Mmm… doughnuts. But why on the NHS? I wrote here a few years ago about what I considered to be the scandal of gluten-free food prescriptions. It seemed to me at the time a bad …
How you’re paying for Scotland’s doughnut binge
Category: Blog
Jeremy Corbyn is what you get when you mess with capitalism
We’ve been pointing out for some time now that the rise of extreme political parties and politicians across the West is a clear symptom of the discombobulation and betrayal felt by populations in the wake …
The rising cost of charitable tax relief
I’ve written here several times about the ludicrous situation in the charitable sector (now costing us all something in the region of £6.5bn – see my article on this here). But new numbers out this …
Why bankers can’t afford boats any more
It’s not bankers buying the boats any more I had chat with a boat broker friend in Cornwall this week. We were cruising round the harbour playing a fun game whereby he pointed at boats …
Spanish galleons, treasure hunters and speculators: how bubbles never change
Regular readers will know that I am beginning to be mildly obsessed by the great diving and treasure-hunting booms of the late 1600s onwards (sunken Spanish galleons were the main target). I’m reading Peter Earle’s …
If George Osborne doesn’t kill buy-to-let, Jeremy Corbyn will
A couple of months ago I wrote here that the Tories’ exceptionally stupid right-to-buy policy was taking us in a really frightening direction. If the government can force private institutions such as housing associations to …
Why we should stop paying dividends to short-term investors
Does short termism matter in stockmarket investment? And if it does matter, what on earth do you do about it? It’s pretty easy to make a case that it does matter. As long as investors …
What the Siege of Mafeking and the European bond market have in common
I’m reading the latest update from Ruffer’s Jonathan Ruffer. It’s always interesting, but there is one insight that I want to just quote for you. Why did one third of all euro denominated government short-dated …
How tiny satellites could change the way we invest
Satellites the size of a shoe-box could provide proper, real-time economic indicators When I interviewed Roger Bootle of Capital Economics a few months ago, we agreed that one of things that makes economic forecasting tricky …
Why Greece has a better chance of a deal than you might think
There is an excellent letter in the FT today on the matter of Greece that echoes what I have been saying for a few weeks now. When most commentators look at the coming chaos they …