Which listed companies would be most hit by a Yes vote in Scotland on Thursday? We looked at some in our cover story last week (now free to read), but since then, various brokers have …
What to buy if Scotland votes Yes
Category: Blog
Real QE is yet to come in Europe
I wrote here last week that the key question about the ECB’s monetary easing was not so much what assets the ECB intended to buy, but who it intended to buy those assets from. This …
A divided Scotland will be a tough country to get off the ground
I have been wondering about independence referendums. How often does a population come down almost 50/50 on the matter of gaining full independence? And how often does that kind of division translate to full independence? …
The rise of nationalism – and the end of civilisation
Back in 2013 I interviewed Bernard Connolly, author of the best-selling and so far entirely accurate book The Rotten Heart of Europe. You can read the interview here – it was a fascinating conversation. But …
How fear of change drives business behaviour
We often note that people react to financial incentives faster and more efficiently than governments seem to think possible. Anyone in any doubt need only look to Scotland, where one poll that puts separation on …
The latest reason not to buy into the banking sector
A couple of years ago, I noted that not everything reverts to its mean. I pointed particularly to the price of shares in the UK banking sector. Go back to 2012 and look at them …
A simple solution to pension tax relief
Ask anyone who does anything related to pensions these days about pensions tax relief and they will all tell you the same thing: its days are numbered. Why? Because it costs a fortune (think £35bn …
Income inequality is a problem – but don’t expect a revolution
There was an unofficial theme running through the Edinburgh Festival this year. It came up in practically every event I went to or discussed with anyone else. Joseph Stiglitz focused on it in his talk. …
The similar lives of the rich and the not so rich
More on inequality. In my last blog post, I mentioned a talk by John Lanchester at the Edinburgh book festival in which he discussed the subject. During the Q&A, there was a conversation about rage …
Russia ain’t pretty – but it’s tempting
I’ve written here several times this year that if you think it makes sense for long-term investors to buy cheap stock markets over expensive stock markets, it makes sense to buy Russia. This hasn’t looked …