From the category archives:

Commentary

Are you richer than your kids, or poorer than your grandchildren?

August 26, 2010
Thumbnail image for Are you richer than your kids, or poorer than your grandchildren?

Would you rather have been born in the 1950s to a stable society and The Beatles, or in the 1970s, to the Internet and Al-qeada?

17 comments

How to invest in German companies

August 17, 2010
Thumbnail image for How to invest in German companies

Don’t mention the war – German companies are among the best in the world, and they’re booming as the world recovers under dark clouds.

14 comments

No lost decade: Why we’re not Japan

August 5, 2010
Thumbnail image for No lost decade: Why we’re not Japan

The lost decade in Japan haunts Western markets, as deflation stalks the land in the US and interest rates can’t go any lower. Here’s why you shouldn’t worry.

17 comments

What to do now you can’t buy National Savings certificates

July 21, 2010
Thumbnail image for What to do now you can’t buy National Savings certificates

National savings certificates offered attractive vehicles for our savings, but there are various alternative homes for your money.

8 comments

By George I think he’s done us proud with this emergency budget

June 23, 2010
Thumbnail image for By George I think he’s done us proud with this emergency budget

CGT rises to 28% but we’ve still got our annual allowance – and more importantly the country is being tilted back towards enterprise.

15 comments

Two new personal finance tools for Monevator readers

June 11, 2010
Thumbnail image for Two new personal finance tools for Monevator readers

Wondering how your money will grow? Pondering whether it’s worth over-paying your mortgage? Muse no more, my friends.

5 comments

Video: BP spills a cup of coffee

June 10, 2010

BP spills a cup of coffee, with calamitous results. (Funny comedians – I bet they get their petrol for free for telling jokes?)

11 comments

Ten things I don’t want to pay tax for anymore

May 25, 2010
Thumbnail image for Ten things I don’t want to pay tax for anymore

If you’re upset that the Liberals and the Conservatives are sharing power in the UK, just be grateful I didn’t get elected.

21 comments

Video: The end of oil

May 21, 2010

Quit worrying about peak oil, it’s solvable. The world is much likelier to die a horrible death due to global warming or some other ecological catastrophe.

15 comments

Naked short selling: All shout, no trousers

May 19, 2010
Thumbnail image for Naked short selling: All shout, no trousers

What is naked short selling, and why is it so unpopular in Germany, the home of the nudist? (Oh I see! Not that kind of naked…)

4 comments

Bank preference shares: A brief history

May 18, 2010
Thumbnail image for Bank preference shares: A brief history

Did you buy bank preference shares when the market was giving them away? Me neither. What an incredible opportunity it was.

2 comments

The biggest threat to long-term wealth

May 14, 2010
Thumbnail image for The biggest threat to long-term wealth

You can control what you earn, save and spend. You can make up for higher taxes or lower returns. But you can do nothing about a trashed planet.

13 comments

Snap thoughts on the Con Dem coalition from a private investor’s perspective

May 12, 2010
Thumbnail image for Snap thoughts on the Con Dem coalition from a private investor’s perspective

Britain has a new coalition government that looks set to tackle the deficit. But how much will you have to pay for Labour’s previous largesse?

11 comments

Cameron and Clegg must make a suicide pact

May 8, 2010
Thumbnail image for Cameron and Clegg must make a suicide pact

There’s a tough job that needs doing, and Brown’s selfish obfuscation has made it even tougher for whoever comes next.

6 comments

Greeks gift us a buying opportunity

May 8, 2010
Thumbnail image for Greeks gift us a buying opportunity

Beware of Greeks bearing gifts, they say. But a UK stock market off 11% in the face of surging earnings and a growing global recovery looks tempting.

5 comments

Why the U.S. (and the U.K.) is not Greece

April 28, 2010

The economic situation in the US and UK is very different from the train wreck in Greece. The blogosphere needs to get some perspective.

2 comments

Video: Jeremy Clarkson on pensions

April 21, 2010

Jeremy Clarkson is right: Pensions don’t attract ‘hot chicks at nightclubs’. But just wait til they see the size of my ISA…

7 comments

Goldman Sachs: Yesterday a giant squid. Tomorrow calamari?

April 19, 2010
Thumbnail image for Goldman Sachs: Yesterday a giant squid. Tomorrow calamari?

Goldman Sachs? In a murky deal? Involving sub-prime debt? And arrogant bankers? With it’s reputation? Please, pass me the smelling salts.

8 comments

Weekend reading: Why I’ve sold a few shares as the bull marches on

April 17, 2010
Thumbnail image for Weekend reading: Why I’ve sold a few shares as the bull marches on

A huge but wildly waffle-riddled update on my personal portfolio and recent activity. Plus the week’s best links!

20 comments

Video: John Maynard Keynes versus Friedrich von Hayek

April 14, 2010
Keynes versus Hayek video

The Keynes versus Hayek debate is an old one, but rarely if ever has it taken place in the back of a limousine packed full of honeys…

13 comments

Do you realise you’re paying more income tax?

April 12, 2010
Thumbnail image for Do you realise you’re paying more income tax?

Congratulations, you’re paying more income tax this year to fund profligate public spending. If this is news to you, you’re not alone.

14 comments

The truth behind the Natwest Black Card’s shocking APR

April 6, 2010
Thumbnail image for The truth behind the Natwest Black Card’s shocking APR

Does Natwest really charge 51.8% APR on its Black Credit Card? Well, not exactly… but the card is still an expensive luxury.

6 comments

What can a first-time buyer in the South East buy for less than £250,000?

April 1, 2010
Thumbnail image for What can a first-time buyer in the South East buy for less than £250,000?

Stamp duty for first-time buyers was scrapped in the budget, provided they contain themselves to spending less than £250,000. Easy, unless you live near London.

15 comments

Ask the Chancellors: The verdict

March 29, 2010
Thumbnail image for Ask the Chancellors: The verdict

Vince Cable, Alistair Darling, and George Osborne go head-to-head in the Twister session from hell. Who won?

14 comments

Weekend reading: Budget blues

March 27, 2010
Thumbnail image for Weekend reading: Budget blues

Will somebody in Conservative HQ please turn on the lights? The UK electorate badly needs a clue, but not as much as its politicians.

6 comments

Cash is king, or cash is trash?

March 8, 2010
Thumbnail image for Cash is king, or cash is trash?

By watching how investors treat their cash holdings, you can sometimes get a feel for how carried away the market is. Is cash trash?

21 comments

Video: Tony Blair warns of the financial crisis

March 1, 2010
Tony Blair on the financial crisis

A very young Tony Blair’s verdict on the 1987 crash sounds uncannily applicable to the 2007-2009 turmoil, too.

0 comments

Buffett: Why the property bubble bursting was a good thing

February 28, 2010
Thumbnail image for Buffett: Why the property bubble bursting was a good thing

Funny how one of the world’s richest men understands how young first-time buyers have been impoverished by crazily high house prices.

14 comments

Why does Joe Public love sweatshops?

February 24, 2010
Thumbnail image for Why does Joe Public love sweatshops?

The nuts-and-bolts manufacturing sector is loved by the public – now it’s safely out of view in far-flung countries and we have better paid jobs to do.

14 comments

Companies paying dividends early to beat higher UK tax rates

February 19, 2010
Thumbnail image for Companies paying dividends early to beat higher UK tax rates

Companies can’t get dividends out the door quickly enough, for major private shareholders, who face a 10% tax rise on dividend income in April.

5 comments

← Previous Entries