What caught my eye this week.
I am recovering from an excellent wedding that ended late last night (not my own!) so straight into the links this morning.
Except to observe that people of all ages do seem very happy to mix again.
And that commentators who asked last summer “Will we ever be comfortable at a party again, post-Covid?” might have been bemused to see half a dozen pensioners crowding together into one of those comedy prop-strewn instant photo booths.
Of course that’s not to say that was necessarily wise behaviour for their age bracket in the midst of the ongoing Delta spread – nor to deny that there are limits to the double-jabbed vaccination protection that made this wedding possible.
More that the human spirit has strong reversion-to-the-mean tendencies.
Investing accordingly, I think.
Have a great weekend!
From Monevator
Should you borrow to fill your ISA each year? – Monevator [1]
SIPP money saving hack – Monevator [2]
From the archive-ator: Why your house is an investment, and an asset, too – Monevator [3]
News
Note: Some links are Google search results – in PC/desktop view you can click to read the piece without being a paid subscriber. Try privacy/incognito mode to avoid cookies. Consider subscribing if you read them a lot!1 [4]
Downing Street hints triple lock will be watered down – Guardian [5]
Inflation falls to 2% in UK amid retail discounting – BBC [6]
HMRC digs deep into your data [Search result] – FT [7]
Food industry chaos due to Brexit not Covid, say trade groups – Sky News [8]
Lloyds moves into the landlord business with a 50,000 home plan – Guardian [9]
[10]
UK house prices increased by 13.2% in the year to June 2021, up from 9.8% in May 2021 – ONS [11]
Products and services
How will the post-Brexit return of roaming charges hit consumers? – Guardian [12]
The pros and cons of a 35-year mortgage – Which [13]
Sign-up to Freetrade via my link and we can both get a free share worth between £3 and £200 – Freetrade [14]
John Lewis launches investing accounts with Nutmeg – ThisIsMoney [15]
How to buy a secondhand phone, and what to look out for – Guardian [16]
Nationwide is offering a £125 bank account switching bonus – Which [17]
Homes for sale with a loft conversion, in pictures – Guardian [18]
Comment and opinion
“Why I won’t wait to retire” – Humble Dollar [19]
The best advantage of life: being born rich – Of Dollars and Data [20]
The age of the ETF is looming [Search result] – FT [21]
All or nothing markets – A Wealth of Common Sense [22]
The optimal amount of hassle – Morgan Housel [23]
The hidden risk of equal weighting index funds [PDF] – Northern Trust [24]
Bubble wealth [Academic paper/PDF, a few weeks old] – SSRN [25]
Naughty corner: Active antics
What’s harder? Asset allocation or stockpicking? – Behavioural Investment [26]
There’s no such thing as buy and hold – Ensemble Capital [27]
Quants are rethinking stock trades in the manic Reddit era – Yahoo Finance [28]
How to craft a 30-stock, sector-neutral portfolio – Fortune Financial [29]
Zooming out on Palantir’s vaunted vault of gold – Abnormal Returns [30]
Hybrid workplace mindset mini-special
Why are so many knowledge workers quitting? – The New Yorker [31]
It’s time to re-onboard everyone – Harvard Business Review [32]
Mental health is the next big workplace issue – Axios [33]
Disinfection robots and thermal cameras: the post-Covid office – Guardian [34]
Covid corner
Is catching Covid now better than more vaccine? – BBC [35]
Kindle book bargains
Surrounded by Psychopaths: or, How to Stop Being Exploited by Others by Thomas Erikson – £0.99 on Kindle [36]
The Moneyless Man: A Year of Freeconomic Living by Mark Boyle – £0.99 on Kindle [37]
Hired: Six Months in Low-Wage Britain by James Bloodworth – £0.99 on Kindle [38]
Happy Money by Ken Honda – £0.99 on Kindle [39]
Environmental factors
Twilight of the nautilus – Nautilus [40]
The case for green versus blue hydrogen in energy production – DIY Investor [41]
Behind the fight to save the Gulf of Mexico’s reefs – Texas Monthly [42]
Off our beat
Inside Facebook’s Metaverse for work – The Verge [43]
How to remember what you read – Farnam Street [44]
Everybody is having hilarious fun and you’re not [On NFTs] – Justin Paterno [45]
How Wingspan [46] – a board game about birds – became a surprise hit – Slate [47]
Time dilation – Seth Godin [48]
It’s time to bring back cargo pants – Wired [49]
And finally…
“The impression was gaining ground with me that it was a good thing to let the money be my slave and not make myself a slave to money.”
– J.D. Rockefeller via Ron Chernow, Titan: The Life of J.D. Rockefeller [50]
Like these links? Subscribe [51] to get them every Friday! Note this article includes affiliate links, such as from Amazon and Freetrade. We may be compensated if you pursue these offers – that will not affect the price you pay.
- Note some articles can only be accessed through the search results if you’re using PC/desktop view (from mobile/tablet view they bring up the firewall/subscription page). To circumvent, switch your mobile browser to use the desktop view. On Chrome for Android: press the menu button followed by “Request Desktop Site”. [↩ [56]]