Accessibility helpSkip to navigationSkip to contentSkip to footer
  • Sign In
  • Subscribe
Open side navigation menuOpen search bar
Financial Times
SubscribeSign In
  • Home
  • World
    Sections
    • World Home
    • Middle East war
    • Global Economy
    • UK
    • US
    • China
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Emerging Markets
    • Europe
    • War in Ukraine
    • Americas
    • Middle East & North Africa
    Most Read
    • The UK should press ahead with the inevitable on tax
    • Linda Yaccarino steps down as chief executive of X
    • Britain, France and the necessary relationship
    • Dutch pension funds set to sell €125bn of government bonds
    • Nvidia becomes first company to reach $4tn in market value
  • UK
    Sections
    • UK Home
    • UK Economy
    • UK Politics
    • UK Companies
    • Personal Finance
    Most Read
    • The UK should press ahead with the inevitable on tax
    • Britain, France and the necessary relationship
    • Don’t believe the myth: Britain’s services have been hit hard by Brexit
    • UK landlords quit sector as number of homes to let falls, survey says
    • Reeves to launch permanent mortgage guarantee scheme
  • Companies
    Sections
    • Companies Home
    • Energy
    • Financials
    • Health
    • Industrials
    • Media
    • Professional Services
    • Retail & Consumer
    • Tech Sector
    • Telecoms
    • Transport
    Most Read
    • Linda Yaccarino steps down as chief executive of X
    • Moët Hennessy sexual harassment case shines light on company’s culture
    • F1 boss Christian Horner sacked from Red Bull Racing
    • Dutch pension funds set to sell €125bn of government bonds
    • Nvidia becomes first company to reach $4tn in market value
  • Tech
    Sections
    • Tech Home
    • Artificial intelligence
    • Semiconductors
    • Cyber Security
    • Social Media
    Most Read
    • Linda Yaccarino steps down as chief executive of X
    • Nvidia becomes first company to reach $4tn in market value
    • Musk’s Grok AI chatbot praises Hitler on X
    • Revolut in talks to raise new funding at $65bn valuation
    • Europe just years away from uncrewed fighter jets, says defence start-up Helsing
  • Markets
    Sections
    • Markets Home
    • Alphaville
    • Markets Data
    • Crypto
    • Capital Markets
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
    • Equities
    • Monetary Policy Radar
    • Wealth Management
    • Moral Money
    • ETF Hub
    • Fund Management
    • Trading
    Most Read
    • The UK should press ahead with the inevitable on tax
    • Dutch pension funds set to sell €125bn of government bonds
    • Nvidia becomes first company to reach $4tn in market value
    • Revolut in talks to raise new funding at $65bn valuation
    • A new twist on an old bet with Buffett
  • Climate
  • Opinion
    Sections
    • Opinion Home
    • Columnists
    • The FT View
    • The Big Read
    • Lex
    • Obituaries
    • Letters
    Most Read
    • The UK should press ahead with the inevitable on tax
    • Britain, France and the necessary relationship
    • Don’t believe the myth: Britain’s services have been hit hard by Brexit
    • Why carmakers need to bring back buttons
    • Manchester prepares to welcome home Oasis
  • Lex
  • Work & Careers
    Sections
    • Work & Careers Home
    • Business School Rankings
    • Business Education
    • Europe's Start-Up Hubs
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Recruitment
    • Business Books
    • Business Travel
    • Working It
    Most Read
    • Memo from Paris: Simon Kuper takes a dip in the Seine
    • TALA founder: ‘We weren’t going to make payroll — so I sold my car’
    • Networking hots up in the yoga studio
    • Hot tickets: the rise of London’s day-festival scene   
    • How to make work more fun
  • Life & Arts
    Sections
    • Life & Arts Home
    • Arts
    • Books
    • Food & Drink
    • FT Magazine
    • House & Home
    • Style
    • Puzzles
    • Travel
    • FT Globetrotter
    Most Read
    • Why carmakers need to bring back buttons
    • Manchester prepares to welcome home Oasis
    • Lululemon vs Costco: the fashion copycat fight
    • The return of the superstar pianist
    • Salade Niçoise, but make it spicy
  • HTSI
MenuSearch
  • Home
  • World
  • UK
  • Companies
  • Tech
  • Markets
  • Climate
  • Opinion
  • Lex
  • Work & Careers
  • Life & Arts
  • HTSI
Financial Times
SubscribeSign In

Martin Sandbu

European Economics Commentator

Martin Sandbu is the Financial Times's European economics commentator. He also writes Free Lunch, the FT's newsletter on the global economic policy debate. He has been writing for the FT since 2009, when he joined the paper as economics leader writer.

Before joining the FT, he worked in academia and policy consulting. He is the author of three books, on business ethics, the euro, and on the economics of belonging.

Sign up to the Free Lunch newsletter here.

