I have lived happily under Conservative and Labour governments. But I’m glad voters pushed back against the growing appetite in some quarters for an authoritarian one [1].
Well done Britain.
Dare I hope for more than a recognition that we live in a multi-party democracy?
One Financial Times writer thinks so [2] [Search result]:
The election throws up an even larger prize: a more moderate version of EU exit than the one envisaged by Mrs May.
Before pro-Europeans become delirious, Friday’s result cannot be interpreted as an equal and opposite reaction to the Europe referendum. The two main party manifestos did not differ much on the subject.
But the prime minister called this election to secure a mandate for her hard take on exit and failed to obtain it. Most of her plausible successors – Philip Hammond, the chancellor of the exchequer, and Amber Rudd, the home secretary, who might take on Mr Johnson – are pragmatists.
They will also see where the Tories lost seats: cities, university towns. The bits of Britain that are at ease with the outside world.
We’ll see.
(We all know politics can get tetchy, so please everyone try to keep it civil and constructive if you want to comment. Thanks!)
What caught my eye this week.
From Monevator
Family Income Benefit: The forgotten policy – Monevator [3]
Getting older? Admit it when you rebalance your portfolio – Monevator [4]
From the archive-ator: Talking about money is like French kissing – Monevator [5]
News
Note: Some links are Google search results – in PC/desktop view these enable you to click through to read the piece without being a paid subscriber.1 [6]
Average UK rents fall for the first time in more than seven years – Guardian [7]
House prices set to keep beating wages, with RICS predicting 3.5% annual growth – ThisIsMoney [8]
The heartening story of an everyday 98-year old who retired at 45 – Chicago Tribune [9]
Insurance Premium Tax increase to 12% to push up motoring premiums [Search result] – FT [10]
Products and services
First ever Lifetime ISA from Skipton pays just 0.5% – ThisIsMoney [11]
Digital coins are making Bitcoin’s rip-roaring rally appear tame – Bloomberg [12]
Atom Bank delays its digital-only current account on threat of new regulation – ThisIsMoney [13]
Seedrs has launched the Beta version of its secondary market: ‘Trading Tuesdays’ – Seedrs [14]
Comment and opinion
Thinking through a change in asset allocation – A Wealth of Common Sense [15]
Confessions of a newly-minted gold bug – 3652 Days [16]
What happens to bonds in a stock market crash? – Oblivious Investor [17]
Small and value data for a big world – Portfolio Charts [18]
A tale of two markets: Politics and investing – Musings on Markets [19]
History lesson: Four unsung heroes of investment – Bps and Pieces [20]
The financial pain equation – Tony Isola [21]
David Stevenson: I got married for tax reasons [Search result] – FT [22]
The easy way to buy quality companies at the right price – Richard Beddard [23]
If this guy can cycle to work then you can probably cycle to work – Mr Money Mustache [24]
Emerging markets are not all created equal [Curious if flawed chart] – The Big Picture [25]
The state pension: Is it sustainable? – DIY Investor (UK) [26]
General Election 2017
The results – Guardian [27]
Was this the revenge of the Liberal Metropolitan elite? – Telegraph [28]
How did Theresa May’s gamble fail? [Nice graphics] – Guardian [29]
Theresa May’s failed gamble [Search result] – Economist [30]
George Osborne savages May in four editions of the Evening Standard – Telegraph [31]
“Yet another own goal”: EU braces for Brexit talks delay – Guardian [32]
9 key questions for your personal finances – Telegraph [33]
Post-election thoughts, and an encounter with an aristocratic Brexiteer – S.L.I.S. [34]
If a ‘soft Brexit’ is back on the table, remind me of the options again? – Telegraph [35]
The views of some professional investors – Telegraph [36]
Liam Young isn’t pleased about the Tory’s bedfellows – Twitter [37]
Off the investing beat
Experience is overrated – The Irrelevant Investor [38]
Advice for new college graduates – Financial Samurai [39]
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett spend a day mattress testing [Video] – YouTube [40]
Entropy: Why life always seems to get more complicated – James Clear [41]
Ich bin ein f-cking Millwall now – Telegraph [42]
And finally…
“But if cities are indeed some sort of superorganism, then why do almost none of them ever die? There are, of course, classic examples of cities that have died, especially ancient ones, but they tend to be special cases due to conflict and the abuse of the immediate environment. Overall they represent only a tiny fraction of all those that have ever existed. Cities are remarkably resilient and the vast majority persist. Just think of the awful experiment that was done seventy years ago when atom bombs were dropped on two cities, yet just thirty years later they were thriving. It’s extremely difficult to kill a city!”
– Geoffrey West, Scale: The Universal Laws of Life and Death in Organisms, Cities, and Companies [43]
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- 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”. [↩ [48]]