LEAKY IDEA. British opposition leader Keir Starmer wants the government to issue so-called recovery bonds to help dig the economy out of the pandemic. The idea has some merit, but also stirs memories of the global financial crisis. Starmer’s plan, which he described as giving people a “stake in the national recovery”, would channel funds from savers to the county’s still nascent National Infrastructure Bank, an off-balance-sheet entity controlled by the government. It would use the money to fund infrastructure and other long-term assets. Starmer implied that the bonds would be low-risk and suitable for savers. The idea isn’t totally new. Some government-linked entities, like Cassa Depositi e Prestiti in Italy, already issue retail bonds. Starmer, however, wants to issue debt that can be redeemed early, despite being backed by illiquid assets. Used excessively, that could create a liquidity mismatch, a bit like the structured investment vehicles which collapsed in 2007 and 2008. Some of them had to be rescued by the banks that set them up. Starmer probably needs to take the financial engineering down a notch. (By Neil Unmack)