Email Martin Sandbu @MESandbu  on Twitter (link opens in a new browser window)
  • Thursday, 3 July, 2025
    Free LunchWar in Ukraine
    How much money does Ukraine need? Premium content

    The least expensive policy by far is to give the country enough now to win the war

    A boy stands beside his bicycle adorned with a small Ukrainian flag near a public football field. In the background, several people are playing football on a grassy field enclosed by a wire fence
  • Sunday, 29 June, 2025
    Global Economy
    Get ready to embark on a new era of financial repression

    Tariffs are not the only flashpoint; another economic policy war is shaping up

    Four hands clasping each other’s write to form a square. The back of each hand has a currency symbol written on it - £ $ € and ¥
  • Saturday, 28 June, 2025
    Politics
    Why is the right so fascinated with fantasy literature?

    Society inevitably structures our choices but the resulting frustration feeds a yearning for magical rings

    Montage of images of JD Vance and Giorgia Meloni against a background of a scene from The Lord of the Rings film.
  • Thursday, 26 June, 2025
    Free LunchTrump tariffs
    The economic consequences of Trump’s second coming Premium content

    Preparing for a post-American world (part 2)

    An American flag flutters in front of a ship and numerous shipping containers at the Port of Los Angeles
  • Thursday, 19 June, 2025
    Free LunchEU economy
    European common debt is the way to topple the dollar Premium content

    It’s high time for the EU to overcome its childish resistance to permanent joint borrowing

    The EU flag is prominently displayed inside the European parliament. Below it, a collection of flags representing EU member countries is arranged in a row
  • Sunday, 15 June, 2025
    European Union
    The EU needs to punch its weight on sanctions

    More centralised power and majority decisions would better exploit its influence

    A man walks past the Central Bank of the Russian Federation
  • Thursday, 12 June, 2025
    Free LunchRussian economy
    Sanctions on Russia are working Premium content

    It’s the right time to tighten the screws further

    Skyscraper office buildings of the Moscow International Business Center and the Grand Kremlin Palace. In the foreground, the Moskva River flows beneath a bridge
  • Thursday, 5 June, 2025
    Free LunchPoland
    Lessons from Poland Premium content

    Playing into polarisation is a losing game for liberal centrists

    Karol Nawrocki smiles and speaks at a podium as his wife and children stand beside him
  • Monday, 2 June, 2025
    EU foreign policy
    It’s in Europe’s interest to put sanctions on Israel

    Limiting trade, travel and freezing foreign reserves would show the EU is willing to act independently of the US

    Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister
  • Thursday, 22 May, 2025
    Free LunchEurozone economy
    Europe has a new economic orthodoxy Premium content

    And it’s a lot better than the old policy consensus

    Mario Draghi is speaking at a podium
  • Sunday, 18 May, 2025
    Brexit
    Why post-Brexit Britain will always remain a supplicant to Europe

    Resets with the EU may improve relations, but they will never give the country the equal standing of a member state

    Donald Tusk, Friedrich Merz, Emmanuel Macron and Sir Keir Starmer at the EU summit in Tirana
  • Thursday, 15 May, 2025
    Free LunchUS trade
    In praise of America’s trade deficit Premium content

    Net imports are funding the innovative edge that others envy the US so much — and perhaps benefit from too

    Stacks of multicoloured shipping containers are seen at the Port of Long Beach in California, with a row of palm trees in the foreground
  • Thursday, 8 May, 2025
    Free LunchTrump tariffs
    Trump’s tariffs will boomerang on US exporters Premium content

    A tax on imports is a tax on exports

    A worker operates a remote control to pour aluminiumluminum into a furnace at a plant in Goose Creek, South Carolina
  • Monday, 5 May, 2025
    Global trade
    Trump has created a chance for the euro to rival the dollar

    European leaders need to shed their political timidity to take the necessary steps

    Euros and Dollars
  • Thursday, 1 May, 2025
    Free LunchGlobal Economy
    Preparing for a post-American world (part 1) Premium content

    How international governance can work even with a US-sized hole in it

    Workers position a large American flag using a crane. The flag is partially unfolded and billowing in the breeze.
  • Thursday, 24 April, 2025
    Free LunchTrump tariffs
    The case for Trump’s tariffs Premium content

    The arguments are believed more widely than the Maga camp, but that does not make them any more right

    A worker is seen installing an engine in a vehicle at an assembly plant in Indiana
  • Sunday, 20 April, 2025
    Arctic
    The weakening Arctic consensus is worrying

    In spite of rising diplomatic tensions, the most immediate geopolitical risk is not military conflict

    A scientists carries out research off the coast of Svalbard
  • Thursday, 10 April, 2025
    Free LunchTrump tariffs
    Donald Trump has had his first Liz Truss moment Premium content

    Unlike the doomed former British PM, the US president is not going anywhere — so uncertainty is here to stay

    A montage of pictures of Liz Truss and Donald Trump
  • Wednesday, 9 April, 2025
    ReviewNon-Fiction
    Five books to boost your understanding of tariffs and trade wars

