What caught my eye this week.
One of the most dismaying aspects of the past decade’s political shift is seeing people who’ve thrived under ‘the system’ now shaking their fists at it.
From Donald Trump railing against corporations after presiding over several occasionally bankrupt ones, to the Chinese state turning on its most successful tech firms, to Barry Blimp [1] and his friends criticising the elites from their exclusive spa and pool complex in Berkshire, hostility towards free market economics is everywhere. We see the consequences in rising US protectionism and the diminishment [2] of Great Britain PLC and her citizens thanks to that vote.
It’s one thing to bemoan globalisation if you’re an artisanal farmer in Africa displaced by cheap calories from China, or a former industrial worker with now-redundant skills in Scunthorpe or Flint.
But well-to-do Brits decrying the shadowy forces of international trade that paid for their pensions? With zero evidence except a few half-baked statistics from fringe economists talking out of their Agas?
I’d take Citizen Smith [3] over them any day.
Down with prosperity!
Combine the increasing antipathy towards global trade on the right with the age-old hostility towards enterprise on the left, whiz it in a social media blender, and you get this:
[4]
We could quibble over Zitelmann’s definitions I’m sure. But you only need to spend 20 minutes on Twitter or to listen to certain popular populist politicians to know the anti-capitalism vibe is real.
Yet as Joachim Klement [5] argued when he shared Zitelmann’s graph this week:
Capitalism is responsible for creating more wealth and progress than any other economic system ever invented. It has lifted more people out of poverty than all charitable efforts and aid organisations put together. It has taken us out of the Malthusian trap and increased agricultural productivity to a level where we can feed more than eight billion people on the planet, most of whom would have died of starvation or never been born without the financial means to develop modern agriculture. And it has provided the foundations on which health standards have increased so much that global life expectancy has more than doubled in the last 100 years.
Few would say everything is perfect. Certainly not me. Just look at the other graph in this week’s Weekend Reading below.
But most of our problems stem from political choices and voter selfishness, wishful thinking, or even outright incredulity, rather than unfixable issues with capitalism.
Capitalism provides a framework for incentives to work. But it’s up to governments and voters to decide the rules of the game, what to reward, and how to divvy up the proceeds.
Capitalism isn’t dead. But it needs to fix itself [6]. More of us should learn how to be capitalists [7], and to understand the source of our wider prosperity.
Quant fund pioneer Jim Simons, who died this past week, once said: “I did a lot of math. I made a lot of money, and I gave almost all of it away.”
Not a bad template for the ideal capitalist. But many people might start with simply doing the maths.
Have a great weekend!
From Monevator
Inflation hedges: what works and what doesn’t – Monevator [8]
A question of trust – Monevator [9]
From the archive-ator: holiday strategies to refresh a frugal soul – Monevator [10]
News
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LSE boss says IPOs are on the way as Shein and Rasberry Pi ready floats – CityAM [11]
Takeover interest in UK companies hits highest since 2018 [Search result] – FT [12]
Reddit strikes deal with OpenAI to train LLPs on Reddit content – The Verge [13]
Meme stock mania returns… – NBC via Yahoo Finance [14]
…with this EV company rising 3,500% [!] in the week – Sherwood [15]
US brothers arrested for stealing $25m in crypto in just 12 seconds – BBC [16]
Brexit border IT outages delay import of perishable items to UK by up to 20 hours – Guardian [17]
The percentage of US firms requiring workers-in-work is falling – Sherwood [18]
Man told he is not British after 42 years in the UK – BBC [19]
[20]
Why Britain is the world’s worst on homelessness [Search result] – FT [21]
Products and services
High Street banks start to cut the cost of fixed-rate mortgages again – Guardian [22]
Santander has brought back its £175 bank switch deal – Which [23]
Get £200 cashback with an Interactive Investor [24] SIPP. New customers only. Minimum £15,000 account size. Terms apply – Interactive Investor [24]
