MoneyWeek

In his very good book on investing, Margin of Safety, Seth Klarman tells the story of a California speculative mania – in sardines. The fish had disappeared from their usual waters off Monterey, the shortage pushed up prices, and before long there wa

“One of the most aggressive experiments in monetary policy in history is about to end”, says Stephen Bartholomeusz in The Sydney Morning Herald. In a blog post this week, European Central Bank (ECB) boss Christine Lagarde signalled an end to unconven

Shanghai, China’s biggest city, “has spent most of the past two months in a state of suspended animation”, says Nathaniel Taplin in The Wall Street Journal. Yet despite growing economic damage from a prolonged lockdown, policymakers have brought in o

“Here we go again,” says Russ Mould of AJ Bell. “The bear market that is threatening to chew up a lot of the past few years’ gains… looks like so many other downturns that have gone before it.” Bull markets usually “crack at the periphery first and t

The war in Ukraine has “fundamentally changed” the underlying rationale of the World Economic Forum, says Gideon Rachman in the Financial Times. For decades, the informal motto of Davos has been “make money, not war”, and political leaders from Xi Ji

Heading back to the office: Office and retail real estate investment trust (Reit) British Land reported profits of £960m in the year to March, up from a loss of £1.08bn the year before. Underlying profit (rental income) rose 25% to £251m and net tang

What has happened? The UK energy-market regulator Ofgem warned MPs this week that it expects to raise the price cap on household energy bills to about £2,800 in October. That means the average annual bill will have more than doubled within six month

experimentalhistory.substack.com Until the year 2000, about 25% of top-grossing films were “prequels, sequels, spin-offs, remakes, reboots or cinematic universe expansions”, says Adam Mastroianni. Since 2010, it’s been more than 50% every year. In re

When Schroders BSC Social Impact Trust (LSE: SBSI) launched in December 2020, the returns it was offering – 2% over the consumer price index (CPI) inflation rate over the long term – looked unattractive. But now, with the latest CPI figure at 9% and

Ethical investing has been around for decades. But its latest incarnation, signified by the acronym “ESG” (investing with an eye to a company’s approach to environmental and social issues, and corporate governance) only really began to gain traction

To say that 2022 hasn’t been a good year for technology stocks would be a bit of an understatement. Most of the leading names such as Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, Microsoft, Meta Platforms and Netflix have slumped. Netflix is now down nearly 75% from its

The soaring cost of independent financial advice on transfers out of final salary pension schemes is causing mounting concern among pension experts, who warn that affordable advice is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Savers determined to tran

Commodities have had a poor decade, but as we face possible stagflation, companies such as Shell (up by 45% year-to-date) and Glencore (up by 33%) have begun to benefit. Meanwhile, absolute-return hedge funds – those that try to deliver steady return

The New York hedge-fund star Chase Coleman once observed that “the person who does best is the one with the panic button furthest from his keyboard”. The line was typical of his suave persona as one of Wall Street’s most quietly effective operators.

Jazeneuil, Vienne, France. A chateau in landscaped grounds five kilometres from the nearest town. It has open-plan living areas with ornate columns and ceiling ornamentation, open fireplaces and French doors leading onto the gardens. 8 beds, 7 baths,

“From sunrise yoga in the sand and glorious coastal hikes to kayaking around the estuary and exploring the hidden coves and inlets of South Sands – not to mention bird and seal spotting – there are few better places to start the day in Salcombe than

It is becoming all but inevitable that everyone’s next (or next but one) new car will be electric, says Colin Overland in Car magazine. The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is looking increasingly like the most tempting option. The fully electric model, the EQE

To the delight of my turf accountant, and the despair of my actual accountant, I’ve never had much luck when it comes to gambling. Even my repeated attempts at the village tombola have earned me little more than the occasional pair of socks. So I cou

The US Congress is always doing amazingly idiotic things, but it recently surpassed itself and approved Jerome Powell for another stint as capo di tutti capi at the Federal Reserve. We’re ready to forgive almost anything. Isaac forgave Abraham, after