    As tariffs escalate, FT specialists recommend titles that explain the forces and ideas shaping trade policy in recent decades, including President Trump’s trade war

    A view at dusk or early morning looking down over trucks waiting at a container terminal
  • Sunday, 6 April, 2025
    Digital currencies
    The battle for the global payments system is under way

    Some Europeans are looking to the next geoeconomic contest

    euro banknotes
  • Thursday, 3 April, 2025
    Free LunchGerman economy
    Germany’s long slog out of stagnation Premium content

    Breaking out of fiscal restraints is not by itself enough to recover the country’s economic mojo

    Shoppers walk through a bustling market in Nuremberg, Germany, lined with red and white striped stalls
  • Monday, 31 March, 2025
    The Economics Show podcast32 min listen
    Can Germany escape its economic doldrums? With Ulrike Malmendier

    The loosening of Germany’s ‘debt brake’ raises hope for faster growth

  • Thursday, 27 March, 2025
    Free LunchEuropean economy
    What’s the point of fiscal rules? Premium content

    Don’t let the budget rule tail wag the democratic dog

    The Reichstag building in Berlin, Germany, is illuminated at night. The German flag flies atop the structure, and the glass dome is visible in the background.
  • Sunday, 23 March, 2025
    EU defence
    How to create a true common market for defence

    Even Eurosceptics and Britain-bashers should acknowledge the advantage of smooth weaponry supply chains

    European leaders discuss future peace in Ukraine
  • Thursday, 20 March, 2025
    Free LunchRussian assets
    Europe is about to make its biggest strategic mistake Premium content

    Control over Moscow’s blocked foreign reserves empowers the EU to shape how the Ukraine war ends

    A woman crouches on the damaged rooftop of a village school as she picks up a piece of shrapnel from a Shahed drone amid the rubble and debris from a recent bombing
Previous page1Next page

Useful links

Support

View Site TipsHelp CentreContact UsAbout UsAccessibilitymyFT TourCareersSuppliers

Legal & Privacy

Terms & ConditionsPrivacy PolicyCookie PolicyManage CookiesCopyrightSlavery Statement & Policies

Services

Share News Tips SecurelyIndividual SubscriptionsProfessional SubscriptionsRepublishingExecutive Job SearchAdvertise with the FTFollow the FT on XFT ChannelsFT Schools

Tools

PortfolioFT AppFT Digital EditionFT EditAlerts HubBusiness School RankingsSubscription ManagerNews feedNewslettersCurrency Converter

Community & Events

FT Live EventsFT ForumsFT Leaders Academy

More from the FT Group

Markets data delayed by at least 15 minutes. © THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD 2025. FT and ‘Financial Times’ are trademarks of The Financial Times Ltd.
The Financial Times and its journalism are subject to a self-regulation regime under the FT Editorial Code of Practice.
Edition:UK
International
Subscribe for full access

Top sections

  • Home
  • World
    • Middle East war
    • Global Economy
    • UK
    • US
    • China
    • Africa
    • Asia Pacific
    • Emerging Markets
    • Europe
    • War in Ukraine
    • Americas
    • Middle East & North Africa
  • UK
    • UK Economy
    • UK Politics
    • UK Companies
    • Personal Finance
  • Companies
    • Energy
    • Financials
    • Health
    • Industrials
    • Media
    • Professional Services
    • Retail & Consumer
    • Tech Sector
    • Telecoms
    • Transport
  • Tech
    • Artificial intelligence
    • Semiconductors
    • Cyber Security
    • Social Media
  • Markets
    • Alphaville
    • Markets Data
    • Crypto
    • Capital Markets
    • Commodities
    • Currencies
    • Equities
    • Monetary Policy Radar
    • Wealth Management
    • Moral Money
    • ETF Hub
    • Fund Management
    • Trading
  • Climate
  • Opinion
    • Columnists
    • The FT View
    • The Big Read
    • Lex
    • Obituaries
    • Letters
  • Lex
  • Work & Careers
    • Business School Rankings
    • Business Education
    • Europe's Start-Up Hubs
    • Entrepreneurship
    • Recruitment
    • Business Books
    • Business Travel
    • Working It
  • Life & Arts
    • Arts
    • Books
    • Food & Drink
    • FT Magazine
    • House & Home
    • Style
    • Puzzles
    • Travel
    • FT Globetrotter
  • Personal Finance
    • Property & Mortgages
    • Investments
    • Pensions
    • Tax
    • Banking & Savings
    • Advice & Comment
  • HTSI
  • Special Reports

FT recommends

  • Alphaville
  • FT Edit
  • Lunch with the FT
  • FT Globetrotter
  • #techAsia
  • Moral Money
  • Visual and data journalism
  • Newsletters
  • Video
  • Podcasts
  • News feed
  • FT Schools
  • FT Live Events
  • FT Forums
  • FT Leaders Academy
  • myFT
  • Portfolio
  • FT Digital Edition
  • Crossword
  • Our Apps
  • Help Centre
  • Subscribe
  • Sign In