public purse will bear the cost of bailouts.
archive.ph/hygat
Reposted by Rhys Davies
During WWII a German vessel fired upon sailors floating in the sea after the Greek vessel Peleus was sunk. The officers were tried and convicted in the Peleus War Crimes trial.
November 29, 2025 at 7:54 PM
During WWII a German vessel fired upon sailors floating in the sea after the Greek vessel Peleus was sunk. The officers were tried and convicted in the Peleus War Crimes trial.
Reposted by Rhys Davies
Imagine all cars were electric, and then one Volkswagen engineer comes up with another idea …
#EMobility
#EMobility
August 11, 2025 at 10:46 AM
Imagine all cars were electric, and then one Volkswagen engineer comes up with another idea …
#EMobility
#EMobility
Reposted by Rhys Davies
Tesla was the first and is still a leader in some segments. They showed the world wanted electric cars and showed they can be profitable. I would always love them but also I am not going to miss them and Musk most of all.
November 29, 2025 at 8:51 AM
Tesla was the first and is still a leader in some segments. They showed the world wanted electric cars and showed they can be profitable. I would always love them but also I am not going to miss them and Musk most of all.
Reposted by Rhys Davies
China’s BEV trucks are breaking the freight economy: $63k–$92k USD for a purpose-built electric heavy truck — each one a lithium vacuum. BEVs now ~22% of China’s heavy-truck sales as diesel falls. The freight S-curve is igniting, & LFP/LMFP demand is about to explode. #Lithium #LFP #LFMP #Disruption
November 29, 2025 at 11:36 AM
China’s BEV trucks are breaking the freight economy: $63k–$92k USD for a purpose-built electric heavy truck — each one a lithium vacuum. BEVs now ~22% of China’s heavy-truck sales as diesel falls. The freight S-curve is igniting, & LFP/LMFP demand is about to explode. #Lithium #LFP #LFMP #Disruption
Reposted by Rhys Davies
The relative underperformance of North England’s economy is a mystery…….
I don’t know how many ways there are to say “Manchester’s economy is growing, so if we’re not going to do much proactive on infrastructure, can we at least not do stuff that’s actively damaging”
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
www.theguardian.com/business/202...
Soon-to-be-axed 7am Manchester-London train will still run – but without passengers
Exclusive: Rail regulator pulls Avanti service from timetable from mid-December but it is needed for staff travel
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 10:04 AM
The relative underperformance of North England’s economy is a mystery…….
Reposted by Rhys Davies
Love or hate Tesla, this effectively ends the argument: 11 MW of solar and 39 MWh of Megapack storage powering a 164-stall, fully off-grid Supercharger in California. Proof that not just transport, but electricity itself, no longer needs fossil fuels. The tech exists. The excuses are gone. #Lithium
Tesla Just Opened Its Biggest Supercharger Station Ever—And It's Powered By Solar And Batteries
Tesla's huge 164-stall charger in California is powered by solar panels and huge amounts of off-grid storage.
insideevs.com
November 29, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Love or hate Tesla, this effectively ends the argument: 11 MW of solar and 39 MWh of Megapack storage powering a 164-stall, fully off-grid Supercharger in California. Proof that not just transport, but electricity itself, no longer needs fossil fuels. The tech exists. The excuses are gone. #Lithium
Reposted by Rhys Davies
What do these corporations have in common?
Netflix
Ford
Tesla
T-Mobile
Duke Energy
DISH Network
Metlife
Dominion Energy
United States Steel
In recent years, they all paid their execs more than they paid in taxes.
This is what a corporate-rigged system looks like.
Netflix
Ford
Tesla
T-Mobile
Duke Energy
DISH Network
Metlife
Dominion Energy
United States Steel
In recent years, they all paid their execs more than they paid in taxes.
This is what a corporate-rigged system looks like.
November 28, 2025 at 8:00 PM
What do these corporations have in common?
Netflix
Ford
Tesla
T-Mobile
Duke Energy
DISH Network
Metlife
Dominion Energy
United States Steel
In recent years, they all paid their execs more than they paid in taxes.
This is what a corporate-rigged system looks like.
Netflix
Ford
Tesla
T-Mobile
Duke Energy
DISH Network
Metlife
Dominion Energy
United States Steel
In recent years, they all paid their execs more than they paid in taxes.
This is what a corporate-rigged system looks like.
Be thankful for the NHS.
This below is for a complex operation, but under any health system, the need, if at all, for the patient or their family to see the potential cost is unnecessary & unhelpful above a certain point.
So ok perhaps for prescriptions, pointless for operations.
This below is for a complex operation, but under any health system, the need, if at all, for the patient or their family to see the potential cost is unnecessary & unhelpful above a certain point.
So ok perhaps for prescriptions, pointless for operations.
This yeah I’m thankful for good health insurance.
November 29, 2025 at 7:15 AM
Be thankful for the NHS.
This below is for a complex operation, but under any health system, the need, if at all, for the patient or their family to see the potential cost is unnecessary & unhelpful above a certain point.
So ok perhaps for prescriptions, pointless for operations.
This below is for a complex operation, but under any health system, the need, if at all, for the patient or their family to see the potential cost is unnecessary & unhelpful above a certain point.
