What caught my eye this week.
I was bemused to see Adrian Chiles penning a glowing paean to the Delay Repay compensation scheme [1] in The Guardian this week. I’d always imagined such warm feelings were an Investor family quirk.
As Chiles writes [2]:
After a bit of a fiddle setting up your account, you automatically, as if by magic, get a cash prize if your train is delayed. OK, it’s compensation rather than a prize, but it’s still a beautiful thing.
On the services I use most regularly, generally having bought single tickets, on Avanti West Coast and GWR I get back a quarter of the price if it’s quarter of an hour late. And, along with LNER, I get back half the ticket price if it’s half an hour late, and all of it if it’s a whole hour late.
And it’s so quick! If your train’s not on time, into your account goes the money, bang on time. It makes the delay so much more bearable; even interesting. I end up willing it to pass the 15-minute mark.
Me and my sister know just where Chiles coming from. Trains to our ancestral home – a bungalow four hours from London – are invariably delayed. But Delay Repay has almost made it fun.
We’ll text each other as we approach the crucial cliff-edge for a higher payout:
Me: Nooo! I don’t think I’m going to hit the 30-minute threshold 🙁
Sister: Hang tough! There’s still time to get stuck behind a late-running train that leads to a shortage of platforms!!
German and Japanese trains may run on time, but where’s the fun in that?
Indeed if only the rest of the UK’s creaking infrastructure was gamified with cash payouts.
No doctor appointment available for six weeks? Enjoy coughing up your lungs as you shuffle out to spend this £10 voucher!
Brexit got you tied up at the borders? Here’s a free month of Spotify to entertain you while you wait.
I’m only half joking.
Have a great weekend.
From Monevator
Talking about inheritance has psychological as well as financial benefits – Monevator [3]
Running a 31-fold gain in pursuit of a 100-bagger – Monevator [4] [Moguls [5]]
From the archive-ator: The first law of thermodynamics and investing risk – Monevator [6]
News
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PM seems unsure whether shareholders count as ‘working people’ – This Is Money [7]
UK business growth slows to an 11-month low ahead of Labour’s first Budget… – Reuters [8]
and consumers are in a ‘despondent’ mood too – CityAM [9]
Patients to get full access to their data via NHS app – BBC [10]
Record number of landlords set up limited companies to cut tax – This Is Money [11]
The IPO market is lagging globally even as markets soar – FT [12]
North Korea is sending troops to aid Russia in Ukraine – Sky [13]
London tube map exhibition celebrates the iconic design – Reuters [14]
[15]
What to make of Goldman’s forecast 3% returns from US stocks – A.W.O.C.S. [16]
Products and services
How does Natwest’s new £180 bank switching offer compare? – This Is Money [17]
Eight free or cheap deals for kids for half-term holidays – Which [18]
Premium Bond rate cut to 4.15% – Money Saving Expert [19]
Get £100-£2,000 cashback when you open a SIPP with Interactive Investor [20] (T&Cs apply. Capital at risk) – Interactive Investor [20]
‘Bespoke’ private banking: the ultimate in customer service? [Search result] – FT [21]
How to save a few quid when you renew your house insurance – Which [22]
What are the most efficient ways to use energy in the home? – Guardian [23]
Open an account with low-cost platform InvestEngine via our link [24] and get up to £50 when you invest at least £100 (T&Cs apply. Capital at risk) – InvestEngine [24]
You can save £100 or more by switching energy tariffs, say experts – Guardian [25]
Annuities versus pension drawdown: pros and cons – Which [26]
Cozy cottages for sale, in pictures – Guardian [27]
Comment and opinion
Skis, bikes, and diversification – C.I.A.I. [28]
The downsizing shakeup [Search result] – FT [29]
Equal weighting: equally bad? – Humble Dollar [30]
Optimists are the best investors – White Coat Investor [31]
Howard Marks: there are only two asset classes, ownership and debt – FT [32]
How much house is too much? – Of Dollars and Data [33]
What ‘Monzo millionaires’ can teach us about share options [Search result] – FT [34]
Fooled by randomness – Klement on Investing [35]
We need to talk about the US ‘bond vigilantes’ – Cullen Roche [36]
Jason Zweig on life, books, and Benjamin Graham [Podcast] – Bogleheads via Apple [37]
Naughty corner: Active antics
Even the biggest winners start off as small caps – Freedom Day [38]
The small cap amplifier – Verdad [39]
Two ways to value dividend-paying stocks – UK Dividend Stocks [40]
[Not surprisingly] Starbucks is now struggling in China – Sherwood [41]
We are watching the death of Google – Where’s Your Ed At [42]
The power of patience – Safal Niveshak [43]
Nvidia is bigger than every G7 country’s market cap except the US and Japan… – Apollo [44]
…so a new US ETF offers the S&P 500 without the Magnificent Seven – Global Newswire [45]
Kindle book bargains
Failed State: Why Nothing Works and How to Fix It by Sam Freedman – £0.99 on Kindle [46]
Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism by Yanis Varoufakis – £0.99 on Kindle [47]
Bad Blood: Elizabeth Holmes and the Theranos Scandal by John Carreyrou – £0.99 on Kindle [48]
Casino: The Rise and Fall of the Mob in Las Vegas by Nicholas Pileggi – £0.99 on Kindle [49]
Environmental factors
Investors giving funds aligned to Paris agreement a wider birth – FT [50]
Tourism at the end of the world – Macleans [51]
Five nature wins that have actually worked – BBC [52]
Amazon says it has ditched plastic air pillows – The Verge [53]
How Chernobyl killed four million people – Klement on Investing [54]
We’re in the golden age of garbage clothing – The Walrus [55]
Crypto-o-crypto mini-special
Stripe’s now all-in on stablecoins, but it paid a steep price – Sherwood [56]
Stablecoins: what next for crypto’s killer use case? – The Block [57]
Robot overlord roundup
Google A.I. is inaccurate in 43% of finance-related searchers – College Investor [58]
Anthropic’s latest Claude update can control your computer – Sherwood [59]
The A.I. investment boom – Apricitas Economics [60]
Off our beat
How progress creates its own obstacles – Vox [61]
The free world teeters on the edge of a knife – Noahpinion [62]
Why are we building homes when so many lie empty? – BBC [63]
Apple’s move to turn the AirPods into hearing aid devices – The Verge [64]
An end to passwords is in sight – Vox [65]
The UK’s work sickness time bomb risks a lost generation – BBC [66]
How much have music lyrics changed since the 1960s? – Stat Signficant [67]
And finally…
“He was a self-made man who owed his lack of success to nobody.”
– Joseph Heller, Catch-22 [68]
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