Commentary

Bank preference shares: A brief history

May 18, 2010

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

4 comments

The biggest threat to long-term wealth

May 14, 2010

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.

16 comments

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

May 12, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

15 comments

The truth behind the Natwest Black Card’s shocking APR

April 6, 2010

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

7 comments

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

April 1, 2010

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.

18 comments

Ask the Chancellors: The verdict

March 29, 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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