Owners of period properties spend twice as much on maintenance – This Is Money [25]
Cheaper Spotify Basic plans launched – Be Clever With Your Cash [26]
Santander’s very popular 5.2% easy account rate drops to 4.2% next week – This Is Money [27]
Transfer your ISA to InvestEngine by 31 May and you could get up to £2,500 as a cashback bonus (T&Cs apply. Capital at risk) – InvestEngine [28]
Why would it take 30 days for Companies House to remove a fraudulent address? – This Is Money [29]
Over 6,000 UK bank branches closed since 2015 – Which [30]
Deliveroo has hiked delivery costs for all customers – Be Clever With Your Cash [31]
Flats for sale with outside space, in pictures – Guardian [32]
Long-term mortgages mini-special
Are 25-year mortgages a thing of the past? – Guardian [33]
‘Serious questions’ for lenders over surge in ultra-long mortgages – Sky [34]
Should you run away from marathon mortgages? – Which [35]
You probably won’t be paying a 40-year mortgage into old age – Simple Living in Somerset [36]
Comment and opinion
25-years old and with a 13.2% chance of living to 100. What to do? – Fidelity [37]
Diversification is about decades – A Wealth of Common Sense [38]
Happy conclusion – Humble Dollar [39]
Three assets that might not diversify as well as you think… – Morningstar [40]
…plus Bitcoin and gold won’t save you in the end times – Of Dollars and Data [41]
An interview with Tyler from Portfolio Charts [42] [Podcast] – Many Happy Returns [43]
Understanding the inflation-protection of TIPS and similar bonds – Elm [44]
Managing £1m property portfolios in an hour a month [Podcast] – The Property Podcast [45]
Why active ETFs are better for fund managers than for you – Money Marketing [46]
The long run is just a collection of short runs [Podcast] – Morgan Housel [47]
Naughty corner: Active antics
Portfolio construction and the lower middle market – Permanent Equity [48]
Starbucks’ digital dilemma – SatPost [49]
BP and Shell go back to basics to boost shareholder returns [Search result] – FT [50]
Small cap quality shares are currently good value – Verdad [51]
Compounding made simple [Podcast] – Far From The Finishing Post via Apple [52]
A deep dive into closed-end fund pricing versus NAVs – Acadian [53]
Kindle book bargains
How to Own the World by Andrew Craig – £0.99 on Kindle [54]
The Great Post Office Scandal by Nick Wallis – £0.99 on Kindle [55]
Number Go Up by Zeke Faux – £0.99 on Kindle [56]
Chums: How a Tiny Caste of Oxford Tories Took Over the UK by Simon Kuper – £2.89 on Kindle [57]
Environmental factors
Businesses are struggling with reusable packaging – Guardian [58]
Calpers to direct $25bn to green private market investments [Search result] – FT [59]
Glimmer of hope for the mountain chicken frog which was once a national dish – BBC [60]
Ancient trees reveal last summer was the hottest in past 2,000 years… – BBC [61]
…despair is understandable, but stubborn optimism may be our only hope – Guardian [62]
Robot overlord roundup
OpenAI introduces GPT-4o and more for ChatGPT free users – Open AI [63]
10 mildly mind-blowing examples of what the new ChatGPT can do… – via X [64]
…meanwhile Google responds with an AI that can find lost spectacles – BBC [65]
The great flattening – Stratechery [66]
AI can replace stock analysts [Research] – SSRN [67]
How AI turned a Ukrainian YouTuber into a Russian – BBC [68]
Jim Simons RIP
Quant investing pioneer and philanthropist James Simons dies at 86 – Reuters via Yahoo [69]
Our man in East Setauket – Institutional Investor [70]
The algorithm behind Jim Simons’s success – The Alchemy of Money [71]
RIP to the man who beat the efficient market hypothesis – The Intrinsic Perspective [72]
Off our beat
Johann Hari and the new ‘miracle’ weight-loss drugs – Tim Ferris [73]
Building embryos – Aeon [74]
UFOs, God, and the edge of understanding – Vox [75]
Suddenly there aren’t enough babies. Birth rates are crashing – WSJ [76]
NASA Black Hole simulator takes viewers beyond the brink… [With video] – NASA [77]
…while Google and Harvard unveil most detailed ever map of human brain – CNN [78]
Steve Albini, 1962-2024: the engineer who shaped rock’s most visceral moments – NME [79]
The 15 greatest video games magazines of all-time – Guardian [80]
And finally…
“Today’s economy is good at generating three things: wealth, the ability to show off wealth, and great envy for other people’s wealth.”
– Morgan Housel, Same As Ever [81]
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