So ok perhaps for prescriptions, pointless for operations.
Reposted by Rhys Davies
The housing crisis is fueling the far-right vote
The housing crisis is fueling the far-right vote
In France, a growing share of the population is struggling to find housing. The shortage, which especially affects the working and middle class, is generating resentment with consequences at the ballot box.
www.lemonde.fr
November 28, 2025 at 11:00 PM
The housing crisis is fueling the far-right vote
Reposted by Rhys Davies
The Lib Dems had their chance in power and gave us Austerity, which sowed the seeds of so many of the problems of this country.
Danny Alexander, David Laws, Ed Davey all chose ministerial cars over their principles.
Danny Alexander, David Laws, Ed Davey all chose ministerial cars over their principles.
November 27, 2025 at 8:20 AM
The Lib Dems had their chance in power and gave us Austerity, which sowed the seeds of so many of the problems of this country.
Danny Alexander, David Laws, Ed Davey all chose ministerial cars over their principles.
Danny Alexander, David Laws, Ed Davey all chose ministerial cars over their principles.
Reposted by Rhys Davies
A better way of visualising the historic awfulness of our current productivity growth performance. Are we really saying technological progress has come to an end and there's nothing more we can do about it?
(Also, please join my campaign against plotting the derivative of noisy data)
(Also, please join my campaign against plotting the derivative of noisy data)
November 27, 2025 at 3:24 PM
A better way of visualising the historic awfulness of our current productivity growth performance. Are we really saying technological progress has come to an end and there's nothing more we can do about it?
(Also, please join my campaign against plotting the derivative of noisy data)
(Also, please join my campaign against plotting the derivative of noisy data)
Reposted by Rhys Davies
If a phone still works fine, it’s not “device hoarding” to keep using it. It’s common sense.
November 27, 2025 at 3:58 PM
If a phone still works fine, it’s not “device hoarding” to keep using it. It’s common sense.
"What of the claim there are certain jobs that Americans will not do? This usually means jobs that Americans (and legal immigrants) will not do at the price that employers are willing to pay"
Analysis of the impact of US labour market constraints by Michael Lind
www.commonplace.org/p/why-there-...
Analysis of the impact of US labour market constraints by Michael Lind
www.commonplace.org/p/why-there-...
Why There Won’t Be a Deportation Apocalypse
History shows labor markets adapt to strong immigration restrictions
www.commonplace.org
November 27, 2025 at 8:39 PM
"What of the claim there are certain jobs that Americans will not do? This usually means jobs that Americans (and legal immigrants) will not do at the price that employers are willing to pay"
Analysis of the impact of US labour market constraints by Michael Lind
www.commonplace.org/p/why-there-...
Analysis of the impact of US labour market constraints by Michael Lind
www.commonplace.org/p/why-there-...
"Switzerland has the highest manufacturing value add per capita in the world; Singapore is somewhere between numbers two number four, depending on the year. They have strong service sectors because they have a prosperous manufacturing industry. Their high value services mainly sell to manufacturing"
Good interview of Ha-Joon Chang on the Indian economy and on developments economics more generally.
frontline.thehindu.com/interviews/i...
frontline.thehindu.com/interviews/i...
Ha-Joon Chang on the Future of India's Industrialisation
Facing US tariffs and automation risks, Ha-Joon Chang argues that India must rebuild manufacturing via industrial policy, capital controls, and national champions.
frontline.thehindu.com
November 27, 2025 at 6:49 AM
"Switzerland has the highest manufacturing value add per capita in the world; Singapore is somewhere between numbers two number four, depending on the year. They have strong service sectors because they have a prosperous manufacturing industry. Their high value services mainly sell to manufacturing"
Reposted by Rhys Davies
"These technologies are not risky or experimental. These are largely industrial heat pumps and thermal batteries, which is technology that is mature and proven," @industriouslabs.bsky.social's Teresa Cheng told me: www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/california-h... 🔌💡
California has a new plan to decarbonize industry
Quitting Carbon checked in with Teresa Cheng, California director at Industrious Labs, to talk about passage of AB 1280 and the race to decarbonize manufacturing in the Golden State.
www.quittingcarbonmedia.com
November 26, 2025 at 11:28 PM
"These technologies are not risky or experimental. These are largely industrial heat pumps and thermal batteries, which is technology that is mature and proven," @industriouslabs.bsky.social's Teresa Cheng told me: www.quittingcarbonmedia.com/california-h... 🔌💡
Reposted by Rhys Davies
This post gets to the crux of our difficult economic situation - & this is the crucial plot.
Our problem - we didn't invest in the future, & now the future has arrived.
Now we need to move from consumption led growth to investment led growth.
Our problem - we didn't invest in the future, & now the future has arrived.
Now we need to move from consumption led growth to investment led growth.
November 26, 2025 at 7:12 PM
This post gets to the crux of our difficult economic situation - & this is the crucial plot.
Our problem - we didn't invest in the future, & now the future has arrived.
Now we need to move from consumption led growth to investment led growth.
Our problem - we didn't invest in the future, & now the future has arrived.
Now we need to move from consumption led growth to investment led growth.